The Sierra Club is launching what they call “the first-ever comprehensive hiking wiki” – Sierra Club Trails.

The ambitious undertaking will attempt to catalog as many trails as its members can upload, complete with GPS tracks, elevation change charts, and easy-to-read shorthand symbols that will tell you whether a trail is good for dogs, bikers, kayakers, climbers, or runners, along with potential hazards. And of course, being styled in the wiki-form, the site will (ideally) be constantly updated with closings, trail conditions, and helpful hints and trail tips.

The site’s been in beta for a little while, but now it’s open to the public. The L.A. area only has a few trails posted right now — and one of them is Runyon Canyon, which is somehow listed as being good for canyoneering.

Early-start shortcomings aside, this does have the potential to be a great trail-finder, especially when you’re traveling outside your normal hiking areas. Of course, I’d still prefer if you came here to get all your local hiking info needs, but if you’re looking to donate your GPS tracks but don’t want to start a whole new site for it, this could be the thing for you.

Tags: hiking wiki, sierra club trails