How to Prepare for a Pilgrimage Walk: A First-Time Pilgrim’s Guide

A pilgrimage walk can be many things at once: a physical challenge, a journey through history, an opportunity for prayer and reflection, and sometimes simply a chance to step away from the routines of everyday life.

Unlike an ordinary hike, the destination is only part of the experience. On a pilgrimage, the act of walking itself becomes meaningful.

You also don’t have to travel to Spain and walk hundreds of miles on the Camino de Santiago to experience a pilgrimage. Walking pilgrimages can last a few hours, several days, or several weeks. Some follow established religious routes, while others connect historic churches, missions, shrines, or other places that hold personal significance.

Our own interest in pilgrimage walking grew after watching the movie The Way. It planted the idea that someday we might walk the Camino de Santiago. But instead of beginning in Spain, we started taking longer walks closer to home.

One of our first major challenges was completing the nearly 70-mile Backbone Trail through Southern California’s Santa Monica Mountains. We later discovered the California Missions Trail practically in our own backyard. Since then, we have walked more than 190 miles along sections of that historic pilgrimage route, including walks connecting several of California’s missions.

Those experiences have taught us that preparing for a pilgrimage involves more than putting on a pair of walking shoes.

Here are the things we recommend thinking about before beginning your own pilgrimage journey.

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What Makes a Walk a Pilgrimage?

There isn’t one universal definition of a pilgrimage.

Traditionally, pilgrimages have been journeys to places of religious significance. Christians have traveled to Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela, shrines, churches, monasteries, and other sacred destinations for centuries.

For many pilgrims today, that religious purpose remains central. Others undertake a pilgrimage during a transition in life, in memory of someone, as an act of gratitude, or simply to create space for reflection.

A pilgrimage can therefore be both physical and interior.

The important question may not be whether your walk satisfies someone else’s definition of pilgrimage, but whether you are approaching the journey with intention.

Before choosing a route, ask yourself:

• Why do I want to make this pilgrimage?
• Is there something I want to pray about or reflect upon?
• Am I seeking solitude or community?
• Do I want a physical challenge?
• Is the destination itself important to me?
• How much time can I realistically devote to the journey?

Your answers can help you choose a pilgrimage that fits both your interests and your abilities.

Choose the Right Pilgrimage for You

Not every pilgrimage requires weeks away from home.

Some organized pilgrimage walks cover only a few miles. Others involve walking 15 to 25 miles in a single day. Multi-day pilgrimages may require consecutive days of walking, while long-distance routes can extend hundreds of miles.

For a first pilgrimage, look beyond the route’s total mileage.

Consider the Daily Distance

A 20-mile walk completed in one day is a very different challenge from walking 20 miles over three days.

If you haven’t regularly walked long distances, beginning with a shorter pilgrimage can help you discover whether you enjoy the experience before committing to a multi-week journey.

Also consider how many consecutive walking days are involved. Ten miles may feel comfortable on the first day and very different after several days on your feet.

Look at the Terrain

Mileage alone doesn’t determine difficulty.

Elevation gain, pavement, rocky trails, sand, heat, altitude, and exposure to weather can dramatically change how demanding a route feels.

We have found that walking many miles on pavement can present very different challenges from hiking a mountain trail. Don’t assume an apparently flat route will necessarily be easy.

Understand How Much Support Is Provided

Organized pilgrimage events may provide rest stops, water, meals, baggage transportation, accommodations, medical support, or transportation back to the starting point.

Self-guided pilgrimages require substantially more planning.

Neither style is inherently better. They simply create different experiences.

Also determine where you will sleep. Hotels, hostels, churches, retreat centers, campgrounds, and other accommodations all affect how much equipment you need to carry.

Start Training Before Your Pilgrimage

One of the best ways to prepare for a walking pilgrimage is also the simplest:

Walk.

Begin training well before your departure, especially for a multi-day journey.

You don’t necessarily need an elaborate training program. Regular walking is more important than occasional heroic distances.

Start with a comfortable distance and gradually increase your mileage. As your pilgrimage approaches, include some longer walking days and, when practical, consecutive days of walking.

Your goal isn’t simply to prove that you can walk the distance once. You want your body to become accustomed to spending many hours on your feet.

Train on Similar Terrain

Whenever possible, incorporate terrain similar to what you expect on your pilgrimage.

