Unique Holiday Gifts for Hikers (New Ideas for 2025)

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If you have a hiker in your life, you know that shopping for them during the holidays can be a formidable task. Hikers are very particular about the exact gear brands and models they’ve been researching and coveting, and unless they’ve told you outright what they want, sometimes it’s better not to guess and end up getting something they won’t use. The other problem is that most experienced hikers have probably already assembled their perfect kit over the years, and if they did it with any prowess, that gear will last. It should be awhile before they need another new tent or backpack.

The list of gift ideas for hikers that I’ve compiled below endeavors to offer some other fun ideas outside of just gear and clothes for the trail. Hiking has a way of seeping into every aspect of our lives; when we’re not on the trail, we’re driving to the trail, planning for the trail, preparing our adventure dogs for the trail, decorating our homes to remind us of the trail, training and eating for the trail, or in my case, writing about the trail.

For the last few years I’ve been updating my Useful Gift Ideas for Outdoorsy Digital Nomads every time I hear about a new product that I think other hikers and nomads like myself would enjoy, but at this point, some of those ideas have been on the market for awhile now. That post is a solid foundation to start from, but if your hiker already has a lot of those things covered, take a look at these fresh new ideas for 2025.

There are several Black Friday and Holiday deal events going on right now, including GetYourGuide and TourRadar guided tours, Jackery Portable Power stations for car camping, and REI outdoor gear and clothing. Head to my discounts and deals page for info.

Fi Collar for Adventure Dogs

Most hiking trails in the USA require dogs to be on leash, but some are voice-command-only, for instance the trails in Boulder, Colorado that allow dogs off leash who have completed the Voice and Sight Control Tag Program. Still, regardless of whether your dog is always leashed or has impeccable recall, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that an unexpected situation could spook them. If another off-leash dog with poor control aggressively runs up on your dog, or a wild animal appears out of nowhere, maybe your dog will pull the leash out of your hands, or your usually obedient pup will get the anxious zoomies and speed off into the distance to escape a scary encounter.

The Fi Collar tracks your dog’s movements live via GPS so you can check an app to figure out where they’ve gone. There are tons of other features that allow you to monitor their health and exercise levels, but for hikers who love to have their adventure buddy at their side, the GPS tracking feature is the best selling point. My puppy is microchipped, but that only helps if somebody finds her and brings her to the vet to get the chip scanned so they can see who the owner is. Some folks attach an Apple AirTag to their dog’s collar, but this can lack reliability, they are kind of clunky on small dogs, and I would be worried someone might try to capture my dog in order to steal the AirTag. The Fi Collar looks like a regular collar and would have no use to anyone for anything other than its express purpose.

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Alternatives: Tractive offers a similar product. The Fido Pro Airlift Emergency Dog Rescue Sling is also a great idea, considering hikers need to be able to help their dog out of the backcountry if injured. You might also consider gifting actual dog training lessons so your friend or family member’s dog learns to walk well on a loose leash during hikes and have a more foolproof recall.

Avalanche Safety Course / Self Arrest Course

Hikers who want to level up their backcountry skills can take in-person courses on avalanche safety, self-arresting with an ice axe (thru-hikers considering doing the Pacific Crest Trail will need this skill), wilderness medicine, and more. Those looking to become a professional guide could need a Wilderness First Responder Certification, Wilderness First Aid Certification, and Backcountry Food Handler’s License. Some organizations like NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School, are educational institutions that don’t really have a system whereby one can “gift” a class to a student, but there are plenty of other options. Colorado Adventure Guides offers a gift card that can be redeemed for avalanche education courses if that is your preference, instead of using it for their hiking, skiing, and rafting excursions. The Apex Mountain School and Sierra Mountain Center also offer gift cards. The skills that pupils will learn in these classes will benefit them for a lifetime of adventure, and could even save their life.

