One should just keep going: The network is booming with new hiking trails

On foot and onward: New hiking trails flood the net

In just a few years, there have been more than double the number of hiking trails available on the platform outinaturen.dk.

During the coronavirus, many Danish residents discovered the joy of walking on the Danish trails, and hiking remains very popular. (Photo: © Mads Claus Rasmussen, Ritzau Scanpix) 41 minutes ago

As Bamse told us in 1990's Bamse's Christmas Journey, one should just keep walking.

Perhaps you need to follow Bamse's example and take a long hike after some Christmas days, when there has been no shortage of treats and fats. If so, you are lucky – for it has become much easier to find a hiking trail across the entire country.

If you orient yourself on the platform outinaturen.dk ( https://udinaturen.dk/ ), which is backed by the country's municipalities, the Outdoor Council, and the Nature Agency.

There are in fact over 22,000 kilometers of hiking trails readily available online right now. This is more than double the number that were available in 2021, when there were approximately 10,500 kilometers of hiking trails to find.

Anna Schouboe Thøgersen, who works at the Nature Agency and is the project manager for outinaturen.dk, is pleased.

The platform is intended as an overview site, where one can search for nature experiences. For example, one can search by region, whether the route is handicap accessible, whether the route is to be walked on foot, on horseback, or by bike, and whether there is a shelter or a campsite along the way.

- Before one knows what experiences one can have, one must find a place where one can get the information, she says.

- And that makes it easier for more to find just the experience they want on a given day, says Anna Schouboe Thøgersen.

The platform is based on GeoFA, which is a common outdoor database, where, among others, municipalities can upload content about natural areas. And it seems that it has become better – in any case, there have been more and more kilometers of routes added to the platform.

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A new popular sport

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At the Danish Hiking Association, they are excited that it has become easier to find a place to walk when one has tied on the hiking boots and gone out the front door.

- That's great. Hiking has become a new popular sport, and it has skyrocketed dramatically after corona, says chairman Dorrit Christensen.

But is there really a need for such a database? Can't one just go for a walk without having a specific route?

- There are also some who just walk, but others want a route. Often one ends up just walking the route one knows, and then it's nice to be inspired.

Christensen's encouragement is therefore clear – one should go out into nature. According to her, almost nothing is better than a long hike.

- Physical exercise strengthens the heart, and keeps the brain sharp. It keeps us from getting lazy in our muscles, but keeps the body moving. Mentally, it gives a fantastic peace, one comes out of the stress spiral and gets a feeling of oneself and nature.

At the Nature Agency, they hope that even more Danish residents will move out into nature.

- We know that many have benefit and joy from coming out into nature. It also does something in terms of knowledge about what it is we are a part of. That is, to develop a passion for the plants and species in nature – that is important in a time when we know that we must take care of what we have.

And so, there is only one thing left to say: one should just keep walking - and walking and walking and walking and walking...

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