We're officially calling 2020 the year of hiking. Why you may ask..well it turns out that's what we did and a lot of it.

After looking back over the year it was clear that hiking was our go-to activity and we weren’t the only ones. Based on social media it would seem that everyone and their mom went on some form of a hike.

We get it though. With a pandemic, staying at home and social distancing, hiking became the ultimate sport.

In one trip you get out of the house, get fresh air and get some exercise all while getting plenty of amazing memories with the pics to prove it. Plus hiking is typically user friendly for anyone.

So join us in renaming 2020 the year of hiking and let's look back at some good times from a crazy (and overall pretty awful) year.

Disclosure: Links throughout the Mindful Nomadics site may make us a small commission at no additional cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure for more information.

Utah

We got a little lucky in 2020 and started off the year with a bang. Before the pandemic really hit America we went on our only big vacation of 2020...a Utah road trip.

The mega trip was planned years earlier and mapped out a perfect itinerary so we could hike in all 5 of Utah's National Parks and more. It was a long time coming because Phil had previously visited with friends and Kelsey had been wanting to go for what seemed like FOREVER.

We picked the beginning of the year because our friends invited us to join them for the Zion half marathon. The rest of the trip just made sense because we were already in Utah and prefer visiting National Parks in their offseasons.

So before everything got crazy we had a normal 10-day trip and logged over 30 hours of hiking. Talk about starting off the year right.

Favorite Memories

The whole trip was amazing but there were certain parts that really stuck out. Just random things that helped make 2020 a tad bit better

• A Half Marathon with Friends
• Hiking a Slot Canyon
• Visiting Capitol Reef

Half Marathon with Friends

Since social distancing prevented a lot of friend meetups, it was kind of nice that we accidentally planned a trip with friends before everything went down. We ended up doing more of a walk/jog but that meant more energy for hiking.

Zebra Slot Canyon

One of our favorite memories from the trip and just in life, in general, was hiking Zebra Slot Canyon. It was the first slot canyon experience for both of us and was so cool.

Even though it's not a National Park, Phil added Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to our plans just so we could finally check out what slot canyons were all about. It was even better than we imagined.

Capitol Reef

We loved every National Park in Utah and we're not sure if Capitol Reef is our absolute favorite but it definitely was one of our top memories from the trip. This was the only park Phil missed during his last trip so it was the first time visiting for both of us.

It also ended up being one of our longer hikes going up to Navajo Knobs. The best part though was the cabin we had at Capitol Reef Resort which gave us the ultimate luxury experience.

New Mexico

When 2020 started we were working in Deming, New Mexico about an hour outside of Las Cruces. Since the town is in the middle of nowhere there wasn't a ton to do...except hiking.

We mostly hiked nearby at Rockhound State Park and even had to navigate through animal roadblocks. It turns out cows roam free when you're out in the boondocks.

Hiking Snafu

Some weekends we would head into civilization by visiting Las Cruces. It had a Target and Canes's so you can understand why.

Keeping up with our year of hiking, we wanted to find a hike just outside the city so we could add an extra fun stop during our journey back home. That's when Kelsey found Picacho Peak.

It's a 2-mile round trip hike with decent elevation to give you a perfect view of the city. The problem was that Kelsey misread the information.

We went into this hike with a belly full of french fries, no water, and gym shoes thinking it would be a light stroll. It's a great hike, just make sure to come prepared and not be a bunch of rookies like us.

Ohio

When the traveling therapy job market dropped we made our way to Ohio to stay with family. It would be unfair not to mention the few hikes we did there even if they weren't mega trips.

We mostly explored our backyard which to be fair included a lot of land and even a creek. Since we stayed on a family property in a recently fixed up farmhouse we had plenty to explore.

There was one park that our friends Joe and Erica introduced us to that instantly became our favorites for hiking near Dayton. It's called Sugarcreek MetroPark and for a small park near Dayton, it's legit.

Portland

We moved to Portland in mid-2020 and we have loved every second of it. In an effort to explore more but without a lot of driving we found hikes near downtown.

Now we have our favorite spots for hiking and if you follow us on social media you know we went on a lot...and we mean a lot of portland hikes.

Coolest Portland Hike

Out of all the hikes we went on, there was one that was extra cool in Lower Macleay Park. It's extra special because it takes you to an old stone house known as the Witches Castle.

Lower Macleay Trail takes you right by the house and is a relatively flat and easy hike. It also has the surrounding Portland greenery that we love.

Washington

Relocating to Portland meant we were now neighbors with Washington, Phil's favorite state. We had an MLMR Travel extravaganza planned for the PNW but had to reschedule it for 2021.

Since we weren't able to get our money back for a vacation rental, we didn't cancel the trip entirely but instead did a mini version. Most of the time was spent relaxing in our room but we did endure the rain and cold for Mt. Rainier National Park.

Hiking Mt. Rainier

This was another one where Phil had hiked here in the past but this was Kelsey's first time. Since it was rainy and foggy the whole time we didn't get a lot of views of the summit but that didn't stop us from having a great time.

Our favorite hike was Comet and Christine Falls since you get to see not one, but two beautiful waterfalls. It was pouring the whole hike so by the time we got to the falls, we were fine getting up close because it's not like we were going to get wetter.

California

In typical 2020 fashion, our year of hiking sort of fizzled out. It went from a mega trip exploring National Parks and ended with simple weekend hikes in Chico, California.

Phil got a therapy assignment in a nearby town so we figured the best way to spend our time off was using what little motivation we had left to hike. We didn't want to drive far so we found the only place to hike in Chico...Bidwell Park.

The Coolest City Park

Bidwell Park in Chico is hands down one of the coolest city parks...in America. For a random small town in California, this park is gigantic.

Even though it's just one park, there are many areas to choose from all with several hiking paths. We were definitely spoiled living by so many trails all within city limits.

We have always loved hiking but it took a pandemic for us to realize just how much we love it. You get to relax in nature while avoiding people...what more could you ask for?

If you also had a year of hiking in 2020, let us know how it went. Did you have a favorite hike?