In early 2018, when I was finishing my senior year of high school and fostering the crackpot dream of walking across America, I discovered an informative article on the subject written by an inspirational woman who had done it years prior.
The article was aptly titled “So You Want To Walk Across America.”
Unfortunately, I could not find this same article when I last checked in 2020, so I thought I would give my Q&A Page the same name now that I, too, have walked across America.
Table of Contents
1. General
How long does it take?
Where do you shower?
What do you eat?
What challenges will you face?
How far can you walk in a day?
How should you prepare for a cross-country walk?
How much should I save for a cross-country walk?
What do you do for water-especially in desert stretches?
How do you get mail?
Can you bring your dog?
General
How long does it take?
6-8 months on average. Though it can be done in as little as 4 months and as many as 12+. I took 9 months.
Where do you shower?
Campgrounds, motels, truck stops, Trail Angel’s houses. Showers can be hard to come by. The longest I went without a shower is 2½ weeks. My average was 3-7 days.
What do you eat?
Standard backpacking food, dehydrated meals like the ones Mountain House make, or other dry goods, such as: granola bars, chocolate, peanut butter, nuts, tortillas, evaporated milk, beans, cereal, beef jerky, tuna, dried fruit, powdered eggs, instant rice/noodles. The list goes on and on ….
With a backpack, you can expect to carry, what, ~1-5 days worth of food? With a stroller, that number easily doubles or triples to ~7-10 days worth. Towns are rarely more than 50 miles apart, so you can buy hot food often. (On my route, I believe I only had three sections between towns that were over 90 miles.)
What challenges will you face?
Traffic and lack of available lodging are the most serious challenges you will face.
The greatest threat to your life when walking across America is a reckless driver. The only people I’m aware of who have died while attempting a cross-country walk were struck by motor vehicles. I highly recommend wearing a reflective vest and trying your best to stick to roads with little traffic, wide shoulders, or both. Avoid major highways. Scope out road surfaces ahead of time on Google Maps satellite view. When you are temporarily forced onto a road with fast traffic and minimal shoulder, consider pulling off the pavement and stopping for each passing car, provided this is possible.
Other challenges include: exposure to the elements, wild animals, physical injury, malnutrition, dehydration, water borne illnesses, gear failure, loneliness, dangerous men, etc. The usual backpacking risks.
How far can you walk in a day?
However many miles you want to!
Average amount: ~15-25 miles per day. The distance you can cover will occasionally depend on how far your next available lodging is.
How should you prepare for a cross-country walk?
It’s all mental. Sure, you can work out prior to departing and that is highly recommended, but you can also weigh 250 pounds, have no backpacking experience, little money to your name, and have the time of your life . . . with the right mindset.
If you’ve never backpacked before, I encourage you to do multiple test runs with your gear. Simulate the real thing and see if long distance walking is something you would actually enjoy.
How much should I save for a cross-country walk?
That depends on your means and your comfort level. You can sleep in ditches every night, eat ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, experience no gear failures, and scoot by on less than a grand. Alternatively, you can have a support vehicle following your every step, eat at restaurants daily, and easily rack up over ten grand in spending.
I think the ideal median amount to have for a single person is between 4-6 grand. Including the cost of gear and transportation.
You may receive donations along the way. You may even receive enough money to keep you perpetually afloat. Many walkers do with success.
Overall, I believe I spent roughly $2-3,000 in my 9 months on the road, with an additional $700 spent initially on gear. I also had the benefit of my mom willing to drive me to Delaware for free.
What do you do for water-especially in desert stretches?
I walked across America with both a stroller and a backpack. This allowed me to carry an ample amount of water at any given time, including up to 4 gallons in my longest 160 mile stretch from Fallon, UT, to Ely, NV. (A stretch that ultimately proved to have two convenience stores along the way that I was previously unaware of.)
With a stroller, you should have no concerns about water.
With a backpack, you should have no problem carrying enough water in between towns except for desert stretches and, potentially, a time or two in the Midwest. On the American Discovery Trail or a similar route, that means Utah or Nevada. Possibly eastern Colorado.
