Take the Hike
Backpack Rat is a backpacking trip planner for the Midwest and East Coast — curated trails, real permit info, honest camping rules, and trip reports from people who've actually hiked them.
Real trail intel
Distance, elevation, difficulty, best season, and trailhead coordinates — for every trail in our catalog.
Permits & camping
Know upfront whether you need a permit, where to camp, and whether sites are designated or dispersed.
Community trip reports
Read and write notes from real hikers. Conditions change — rely on the people who were just out there.
Custom route builder
Stitch together trail segments, drop your own waypoints, and plan multi-day loops on an interactive topographic map. Pro members get unlimited saved routes and offline maps.
AI Trip Planner
Tell us your constraints — max miles, max elevation, how far you'll drive, how many days you've got — and the AI returns ranked trail matches with reasoning. Pro only.