Alyssa Gregory

The parking area for Black Balsam Knob is at mile marker 420.2 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's free to hike here. Take the Art Loeb Trail a half mile until you reach the knob. Along the way you will be walking almost entirely on the bald which is a very pleasant experience. You feel like you're dancing through meadows and you can see the mountains all around you. There are a couple of large ro...

The Nordkettenbahnen starts in the town center area of Innsbruck and takes you first to Alpenzoo and then to an end stop. These first two stops are on a funicular. Once you get to the end of the funicular, you will then transfer to the actual bahn (lift) which will take you up to the Seegrube stop and then to the Hafelekar stop (the top). The full ride costs 33 euro (that's what it was when we ...

This is one of 2 trails that will take you to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain. The other is the Upper Hawksbill Trail (which I also wrote an adventure about!). This trail is a combination of the Lower Hawksbill Trail, the AT, and the Salamander Trail. The parking are area for this hike is at mile marker 45.6 on Skyline Drive. From the parking lot, you can either go clockwise (left) or counter...

The trail for this hike starts next to the bathrooms that are about 150m down the road (south) from the Whakapapa Visitor Center. If you're standing in the road looking at the bathrooms, the trail head is to the right. You will be going uphill the entire time without much flat trail, but it's not for too long. The trail starts out going through the woods and then after 10 minutes or so you'll c...

The best place to park is on Catoctin Hollow Road in the parking lot that's on the same side of the road as the lake. It's not a huge lot but we were here mid-summer around 10am and found a spot easily. The trail head is on the other side of the street from this parking lot; there is a sign letting you know you're at 'Old Misery Trail.' The name sounds funny until you start climbing the switchb...

For this hike, you'll want to park in the parking area at the little beach called Velika Zaka. Then, with your back to the lake, cross the road to the wooded area and walk to the left a little ways until you see an entrance into the woods (I took a picture of what it looks like and included it in this post). You'll also see a wooden stake to the left of the entrance that says 'Velika Osojnica' ...

There's a grassy area next to the trail head (I've marked the trail head as the location of this hike on this page) where some cars can park. It probably gets full in peak season, but when we were there we only saw 1 car parked. Don't let the short distance and small elevation gain fool you - This is not an easy hike. It's very very rocky (absolutely wear sneakers at the minimum but hiking shoe...

The Devil's Courthouse Overlook and Trail can be one of the best places to see the entire Blue Ridge countryside. Even though it is a short hike, there is a fairly steep incline halfway through, so be prepared to huff and puff a little. It takes anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes depending upon your fitness level. But the views at the top are worth it. There are those stands with signs telling you...

The Jennerbahn (an enclosed lift) will take you almost to the top of Mount Jenner. Buy a ticket at the booth at the entrance. It costs 32 euro, which is steep, however the views are incredible and it's very enjoyable to have lunch up there (there's a cafe). The alternative is to climb it from the bottom (6,148'), which we did see a few people doing. The lift fits 2 people sitting next to each ...

I did this 2 years ago and I still rank it as one of the most beautiful days of my entire life. For pretty much the entire walk, you are looking at incredible views over the caldera of the island of Santorini. You will stop constantly to take pictures and say, "wow" so give yourself plenty of time. I rank this as beginner/intermediate because while partfs of it are on cobblestoned streets or pa...

This is an out-and-back trail that starts and ends on different roads, but you will have better luck parking on Albemarle Street NW (where I have indicated the trailhead is on the map). This is a long street with plenty of street parking, just pay attention to the signs to see how long you can leave your car there.The trail head is hard to miss - There is a sign on the side of the road that say...

This trail is located in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, a beautiful area about 20-30 minutes north of San Diego. To access the reserve, park in the lot off of North Torrey Pines Road (pay $10 to park). If you don't want to walk up the huge hill at the beginning (it is steep and long), I believe there's another parking lot at the top you can drive to. If you want to avoid paying, have someo...

The entrance to the path up to the fortress is on Ulica Higijeničkog Društva. There's a long stairway you can walk up to get to it but it's not named on a map. It's to the left of the street called Kroz Grodu. You'll find the entrance easily, it's not hidden. The path up to the fortress consists of several switchbacks. It can be a little strenuous if it's a hot, sunny day, so be sure to bring ...

There are no cars allowed inside the Old Town of Kotor, so you will have to park outside of it and walk in. The Old Town of Kotor is like a triangle pointing to the left, and the trail for this hike can be found up near the top corner of that triangle (the spot I've put on this map for the trail is exactly where to go). You'll see an archway that you can walk through and then the cobblestones w...

The trailhead has a small parking area at mile marker 46.7 on Skyline Drive, just past the Old Rag overlook (on the opposite side of the road) if you're driving south. The hike is a 2-mile out-and-back that takes you right to the summit. The first ~2/3 of it is relatively flat and very easy walking through the woods. After that, you reach the spot where the trail joins Byrds Nest 2 Road (also ...

If you're driving south on Skyline Drive, park in the lot on the right side of Skyline Drive immediately after you cross Route 211/Thornton Gap entrance. If you're driving north on Skyline Drive, the lot will be on the left side immediately before the Thornton Gap entrance. The trailhead is at the back of the parking lot - There is a sign with a trail map marking it. You'll start on a very sho...

The parking area for all of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is located right off North Torrey Pines Road (where the location is for this hike), about 20-30 minutes north of San Diego. It's $10 to park, and there was also a smaller parking lot at the top of the hill if you want to avoid the initial big uphill hike. If you want to avoid paying, have a friend drop you off outside the parking lo...