Alternatives: Depending on your place of residence, there is likely a local company offering similar classes near you. You can also think about Master Class-type courses related to your hiker’s interests, like the Chris Burkard courses or Jimmy Chin courses on nature/adventure photography.

Customized Topographical Map

Personally I would rather decorate my home with pictures and memories of trails that I have actually hiked myself, not just stock-photo-esque photography of random landscapes, no matter how pretty they are. This year I got off the road and had to stop being nomadic in favor of a new gig in Denver, and when I moved into my new place, I sent photos that I took on the Arctic Circle Trail, West Highland Way, and Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to be blown up and professionally framed (Frame It Easy is currently having a Black Friday Sale).

Another unique idea is to have a custom topographical map or 3D topo map printed, showing a route that your hiker has completed or a wilderness area close to their heart. The Unique Maps Company offers personalized maps, as do several Etsy sellers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Muir Way makes maps in different categories like national parks, mountain ranges, states, countries, and continents. Precision Peaks makes wood-carved summits that serve as trophies for completing 14ers and other popular peaks and trails.

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Alternatives: If you love spoiling your friends and family with personalized pieces, think about custom hiking-related jewelry. This custom Geological Survey Benchmark Necklace is pretty cool; these markers can be found on mountain summits across the States.

America the Beautiful National Parks Pass

Get ’em before prices are raised and the physical cards are defaced in 2026

Of course if you live in another country and have no plans to visit the United States, then you’ll want to defer to whatever the equivalent wilderness access pass is in your region. For those who do recreate here in the States, the idea of getting a national parks pass is not novel, and I listed it before on my Useful Gift Ideas for Outdoorsy Digital Nomads, but I am listing it again and with more urgency in 2025 because of the news that Trump will raise the prices astronomically for international travelers in 2026. Domestic travelers should be aware that he is also supposedly removing the beautiful landmarks and wildlife photos from the physical passes in favor of slapping his face on them, which is a real insult considering he has done nothing for our parks except fire park rangers and attempt to sell off public lands for drilling and private interests. Hurry up and get your annual 2026 or lifetime passes now in the last month of 2025 before these changes take effect next year.

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Alternatives: check out State Parks Passes that are offered near you! Or perhaps memberships to Hut Associations domestically or internationally. For instance, members of the Alpine Association of Slovenia get 20-50% off of reservation fees for PSZ alpine huts, and members of the Appalachian Mountain Club get 20% off AMC lodging reservations.

Adjustable Car Camping Sleeping Platform

In my Car Camping: Toyota Tacoma Truck Bed Setup post, I listed several ideas for those who want to buy or build a sleeping platform in the back of their truck for car camping adventures. A lot of pre-built products will not work for me because my truck bed is too short at only 5 feet, but many of the Pacific Adventure Works platforms have an adjustable length! You can enter your car’s make and model to find products that will fit. I believe the Hideaway Sidekick 24” would work for me and others with shorter vehicles, as it is adjustable in length and telescopes from 39” to 72”.

It seems to me that vanlife and schoolie setups have sort of fallen out of favor in recent years and a lot of travelers are going more minimal and multi-functional, outfitting their existing vehicles to serve as adventure rigs. Have you noticed the same trend? This leaves a lot of room for unique products and new brands to fill a few holes in the market when it comes to helping car campers take their vehicles “from day to night” with space-saving storage strategies and comfort-adding amenities.

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Alternatives: if you have any of the car makes and models on Hele Box’s fit list, their sleeping platform seems like an excellent choice that has been field tested by several trusted sources.

Portable Mini Watercolor Set

I find that many hikers combine their love of nature with another passion, such as landscape photography, drone videography, travelogue writing, or sketching and painting. My social media algorithm must have figured this out, because I keep getting advertisements for these small portable watercolor sets, like these from ArtToolkit, Tobio’s, and the Nomad Mini Kit from ArtMate. There are also a ton of sellers offering these on Etsy. 

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Alternatives: if their hobby doesn’t need to be practiced on-the-go, there are some larger national parks watercolor painting sets, and paint by numbers national parks kits.