In such desolate areas, your options are to either temporarily acquire a stroller (cheap, second hand strollers can be found for under $50 on Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace) or cache water. Caching water is where you have jugs driven ahead and stored in safe, predetermined locations to collect along the way.
When road walking, the likelihood of passing cars occasionally stopping to offer you water is fair.
How do you get mail?
General delivery is a service most post offices provide where your package(s) can be held at a location for 1-2 weeks. A valid ID is required to accept your packages. The important thing to keep in mind with general delivery is that it only works for USPS packages. This can be a struggle when it comes to receiving things from Amazon since they tend to send their parcels via FedEx or UPS.
Can you bring your dog?
Maybe! Lots of people have walked across America with their dog(s). I know of a couple who did it with three. One man even did it with his pet goat!
From what I’ve seen, booties are commonly recommended when travelling with a dog to keep their paw pads intact. It can also be a good idea to have a stroller on hand so they could ride in it when tired.
Keep in mind that not all state or national parks allow dogs, so your routing could be impacted. And, ultimately, whether you should bring your dog or not depends on whether their personality and energy level is suited for the task!
Gear
Should your gear for a cross-country walk differ from that of a traditional backpacking trip in any way?
Yes, you should have a free standing tent. They are not always necessary on traditional backpacking trips, but I absolutely recommended them for a cross-country walk. You will encounter camping spots along the way where it’s impracticable to drive tent stakes into the ground, such as on a slab of concrete.
You should wear a reflective vest. They can be found on Amazon for less than $10. Here’s mine.
A sign that explains how you’re walking across America can be beneficial. Not only will it encourage people to approach you to offer support, but it can also help discourage people from calling the police on you for road-walking!
Similarly, consider having a business card that lists your blog/social media information. This helps give your walk a sense of legitimacy with everyone you cross paths with, including prospective hosts. I never carried business cards myself, but I’ve heard other cross-country walkers praise their use.
With a stroller, I highly recommend having slime filled inner tubes. My tires suffered 1-2 dozen flats by the Midwest. When I switched to self-sealing inner tubes? That number dropped to nearly 0. Even when my tires were filled with goatheads like this, I was able to pluck them out and carry on with my day seamlessly. Another consideration would be tubeless tires since they tend to be more puncture resistant. You should also have a bike pump and a tube repair kit.
If you have a battery pack like the Anker 20100mAh, I highly recommend pairing it with a 30W+ charger, like the one included in this bundle. That way your Anker 20100 will fully charge in ~4 hours as opposed to 22. I got one in Missouri and it was a game changer. This tip isn’t exclusive to cross-country walking, but it’s worth throwing out there anyway.
Otherwise, your gear will essentially be the same as it would be for any other backpacking trip.
I recommend sites like Outdoor Gear Lab, Clever Hiker, Gear Junkie, REI, Backpacker, Treeline Review, and Switchback Travel for tips on what to bring.
How many pairs of shoes do you go through?
Expect to go through at least 2. Most likely 3-6.
What do you use for protection?
That depends on what you’re comfortable carrying. If you’re considering bringing a firearm, make sure you have all the proper permits. Otherwise, pepper spray and a knife are practical. An emergency locator beacon like the Spot 3 Satellite GPS or the Garmin in Reach Explorer+ could also save your life.
If you have a stroller, an alarm and lock for it are beneficial.
And a bear canister may be necessary in certain areas you will travel through.
Should you go with a backpack or stroller (or both)?
Despite my clear affinity for my stroller, Faith, I must admit that if you have the ability to, traveling with a lightweight backpack is ideal, but strollers are more popular with cross country walkers, so that should say something about their practicality.
Backpacks afford you far less room for gear, forcing you to carry the bare minimum and to resupply on food and water more frequently. You’ll also need to buy expensive ultralight gear that can rack into the thousands to make a backpack comfortable. (That, or bite the bullet and carry a hefty 40-60 pounder.)
However, backpacks can allow you to travel light, to easily slip into the woods to camp, and to walk more readily on any surface, whether that be on rugged, single-track trails or roadways, making for an all-around safer walk.
