AllTrails is a great site for someone starting out! Its map is handy for finding trails and trailheads near you, and you can filter for the type of hikes you're

AllTrails is a great site for someone starting out! Its map is handy for finding trails and trailheads near you, and you can filter for the type of hikes you're looking for. I tend to prefer higher destinations in alpine-y areas above treeline, and this is my usual method for finding hikes: - Load up CalTopo (a phenomenal mapping website) - Head to a wilderness area I know I want to visit - Find trails that look like fun destinations, see if I can connect those trails to other trails (I prefer hiking in loops, rather than out-and-backs) - Head to hiking forums to scour trip reports for information about the trails/route I'm looking at to make sure my idea works I live in the PNW, so I'm frequently on the NWHikers and OregonHikers forums, both equally amazing resources for on and off-trail research. Definitely see if you can find a forum-based community for your region, they've been a consistently positive experience for me compared to, say, a FB hiking group for the region.