Newbie: Good real world place to buy hik ing shoes?

“I'm going to Yosemite in early June and was thinking about buying some hiking shoes soon and start wearing them in preparation for the trip.
90% of the time there will be spent just walking on pavement or fairly flat trails. The other 10% might involve some more hilly trails.
I figure I don't need heavy hiking BOOTS if the longest trail will be 2 hours and almost all of them under 1 hour and they are pretty flat.

I figure it's really important to TRY on the hiking shoe, rather than buying 'blind' from the internet.

My question is, what sort of physical stores carry a selection of hiking shoes?
I'd imagine sporting goods stores, but which ones are good ones?

I live in the Boston, Massachusetts area.”

“Any REI stores near you?”

“REI or EMS”

“Why not just wear a running shoe? I wear em backpacking all the time. They have more cushioning and are less apt to create blisters for me. If your ankles can go without support and you're not going to be hiking on rocks there's no reason to go with a dedicated hiking shoe.”

“REI is the best I know of for selection. Make sure there are no pressure areas or pinches, and that your toes can't touch the ends of the boots. Some stores have a sloping area to test this, and you should stand on the slope and stamp by walking in place, to verify that the toe tips won't hit the boot ends. If they don't have a slope, tap the toe tips on the floor 100 times, and verify the no touching thing.”

“I third REI. Good selection, and no you don't need full leather boots. I like the Merrell line - I have their "boot" for hiking and several pairs of the "shoe" for around town (same tread pattern, just lower cut). Most of their stuff is not waterproof, it lets your feet breathe, but some like a fully waterproof boot. I would agree for winter use but not the other 3 seasons.”

“REI is online as well. Go with Lowa Boots they rock and are really light”

“Thank you very much for the advice on where to shop. I will certainly be checking out EMS or REI as it turns out BOTH have stores in Boston.

It won't "hurt" if I get a hiking shoe if all I'm walking on all day long is flat terrain and pavement/dirt right?

Better safe than sorry right?”

“Road hiking sucks! just make sure if your doing extensive road hiking to get replacement cushioned insoles.”

“Yeah, road hiking is harder on your feet than trail hiking. Pavement is a lot less forgiving than dirt, leaves, etc. Before you go shoe shopping get a good set of inserts (I usually get the 'work' insoles at Wal-Mart in the shoe dept), and the socks you will wear hiking. Better insoles will really help with the road walk. Take both insoles and socks with you and put the insoles into each shoe you try on, and wear those socks. That way you know you are getting the best fit.”