Strollers, naturally, give you a LOT more room for gear, allowing you to carry all the necessities and more. (Including up to two weeks worth of food and gallons of water!) And because you’re not supporting all that weight on your back, you can buy cheaper, heftier backpacking gear at a fraction of the cost. (This attribute is what made a stroller necessary for me. I couldn’t afford to pay more than a few hundred dollars for gear!)
However, strollers are bulky. They confine you to roadways and mild trails. They force you closer to traffic by making walking in the tall grass, or loose gravel, or sand, that borders roadways impossible. They make it difficult to camp in unmarked, undeveloped woods without plowing your stroller through underbrush. They can be difficult to lift over certain roadblocks. They can get flat tires, broken axles, you name it. And if you need to catch a ride somewhere and your driver doesn’t have a vehicle with an abundance of space, you may be forced to completely dismantle your stroller to fit it in their trunk.
Not keen on a backpack OR stroller? Then consider the Dixon Roller Pack or Radical Design’s Wheelie walking trailers. They attach to your waist and allows you to pull your gear, hands free. Best of both worlds.
What brand of stroller do you recommend?
Thule (specifically, their Chariot line) is a popular brand among cross-country walkers. Dare I say the most popular. There’s also Burley, Aosom, Booyah, DoggyRide, among others…
An old, second-hand stroller off Craigslist can work.
Ideally, you want a jogging stroller with 16-20′ back wheels and metal rims.
Fun fact: before I got Faith, I tried out a red Aosom stroller. This turned out to be too large for my gear, so I opted for a medium-sized Booyah “dog stroller” for $200 instead.
Lodging
Where do you sleep?
Campgrounds, motels, Trail Angel’s houses, parks, public lands, etc.
You can use Couchsurfing or Warmshowers to find hosts to stay with. (Both sites were free to join until June 2020 when Couchsurfing began charging $14.29/year and Warmshowers enacted a one-time registration fee of $30 for lifetime access.)
You can call local police departments to inquire about public lands under their jurisdiction such as city parks. You can also inquire with local churches about using their land for a night. I have done both.
I highly recommend an app called “On X Hunting” which will display accurate property borders on your smart phone. Countless times with this app I have found unmarked public lands that I otherwise wouldn’t have known existed!
What’s stealth camping?
. . . an unfortunate reality of cross-country walking.
Stealth camping is where you sleep somewhere unconventional and undetected. Common stealth camping locations include graveyards, churchyards, under bridges, behind buildings, or on unestablished wilderness sites. The golden rule of stealth camping is to set up at sunset and leave by sunrise.
You can utilize satellite mode on Google Maps to scan for suitable spots.
What’s yard camping?
Yard camping is where you knock on a stranger’s door, particularly in the countryside where property owners have acreage, and ask if you can pitch your tent on their land. This is semi-popular among cross-country walkers and is done out of necessity when no public lands are available nearby.
Which state(s) is it easiest to find free, public land to camp?
If you’ll be walking through the same states that the American Discovery Trail passes through, then the answer is simple: Nevada and Utah.
The east coast can be tough. It’s heavily wooded but densely populated, and the majority of the land is private. An abundance of trails, including the C&O Canal, the West Bend Rail Trail, the Buckeye Trail, the Ohio to Erie Trail, the Cardinal Greenway, and the River to River Trail, help elevate this problem. The sheer number of people on the east coast also makes for a high number of motels within walking distances and a greater chance of securing Couchsurfing or Warmshowers hosts. I stayed with far more Trail Angels on the east coast and made some of my favorite memories because of it.
Once you hit the Gateway to the West, the Arches of St. Louis, Missouri, you’re in the clear.
You can look forward to:
The 240-mile Katy Trail that spans nearly the entire length of Missouri.
The 117 mile Flint Hills Trail of Kansas, a state that is 87% farmland, on a grid system, and sports an abundance of rural graveyards to sleep soundly in.
The Rockies of Colorado, with its plethora of public land (though the High Plains of Colorado can be challenging.)
Utah, which is roughly 64% public land.
Nevada, where a whopping 75+% of land is publicly owned, the highest percentage among states in the U.S.
California is where you’re back in the thick of things again. Though it’s worth noting that California does have a right to rest law that gives you the ability to use public spaces free of discrimination, if you feel comfortable enough sleeping in city parks that may already contain homeless.
