Hello, hiker! Glad you found some WiFi out on the trail. What’s that? You’re on the couch, not the trail? And you’re pretty much just gearing up for a casual weekend walk in the woods rather than a long, strenuous journey into the wilderness. Okay, great. You’re in the right place. Here in L.A., hiking is part of our culture—but the definition of hiking is essentially “walking up a hill while you gossip with a friend and then go get brunch.” If that’s the vibe, this list of the best hiking snacks is the list for you.
- Old Trapper Old Fashioned Beef Jerky
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It’s no secret that beef jerky is one of the best snacks for hiking. Humans of almost all cultures and backgrounds have taken dried meat with them on all sorts of nature excursions. You too can embrace the history of the hike with Sporked’s favorite beef jerky: Old Trapper Old Fashioned Beef Jerky. It’s smoky, salty, and sweet. You can imagine someone making this out in the woods, even if you’re enjoying it on a foot trail a stone’s throw from the city. —Jessica Block
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- Trader Joe’s Rainbow’s End Trail Mix
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Good trail mix has nuts (and not just peanuts), fruit, and at least one other mix-in. In the best trail mix, that other mix-in is probably chocolate. That’s part of what we love about this Trail Mix from Trader Joe’s. You get peanuts and roasty-toasty almonds, dried cranberries, and little candy-coated chocolates that look like M&M’s but taste way, way better. The milk chocolate is so creamy and good. This is one of the best hiking snacks, but it’s also one of the best snacks for a movie on the couch—choose your own adventure. —Vinz Karl
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- Pan’s Mushroom Jerky Original
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If you don’t eat meat, Pan’s mushroom jerky is, without a doubt, one of the best hiking snacks. This stuff isn’t trying to be a one-to-one beef jerky dupe, and we love that. As Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling wrote, “The chunks of mushroom do look somewhat like beef jerky nuggets, and at first they do taste pretty meaty, but the flavor on the end is all mushroom—delicious mushroom.” Bye bye, beefy bits, and hello, delicious mushroom! This isn’t one of those designer hiking snacks, but it is a damn smart hiking snack.
Read the full ranking of the best vegan jerky
- Kind Breakfast Protein Dark Chocolate Cocoa
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This is technically a breakfast bar, but don’t let that keep you from grabbing it when you’re looking in the ol’ pantry for the best snacks for hiking. Sporked managing edtior Gwynedd Stuart loved that they have 8 grams of protein per two-pack of bars, they’re actually filling, and they genuinely taste good. In other words, this is the best hiking snack if you don’t want a bland bar. The rich cocoa flavor is the obvious highlight here, so if you’re a chocolate fiend, this is the hiking snack for you. And you can split the pack with your hiking buddy in exchange for that juicy gossip.
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- Sargento Pepper Jack Cheese Sticks
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You know a Midwestern boy like me had to include a good cheese stick on this list of best snacks for a hike. And these things are damn good. They’re filled with bits of peppers, so they’re ideal hiking snacks because they’ll put a little pep into your step—just be sure you have enough water to cool things down. I’m strictly against biting into cheese instead of stringing it, but since these are the best hiking snacks and you’ll be eating while walking (or trudging), I guess I can look the other way this one time.
Read the full ranking of the best string cheese and cheese snacks
- Fairlife Core Power Vanilla
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When it comes to hiking snacks, protein shakes are a cheat code—especially if they’re shelf-stable. Fairlife’s Core Power Vanilla protein shake checks that box, and it also happens to taste like melted vanilla ice cream in a bottle, so this feels downright illegal. But I promise, it’s not! As long as you take your trash off of the trail, of course. Fairlife is here to prove that the best hiking snacks can be downright indulgent, and we’re big fans of that.
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Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!