First Stop for Your Hiking Trip: The Library

Hiking backpacks provide just about everything you need for your next hike.

Fall is just around the corner, and that means one of the best times of the year for hiking is nearly here. It’s always a good idea to go hiking properly equipped, which may mean anything from maps to flashlights to a first aid kit, among other things. But if you don’t have those things—and the cost to develop your own hiking kit can climb quickly—don’t give up: Libraries have you covered.

That’s because library workers understand that as much learning and emotional growth happens in the great outdoors as it does inside the library—which is to say, a lot. Some libraries have offered these for a few years, while others are just adding them to their lineup of services and materials.

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Poughkeepsie Public Library District

In New York, the Poughkeepsie Public Library District allows patrons to check out a hiking backpack kit for up to seven days. The kit includes a compass (with a manual for first-timers), a first aid kit, a steno pad to take notes along the way, several maps detailing East and West Hudson maps, and the latest edition of 50 Hikes in the Lower Hudson Valley.

Paso Robles City Library

Across the country in California, the Paso Robles City Library just added a hiking backpack program to its services, which already allowed patrons to check out free passes to more than two hundred California state parks.

The kits may be checked out for three weeks at a time and include binoculars, waterproof pouches, a survival horn, a compass, a pocket microscope, telescoping walking sticks, emergency ponchos, and mosquito head nets. The kits were made possible by a grant from the Southern California Library Cooperative and the California State Library.

Flossmoor Public Library

The Flossmoor Public Library in Illinois received an AgeOptions grant, which enabled it to add hiking kits to its collection. Patrons can check out a kit for two weeks at a time and be equipped with Illinois hiking and nature guides, binoculars, a compass, and a walking pole.

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Stillwater Public Library

Minnesota’s Stillwater Public Library, located near the scenic St. Croix River, has nature backpacks that include binoculars, a compass, Minnesota nature guides, and Washington County park information.

The kits are divided into three themes: Birding, which includes bird guide books and identification cards and a field journal; Tracks, Scats and Signs, which provides scat identification cards and animal track rubbing plates; and Insects and Bugs, with inset rubbing plates and a Bug Quest activity scarf.

Abbotsford Public Library

Wisconsin’s Abbotsford Public Library takes a similar approach with five themed backpacks: On the Nature Trail, with Nature Bingo, a compass with instructions, and a guide to animal tracks; Bug Hunt, with a butterfly net, BugView tool, Bug scavenger hunt, and several related books; Trees and Flowers, with a magnifying glass, Tree/Flower Bingo, wildflower guide, and nature journal; Beach Walk, with an Underwater Viewer Bucket, scavenger hunt, Lake Superior agate guide, nature journal, and Bird Watch, with binoculars, a bird song identification tool, and several bird books.

Smyrna Public Library

Smyrna Public Library in Georgia has a Smyrna Strong Collection, which includes a myriad of items patrons can borrow to improve their health and wellness. Among them are nature hiking backpacks with binoculars, guidebooks, and more.

Check with your library to see if they have hiking or nature backpacks available. The great outdoors is just waiting for you!

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