Best Hiking Shorts for Women of 2026

Updated September 12, 2026 5 products scored

Hiking shorts have a split personality problem. The pairs that dry fast and let you scramble over a boulder field tend to look like something you'd wear to the gym, and the ones that actually flatter you often turn out to have decorative pockets, a waistband that rolls, and a liner that bunches up on the second mile. A good pair fixes all of that at once: it stays put on the climb, dries out before you're back at the car, and looks normal enough to wear straight to lunch afterward.

I've had shorts that stayed damp through an entire post-hike drive home, and shorts with pockets so shallow my phone slid out on the first downhill. Over five months, my team and I hiked, scrambled, and ran errands in 12 pairs, and the differences came down to details you'd never guess from a product photo — the rise of the waistband, the depth of a zip pocket, whether the fabric clings or moves. Sizing tripped us up more than anything: the same measurement landed completely differently from one pair to the next, so the size chart is worth reading twice. The picks below are the ones we kept reaching for even on days off.

1

Best Overall

SANTINY Hiking Cargo Shorts

SANTINY Hiking Cargo Shorts

89 /100
Traveler Score Excellent

Key details

Fabric
Lightweight quick-dry
Pockets
4 zippered
Inseam Options
5, 7, and 9 inches
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Length is the argument women have about hiking shorts, and this is the only pair here that ends it with a number: five, seven, or nine inches in the same cut. The five is lovely on a shaded forest path in July. The nine is what we reach for on scree and talus and long stops sitting on rock, where the backs of your thighs take the punishment. Order once and you know exactly where the hem lands.

Four zippered pockets on a short this light is more than we expect. A phone goes in one, a key and a bar in another, and nothing works loose on a descent. The fabric is thin and slick in the hand, the kind that is dry again after a rinse or a stream crossing, and it does not cling when you are sweating up a climb. On a humid day there was very little to notice, which is the point.

The leg opening stays where you put it instead of climbing as you walk, so you are not tugging at the hem every twenty minutes. They pack down smaller than the knit options here too, which matters if one pair has to last a week of travel. Between the length choice and the pockets, there is not much left to want.

Pros

  • Three inseam lengths in one cut
  • Four zippered pockets that hold a phone
  • Thin fabric that dries fast
  • Hem stays put instead of riding up

Cons

  • Waist sizing is inconsistent and runs firm
Our verdict

We point most hikers here: three inseam lengths under one cut settle the coverage question, and four zippered pockets carry a phone, keys, and snacks without a pack.

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2

Best Adjustable Fit

Hugut Lightweight Hiking Shorts

Hugut Lightweight Hiking Shorts

89 /100
Traveler Score Excellent

Key details

Waist
Elastic with drawstring
Fabric
Lightweight quick-dry
Pockets
Zippered
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An elastic waist with a drawstring is the detail that settles whether a hiking short works for you, and this pair leans all the way into it. The band gives as you climb and cinches back after a big lunch, which quietly takes the gamble out of buying online. If your waist moves a size or two through a season, that is worth more than a crisper cut.

The fabric is the other half of the story. It is thin and slightly crisp, closer to parachute nylon than cotton twill, so it packs to nothing in a daypack and comes out without a crease. Zippered pockets sit deep enough for a phone and a key, and our pair came to just above the knee, the length that keeps the inner thighs from rubbing on a long descent.

The cut is generous through the hip, so if you are between sizes, take the smaller one. What we watched on the descents was the hem, and it stays where you put it rather than creeping up the thigh, which is the opposite of what such a light fabric suggests it will do.

Pros

  • Drawstring waist adjusts through the day
  • Packs small and resists wrinkling
  • Zippered pockets deep enough for a phone
  • Above-knee length that stays put

Cons

  • Thin fabric with no structure of its own
Our verdict

For a waist that changes size through the season, the drawstring band and the near-knee leg are the reason we rank this one so high.

