If you’ve ever been on a hike in the late fall, winter or early spring you’ll know that your extremities are the first thing to get cold.

Your feet and toes, in particular, are at most risk of getting cold, especially if you aren’t wearing the right footwear or if they get wet. If your feet do get too cold you are at risk of frostbite or even worse.

These tips will help to make sure that your feet don’t get cold and that you can properly enjoy your next hike regardless of the weather.

1. Stay out of the wet and snow

As mentioned, one of the main reasons people get cold feet is due to their feet getting wet. There are a few ways to get past this, including wearing the correct footwear, but the easiest way is to simply avoid areas that are too wet or snowy.

For example, if you’re planning a route that has a river make sure to find a good crossing or a bridge rather than trying to cross it in a place where you can’t gauge the depth.

Or if you have a hike planned and it snows unexpectedly, only go through with the day if you have the correct equipment to deal with the weather.

2. Stay away from cotton

Continuing the theme of wetness being the real enemy, the thing that will make this much worse is wearing a sock made out of cotton.

Cotton is sweat-wicking, which means that it will absorb any moisture including wetness from the outside as well as sweat from your body. This includes the socks you wear as well as any other clothing from hats to gloves.

3. Bring a warm hat

Apart from your feet, your head is where most of the heat is going to escape from the body. In addition, the ears like the toes are prone to getting especially cold.

The main thing to consider if you are trying to stay as warm as possible is to choose a beanie or woollen hat that covers the ears but still lets you walk without any issues.

A great option for anyone with long hair is the winter beanies from BNB Heaven, which means that you can wear your hair in a ponytail to keep it out of your face but can also keep your head and ears warm.

4. Layer up

The next key to keeping warm after your footwear and headwear is to layer up the rest of your body.

Rather than wearing one thick jacket, it is more effective to wear several layers, starting with a base layer and a second thin layer under your main thick layer.

This traps air between the layers and helps keep you much warmer than if you had just one layer and then your thick layer.

This also applies to your pants, and you can get fantastic base layer leggings that will help keep your legs warm in more extreme climates.