If the route has hills, train on hills. If much of the pilgrimage follows pavement, don’t prepare exclusively on dirt trails. If you expect long stretches in exposed sun, try some training walks under similar conditions.

And if you’ll carry a backpack during the pilgrimage, gradually introduce your loaded pack during training.

Practice With Your Actual Gear

Your longer training walks are the time to test your shoes, socks, backpack, hydration system, clothing, sun protection, trekking poles, rain gear, and anything else you expect to use.

This is when you want to discover that a backpack rubs your shoulders or a particular pair of socks causes hot spots—not 12 miles into your pilgrimage.

Choose Your Footwear Carefully

Feet can make or break a pilgrimage.

There isn’t one perfect type of pilgrimage shoe. Some walkers prefer hiking boots, others lightweight hiking shoes, and others trail runners.

We generally favor trail runners for our walks because we appreciate their lighter weight and comfort.

Whatever you choose, don’t begin a major pilgrimage in brand-new footwear.

Wear your shoes on multiple training walks. Pay attention to any recurring pressure points and experiment with your sock system before departure.

Moisture-wicking socks can also help keep your feet more comfortable during long walking days.

Pay attention to your feet during the pilgrimage, too. If you notice rubbing or a developing hot spot, deal with it early rather than hoping it disappears.

A small problem addressed at mile three is usually much easier to manage than a developed blister at mile fifteen.

Keep Your Pack Manageable

A lighter pack generally makes walking more enjoyable.

What you need depends heavily upon the pilgrimage. A supported walk where luggage is transported each day requires very different equipment from a wilderness route where you carry camping gear and food.

Before packing something, ask:

Am I actually likely to use this enough to justify carrying it for miles?

Practice walking with your loaded pack before departure. Adjust the shoulder straps and hip belt and make sure the weight feels balanced.

If you are traveling with a companion or group, you may also be able to divide shared items rather than carrying duplicates.

At minimum, think through your footwear and clothing, water, food, navigation, sun and rain protection, basic first-aid supplies, personal medications, phone charging, and any pilgrimage-specific items you want to carry.

For religious or reflective pilgrimages, that might also include a rosary, prayer book, journal, photograph, devotional, or another small item connected with the reason you are walking.

Not everything you carry needs to solve a physical problem.

Research Your Route Before You Leave

Part of pilgrimage is accepting uncertainty, but that doesn’t mean abandoning preparation.

Before departure, understand the basic logistics of your route.

Know approximately how far you expect to walk each day, where the major elevation changes occur, where you can reliably obtain food and water, and where restrooms or other services may be available.

Check accommodations, camping rules when relevant, permits, transportation options, seasonal closures, and any current route changes.

Pay particular attention to navigation. Depending on the route, you may use a guidebook, printed map, downloaded offline map, GPS track, official pilgrimage app, or a combination of these.

Don’t assume cellular service will always be available.

Also investigate how you will reach the beginning of the pilgrimage—and how you will leave when you finish.

Point-to-point walks frequently create transportation challenges that aren’t obvious until you begin planning. A route that looks simple on a map may become considerably more complicated when your car is parked 20 miles behind you.

For remote routes, share your itinerary with someone at home and consider what you would do if you were injured, became lost, or needed to leave the route unexpectedly.

Pay Attention to Weather

Weather can transform a pilgrimage.

We’ve encountered unexpected rain, cold temperatures, and heat extremes during our walks.

Heat increases hydration requirements. Cold may require additional layers. Rain can mean slippery trails and wet feet. Hours of strong sun can become exhausting even when the temperature doesn’t seem extreme.

Research typical seasonal conditions before deciding when to make a long-distance pilgrimage. Then check the forecast again shortly before departure and continue monitoring conditions during a multi-day journey.

Be willing to modify your plans when conditions become unsafe.

Flexibility isn’t failure.

The most spiritually meaningful pilgrimage in the world can become unnecessarily miserable—or dangerous—if attempted during conditions poorly suited to the route.

Prepare Spiritually and Mentally, Not Just Physically

Long walking days create a lot of time inside your own head.

That can be one of pilgrimage’s greatest gifts—and sometimes one of its challenges.

You may experience excitement during one mile and wonder why you ever started during the next.

Before departing, decide what you want the pilgrimage to mean.

You might choose a particular intention, question, prayer, or person to carry with you mentally.

Keeping a journal can also be valuable. Even a few sentences at the end of each day can preserve thoughts and experiences that are surprisingly easy to forget after returning home.

