# Plan a loop

> Ask for an amount of climb and get walkable loops from your start point that have it.

Tell Summit how much you want to climb, and it finds loops on sidewalks, trails and park paths that start and finish where you are.

## Set how much climb you want

The big number at the top of the Plan card is your target.

- Tap a preset: **250**, **500**, **1000** or **2000** ft.
- Or drag the slider, anywhere from 100 to 3,000 ft in steps of 50.
- The **ft / m** switch changes units. In meters, the presets are **100**, **150**, **300** and **600**, and the slider runs from 30 to 900 m.

## Set the start

Summit puts the start pin on your current location when the Plan tab opens. To start somewhere else:

- Tap the map to move the pin.
- Tap the magnifying glass to search for a trailhead, park or address.
- Tap the location button to put the pin back on where you're standing.

The **Start pin / End pin** switch decides which pin a tap or a search moves. With only a start pin, Summit plans a loop. Add an end pin and it plans a [start-to-end walk](/start-to-end) instead. **Clear end** takes the end pin away.

## Find routes

Tap **Find my route**. Summit tries a small loop first to learn how hilly your area is, then tries several loops of different lengths in different directions. It takes a few seconds. **Cancel search** stops it.

You get up to three cards. Swipe between them, and the map shows each route as you go.

| Card | What it is |
|---|---|
| **Best Match** | The loop whose climb is closest to what you asked for |
| **Steep & Short** | A shorter loop that gets the climb from steeper hills |
| **Gradual** | The loop with the gentlest grades among those close to your target |

Each card shows the loop's climb, an elevation profile, the distance, a time estimate and the steepest grade. A grade over 18% reads **Steep** so you know it may mean stairs or a very steep street. Summit doesn't hide those routes, because sometimes steep is what you want.

Tap **Start this walk** to take the route to the Walk tab. **New search** goes back to the Plan card.

:::note
Planned climb is an estimate from map elevation data, which can miss short steep bits like stairs. What you actually climb is measured by your phone's barometer on the walk, and that's the number that counts.
:::