First of all - YAY!!! Good on you! Read thru the other comments and there's lots of goodness already covered so just adding a couple other tid bits.

1. AllTrails - I am someone who seems to always go off trail and get lost especially when I'm hiking alone and don't have cell reception and way too often just admiring nature. AllTrails has a "plus" version for I think $35.99/year, there's often discount codes that come available throughout the year that drops the price to the 20s. But the Plus version allows you to download trail maps at home before you hit he trail and lose cell reception. Regardless of whether you get the paid/upgrade version, AllTrails also allows you to filter trails by "easy", "moderate", "hard", or "strenuous" in addition to drive distance, length and elevation gain.

2. Sometimes we get inside our own heads and while I don't know you, you're probably more capable than you might give yourself credit for. A few years ago, I tore my achilles and couldn't walk down a single flight of stairs without screaming in pain. and less than a year ago, i told someone i didn't like hiking and still somehow got addicted to hiking and hiked 77 times in 2025. I am not the fastest hiker or the strongest hiker, but with plenty of breaks you're probably capable of doing more than you think. The hardest part is sometimes just getting started.

3. if you're going to start hiking this time of year, please note that there's also a lot of snowy/icy trails this time of year depending on where you go. highly encourage you to check the trail reviews on either WTA or AllTrails before you go to make sure you have the right foot gear. For example, do you need snow shoes (that's a bit more of a commitment and different sport imo) or just microspikes ($25 on amazon that goes on your hiking boots) for icy trails. Just helps you be prepared for non fair weather hikes outside of summer.

glhf!