And don’t feel obligated to fill every mile with podcasts, music, or conversation.

Some of the most memorable parts of a pilgrimage can emerge from simply walking in silence.

Expect Some Difficult Miles

Even a well-planned pilgrimage will probably include uncomfortable moments.

That’s part of the experience.

Fatigue can accumulate, particularly when you walk on consecutive days. Set realistic daily mileage and avoid comparing your pace with other pilgrims. Your pilgrimage isn’t a race.

Foot discomfort can also change a pleasant walking day very quickly. Address hot spots and blisters early and carry whatever simple first-aid supplies you know work for your feet.

You may also experience moments when your motivation disappears.

At some point, you might ask yourself:

Why am I doing this?

That is exactly when remembering your original intention can matter.

When the remaining distance feels overwhelming, reduce the journey to something smaller: the next rest stop, the next church, the next town, or even the next mile.

Solo pilgrims may also encounter loneliness. Extended solitude can be rewarding, but it isn’t always easy. Remain open to conversations with other pilgrims and people you meet along the way.

One of the unexpected pleasures of pilgrimage can be the temporary communities that form among strangers walking toward the same destination.

Should You Walk Alone, With a Group, or as a Couple?

Each approach creates a different pilgrimage experience.

Walking Solo

Solo pilgrimage provides freedom.

You set your own pace. You decide when to stop, when to eat, when to pray, and when to continue.

It also creates extended periods for thought and reflection that may be difficult to find in ordinary life.

But solo walkers assume greater responsibility for navigation, logistics, safety, and decision-making.

Share your itinerary with someone at home and establish appropriate check-ins, particularly on remote routes.

Walking With a Group

Walking with others provides companionship and support.

Hard miles often feel easier when shared, and group pilgrimage can create powerful communal experiences through conversation, meals, prayer, rituals, and the simple act of helping one another reach the destination.

Groups also introduce another consideration: people walk at different speeds and have different expectations.

Discuss those differences before the journey whenever possible.

Walking a Pilgrimage as a Couple

For couples, a pilgrimage can provide something increasingly rare in everyday life: long stretches of uninterrupted time together.

You may walk for hours discussing things that rarely arise at home. At other times, you may walk together without saying anything at all.

Both can be meaningful.

But don’t assume you need to remain side-by-side every minute. You may naturally walk at different speeds, need different amounts of rest, or want occasional time for individual reflection.

Talking beforehand about pace, breaks, expectations, and time apart can make the shared experience more enjoyable.

Leave Room for the Unexpected

Detailed planning is valuable.

So is flexibility.

Routes change. Weather changes. Bodies change. Restaurants close. Transportation runs late. You may discover that you can comfortably walk farther than expected—or considerably less.

Build some margin into your plans whenever possible.

Pilgrimage isn’t about perfectly executing an itinerary.

Sometimes the unexpected parts become the stories you remember most.

A Simple Pilgrimage Planning Checklist

Before leaving home, make sure you have considered:

• Why you are making the pilgrimage
• Total distance and expected daily mileage
• Terrain and elevation
• Your physical preparation
• Footwear and socks
• Backpack weight
• Water availability
• Food and resupply points
• Seasonal weather and current forecasts
• Navigation and offline maps
• Lodging or camping arrangements
• Transportation to and from the route
• Permits, reservations, or route restrictions
• Basic first-aid supplies and personal medications
• Phone charging
• Emergency planning
• Someone at home who knows your itinerary
• Time for prayer, reflection, silence, or journaling

You don’t need to eliminate every uncertainty.

You simply want enough preparation that logistical problems don’t overshadow the reason you came.

Start With the Pilgrimage You Can Do

It is easy to imagine pilgrimage as something requiring a month off work, an international flight, and several hundred miles of walking.

It doesn’t.

Your first pilgrimage might be five miles between two churches.

It could be an organized one-day walk.

It could connect historic missions in your own state.

It might eventually lead to the Camino de Santiago—or it might never need to.

Our own pilgrimage journey began with the thought of walking Spain’s Camino and instead led us first to trails and missions much closer to home.

Each of those walks has taught us something.

The important part is beginning.

If you are ready to choose a route, explore our guide to Pilgrimage Walks in the USA, where we compare short walks, organized multi-day pilgrimages, and long-distance routes across the United States.

Thanks for stopping by to read our article about preparing for a pilgrimage walk.

Julie & Art – The Places Where We Go

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