day hike

noun

: a hike that is short enough to be completed in a single day

… set up a base camp deep in Escalante Canyon, one of the most popular sections of Grand Staircase-Escalante. From there we'll explore the northeastern portion of the monument in a series of long day hikes.

—Traveler, April 2000

day hiker noun

or less commonly day-hiker

plural day hikers also day-hikers

Once the day hikers are gone, the hush is profound in this 7,020-acre wilderness …

—Mike Steere, Outside, April 1993

day hiking noun

or less commonly day-hiking

Clinging precariously to the bouldered canyons, the palms provide wonderful opportunities for photography, day-hiking and picnicking.

—Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, 1992

day-hike intransitive verb

day-hiked; day-hiking; day-hikes

He has day-hiked through the Enchantments, going in over Aasgard Pass and coming out by way of the Snow Lakes trail.

—Scott Sandsberry, Yakima (Washington) Herald-Republic, 6 Dec. 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

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