Best Women's Hiking Shoes for Desert Trails

Press a thumb into the Siren Edge 3's insole and it barely gives. That firmness is the first thing we noticed, and it decides whether this shoe is for you: feet that like a close, supported feel settle in immediately, while feet that want a soft ride find it hard by the end of a long day. A thin aftermarket insole fixes the second group cheaply, and there's room in the shoe for one.

Once that's handled, there's a lot to like. Weight is the obvious win, since these feel like very little shoe, and the stiffness that seems odd in the store is what keeps your arch supported when you're edging across rock with a daypack on. Nothing needed breaking in, and our first outing ended without a hot spot. Grip is confident on rock and gravel, though like everything here it gives up something on loose sand.

Sizing runs standard, and the toe box has room without a sloppy heel. What keeps this out of the top spot is money: it costs more than the Crestwood for a similar stretch of desert, and what you're paying for is a lighter shoe and a firmer platform rather than more of everything. If your feet prefer cushioning, start with the Columbia instead.

Cheapest isn't a recommendation by itself, so here's what the NORTIV 8 actually buys you: a pull-cord you tighten once instead of laces you tie, an outsole that bit into rock and gravel without drama on our hikes, and a price low enough that a scuffed toe isn't a tragedy. For a first pair of desert shoes, or a spare pair that lives in the car, that's a genuinely useful combination, and it reads as a sneaker, so it works for the flight and the trailhead alike.

What you accept shows up over months rather than miles. The upper and outsole are the parts that give out first, and the forefoot runs narrow even when the length is right, so wide feet should go straight to the Columbia. Ours ran close to standard length. Order your usual size, keep the box until you've walked a mile in them, and don't expect this pair to outlast either Merrell.

Where the Crestwood uses mesh, the Moab 3 uses a waterproof build and a heavier, more structured frame, and it charges for both. Merrell's best-known hiker is the premium pick in this guide, and for a particular kind of desert trip it's the right one: cold mornings at altitude, a spring you have to wade, or ground so broken you want a stiff platform under you.

Fit is the reason to choose it over the others. The toe box is wide and stays wide through the midfoot, which is why this shoe keeps turning up on feet that struggle with everything else, and the arch support is as substantial as anything here. Durability is the strongest in this set, comfort is close behind, and our pair needed no break-in at all.

Waterproofing is the trade. A membrane that keeps water out holds some heat in, and on an exposed climb in the middle of summer this isn't the shoe we reach for, since the Crestwood breathes better for less money. It earns its place in shoulder season, in canyon country with water in it, and on any trip where one shoe has to take a beating. It's also the obvious answer for wide feet that have given up on women's hikers.

A waterproof shoe sounds like the wrong answer for a desert trail, and mostly it is, until you're wading a canyon creek or walking a wash the day after a storm. The CC-Los is the inexpensive way to carry that insurance: it's sold as waterproof, it grips rock better than the price suggests, and it slides on without you touching the laces.

The grip is what surprised us. Sedona's trails are a fair test of an outsole, steep and loose and full of edges, and this one handled them without the skittering we expected from a budget shoe. Comfort is among the better ones here, and the upper wipes clean with a wet cloth in a way mesh never does. For the money, this is more shoe than we had any right to expect.

Two things to know. These run short, so go up a half size, especially if you'll be hiking in the afternoon when feet are at their biggest. And the waterproofing holds up to wet grass and shallow puddles more than to a real soaking, which is the asterisk that comes attached to cheap waterproofing.

Sharp desert rock is where the Targhee 3 Low makes its case. There's a reinforced toe up front, a firm midsole under the arch, and enough structure in the upper that you feel the shoe taking the hits instead of your foot. On broken, irregular ground, the kind that has you watching your footing instead of the view, that build is worth paying for.

It runs wide and a little long, which is good news for broad feet and a reason for everyone else to consider a half size down; the roominess that keeps toes off the front on descents can let a narrow heel lift if the length is wrong. Arch support and lateral stability are among the stronger ones here, and feet stayed dry through wet ground on our hikes.

What holds it back is the failure to watch for: soles and toe caps on this model have cracked and separated after months of hard use, which is the hardest kind of problem to forgive on abrasive rock. If you want a shoe that takes years of abuse, the Moab 3 is the safer buy. If you want protection from sharp limestone for a two-week trip, the Targhee is the better-feeling shoe.