25 Most Awesome Hiking Inspired Tattoos

doCompleting a hike is a monumental feat that deserves to be commemorated. How can you sum up a life-changing journey? When words fall short, many hikers turn to art.

Tattoos look like wearable trail souvenirs. They are also the perfect excuse to talk about the trail when people stop you to ask about them.

We’re excited to highlight some of the beautiful and unique trail-inspired inks our readers are sporting.

loren jones
Trail Name: Yardsale (Colorado Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail)
@sol_y_luna_soilpluslove

Story behind the tattoo: The three circles symbolize the embryos. In this case, nine lost to eleven years of infertility and miscarriages. I upped CT in 2020 after our first failed IVF and upped TRT in 2025 after three miscarriages and a small stroke. The brave man is bravely fertile. Flow is for the biggest life lesson that infertility and hiking teach us. Daily memos to live by.

Elizabeth Brentano
Route Name: Bags 🐰 (PCT)
@elizbrentano

Story behind the tattoo: I’m just obsessed with PCT terminals. I finished my hike in 2024 – I tagged the Canada border monument twice due to strange timings. I went home and got the tattoo. I returned in 2025 to make up miles from Steven’s to Harts Pass, and I added it to the border tag for the third time because I love it.

Rolando Shannon
Trail Name: Goosebumps (PCT, AT, CDT)
@bumpstothegoose

Story behind the tattoo: Triple Crown with the tips of the crown as the “highest” mountains (my favorites) “on” each trail (close enough). Katahdin, Whitney and Elbert.

Melanie Harsha
Trail Name: Peanut (PCT, AT, CDT)
@melaniepeanut

Story behind the tattoo: Western Pasqueflower seed heads are around the edge, which are those fun plants you see in the Sierra and Goat Rocks in the spring! Also, can you find the hidden peanut?

kara steiner
Trail Name: Mosey (PCT, Colorado Trail, Arizona Trail, Camino de Santiago)
@kara_ns

Story behind the tattoo: Trail sign surrounded by huckleberries and huckleberries, the biggest mile killers on the trail.

Oz Eran
Trail Name: Oz (PCT, Te Araroa)
@oz3ran

Damir Paco (PCT)
@juki123

Story behind the tattoo: I wanted an abstract trail tattoo.

Bruce Watts
Trail Name: Dudley Do Hike (AT, Great Divide, Bruce, East Coast, Rideau)
@campology.ca

Story behind the tattoo: My “trophy” leg… and only a few!

Mikey Killeen
Trail Name: Cheeky (PCT)
@mkilleen92

Story behind the tattoo: This was my favorite trail marker on the PCT. It is the only one of its kind and was right after Kennedy Meadows. It marked the beginning of the rest of the trail (post wilderness) that I had been waiting for years. Every time I look at it, I return to the emotion I felt when I left the desert and entered the mountains.”

kristen
Trail Name: Kettle (PCT)
@kris.leff

Nathan Meade (John Muir Trail)
@nathanmeade_soc

Story behind the tattoo: I love the outdoors and always wanted a tattoo to represent it. After a couple of friends and climbing the JMT, I knew what I wanted. We covered the entire trail in 10 days, it was not an easy task, and that experience left its mark on my life. (And yes, this topographic map tattoo is correctly scaled.)

Connor Matts
Trail Name: BOONE (PCT)
@connormatts

Story behind the tattoo: Good Flow for life!!!

Bill (Long Trail, John Muir Trail)
@k2rider123

Riley Holden
Trail Name: Mumble (AT)
@rilyvibes

Story behind the tattoo: I really wanted to always be reminded of the trail. It is a very simple way to exemplify movement through the mountains on the trail.

Carly Rae Brunault
Trail name: Hippea
@hippeagypsy

Story behind the tattoo: Many years ago, I began taking photographs of different mushrooms on my daily walks, an interest that eventually developed into my career in photography. During my 2022 hike on the Appalachian Trail, I started noticing ghost pipes everywhere. I had never paid much attention to them before, but seeing them day after day made me curious.

The more I learned about this fungus-eating plant, the more fascinated I became. I was on the path seeking healing and transformation. I discovered that ghost pipes can be made into pain-relieving tinctures and do not need light to grow. That idea stayed with me.

After the tour, I posted a photography book about the hikers I met on my trip. I decided to get a tattoo of the plant as a reminder that it didn’t need light to grow. I came out of a dark time and turned everything into something positive. The scientific name of the plant is Monotropa uniflora. Ghost pipes do not depend on sunlight, they can grow in very dark environments.

Timo Grueneberg
Trail Name: Uhaul
@uhaul_hiking

Story behind the tattoo: The section of the trail under scrutiny is that of the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club. I used to be assistant trail supervisor there.

Amy Hunsucker
Route Name: Slider (AT, CDT, PCT)
@tromboneandhike

Story behind the tattoo: The half sleeve has my favorite triple crown flowers.

Amy Hunsucker
Route Name: Slider (AT, CDT, PCT)
@tromboneandhike

Amy Hunsucker
Route Name: Slider (AT, CDT, PCT)
@tromboneandhike

Amy Hunsucker
Route Name: Slider (AT, CDT, PCT)
@tromboneandhike

Diane Clukey-Chenard
Trail Name: Grateful (AT)
@deenclukeychenard

Diane Clukey-Chenard
Trail Name: Grateful (AT)
@deenclukeychenard

Rob Hickerson
Trail name: Horno (AT)

Jimmy Rowlett
Trail Name: Day of the Lord (AT)

Story behind the tattoo: If anything were crazy or wild on the road, or at any time, I would exclaim, «Day of the Lord!» That’s where my name came from, and I still use the phrase in the concrete jungle.

abby
Trail Name: Fish Tank (AT)
@apple_tart_one

Story behind the tattoo: I like minimalism in my tattoos, if not in my package. There’s still plenty of room in this arm for my next long distance ride!

Thanks to those who shared their trail-inspired tattoos! In case you missed it, here are some of the other amazing tattoos we featured this year.

19 Stunning Appalachian Trail Tattoos You Must See

24 More Appalachian Trail-Inspired Tattoos We Can’t Stop Looking At

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