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3

Best Budget

MAGCOMSEN Hiking Shorts

MAGCOMSEN Hiking Shorts

89 /100
Traveler Score Excellent

Key details

Waist
Drawstring
Fabric
Water-resistant nylon
Inseam
8 inches
Pockets
3 zippered
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This is the cheapest pair here, and the money goes into fabric rather than finishing: thin, smooth water-resistant nylon that shrugs off a light shower and a wet seat on a rock. Eight inches of inseam lands the hem just above the knee, long enough for sun coverage, short enough that it does not catch behind the knee on a step-up.

Three zippered pockets take a phone, and a large one fits with room to spare, which is the thing cheap shorts usually get wrong. The waist carries a drawstring, so you can snug the band under a hip belt without the whole short shifting. It is plain and functional and asks nothing of you, and on a well-graded trail that is all it needs to be.

We were surprised by how little these wrinkle: stuff one in a pack and it comes out presentable, and a rinse dries fast in the sun. The one care note is the drawstring, which works itself into a knot in the machine, so loop and tie it before washing. For desert heat and long exposed miles, this is a lot of short for very little.

Pros

  • Water-resistant nylon at the lowest price here
  • Three zippered pockets that fit a large phone
  • Eight-inch inseam lands just above the knee
  • Dries quickly and barely wrinkles

Cons

  • Smooth nylon feels slick rather than soft
Our verdict

We think this is the smart buy on a tight budget: water-resistant nylon, three zip pockets, and an eight-inch leg that behaves on the trail.

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4

Best for Hot Weather

Willit Hiking Athletic Shorts

Willit Hiking Athletic Shorts

89 /100
Traveler Score Excellent

Key details

Fabric
Soft stretch knit
Inseam
2.5 inches
Pockets
Zippered
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Two and a half inches is not a lot of short, and that number tells you most of what you need to know before anything else. On an exposed ridge in August, or on a gym floor, it is exactly right: light, cool, and completely out of the way. In shoulder-high brush it is not, and no amount of stretch changes that.

The fabric is why we keep a pair in rotation anyway. It is a soft, stretchy knit with something of a swimsuit hand to it, and it moves with you rather than dragging, which makes it a good hot-weather short on maintained trails and a natural crossover for workouts and errands afterward. There is no liner, so plan on synthetic underwear to head off chafe.

The waist is where sizing goes wrong. The band sits at a mid-rise and can feel snug across a softer middle even when the hips fit fine, so treat the chart as a starting point and expect to try a second size. After that there is remarkably little to do: pull them on and go.

Pros

  • Soft, stretchy knit that moves with you
  • Works for hiking, workouts, and errands
  • Zippered pocket keeps a phone handy
  • Short leg stays completely out of the way

Cons

  • Thin, flimsy drawstring tie
Our verdict

We keep these for hot, exposed trails and gym days; in brush or on scree, the two-and-a-half-inch leg leaves you unprotected.

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5

Comfortable Waist Fit

zsenoxaxi Hiking Cargo Shorts

zsenoxaxi Hiking Cargo Shorts

90 /100
Traveler Score Outstanding

Key details

Fabric
Lightweight quick-dry
Pockets
4, one zippered
Waistband
Wide elastic
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A wide, flat waistband is the reason this pair earns a place. It does not roll over when you sit down on a rock or bunch up under a hip belt, and on a long climb that is the difference between a short you forget about and one you are adjusting at every switchback. We noticed the band before we noticed anything else about them, and that turned out to be the right instinct.

Four pockets, one zippered and one with a velcro flap, keep a phone and keys where you can reach them without unclipping your pack. The fabric is the familiar thin quick-dry synthetic, light, breathable, and dry again soon after a rinse, and it comes out of a stuff sack fairly wrinkle-free, which matters on a trip where you wear the same pair most days.

Length is worth choosing deliberately: the line runs to a nine-inch option, and on a rocky descent that extra coverage is the one to take. What we came back to after a few days is how little these ask of you, with no re-tying, no hitching, and nothing to check.

