100 Best Mountain Quotes To Bring You Back To Nature

Mountains give you a sense of calm and a break from the busy life that we encounter daily.

Residing amidst the serenity of nature makes you inherently more positive, and climbing the top of a mountain feels nothing less than an achievement in itself.

A mountain is an elevated portion of the earth's crust with steep sides. Mount Everest is the highest mountain.

Authors like John Muir and Henry David Thoreau offer us a peak into what being one with the mountains is like. Below, you will find a list of some of the best mountain quotes to inspire you and make you laugh.

If you like this article about inspirational mountain quotes, you may also want to check our other quotes articles [nature quotes] and exploring quotes.

Best Mountain Quotes

Followed by a collection of climbing quotes, travel quotes, and famous mountain quotes, here are a few of the best mountain quotes which will inspire you. These inspirational mountain quotes are from famous people like Edmund Hillary and the like and will make you want to reach the top. Remember, getting to the top is the most exhilarating adventure.

1. "Every world should have at least one unclimbable mountain."

– Larry Niven.

2. "In the mountains there are only two grades: You can either do it, or you can't."

– Rusty Baille.

3. "It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe."

– Robert W. Service.

4. "Keep close to Nature's heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

– John Muir.

5. "No single mountain ever came to me... so I always go to them"

– Erik Tanghe.

6. "God's gift to the world are the Trees, Sun, and Mountains."

― Roland R. Kemler.

7. "Mountains seem to answer an increasing imaginative need in the West."

– Robert MacFarlane.

8. "The climb speaks to our character, but the view, I think, to our souls."

– Lori Lansens.

9. "There is no such sense of solitude as that which we experience upon the silent and vast elevations of great mountains."

- J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

10. "You can't fall if you don't climb."

- Anonymous.*

11. "Jumping from boulder to boulder and never falling, with a heavy pack, is easier than it sounds; you just can't fall when you get into the rhythm of the dance."

– Jack Kerouac.

12. "There is no wi-fi in the forest, but you will find a better connection."

- Anonymous.*

13. "Many who traveled among the tops are half in love with themselves, and half in love with oblivion."

– 'Mountain'.

14. "It is always the same with mountains. Once you have lived with them for any length of time, you belong to them. There is no escape."

– Ruskin Bond.

15. "Although I deeply love oceans, deserts, and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty."

– Victoria Erikson.

Thoughtful Mountain Quotes

Here are some of our handpicked thoughtful and funny mountain quotes (go tell it to the mountain!) that will leave you grinning. These inspirational mountain quotes and short mountain quotes are great as mountain captions. Choose a mountain quote and share with your friend.

16. "There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing."

– Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

17. "Away, away,—to the mountains away,

Where the pine trees murmur and sway,

And the foamy waterfall sing and spring

Over the boulders gray."

– Ruby Archer, 'Climbing Song'.

18. "I can't understand why men make all this fuss about Everest – it's only a mountain."

– Junko Tabei.

19. "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds."

– Edward Abbey.

20. "We are lucky that mountains exist; we are lucky that we have such beautiful sanctuaries on earth where we can enjoy utter silence and heavenly rise!"

– Mehmet Murat ildan.

21. "Walking: The most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise."

– Carrie Latet.

22. "It's a tough lesson: There is no summit that comes before you expect it."

– Mark Obmascik.

23. "There is wisdom in climbing mountains... For they teach us how truly small we are."

– Jeff Wheeler.

24. "Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddam mountain."

– Jack Kerouac.

25. "Getting to the top of a mountain is optional. Getting down is mandatory."

– Ed Viesturs.

26. "If there's one thing I've learned from hiking, it's that the early bird gets the face full of spider webs."

– Anonymous.*

27. "When preparing to climb a mountain – pack a light heart."

– Dan May.

28. "At bottom, mountains, like all wildernesses, challenge our complacent conviction - so easy to lapse into - that the world has been made for humans by humans."

– Robert Macfarlane.

29. "You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you."

-John Muir.

30. "Hiking is the answer. Who cares what the question is?"

– Anonymous.*

31. "In New York, the buildings are like mountains in some ways, but they are only alive because of the people living in them. Real mountains are alive all over."

– Silas House.

32. "I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question."

- Harun Yahya.

33. "Mountains were places of peril, not beauty, an upper world to be shunned, not sought out."

– 'Mountain'.

34. "Carry as little as possible, but choose that little with care."

– Earl Shaffer.

Adventurous Mountain Quotes

Here are some of the best mountain quotes, adventure quotes, and journey quotes:

35. "In some ways, climbing in the clouds is comforting. You can no longer see how high off the ground you are."

- Tommy Caldwell.

36. "Without mountains, we might find ourselves relieved that we can avoid the pain of the ascent, but we will forever miss the thrill of the summit."

– Craig D. Lounsbrough.

37. "Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was."

– Dag Hammarskjold.

38. "That's how he saw climbing, a physical exercise in positive and negative space."

– Victoria Schwab.

39. "Despite the dangers and discomforts, climbing is for many an all-consuming passion."

– Bob Madgic.

40. "Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you are climbing it."

– Andy Rooney.

41. "When life brings you mountains, you don’t waste your time asking why; you spend your time climbing over them."

– A.J. Darkholme.

42. "Push up some mountains. Cut them down. Drown the land under the sea. Push up some more mountains. Cut them down. Push up a third set of mountains, and let the river cut through them."

– Keith Heyer Meldahl.

43. "The best view comes after the hardest climb."

- Anonymous.*

44. "If you are faced with a mountain, you have several options. You can climb it and cross to the other side. You can go around it. You can ignore it and pretend it's not there. You can turn around and go back the way you came. Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home."

— Vera Nazarian.

45. "Life is a lot better when you add mountain air, a campfire and some peace and quiet."

