50 Best Backpacking Trip Songs for IG Reels & Stories

Best Songs for Backpacking Trips on Instagram Reels and Stories

There’s a strange in-between feeling that hits during a backpacking trip. You’re tired but wired, maybe carrying too much gear, maybe carrying too many thoughts, and then a song drops in that makes the trail feel alive in a way your body can’t explain. It’s not about sounding cinematic, it’s about catching that rhythm between footsteps and letting the music spill into the scenery. Some tracks are wide open and expansive, others feel like you’re walking through fog with headphones cranked high. Not every one is literally written for backpacking, but they still hit the mood right.

Backpacking never really flows the way travel ads pretend it does. You’ve got sore shoulders, awkward campsite meals, mornings where the tent zipper sticks, and the kind of conversations that make no sense until miles later. That’s where the right track steps in. A little indie grit, a beat that trips over itself, or a chorus that sounds like it’s hollered across a canyon. Sometimes you lean on pop, rock, country, and R&B songs because they carry you further than silence ever could. They let the moment stay messy while still giving it a pulse.

These aren’t clean, curated vibes. They’re loud, uneven, half-off-key moments that happen when you’re two days into the trail and someone finally digs out the Bluetooth speaker. The songs stretch out the scenery and give the scroll-stopping punch you want on reels or stories without polishing the edges. Here are the best backpacking trip songs for Instagram reels and stories.

1. 'Send Me On My Way' by Rusted Root

2. 'On Top of the World' by Imagine Dragons

3. 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers

4. 'Life is a Highway' by Tom Cochrane

5. 'Home' by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

6. 'Walking on a Dream' by Empire of the Sun

7. 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads

8. 'Float On' by Modest Mouse

9. 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman

10. 'The Adventure' by Angels & Airwaves

11. 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey

12. 'Castle on the Hill' by Ed Sheeran

13. 'Runaway (U & I)' by Galantis

14. 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' by John Denver

15. 'Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond

16. 'Free Fallin'' by Tom Petty

17. 'Born to Run' by Bruce Springsteen

18. 'Everyday is a Winding Road' by Sheryl Crow

19. 'A Sky Full of Stars' by Coldplay

20. 'Go Your Own Way' by Fleetwood Mac

21. 'Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay' by Otis Redding

22. 'The World At Large' by Modest Mouse

23. 'Follow the Sun' by Xavier Rudd

24. 'Kokomo' by The Beach Boys

25. 'Here Comes the Sun' by The Beatles

26. 'Island in the Sun' by Weezer

27. 'Learning to Fly' by Pink Floyd

28. 'Open Road' by Bryan Adams

29. 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' by John Denver

30. 'Ends of the Earth' by Lord Huron

31. 'I've Been Everywhere' by Johnny Cash

32. 'No Roots' by Alice Merton

33. 'Take a Walk' by Passion Pit

34. 'Golden Hour' by Vance Joy

35. 'Roam' by The B-52's

36. 'Hey There Delilah' by Plain White T's

37. 'Soak Up the Sun' by Sheryl Crow

38. 'The Nights' by Avicii

39. 'Adventure of a Lifetime' by Coldplay

40. 'Best Day of My Life' by American Authors

41. 'Vienna' by Billy Joel

42. 'Midnight City' by M83

43. 'Take Me Home' by Phil Collins

44. 'Vacation' by The Dirty Heads

45. 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams

46. 'Paradise' by Coldplay

47. 'Ho Hey' by The Lumineers

48. 'Dirty Paws' by Of Monsters and Men

49. 'Walk of Life' by Dire Straits

50. 'Free' by Donavon Frankenreiter