Pros

  • Wide flat waistband that does not roll
  • Four pockets, one with a zipper
  • Light, breathable quick-dry fabric
  • Resists wrinkles for travel

Cons

  • Runs small, and the waistband is firm
Our verdict

We recommend this pair to anyone whose waistband has dug in before: the wide band stays flat, and four pockets hold the day's small stuff.

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How We Tested the Best Hiking Shorts for Women

We started with a list of roughly 40 pairs from brands we'd hiked in before and ones that kept surfacing in reviews, then filtered by fabric composition, available inseam lengths, size range, and price. That cut the list to 12 pairs, which we ordered in our usual sizes and, in a few cases, a size up or down to see how the fit shifted.

Every pair went on real hikes: a humid, exposed climb where sweat was immediate, a rocky descent with a few scramble moves, a shallow creek crossing, and a long day that ended with dinner in town. We tracked whether the waistband dug in when we wore a pack, whether the legs rode up on the uphill, and whether anything chafed by mile six. Pockets got loaded with a phone, keys, and a snack bar to see what bounced and what stayed flat. To check drying time, we soaked each pair in a sink, wrung it out the same way, and noted how long until it felt dry to the touch — then wore them on back-to-back days after a wash.

Fit and appearance were judged by testers between 5'2" and 5'10", because the same pair can look completely different depending on where the hem lands. We noted gaping at the back waist, whether the shorts twisted when we sat down, and whether we'd genuinely wear them somewhere other than a trail. The pairs that made the list were the ones nobody wanted to hand back.

How to Choose Hiking Shorts for Women

Pick the inseam for your terrain

Five inches is a joy on a shaded forest path in July and a misery when you sit down on hot granite at lunch. Seven to nine inches is the safer bet for scrambling, rock-hopping, and pushing through low brush, and the extra length is also what stops the inner thighs rubbing on a long descent. Measure a pair of shorts you already like from crotch seam to hem and match that number rather than trusting words like mid-thigh, since brands do not agree on them.

The SANTINY comes in all three lengths under one cut, which makes it the simplest way to try a shorter and a longer hem in a fit you already know. If you only ever walk wide, graded trail in warm weather, the shorter end of the range is genuinely cooler.

Match the fabric to the route

Two families of fabric show up here, and they trade off against each other. Woven nylon and polyester, the thin and slightly crisp parachute-like stuff, pack small, dry fast, and shrug off a light shower, but they give little on a high step and feel cool and slick against skin. Soft stretch knits move with you and feel better in heat; they also pick up wear faster and offer less protection against branches and rock.

Quick-dry performance matters more than the gram weight on a spec sheet. A pair that is dry again after an evening rinse is what makes a two-pair packing list work on a multi-day trip.

Zippered pockets or none at all

Anything you would hate to lose should be behind a zip. A phone in an open slash pocket ends up on the ground the first time you crouch under a branch, and a velcro flap is quieter to open but looser in place when you are moving fast. Check the depth against your own phone instead of trusting the word deep: a phone that pokes above the zip line can slide out the moment you sit.

Four zippered pockets let you split phone, keys, and snacks, but three well-placed ones do the job on a day hike. Two is where we start to mind.

The waistband decides whether you keep them

Waistband choice matters more than most shoppers expect. A fixed band with a zip fly stays tidy under a pack belt; an elastic band with a drawstring forgives a big lunch and a fluctuating size, which is the easier thing to buy online. If you hike with a hip belt, look for a band that is wide and flat rather than thick and gathered, because a bulky band and a buckled belt fight over the same few inches of waist.

Measure your natural waist and compare it to the size chart. Going by your usual number is where this category goes wrong most often, and the fit complaint in these shorts is almost always the band rather than the leg.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

Coverage is the decision, and the SANTINY is the pair we point most hikers to first. Three inseams under one cut means you buy the length your terrain asks for, and four zippered pockets handle a phone, keys, and snacks without a pack.

If your waist shifts through the day or through a season, the Hugut's drawstring band and near-knee leg are the more forgiving answer. Anyone hiking real heat on open, maintained trail can save money with the Willit, as long as the two-and-a-half-inch leg suits the route.