Orienteering
Navigate a course with map and compass
Overview
Orienteering combines moving across the outdoors with navigation: using a detailed map and often a compass, you find a set sequence of marked checkpoints, or controls, as efficiently as you can. It rewards clear thinking as much as physical effort, since choosing a smart route can matter more than raw speed.
Courses are set at different levels of difficulty, so beginners can follow gentle, well-defined routes while experienced participants tackle more complex terrain. It can be walked or run, across parks, woodland and open country, making it a flexible sport for individuals and families alike.
Why orienteering is good for your health
- Combines cardiovascular exercise with the mental workout of navigation
- Walking or running over varied terrain builds stamina and leg strength
- Sharpens concentration, decision-making and map-reading skills
- Adjustable pace and course difficulty suit a wide range of fitness levels
The social side
- Local clubs run welcoming events for newcomers and families
- Courses can be tackled as a pair or small group while learning
- A shared, friendly challenge that brings people of all ages together
How to start as a beginner
- 1Find a local club event with a beginner or short course to try
- 2Learn to orient the map to the ground and follow obvious features
- 3Walk the course at first, focusing on navigation before speed
- 4Progress to longer or more technical courses as your confidence grows
Equipment you’ll need
- A course mapEssentialProvided at organised events
- Comfortable trail or running shoes with good gripEssential
- Weather-appropriate clothingEssential
- A compassOptionalHelpful for more advanced courses
Where to play
Orienteering is typically played at:
Explore clubs and venues to understand the different places you can play, or see how to find people to play with.
Playing Orienteering
The equipment, rules, skills and more that make up the game — each cross-linked into the encyclopedia.
Related sports to explore
If you enjoy Orienteering, you might also like these.
Trail Running
Running off-road on trails, hills and natural terrain, away from pavements and traffic.
Hiking
An accessible outdoor sport of walking natural trails and hills at your own pace, solo or in a group.
Running
The most accessible endurance sport — no venue, just shoes and the open road or trail.
Mountain Biking
An off-road cycling sport ridden on rugged trails, mixing endurance, bike handling and outdoor adventure.
Compare Orienteering with…
Deciding between Orienteering and something similar? See how they line up side by side.
Archery vs Orienteering
How they compare on difficulty, intensity, kit and what suits you.
Disc Golf vs Orienteering
How they compare on difficulty, intensity, kit and what suits you.
Hiking vs Orienteering
How they compare on difficulty, intensity, kit and what suits you.
Horse Riding vs Orienteering
How they compare on difficulty, intensity, kit and what suits you.
Mountain Biking vs Orienteering
How they compare on difficulty, intensity, kit and what suits you.
Orienteering vs Running
How they compare on difficulty, intensity, kit and what suits you.
Reach your goals with Orienteering
People take up Orienteering for all kinds of reasons. Here is what it can help you work towards.
Who & where Orienteering fits
Sport should fit your life. Here is who Orienteering suits and when it works.
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Orienteering in the wider knowledge graph.
Alternative to
Helps achieve
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Orienteering to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Beginner guides
- How to Use a Learning CurriculumA learning curriculum is a plain, ordered map of what to learn in a sport and in roughly what order — here is how to use one to steer your own practice and sessions without turning it into a deadline.
- Your first running sessionA warm, honest picture of what a first running session actually feels like — so you can turn up relaxed, run at a comfortable effort, and enjoy it without any pressure to be fast.
- How to Join a Beginner Group or ClassA warm, practical walk-through of joining a beginner sports group or class — what they are like, how to find one, and what a first session tends to feel like.
- Your First Tennis Session: What to ExpectA friendly, honest look at what actually happens at your first tennis session — how it is usually run, what tends to surprise beginners, and how to turn up relaxed and ready to enjoy it.
- Your First Swimming Session: What to ExpectWhat a first swimming session at the pool actually feels like, how to prepare, and how to settle in without any pressure to swim lengths on day one.
Learning paths
- Learn RunningA structured, educational learning path for running — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn TennisA structured, educational learning path for tennis — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn PadelA structured, educational learning path for padel — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn BadmintonA structured, educational learning path for badminton — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn FootballA structured, educational learning path for football — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
Glossary
- BaselineThe line marking the back boundary of a court, running parallel to the net or end wall.
- SpikesSpikes are shoes with small sharp points on the sole for extra grip, most associated with track and field athletics.
- DraftingRiding, running or swimming closely behind another competitor to sit in their slipstream and save energy.
- Game PointA point that, if won by the leading side, wins the current game.
- BunkerA sand-filled hollow on a golf course that acts as a hazard.
Keep going
A sport is most rewarding alongside good habits, sensible nutrition and people to share it with. Here is where to go next.
How movement supports body and mind.
Eat well to feel and perform better.
Build routines that stick.
Ways to meet others and play together.
Where to play and what to expect.
Browse the full list by category.