Routing
Should you go east or west?
This depends on timing and personal preference.
Most cross country walkers prefer to go east to west.
The main factors to consider are the Sierras/Rockies and the desert.
The Rockies are snow-packed anywhere from October to April-May. The Sierras are snow-packed anywhere from November-December to April-May. Mountains aside, it is not ideal to cross any desert in the dead of summer where temperatures can soar to over 100+ degrees nor, really, in the winter, when they can plummet to below freezing at night.
What’s the best time to leave for a cross country walk?
If you want to start and finish your cross country walk in the same calendar year,
going east-to-west: late January to mid April, May if you’re really fast
going west-to-east: late April to May (as early as March if you’re starting in southern California and passing through Arizona and New Mexico)
How do you route?
There are many sites you can use to route.
Including, but not limited to:
• Traildino which lists most of the long-distance trails in America, and has free gpx files to download
• TrailLink which lists every rail trail in America
• Bikepacking.com
• Adventure Cycling Association Route Maps
• My “Perfect” Cross Country Route – 70% trail, 30% roadway, discussed in detail [HERE]
• Another Map of Trails Across the US in a convenient Google Maps file
With Google Maps you can also use satellite mode to zoom in on roadways to review their conditions.
And, a nifty trick: with Google’s My Maps, if you plot a cycling route, every rail trail on the map will glow green.
Now you see them. Now you don’t.
As far as GPS apps go, I highly recommend Maps.Me for offline use. Though I’ve heard good things about Gaia GPS, among others.
Should you take the American Discovery Trail?
That depends. Do you care to thru-hike the American Discovery Trail, or do you just want to walk across America?
The American Discovery Trail utilizes a mixture of trails and roadways to form one comprehensive cross-country route. It’s amazing, but it’s also long. Like … really long. The northern route is 4,834 miles, and the southern is 5,057. That’s between 1000-2000 miles longer than a cross-country walk needs to be.
To do the American Discovery Trail in one calendar year, you’d need to walk 15 miles, 6 days a week, and it would take 11.7 months. If you walked 20 miles every day consecutively it would still take 8.2 months. Most people set off to accomplish the ADT only to become disillusioned by the unnecessary miles (on a trail that isn’t really a trail but rather an arbitrary route like any other) and quit it.
That being said? If “thru-hiking” the American Discovery Trail is your dream, I don’t mean to discourage you. GO FOR IT! You’ll have an absolutely amazing time. Check out the this ADT Guide for more info.
But if you simply want to walk across America with no real affinity for the ADT? You’re better off using the American Discovery Trail as a guideline. Get on and off of it when convenient. Doing so, I personally saved 1500 miles.
Should you take the Great American Rail Trail?
The Great American Rail Trail is only 52% complete. When it’s done, it will be the perfect cross-country route to avoid having to share a walkway with traffic if you don’t mind monotonous, flat, double tracks. Until then, the Great American Rail Trail can still be great to utilize when routing.
Any other advice?
Don’t overthink this.
Ugh … I have more questions, where should I ask them?
Feel free to ask me anytime via email or in the comments section below. If you have Facebook, I recommend seeking advice from the American Discovery Trail group or the USA Crossers group. Lots of knowledgeable people in both.
Such a wonderful resource! I enjoyed following your journey! Congratulation, Gin on your success and this great collection.
Hey John!! 😁 A pleasure to see you here, and thank you!
Do you mind if I add a link to your American Discovery Trail Guide to my blog post? It’s such an invaluable resource to hikers, I’d love to include it. But if you’d prefer I not, that’s alright too.
This is an awesome resource. My best friend and I walked from Maine to California back in 2011/2012, right after graduating from college. We talk about that time often. Congrats on your walk and thank you for being a resource for aspiring walkers of America!
Wow, hi Nick! Thank you so much for your comment, it is always a delightful surprise to see that someone has found my website! And it is incredible to hear from a fellow walker. If you have a website about your journey, I would love to read your story. 😀
What a great resource and wealth of information you provide. I am in the final planning stage to attempt a cross country walk. Tentative plan is to walk from Huntington Beach, CA to either Myrtle Beach, SC ot Tybee Island, GA. Macon, GA is my home.
