Josiah RoeExplorer

The Ramblin' Trail, part of the Navajo Rocks trail system, is a beginner to intermediate mountain biking trail with a great mix of slickrock, dirt trails, and some sand that features excellent views of hoodoos, Navajo Sandstone, and the general Colorado River watershed redrock. Located off Utah Highway 313 at the Navajo Rocks Trailhead parking lot, 19 miles from downtown Moab, and 7.5 miles fro...

Lake Nacimiento near Paso Robles, CA is a gorgeous reservoir used for kayaking, paddle boarding, and all manner of water sports. To get there, from Highway 101 take the 24th street exit in Paso Robles west till it turns into Lake Nacimiento Drive. Lake Nacimiento Drive will eventually turn into Godfrey Road and then back into Nacimiento Drive.  Just before the road crosses the damn, go left on ...

Timp Point on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon lies just on the boundary of the National Park and within the Kaibab National Forest, well away from the (already smaller) crowds of the North Rim. Even in the heart of summer often you'll have a campsite on the rim all to yourself, with easy access to the Rainbow Ridge trails and endless overlooks of the Canyon. Getting there is as straightforwa...

The Santa Ana to Lake Casitas via Foster Park segment of Santa Ana Road is a gorgeous, 6.5 mile road that cuts through the heart of Ventura Canyon. Santa Ana Road eventually ends at Casitas Road and the Lake Casitas Recreation Area. From there you can go west over over the pass and down to the Rincon Trail, or you can head east to Ojai and the numerous segments there. To get to Foster Park, tak...

Wire Mesa off the Smithsonian Butte Backcountry Byway is a fantastic place to camp in southeastern Utah even if you do not plan on visiting Zion, just a few miles to the north. There several backcountry campsites on the Mesa, with the northwestern-most site giving the best views overlooking the Virgin River Valley and the Grafton Ghost Town. To get there, take the Byway south off of Grafton Roa...

Located at the state's westernmost tip and perched over the Pacific Ocean, the Cape Blanco Lighthouse was built and 1870 and features views up and down the rugged Oregon Coast. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management, tours cost $2 for adults (free for youth 15 and younger). Tours: April-Oct. 31, Wednesday - Monday, 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Last tour ticket sold at 3:15 p.m. Gates close at 3:30 p.m...

The Bommer Ridge West Trailhead aka The Pacific Ridge Trailhead begins at the edge of Ridge Park Road, overlooking CA State Highway 73, and marks the northwest entrance to the Laguna Coast Wilderness and its neighbor, Crystal Cove State Park. From the well-marked trailhead follow the trail south-east, following the ridge line roughly parallel to Highway 73. Note that in places several use trai...

The deep anticline underlying Thermopolis, Wyoming has resulted in an abundance of hot springs, some of which flow directly into the Bighorn River and creating a wide variety of multi-colored pools and bubbling creeks. Most of the features are contained within the aptly named, Hot Springs State Park, which in addition to having for-pay soaking pools contain several excellent hiking trails.One s...

The trail begins at the signposted car park along Milford Road just before the Homer Tunnel, about 98km from Te Anau. Follow the marked track through the valley and left, steeply uphill. About halfway up you will cross the Gertrude Stream below a large, steep waterfall.Upon reaching Black Lake, continue up to your right. There are steel cabins to assist with the climb, as the rock can be slippe...

Sitting west of the San Andrea fault, the Bodega Head is a massive chunk of granite from the Salinian Block, a geological terrane that contains Point Reyes and the Farallon Islands, and shares its origins with the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Head itself having been carried hundreds of miles to the northwest as the Pacific and North American plates move past each other.Located in the 17 mile lo...

The Alta Via 1 is the definite trail through the Italian Dolomites, showcasing some of the most scenic terrain in all of the Alps. It begins at Lago di Braies and ends in the town Belluno, covering 150 kilometers and over 26,000' of elevation gain.Unlike backpacking or fastpacking in the United States, camping is forbidden along the trail and in much of the national park. Instead through-hikers...

Most visitors to La Paz (understandably) head to the incomparable Playa Balandra, but if you are looking for solitude, El Saltito is just a few minutes away and features incredible snorkeling, a massive forest cardon, and a fantastic sunrise view.To get there head out of town on Colosio, past Forjadores, until you hit a major intersection with the BCS La Paz-Tecolote Highway. Turn left. Follow ...

