50 Best Rock Songs About Hiking

Best Rock Tracks for Long Hikes

There’s a strange clarity that hits somewhere between the first steep climb and the stretch where everything turns quiet. You start feeling small in a way that’s kind of freeing. The world pulls back and the noise from work, school, whatever, fades into the hum of wind and footstep rhythm. That’s where the right song kicks in. Something that drags your heartbeat into sync with the trail. The kind that keeps you moving when the incline feels personal. Not every track here is literally about hiking, but they still match that headspace when the path feels endless and the sky looks way too wide.

Some of these songs lean gritty and grounded, like you can almost taste dust in the air. Others sound like staring at a mountain from the parking lot, already tired but pretending you’re ready. The guitars feel unpolished, the vocals a bit strained, like they were made to echo against rock faces. A few might even be from pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that weren’t written for the outdoors at all, yet somehow hit harder when you’re surrounded by trees and trying to catch your breath. It’s not really the lyrics that connect, but the pulse underneath.

There’s beauty in that uneven rhythm—the stumble, the climb, the stretch where everything feels too far. The best part is when a song shifts mid-hike, catches you off guard, and suddenly the whole trail feels cinematic for no reason. That’s the kind of energy these tracks bring. They carry that off-balance freedom you get when you realize you’re lost but still moving forward. Here are the best rock songs for hiking playlists and stories.

1. 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin

2. 'Born to Be Wild' by Steppenwolf

3. 'Ramble On' by Led Zeppelin

4. 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac

5. 'Roll Me Away' by Bob Seger

6. 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads

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

8. 'Walk of Life' by Dire Straits

9. 'Mountain Sound' by Of Monsters and Men

10. 'The Passenger' by Iggy Pop

11. 'Going Up the Country' by Canned Heat

12. 'A Horse with No Name' by America

13. 'Misty Mountain Hop' by Led Zeppelin

14. 'The Great Gig in the Sky' by Pink Floyd

15. 'Ends of the Earth' by Lord Huron

16. 'Here Comes the Sun' by The Beatles

17. 'Big Yellow Taxi' by Joni Mitchell

18. 'Walk on the Wild Side' by Lou Reed

19. 'Twisting by the Pool' by Dire Straits

20. 'Ragged Wood' by Fleet Foxes

21. 'Twice as Hard' by The Black Crowes

22. 'River' by Joni Mitchell

23. 'Kashmir' by Led Zeppelin

24. 'Kodachrome' by Paul Simon

25. 'Runnin' Down a Dream' by Tom Petty

26. 'Big Log' by Robert Plant

27. 'Adventure of a Lifetime' by Coldplay

28. 'Ramblin' Man' by The Allman Brothers Band

29. 'Into the Mystic' by Van Morrison

30. 'Mountains' by Biffy Clyro

31. 'Walk This Way' by Run-DMC feat. Aerosmith

32. 'The Open Road' by Hollow Coves

33. 'Wild Horses' by The Rolling Stones

34. 'Golden Country' by REO Speedwagon

35. 'Up Around the Bend' by Creedence Clearwater Revival

36. 'California' by Sons Of The East

37. 'Little Giant' by Roo Panes

38. 'The Sound of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel

39. 'Free Fallin'' by Tom Petty

40. 'Rocky Mountain High' by John Denver

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

42. 'Blue Ridge Mountains' by Fleet Foxes

43. 'Like a Stone' by Audioslave

44. 'Dirty Paws' by Of Monsters and Men

45. 'Sugar Mountain' by Neil Young

46. 'In the End' by Linkin Park

47. 'The Stable Song' by Gregory Alan Isakov

48. 'Road Trippin'' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

49. 'Walk On' by U2

50. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns N' Roses