- amputeeoutdoors
- 8 hours ago
We've all been there: staring up at a seemingly endless switchbacks, the designated trail zig-zagging back and forth, adding extra distance to your climb. Just a few steps straight up, a quick cut through the bushes, and you'd save precious minutes. It's the ultimate temptation on the trail—the shortcut. Or that social trail that goes off to what must be a great view. Perhaps it's a trail that's too tough for others, but not you.
But here’s the critical truth: Going off-trail is never a good idea.
While it might save you a moment of physical effort, or the view is spectacular, and others have done it, the choice comes at a steep cost to your safety, the environment, and the longevity of the trail itself. These unofficial paths are a pervasive problem in our parks and wilderness areas.
The Danger: Shortcuts Compromise Safety
Established trails are deliberately designed with safety and sustainability in mind. When you wander off the marked path, you enter a zone of unpredictable risk.
Sauk Mountain
Leaving maintained trails often means traversing unstable ground, which increases the risk of slips, sprained ankles, broken bones, or even fatal falls. Shortcuts frequently cut across steep terrain, as seen on Sauk Mountain in Washington, where three hikers have died falling from switchbacks in recent years—the most recent being a 63-year-old man in September 2025. Shortcutting led to his fall, despite warnings to stay on the built trail. Rescue efforts are more difficult off-trail, and in national parks, going off designated routes has contributed to thousands of missing person cases annually.
Point Reyes National Seashore
A shortcut at Alamere Falls in Point Reyes National Seashore led to dozens of rescues each year, sometimes as frequently as once per week. The path involved crossing tricky terrain and a dangerous shale crevice, resulting in injuries and hazardous encounters with poison oak. Official Park guidance now strongly warns hikers away from the shortcut because of its risk and impact.
The Damage: Shortcuts Destroy Trails and Ecosystems
For parks and conservationists, the environmental damage caused by shortcuts is often the most frustrating consequence. Every single time a shortcut is taken, it leaves a scar on the land that can take years, even centuries, to heal.
Erosion and Trail Degradation
Rerouting Water: Established trails are engineered to manage water runoff. When hikers cut a switchback (a zigzag path), their boot traffic creates a straight, steep channel. The next rainstorm sees water rapidly flowing down this new channel, washing away soil and carving out deep "gullies." This erosion degrades the entire slope, not just the shortcut, eventually undercutting and destabilizing the official trail.
National Park Insight: Park services, like the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), consistently emphasize that taking shortcuts is a primary cause of trail erosion. As Yosemite National Park advises, "stay on trails: taking shortcuts causes trail erosion—and is both dangerous and illegal."
Destruction of Fragile Vegetation
Trampling: Trails are built where the ground is most resilient. When you step off-trail, you are often trampling fragile plants and compacting the soil. In high-altitude or arid environments, this damage is especially severe. Alpine tundra plants, for example, can take hundreds of years to recover once destroyed by foot traffic.
Habitat Loss: Stepping off-trail can crush small plants, fungi, and disrupt the delicate habitats of small animals. These social trails fragment and disrupt the natural environment, turning biologically rich areas into barren, eroded patches.
Legal Trouble: Yes, You Can Be Sued for Going Off Trail
The Case of Michelino Sunseri
In September 2024, Michelino Sunseri, a sponsored trail runner, ascended and descended the 13,775-foot peak of Grand Teton in under three hours, a phenomenal feat.
However, during the descent he took a shortcut: rather than following the full set of switchbacks on the official Garnet Canyon Trail, he left the designated trail via a path known as the “Old Climber’s Trail” (a previously used but officially closed route) to avoid slower hikers and shorten his time.
The park had posted signage at the entry to that route: one sign reading “Shortcutting causes erosion,” another “Closed for regrowth.”
In 2025 the case progressed to court: Sunseri was found guilty of violating federal regulation 36 CFR 2.1(b) which prohibits “leaving a trail or walkway to shortcut between portions of the same trail or walkway” in a national park.
The consequences: his speed record was disallowed by the FKT organization and legal penalties and potential fines and/or jail time.
The Right Path: Choose to Leave No Trace
To be a responsible hiker and backpacker, you must commit to the principle of Leave No Trace, and the first rule is simple: Stay on Marked Trails.
Next time you're facing a long, winding switchback and feel the urge to cut the corner:
Remember the Design: The trail is longer for a reason—to make the climb easier and prevent irreversible damage to the hillside.
Think of the Future: Every shortcut you take creates a path that will be followed by countless others, compounding the damage and potentially leading to the trail being permanently rerouted or closed.
Choose the Long Game: The goal is a safe, sustainable journey. Stick to the designated trail and take pride in knowing your boots are helping to preserve the wilderness for everyone who follows.
The path of least resistance for the land is the official trail. Please stay on it.