Pig Rock, aka The Pig, as its name suggests, is a pig-looking outcrop of volcanic tuff that has a variety of routes great for training and being introduced to trad climbing. There is no approach to the routes themselves, as you can park right at the base of The Pig. To get there, take Hwy 445/Pyramid Way north out of Reno for 24 miles, where you will take a left onto a dirt road. There are seve...

Bahia San Luis Gonzaga or "Gonzaga Bay" is an absolute treasure and for many it is the first big expansive and empty-feeling section of Baja they reach as they head south down Highway 5. The wide bay is set against a backdrop of massive cacti and features a huge sand spit that leads out to Isla San Luis Gonzaga. While there are several vacation(ish) homes, the bay is home to only two restaurant...

Muley Point on the southern end of the Cedar Mesa is one of the finest camping (and car camping) sites in North America, towering some 2400' above the San Juan River Canyon (and The Goosenecks State Park) looking south directly into the northern mouth of Monument Valley. It is a breathtakingly beautiful place and easily missed. To get there from the South, take Highway 163 north from Mexican Ha...

The Oregon cost is some of the most dramatic coastline in the Western United States, and the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area hosts an array of unique features arches, chasms, and blowholes like Thor's Well. The Captain Cook Trail is a quick way to take in some of the best features of the Scenic Area, all within a short, .75 mile loop trail that goes down from Highway 1 / 101 and out to the coast and ...

The trail begins at the south end of Pine Street in Telluride, and proceeds 2.5 miles up the Bear Creek Canyon trail with an elevation gain of about 1,000'.Be sure to stay to the left at the divide with the Wasatch Trail.At the waterfall there is a small use trail that contours up to the right and across the cliff face for some incredible views down the canyon. Careful though, the rocks can be ...

Artist Point, thought to be named by park photographer F. J. Haynes as early as 1883, provides what is perhaps the most beautiful views of the entire Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and of Lower Yellowstone Falls some 308 feet high. It is a breathtaking place to photograph year round and at all times of the day, though in winter it can be closed. To get there head towards Canyon Village on the...

Despite its singular name, the Foothills Trail in Fort Collins is an interconnected series of trails that follows the ridges and hogsbacks which comprise the majority of the eastern side of the Horsetooth Reservoir. The trail can be accessed at several points along its length (by trails also called "Foothills Trail") but its northernmost access point begins at the Reservoir Ridge Natural area a...

The trek to the Annapurna Base Camp is, understandably, one of the most popular treks in Nepal. It is typically done as an out-and-back beginning in Pokhara, a short hour flight west of the capital of Kathmandu.Given the extensive trail system through Nepal, there are several variants that pass through scenic towns like Ghandruk and allow for summits of secondary peaks like Poon Hill. Even in w...

Hidden Falls Regional Park is tucked way in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, about an hour from Sacramento and a 20 minute drive off Interstate 80 and nearby the town of Auburn. Most visitors simply make a be-line for Hidden Falls and miss one of the more breathtaking trail loops that the park has to offer, with views over the Seven Pools of Coon Creek and the waterfalls fo Deadman Creek. Li...

Lamb Boulder, located within the "Sunset Boulders" collection, contains four fun and challenging V2 - V6 bouldering routes. They are: Calambity: V6Rock Scar: V3+Skullcracker: V2 RThe Specialist: V4 Lamb Boulder is located directly across from the Sunset Boulder itself and its trad routes. To get there take the Pacific Coast Highway / Highway 1 to the Goat Rock Road turnoff. There are three obvi...

The Podi Menike train leaves daily from either Fort Train Station in Colombo or from Badulla, and takes approximately 10 hours to complete its journey. From Colombo and the coastal jungle, after the first couple of hours the train begins its slow climb into the mountains eventually reaching its highest point at Pattipola Station (6210').There are 1st (assigned seats, air conditioned), 2nd, and ...

Surfer's Point aka Ventura Point is a well-known kite boarding/surfing (and surfing) spot due to its (when conditions are right) great wave quality, favorable wind direction (sideshore with occasional side-off), friendly locals, rider capacity, and a nearby point break with. When conditions are excellent, most often in the late afternoon, there are a lot of excellent waves. The best wind direct...