The following sections will show examples of what each difficulty is.
DISCLAIMER: These are examples of real trails with the accurate rating but not every trail in each difficulty category will look exactly like the pictures! Also trails may become more difficult due to natural causes like fallen trees but we do not rate difficulties based off these unless they're permanent!
Green Trails
(Easy)
Green lines on maps
Terrain
The terrain of green trails is majority dirt or grass. The trail may contain some rocks or tree roots but they're usually avoidable or small. The trails are wider and avoid overgrown narrow areas.
Elevation Changes
Green trails may include small inclines or declines but they are always stretched out and near flat. No greens will have changes that are much harder than just a flat trail, but may contain small steps such as stepping onto small bridges or onto slightly higher ground.
Green trails are awesome for hikers of any skill level! From young hikers to senior citizens everyone can enjoy a green. They are perfect for dogs as well. But, they may bore hikers who are looking for a more action packed experience as they're all nice calm walks.
Blue Trails
(Moderate)
Blue lines on maps
Terrain
The terrain of blue trails are partially dirt but may contain larger rocks or roots. Terrains may be uneven due to rocks and roots. Lots of people will be able to do these trails but need to be careful to avoid uncommon small injuries like rolling an ankle. The big difference from greens is that these terrains are usually unavoidable.
Elevation Changes
Blue trails may include some inclines or declines. They aren't elevation changes that you'll need to climb up rocks but they can be somewhat steep. Once again with these, most people can do them but it's definitely not as easy as a small incline on a green.
Blue trails are great trails for most hikers but they may pose a challenge to people who like to avoid hills and slightly uneven terrain. Lots of trails have fun blues that can lead to nice views from a higher elevation.
Black Trails
(Difficult)
Black lines on maps
Terrain
The terrain of blacks is typically covered in large rocks and/or roots. It can have large obstacles that may need to be climbed over, or narrow parts that are difficult to get through. Although lots of people can still do these, they are definitely a challenge compared to your average trail.
Elevation Changes
Most blacks have a steep increase or decrease in elevation that could be hard to get up especially if the terrain is muddy after rain or icy after snow. Most of the time this steep terrain also has obstacles that you'll have to navigate around, or large rocks that you need to walk up.
Blacks are always fun and pose a challenge. They could be pretty difficulty especially when walking a dog on a leash. Be careful for ice and mud but these trails are usually doable for most hikers.
Roads
(Paved or Gravel)
Red lines on maps
These are just standard roads. They may or may not be paved. Most of the time they are just flat, but can rarely be steep. Hikers may have to walk on roads to complete a full loop of our suggest trails. Roads can range from busy to small calm neighborhood roads, we will do our best to note them.
