Should I group subpages with canonical?

I have a web page where one of the items in my first-level menu is hiking. Then there is a submenu with 3 pages: easy hikes, moderate hikes and difficult hikes.

So I have 4 pages where my keywords are hiking and the place I am writing about: the introduction page and the 3 sub pages.

I was thinking about using rel="canonical" on the 3 sub pages and direct everything to the hiking introduction page. Is this a good or a bad idea? Could people tell me the pros and cons?

Thanks

No! If the pages have different information then definitely don't use it.
Canonical is when the pages have the same info in different forms.
It lets you tell Google which is the preferred page to index.
In your case you want all 4 pages indexed.

Ok, thanks. I am looking for a way to combine the strength of the four pages in order to get higher up in searches for hiking. But if canonical means only the one page will be indexed then it's not what I am looking for.

Are there other options? Is there any difference between having a flat site structure vs placing the 4 hiking pages in one directory?

The only difference is the length of the URL link.
Your rank will be higher with 4 pages of content indexed than just one.
What you want to do is link to the introduction page from the other 3.
That will push the introduction page higher in the rankings.
Unless a bunch of other sites link to page 2 instead.
In which case you are ahead of the game anyway.

Some clarification on when TO use canonical.
If you had the same info on 3 pages, one in alphabetical order, one numerical, and one rambling.
Then you would want to link them canonical to tell the searchers where to start.

Yes, you are right! The thing is different pages have their one benefit to use.

You, Just2EZ , are right that canonical should be used when the different different pages have same information or content.