Hiking Areas Next to an Interstate

[WilliamH4]

I just got back from a drive from Indiana to Georgia. Along my route, I see all these beautiful expanses of woods, trees, mountains, rock faces, etc. Assuming at least some of the land is Federally owned, may I hike up the side of a mountain I see in the distance? There were so many places I'd like to just park and walk to, but I'm not sure what's allowed. Obviously, I shouldn't hike on private property, but I'm not sure what's private and what's not. I tagged several places with my GPS along my route. One area is along I75 (37 degrees 14'51.1"N 84 degrees 14'45.7"W) that' the location according to my Google Map.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

I'd say you might be able to if public land is prevalent in the area you're in, but I'd probably look for something that at least has some access to leave my car in a decent spot + get away from the interstate itself. It looks like the area you referenced is within the Daniel Boone National Forest boundary:

https://www.google.com/maps?q=37+14%2751.1%22N+84+14%2745.7%22W&ion=1&espv=2&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.85076809,d.cGU&biw=1920&bih=947&dpr=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ei=NF7RVKjIHtPVoASa44Io&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

But you could definitely run across private land without a very good and current map since private land is interspersed with public somewhat randomly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boone_National_Forest

Not really familiar with the area, but what I'd probably do is make a note of the general region that caught your eye and either research some areas with good potential hiking to check out next time, research prior to the trip, or carry enough resources with me or research on the fly to find something close by like the Beaver Creek Wilderness not too far off the highway:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/dbnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=70793

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5351064.pdf

...Doesn't look like a lot of hiking, but enough for a quick day trip. Also the Red River Gorge & Clifty Wilderness might be something to check out, a little bit more of a detour though:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/dbnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=39460

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/dbnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=39458

In any event it's hard to say, as an example here in Wyoming once you get outside of a wilderness and especially forest service area (BLM) it can take a few really good maps, some map and compass work, and some interesting hiking at right angles to stay on public land.

[slosteppin]

Your answer is : MAPS. A good friend says she wants at least three different maps to plan a hike. I would start with a state highway map, county road maps, and USGS quadrangle maps. When I do research to lay out a new piece of trail I also get county plat maps that show property ownership - these are the most expensive.

Yu might also contact the US Forest Service for maps of National Forests in each state of interest.

[WilliamH4]

Thanks for the links, Aaron. Really interesting and informative read regarding Daniel Boone National Forest.

[WilliamH4]

Thank you as well for your response. Both of your responses will be helpful.

[grizzled]

A great resource to start with:

http://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=40.20721,-94.10847&z=5&b=t

I have been using this for all my backcountry trail maps of late. You can layer contours or the full USGS raster on top of Google. Now if I could just download to the GPS unit------

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Not quite the same, but one thing I've found useful is an app - Gaia GPS, which allows you to save various maps to your smartphone. For instance I have all the USGS topos as well as aerial imagery for the entire Wind River Range on my phone as the occasional supplement to my broader paper map(s) - has definitely come in handy. The layering on CalTopo is pretty interesting, though!