Hiking is a recreational and outdoor activity that could experience significant growth in France with an increasing role in destination attractiveness and development. Having become a fully-fledged territorial marketing tool, hiking comes becomes integral to many destination management strategies. Hiking benefits from a growing social enthusiasm nurtured by the adoption of digital tools. The research question is the following: How does hiking fit into territorial development strategies for tourist destinations that are investing in digital tools? This paper is aims at presenting the latest developments of the research project, the conceptual approach (actor network theory), and the methodology. The results of an exploratory study will be presented, as well as the perspectives they present for the second phase of the research project.