Sometimes the best way to figure out where you are going is to look where you have been. With that in mind I thought that it might be interesting to look back and analyze how our Footpaths blog was visited in 2024.

For the year, 42,536 views took place by 30,831 visitors to the site. Somewhat surprising is that 24,583 of the views, or 58%, came via internet search engines, rather than by folks who follow Footpaths on social media. By comparison, in 2023, Footpaths had 20,453 views and 11,337 visitors. I believe that the integration of the Footpaths Google Map on our website last January greatly improved the search engine optimization, as the number of weekly visitors more than doubled soon after.

In 2024 we were able to meet our goal of posting a weekly article – an ambitious goal according to many bloggers that I have communicated with. While challenging, the schedule gives us some weekly consistency to our retired lives – finding interesting hiking venues, reviewing photographs of the outings, and writing the essays. Certainly it’s a great retirement hobby for the two of us to share – a blend of science, art, and physical activity. After almost three and one half years it is still a lot of fun and we are always learning more about nature – something we truly love.

For 2024, the Top Ten articles read, with the date the article was published in parentheses, were:

1 – Identifying Evergreen Conifers ( March 2023) – 2477 views. Interestingly it was only read 137 times in 2023. This article helps the reader understand the differences between the families of evergreen trees that utilize cones for seed production.

https://footpathsblog.com/2022/03/06/identifying-evergreen-conifers/

2 – The Leopold Bench (February 2024) – 2300 views. The simple design, low expense, and relative ease of construction have caused these to be embraced in natural areas across the world. The Aldo Leopold excerpt that was on the plaque on the bench below was written in 1949.

https://footpathsblog.com/2024/02/25/the-leopold-bench/

3 – The Giant Sequoia (September 2024) – 1924 views. This article discusses the ecology of the Sequoia. Their size is hard to grasp until you are beneath one, but these massive trees have surprisingly small cones.

https://footpathsblog.com/2024/09/08/the-giant-sequoia/

4 – The Pawpaw Tree (September 2024) – 1176 views. What starts as a brownish maroon flower in April becomes a custard textured fruit in September.

https://footpathsblog.com/2024/09/22/the-pawpaw-tree/

5 – Dune Plants of the Florida Panhandle (January 2023) – 1031 views. It only had 76 views in 2023. The dunes are one of my favorite habitats and I wrote this to give myself a better understanding of the ecology of the dune ecosystem. It is unclear what search term people are using to find this article.

https://footpathsblog.com/2023/01/22/dune-plants-of-the-florida-panhandle/

6 – Picture Rocks Petroglyphs (May 2024) – 948 views. We love hikes that offer a glimpse into Native American culture and history.

https://footpathsblog.com/2024/05/26/picture-rocks-petroglyphs-tucson-arizona/

7 – The Fairy Pools (October 2023) – 876 views. This essay only had 114 views in 2023. Scotland is a wonderland of beautiful scenery and outdoor activity which drives much of its tourism. The Fairy Pools are an example of that and was relatively unknown 10 years ago. It is perhaps now Scotland’s most popular day hiking trail, as these photos attest to.

https://footpathsblog.com/2023/10/29/the-fairy-pools-isle-of-skye-scotland/

8 – Turkey Creek Nature Trail (April 2023) – 811 views. In 2023 it had 246 views. This essay was written on Earth Day 2023 and covers a hike on a boardwalk through a beautiful, city owned wetland preserve.

https://footpathsblog.com/2023/04/30/turkey-creek-nature-trail-niceville-florida/

9 – Cactus Forest Trail (April 2024) – 795 views. The Sonoran Desert was a unique and new habitat for us and was the perfect place to be in March to escape the cold of the Midwest. There were interesting textures and a surprising amount of color to be found in the desert landscape.

https://footpathsblog.com/2024/04/07/cactus-forest-trail-saguaro-national-park-east-district-tucson-arizona/

10 – Trail #7, Clifty Falls State Park (September 2023) – 755 views. It had 186 views in 2023. Clifty Falls State Park in southern Indiana is a regional hiking mecca due to an outstanding trail system with nice scenery.

https://footpathsblog.com/2023/09/10/trail-7-clifty-falls-state-park-madison-indiana/

So, interestingly, 5 of the top 10 articles read in 2024 were published in 2023. In addition, 5 of the top 10 articles were what we classified as “focus topics”, which touch on a specific nature theme, rather than present things seen on a specific hike. Examples of those include The Leopold Bench, The Giant Sequoia, and The Pawpaw Tree. I suspect that the improved search engine optimization helped folks find these articles.

Reflecting on our work in 2024, my favorite article to write was The Leopold Bench. I think it was partly due to the spontaneity. As my friend and I started to build benches for the hiking trail at a favorite preserve, I had no plans to write an article on the subject. But then as I sought to learn more about Aldo Leopold, for whom the bench is named, and read his iconic book, A Sand County Almanac, I found myself captivated. I had to share that enthusiasm with everyone and the essay pretty much wrote itself. The project was a composite of shared time with a good friend, community service, art, the reading of a classical work on environmental protection, and research.

For this article we decided to do something a little different, and had the photographer independently select the photos. She wanted to find photos that she liked that were passed over when the Top Ten articles were originally written. She also selected the title photo.

As we enter 2025 our goal for Footpaths is to continue to increase the readership, with the hope of fulfilling the real purpose of our blog – to give more folks encouragement to bring nature into their lives and perhaps seek out hiking venues that they have not visited before. The change of scenery and habitats can add interest and be very rewarding. There is plenty of scientific evidence that interacting with nature leads to better mental health via reduced anxiety, depression, and stress, along with improved mood, sense of well-being, and cognitive function. So getting outdoors is a pretty impactful “prescription”. More people embracing nature and being advocates for the environment will be better for the planet’s health as well.

As always, thanks for joining us as we reflect on our time in nature. We wish you well in 2025 and hope that you too will find some peace and a sense of awe in the great outdoors.

Footpathsblog.com posts are released every Sunday morning and some bonus content is added periodically. Please click on a social media icon above to follow for future posts and to make sure that you catch all our reflections on, and adventures with, the great outdoors.

Photo credits to Peggy Juengling Burns