Tucked between the trailheads and the summit markers and the very stern warnings about bears, there exists a whole world of signage that suggests whoever is responsible for them has been out in the wilderness a little too long and has simply stopped caring about professionalism. We respect it deeply.
These are the park rangers, trail managers, and anonymous wilderness comedians who thought about the full spectrum of human stupidity they deal with on a daily basis and decided that humor was the only reasonable response. The result is a collection of signs that is infinitely more motivating than any fitness app. So lace up your boots, apply your sunscreen, and prepare to feel very seen.
#1 Next Time You Go To A Forest, Don’t Make The Trees Angry
Image source: SomeRandomCanadian_
#2 But It’s Not Really Hiking Unless You Have A Karaoke Machine
Image source: Basic-Art-9861
#3 It Depends… Do You Hear Any Violin Music?
Image source: happysnarkygal2
Hiking is, it turns out, extremely popular, which explains both the breathtaking trail photos all over your Instagram feed and the absolutely baffling behavior of some of the people in this list. Over a third of U.S. adults hike at least occasionally, and in 2024, a record-breaking 331.9 million people visited U.S. National Parks.
Globally, the Austrians lead the charge with a remarkable 53% of the population hiking regularly, followed closely by Poland at 47%. Which means that somewhere in the Austrian Alps right now, there is almost certainly someone doing something that absolutely warrants a sign. There usually is.
#4 A Friend Is In Maine, And He Sent Me This On A Hiking Trail
Image source: Derek Bodner
#5 Good Thing There’s A Gate
Image source: parsniplovaaa
#6 An Odd Note Stapled To A Tree Near A Hiking Trail
Image source: GrooviGhost
Funnily enough, for all the warnings these signs cover (bears, cliffs, unstable terrain, the many creative ways nature can humble you), there is one very real trail hazard that goes almost entirely unaddressed. The Alpine divorce. It happens more than you’d think. Two people set off together in matching hiking boots, full of optimism and trail mix, and somewhere around mile four, things go south.
When one person is moving too slowly, or too fast, or stops to photograph every single wildflower, or refuses to admit they took a wrong turn, something shifts. The mountain does not cause the argument. The mountain simply provides the conditions for an argument that was always coming. Relationships have ended on gentler terrain. Perhaps someone should make a sign.
#7 I Found This On A New Cycle Trail Today, Glad This Wasn’t On The Route
#8 Well, That’s Encouraging, I Guess
#9 This Is Brilliant
Image source: adamgreattweet
Suddenly, everyone’s a hiker. At least according to their dating profiles. Lying about hiking on a dating profile is one of the most popular and least consequential forms of modern deception. It’s easy to get away with it; it makes you look active and outdoorsy, and crucially, it gives you an excuse to use your best summit photo where the lighting was incredible, and you looked unexpectedly athletic.
Pride even endorsed the trend, calling the “I Hiked to the Top of This Mountain!” profile photo an excellent opportunity to be shirtless and not look so conceited. Research by eHarmony Australia found that travel and exercise rank second and third among the most attractive interests a man can list on his profile. So the hiking photo stays. The actual hiking? Negotiable.
#10 I Went Hiking In Joshua Tree And Found The Least Helpful Sign In The Whole World
Image source: RedPenVandal
#11 Makes You Wonder Why A Sign Was Needed
Image source: photofrolic
#12 This Sign Tells Me To “Duck“
Image source: PO1983
And yet, for all the people who fake their way through hiking on a dating profile, there are others who take it to the complete opposite extreme, scaling waterfalls, dangling off cliff edges, and generally treating the wilderness like a personal photography studio with no regard whatsoever for the laws of gravity. The selfie warning signs you’ll spot in this list might seem absurd at first glance.
Surely, you think, no one needs to be told not to do that. And then you read about the 18-year-old tourist who met his maker at Yosemite National Park while attempting to take a selfie atop a waterfall, and suddenly the signs start to make perfect, depressing sense. Nature is beautiful. Nature is also completely indifferent to your follower count. Please just enjoy the view with your eyes.
#13 Funniest Series Of Signs I’ve Seen On A Hiking Trail In Korea
Image source: dentalexaminer
#14 Not Sure I Feel Fit Enough For This Trail. Do You?
Image source: sovalente
#15 This Was Taken In December 2014
Image source: unknown
Of course, selfies aren’t the only thing the trail has working against you. Depending on where in the world you’re hiking, the local wildlife has its own strong opinions about your presence. In North America, that means grizzly and black bears as well as mountain lions in the western states, which are ambush predators that would like you to know that running away is the absolute worst thing you can do. Venomous snakes round out the American experience.
In Europe, hikers are statistically most likely to be injured not by a bear or a wolf, but by a cow. Wild boar and brown bears also make occasional appearances in eastern Europe, just to keep things interesting. In India and South Asia, the stakes rise considerably, with cobras, kraits, vipers, unpredictable moon bears, and leopards and Bengal tigers that are absolutely not a metaphor.
And in Australia, where the entire ecosystem seems to operate on a different threat level entirely, hikers must contend with some of the most venomous snakes on the planet, plus the Eastern Brown Snake, which is somehow worse. The most surprising Australian hazard, however, is the magpie. Yes, a bird. So keep your eyes on the sky! Every continent has its own version of danger. Pack accordingly.
#16 Petrified Forest National Park
Image source: Massive_Put_5858
#17 In A Parking Lot, Shaded By A Grove Of Mangos. Delicious Attack Mangos
Image source: thisisdia
#18 A Dirty Trickster Placed This In Front Of My Hiking Trail. Dirty Trickster
Image source: boardraob
Hiking didn’t always look like this. The sport we know today evolved over a surprisingly long period of history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it emerged as a respectable middle-class pursuit, with outdoor organizations forming to give it structure.