My adventures began at age 62 with a thru-hike of the AT – Class of 2009. In 2010 I biked from St. Augustine, FL to San Diego on the Southern Tier. From 2011-2014 I formed a non-profit, called Hammers and Hearts, to help with disaster relief. In 2015 I walk Hwy 1 from the Golden Gate Bridge to San Diego before ending my walk in Ocotillo, CA. I pushed my BOOYAH the entire way before flying home to return to work.
After my second retirement, I purchased another stroller designed by Runabout in Oregon. I actually got the $800 stroller by only paying shipping cost. It was given to me by another cross country walker, Robert Schoen, who authored his book On God’s Radar. This stroller is light years ahead of my Booyah.
After buying new polyurethane tires, I tried it out in my 444 mile walk of the Natchez Trace in 2018 over 26 days. It was amazing. I’m now reading your information to give myself a boost to start out again. Pictures of the Booyah and the Runabout can be seen on my Facebook Page named Where Is Ben. My non-profit Page is called Hammers and Hearts. Thanks again. Ben Tarpley
Hello Ben! Holy heck, I admire your strength and resilience in your journeys. So much so that after I read your comment, I immediately ran to my grandmother to share your story with her! I aspire to be as fit in my 60s-70s. When I cycled from Charleston to Los Angeles I did not take the Southern Tier but went through most of the same states. It’s great to hear that you used a BOOYAH in the past but even better to hear that you found a superior stroller model. I will go check out your Facebook pages!
This is very helpful – I am planning to walk from San Clemente to Ormand Beach in 2027 and was looking for a southern route – any links to possible trails would be great. I am hoping that it will not be all roads!!!! Any advice would be massive – It’s a great Website and what I have been looking for – Booked marked!!!
Hi Richard! Wonderful to hear from you, and thank you for checking out my guide! 😀
Consider the Southern Tier route from the Adventure Cycling Association.
Otherwise try asking on the “USA Crossers” Facebook group, I know many there have taken southernly routes to better aid you.
Unfortunately there aren’t too many true trails that go east/west in the southern U.S., but there are many backroads that are just as quiet and scenic. Finding a route through CA, AZ, and NM that will keep you off the highways will be tricky, though.
Thanks for publishing this. I am 66 and in the early planning stages for a long walk. I live in the SF bay area and have a daughter in San Diego, a son in Amarillo and a brother in Florida. I’d like to walk to them all. I walk daily and average around 5 miles. Time to get serious. A walk across the country has been on my bucket list for a long time and I need to do it before I can’t. I retire in June and hopefully can start the following Spring or earlier. Can you recommend shoes? Thanks again.
Hi Charlie! Thanks for reaching out, and please let me know when you set off. If you share the journey on social media, I’d love to follow along!
Shoes are tough to recommend as they’re such a personal choice! Do you have a preference between trail runners, hiking shoes, and hiking boots? I’m all for hiking shoes, as they’re more durable/long lasting than trail runners and I’ve never given mind to the extra weight, but I’m in the minority there! Merrel Moab 3’s are my favorite.
Whenever I’m in search of gear recommendations, I check sites like Outdoor Gear Lab (my favorite), Switchback Travel, and CleverHiker. The yearly PCT survey and AT survey are informative too.
I have a question did you haul the stroller the bicycle and the horse all around together or how did that work? Serious question sorry if it sounds silly.
Hi Ben! 😀 Those were three separate journeys: walking (2019), cycling (2021), and horseback riding (2022-2023).
Thank you for this reference! I truly appreciate the efforts you made and continue to provide. Planning, in my head, walking from Northern CA to Top of Oregon. Mainly coastal, but after much reading and your thoughts above I will definitely do a more on and off trail walk as the CCT and OCT look tough in sections and not very stroller accommodating. Thanks again for this website. It is much appreciated.
Hi Christopher! Thanks for reaching out, it always makes me grin from ear-to-ear to hear from other adventurers! All the best on your own walk. That area, northern california/southern oregon, is one I’ve not explored … yet! Those trails are intriguing!
This is so inspiring