Welcome to California Hiking Trails. These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of californiahikingtrails.com (the “Site”), operated by California Hiking Trails (“we,” “us,” or “our”). By accessing or using the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.
1. Informational Purposes Only
The Site provides hiking guides, trail roundups, county overviews, and related planning information for general informational and educational purposes. Nothing on the Site is professional, safety, medical, legal, or navigational advice, and nothing on the Site creates a guide, client, or advisory relationship between you and us.
2. Hiking Is Inherently Risky: Assumption of Risk
Hiking and outdoor recreation involve real risks, including but not limited to steep or unstable terrain, falls, extreme heat or cold, dehydration, sudden weather changes, flash floods, wildfires and smoke, wildlife encounters (including rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and bears), river crossings, altitude effects, getting lost, injury, and death.
By using the Site and choosing to hike any trail described on it, you acknowledge and accept that you do so entirely at your own risk. You are solely responsible for:
- Assessing whether a trail is appropriate for your fitness, experience, and equipment
- Checking current trail conditions, closures, fire restrictions, weather forecasts, and permit requirements with the managing agency before you go
- Carrying appropriate water, food, navigation tools, clothing, and emergency supplies
- Making your own decisions about whether to start, continue, or turn around on any hike
- The safety and behavior of any children, pets, or companions with you
3. Accuracy of Information
We work hard to research and publish accurate, useful trail information, but we make no guarantee that content on the Site is accurate, complete, current, or suitable for your needs. Trail conditions, access, parking, fees, permits, distances, elevation figures, and closures change frequently and without notice, and may differ from what we have published. Trail descriptions may contain errors or omissions.
Always verify information with the official land manager, such as the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, California State Parks, or the relevant county or city parks department, before relying on it. If you notice an error, please tell us through our Contact Us page.
4. Respect for Land Access and Rules
Many trails described on the Site cross public land or private property that is subject to access rules. You are responsible for obeying all posted signs, regulations, closures, fire restrictions, permit and parking requirements, and applicable laws, and for following Leave No Trace principles. Inclusion of a trail on the Site is not a guarantee that it is open, legally accessible, or permitted for your intended use, and we are not responsible for citations, fines, or other consequences of trespass or rule violations.
5. Permitted Use
You may use the Site for your personal, non-commercial use. You agree not to:
- Copy, scrape, republish, redistribute, or sell Site content without our written permission
- Use automated tools (bots, crawlers, scrapers) to access or extract content in bulk, except as permitted by our robots.txt file for standard search engine indexing
- Interfere with or disrupt the Site, its servers, or its security features
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Site or its systems
- Use the Site for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law
- Click on advertisements or affiliate links artificially or fraudulently, or encourage others to do so
- Submit content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, infringing, or misleading
6. Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise noted, all content on the Site, including text, trail guides, layout, graphics, logos, and design, is owned by or licensed to California Hiking Trails and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
You may share short excerpts of our content with attribution and a link back to the original page. Any other reproduction, distribution, or commercial use requires our prior written permission. Third-party trademarks, names, and images that appear on the Site belong to their respective owners.
If you believe content on the Site infringes your copyright, please contact us with a description of the work, the location of the allegedly infringing material, and your contact information, and we will review the request promptly.
7. Submissions and Feedback
If you send us trail corrections, suggestions, photos, or other materials (“Submissions”), you confirm that you have the right to share them and grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to use, edit, publish, and adapt them in connection with the Site. We are under no obligation to use or respond to any Submission, and we do not owe you compensation for it. Please do not include sensitive personal information in your Submissions.
8. Advertising, Affiliate Links, and Third-Party Content
The Site displays third-party advertising and contains affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure for details. The Site may also link to third-party websites, retailers, agencies, and services that we do not own or control.
We do not endorse and are not responsible for the content, products, services, accuracy, or privacy practices of any third party. Any dealings you have with advertisers, retailers, or other third parties are solely between you and them, and your use of third-party sites is subject to their own terms and policies.
9. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY TRAIL INFORMATION IS CORRECT, CURRENT, OR SAFE TO RELY ON.
10. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CALIFORNIA HIKING TRAILS, ITS OWNERS, WRITERS, DEVELOPERS, CONTRIBUTORS, AND AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, ILLNESS, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR LOSS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE, YOUR RELIANCE ON ITS CONTENT, OR ANY HIKE OR OUTDOOR ACTIVITY YOU UNDERTAKE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the above may not apply to you. In that case, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
11. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless California Hiking Trails and its owners, writers, developers, and contributors from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, your violation of any law or third-party right, or any hike or activity you undertake in reliance on the Site.
12. Changes to the Site and These Terms
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time without notice. We may also update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date above shows the most recent revision, and your continued use of the Site after changes are posted means you accept the revised Terms.
13. Governing Law and Disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the Site will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in [County], California, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.
14. General
If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect. Our failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of it. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Affiliate Disclosure, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Site.
15. Contact Us
Questions about these Terms? Reach us through our Contact Us page or by email at contact@californiahikingtrails.com.