The Sierra Club was founded in the U.S. in 1892, while Germany’s Wandervögel youth movement was busy cutting trails through the countryside purely for the joy of it, which, in hindsight, was extremely cool of them. The second wave came in the 1960s and 1970s, driven by new gear technology, the post-WWII economic boom, and growing conservation movements.
These efforts made people look at nature and think, “perhaps we should go outside and appreciate this before it disappears”. Fast forward to today, and hiking has become one of the most participated-in outdoor activities on the planet. The signs, thankfully, came with it.
#19 This Made Me Uncomfortable As A 26-Year-Old Male, 3 Miles Into My Run
Image source: cryle042
#20 Hikers Beware
Image source: CairnFilippelli
#21 You’d Better Have Your Bear Spray When Bigfoot Comes Around
Beyond the views, the wildlife encounters, and the deeply questionable decisions documented in this list, hiking is, and we say this with full sincerity, genuinely good for you. Extremely good, actually. It builds cardiovascular endurance, strengthens bones and muscles, and burns a serious number of calories, particularly on anything with a meaningful elevation gain.
But the mental benefits are arguably even more impressive. Time on the trail actively reduces stress, lowers the risk of depression, and gives your brain a good workout through spatial navigation and environmental problem-solving. Essentially, hiking makes you fitter, calmer, and smarter all at once, which is a better deal than most gym memberships offer. The blisters are a minor footnote.
#22 My Buddy Kris On His Hike Along The Appalachian Trail
Image source: dropstop
#23 Spotted On A Popular Local Hiking Trail
Image source: jvangoor
#24 New Signs For The Hiking Trails
Image source: JiveMonkey
At the end of the trail, sore-legged, slightly sunburned, and inexplicably proud of yourself, there’s a reason people keep coming back. Hiking is one of the few activities that actually delivers on its promises. The views are real. The health benefits are real. The sense of achievement at the top is real. And the signs? Also very, very real.
All because someone out there has watched enough people do enough ridiculous things in the great outdoors to feel that a large printed warning was the only remaining option. We salute those people. They are unsung heroes. They have seen things. And if nothing else, they’ve given the rest of us something to laugh at on the way up the hill, which is, honestly, the best possible motivation for making it to the top.
Is a funny sign enough to get you on the trail? Tell us how you really feel about hiking in the comments section!
#25 Went Hiking Just Upstate Of NYC. Found A Sign (And A Stick)
Image source: RainbowChainsaw
#26 The Sign I Saw While Hiking Yesterday
Image source: 56witch
#27 I Was Hiking Deep In The Backwoods Of West Virginia And Found This Sign. Uh, No Thanks
Image source: DFWV
#28 Views From The South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon, AZ
Image source: Longjumping-Clue-572
#29 Found This Gem While Out Walking
Image source: haemhorrhoidian
#30 You Could Not Have Warned Me A Little Earlier
Image source: TeachMeImWilling69
#31 If You Mark An Unmarked Trail, Isn’t It Now Marked?
Image source: Kenny_Squeek_Scolari
#32 Found On A Hiking Trail, Ramsey Park, Minnesota
Image source: lonely-blue-sheep
#33 Now That’s A Trail Marker I Can Relate To
#34 Well, What Is It Then?
#35 Seen On A Hike On A Washington State Trail
Image source: Shhhnooneshere
#36 I Added Some New Rules To The Park By My House
Image source: obviousplant
#37 Forest Sign Telling Me To… Twerk?
Image source: AbunchofAsh
#38 Have You Ever Seen A Sign Like This? Why No Jogging, But Hiking Is Okay?
Saw this near Corvallis, Oregon, just going for a little walk, but this would have been a great place for trail running. This was on a nature preserve, so I’m guessing they are trying to avoid disturbing wildlife. I also thought maybe they don’t want people running around where they allow hunting, also?
Image source: BatSniper
#39 No Idea What This Sign Says, Looks Like No Curly Hair
Image source: joblessboyy
#40 This City Park Has Both Bafflingly Vague And Overly Specific Signs
Image source: Chumdegars
#41 Discarded In A National Park. The Creek Is Down A Steep Embankment Off The Trail – Good Luck, John
Image source: misfox
#42 A Huge Bear Walking By Tourists At Alaska’s Katmai National Park
Image source: Pazluz, RedditTokStories
#43 What Did The Unicyclists Do To Be Banned From The Trail?
Image source: Then-Championship-67
#44 Is This Sign Just A Suggestion?
Image source: Subi-Lee
#45 Hiking Trail In New Buffalo, MI
Image source: CJ-does-stuff
#46 Went Lost Hiking, Where Do I Go?
Image source: Ok_Task_4135
#47 Every Hiking Trail In The Park Has Signs That Look Like This
Image source: arierroc
#48 On A Trail At Deception Pass State Park
Image source: wa_greens
#49 Meanwhile, At The Local Hiking Trails
Image source: ineverposthere
#50 A Hiking Trail I Went On Cut Through A Cow Pasture
Image source: Pink_Axolotl151
#51 What On Earth Happened To Necessitate This Sign? Found Them At Many Nice Viewpoints In Kruger National Park In South Africa
Image source: chris-za
#52 The Hiking Trail Markers In This State Park Look Like Upvotes
Image source: i-would-rather-dont
#53 Sign At A Neighborhood Park. Read The Fine Print
Image source: hausstaudt
#54 Classic Florida
Image source: discoStuNA
Follow Us