Natural Atlas Plus Membership

It turns out the Natural Atlas app has been around for a hot second, but I only just learned about it. I typically use GAIA as my offline navigation app, and sometimes download gpx tracks from AllTrails. I’m also aware of Avenza, onX, FarOut, HiiKer, Komoot, CalTopo, and plenty of others. But where Natural Atlas differs is that in addition to helping you stay on the correct trail with offline maps, it also lets you learn about the flora and fauna of your surroundings. Wondering what kind of tree or flower you’ve just run into along the path? The app uses your GPS location to help you pinpoint the answer. I have never downloaded a separate app for that purpose because I’m not willing to pay for it, but if this “Field Guide” plant, animal, and geological identification feature is bundled into the offline navigation app to create one multi-purpose all-in-one system, I might be willing to drop some coin.

At the moment is seems mostly US-based, and in 2024 Backpacker Magazine’s review said that it had a relatively small trail database, but recent reviews have been mostly positive, with commenters attesting that, “Natural Atlas consistently blows me away with the additional details (old logging roads, trails, ruins, etc) that are not on Gaia and certainly not on CalTopo” (The Trek), “It contains tons of information often only found in specialized sources, such as primitive campsites in the Adirondacks and local trails only targeted mapping organizations have covered” (App Store), and “I also like that it uses Google Maps to navigate to trailheads which is nice and familiar and mostly reliable” (Google Play). 

REI Members get Discounted Guided Trips in 2026

An REI gift card is not the most creative gift idea for hikers, but in 2026 it will pack more of a punch than before. Last week I wrote about the announcement that REI is collaborating with Intrepid Travel to get back into the guided travel experiences realm.

Starting in January, 25+ new trips will be offered in destinations around the world, and REI co-op members and their traveling companions will receive a 15% discount on their reservations. An REI membership can be purchased with a gift card, and if you know a hiker who is somehow not an REI member yet, they may be interested in joining now in order to save money on guided adventures in destinations like Patagonia, Peru, Kilimanjaro, or Yosemite.

Trekking Pole Selfie Stick Mount

I like to think that in 2025, most hikers have gotten past the tiresome rhetoric of selfie sticks being made exclusively for narcissists. If you’re visiting jaw-dropping destinations, it’s just a fact that the reach of your arm is not always far enough to capture the full panoramic view before you. Even if I zoom out as far as possible, there is always too much of me and not enough of the gorgeous landscape in my photos unless I use a selfie stick. They’re a great photography tool regardless of whether you’re including yourself in the picture. 

I find that even my friends who act too-cool-for-school and refuse to buy one are ultimately delighted when someone else who has a selfie stick takes a badass picture of them. If your friends are like this too, go ahead and buy them their own selfie stick (save them the embarrassment of having to buy it themselves) so they can free themselves from the oppressive prison of other people’s judgement.

These days you can buy tough tactical models that will stand up to variable weather and wind, and they are making camera/phone mounts that attach to your trekking poles so you don’t have to carry too much extra gear in your pack; check out the Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon Fiber poles. For something ultra lightweight, the Pocket Tripod is the size of two credit cards stacked together and weighs 0.4 oz. It’s not quite a “stick”, but still saves you the pain of trying to set your phone up against an uneven rock, where it has a 1% chance of staying in place for the 10 second timer.

Have you discovered any interesting new hiking gadgets in 2025? At this point I rarely become excited by new gear anymore, as I already have a solid foundation in terms of my Big 3 (shelter, backpack, sleep system) and my favorite trail clothes. I’m not on pins and needles waiting to hear about the latest in tent technology that will shave 0.1 ounces off my pack weight. These days, experiences, classes, and things that make my life easier and more whimsical take precedence. That said, I do sometimes feel a sense of FOMO about the lack of attention I’ve given to new gear advancements lately. Am I missing out on anything truly groundbreaking?

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