How Trailfellow works
One planned hike at a time, with a real person deciding who comes along.
- 1
Someone plans a hike
A host posts a specific trip: the route, the date, the pace they intend to keep, how many people can come, and how everyone gets there. Hosting is free and always will be.
- 2
You request to join
You send a short intro about your hiking experience. No swiping, no matching algorithm deciding for you — you pick the trip that fits.
- 3
The host decides
They review your profile and history and accept or decline. Declining is normal and carries no penalty for either side.
- 4
The trip chat unlocks
Once accepted, you join a private group chat for that trip only. Nobody can message you before this point.
- 5
You hike
Share the trip's read-only safety page with an emergency contact first. Then go.
- 6
You review each other
Afterwards, confirm you hiked together and leave a short review about reliability and preparedness. This history is what makes the next request easy to say yes to.
Why cities open one at a time
A partner-finding platform is worthless with three people in it. We collect a waitlist per city and only open once there are enough local hikers — plus a handful who have agreed to post the first trips. It means waiting, and it means the board is never empty on day one.
Find your city