Ask any woman or non-binary human for their favorite pair of outdoor pants and you know what they’ll say? Leggings. I know that because I’ve asked them, over and over—in interviews, on Instagram polls, and IRL on the trail. Those who haven’t resigned themselves to stretchy pants usually admit to simply settling for whatever pants sort of fit or have pockets or were in stock at REI at the time.
I’ve landed on what most of us probably already know: there are no magical Sisterhood-of-the-Traveling-Pants pants. Hip-to-thigh ratio, pocket depth, weather conditions—there are just too many variables. That said, some styles seem to come up again and again whenever I ask for recommendations. So, to narrow it down—and do our best to combat the futile and entirely subjective effort that is identifying “the best”—we made sure every option on the following list of best women’s pants for hiking, camping, and generally just enjoying the outdoors offers durability, versatility, and thoughtful design tweaks that elevate them above full GORP-status.
So, below are our top picks for the 11 outdoor pants for women that might not be everyone’s “best,” but come pretty damn close (leggings included).