– Brooke Hampton.

46. "If you think you’ve peaked, find a new mountain"

– Anonymous*.

47. "The mountains of the Earth have often turned out to be more resistant, more fatally real than the mountains we imagine."

– 'Mountain'.

48. "Never follow someone else's path unless you're in the mountains and you're lost, and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that."

– Ellen Degeneres.

49. "Because it's there."

– George Mallory, on why he wanted to climb Everest.

50. Think only on the climb. Think on what you control"

― Lois Lowry.

51. "Early on a difficult climb, especially a difficult solo climb, you constantly feel the abyss pulling at your back. To resist takes a tremendous conscious effort; you don’t dare let your guard down for an instant."

– Jon Krakauer.

52. "Once Everest was determined to be the highest summit on earth, it was only a matter of time before people decided that Everest needed to be climbed."

– Jon Krakauer.

53. "The Himalayas rose layer upon layer until those gleaming peaks proved a man to be so small that it made sense to give it all up, empty it all out."

– Kiran Desai.

54. "The climb speaks to our character, but the view, I think, to our souls."

– Lori Lansens.

Short Mountain Quotes

Here are some short mountain quotes that you may use to caption a mountain picture.

55. "Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains."

– Jeffrey Rasley.

56. "Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery."

- John Ruskin.

57. "The mountain remains unmoved at seeming defeat by the mist."

– Rabindranath Tagore.

58. "Life's a bit like mountaineering – never look down."

– Edmund Hillary.

59. "Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence."

– Hermann Buhl.

60. "The mountains themselves call us into greater stories."

– Donald Miller.

61. "Mountains teach that not everything in this world can be rationally explained."

– Aleksander Lwow.

62. "It's impossible to fall of mountains you fool."

– Jack Kerouac.

63. "To walk towards mountains is to witness a thousand miracles."

– Mary Davis.

64. "A sense of solemn aspiration comes upon us as we view the mountain."

– Francis Younghusband.

65. "The mountains are calling and I must go."

– John Muir.

66. "I go seek a Great Perhaps. That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps."

– John Green.

67. "Do more things like going to the mountains that make you forget to check your phone."

- Anonymous.*

68. "Plains watch the mountains and mountains watch the plains."

– Mehmet Murat ildan.

69. "The higher you climb on the mountain, the harder the wind blows."

– Sam Cummings.

70. "Mountains are earth’s undecaying monuments."

– Nathaniel Hawthorne.

71. "Dragons have been known to have staring contests with mountains. They usually win."

– Ursula Vernon.

72. "Each fresh peak ascended teaches something."

– Sir Martin Conway.

73. "Nothing lives long, Only the earth and mountains."

– Dee Brown.

74. "O ye Mountains, robed in grandeur,

Ye have dazed mine eyes with light."

– Ruby Archer, 'Mountain Memories'.

75. "I like geography best because your mountains & rivers know the secret; Pay no attention to borders."

– Brian Andreas.

76. "Life is better in hiking boots."

– Anonymous.*

77. "You often hear people speaking as if life was like striving upward toward a mountain peak."

- Theodore Roosevelt.

Inspirational Mountain Quotes

Inspirational mountain quotes leave you wondering if being in the mountains feels like home. Here are some of the most inspiring mountain quotes.

78. "It's not the Mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

– Edmund Hillary.

79. "Every great achievement is but a small peak in the mountain range of contributions."

– Dale T. Mortensen.

80. "Of all the paths you take in life, make sure some of them are dirt."

– John Muir.

81. "Success comes to those who have an entire mountain of gold that they continually mine, not those who find one nugget and try to thrive for fifty years."

– John C. Maxwell.

82. "Great things are done when men and mountains meet."

– William Blake.

83. "Today mountains are considered among nature's most exquisite features. No longer due to their chaotic forms upsetting the spirit level of our minds."

- 'Mountain'.

84. "There is a spirit of energy and vigor in mountains, and they impart it to all who approach their presence."

– Francis Parkman, Jr.

85. "You're off to Great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so… get on your way!"

-Dr. Seuss.

86. "Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing."

– Barry Finlay.

87. He who climbs upon the highest mountains, laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary."

– Friedrich Nietzsche.

88. "Ye lonely peaks, with brows of ice!

Ye lonely peaks, with breasts of snow!

Like nuns remote from worlds below,

Pale with the pain of sacrifice!"

- F.B. Money-Coutts, 'Swiss Mountains By Night'.

89. "Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star

In his steep course? So long he seems to pause

On thy bald, awful head, O sovran Blanc!"

– Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 'Ode To Mt. Blanc'.

90. "Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more that what we could learn from books."

– John Lubbock.

91. "A trail through the mountains, if used, becomes a path in a short time, but, if unused, becomes blocked by grass in an equally short time."

– Mencius.

92. "The choices we make lead up to actual experiences. It is one thing to decide to climb a mountain. It is quite another to be on top of it."

– Herbert A. Simon.

93. "I am homesick for the mountains—

My heroic mother hills—

And the longing that is on me

No solace ever stills."

– Bliss Carman, 'The Cry Of The Hillborn'.

94. "Having been bred amongst mountains I am always unhappy when in a flat country."

– James Hogg.

95. "The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain – he is inspired by it. The persistent winner is not discouraged by a problem – he is challenged by it."

– William Arthur Ward.

96. "The mountains here contained a sense of time, geologic time."

– Don DeLillo.

97. "Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life's next peak."

– Andy Andrews.

98. "Mountains are created to be conquered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved."

– William Arthur Ward.

99. "Mountains are there to be climbed."

- Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

100. "Alas, young stranger, here in Tibet the mountains keep those whom they take."

- Hergé, 'Tintin In Tibet'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for mountain quotes then why not take a look at forest quotes, or hiking quotes.