If you like hiking, you might want to tell NJ to take a hike

If you live in New Jersey and are really into hiking you’ll be not very happy to know we basically suck. OK, yeah, it could be worse. We could be dead last in the country, but at 40th place we could be a whole lot better.

At least that's what a study says.

Slots Calendar took a shot at ranking states by their hiking potential. They used things like total number trails, trail length, scenic and environmental factors, average precipitation, etcetera.

Well, we’re a state in the Northeast so of course we have winters. We’re not a large state so of course, we’re not going to have as many miles of trails as a state like California. So you could tell New Jersey trails to take a hike, or you might be inclined to tell this study to take a hike of its own.

But there we are, parked at No. 40. Among the states with even worse hiking than ours, there’s Delaware, Ohio, and Alabama. Dead last is Louisiana.

Well, yeah, who needs a crocodile on their hiking path?

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California ranks as the best state for hiking, leading in nearly every key category. They have 15,181 trails compared to New Jersey’s 1,870. California's total miles of trails is 18,465 compared to New Jersey’s 1,494.

Again, can you fairly compare a small state to a huge state? But it's not all bad news for Jersey. With over 500,000 trail reviews, the state sees active participation from hikers, suggesting that, for those who know where to go, the trails are still worth exploring.

If you want to explore beyond New Jersey though, here are the top ten states said to have the best hiking.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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