United States

The Quarry Loop is an easy hike in Banning State Park, which draws its name from the abandoned sandstone quarry you pass along the way. The trail's rival attraction is the whitewater of the Kettle River, visible as you hike, including the Blueberry Slide, Mother's Delight, and Dragon's Tooth rapi...

Pescadero Creek County Park and the connected Sam McDonald and Memorial Park are located deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains holding a vast network of secluded trails. From biking to backpacking, this area is a perfect place for a day or weekend adventure. This area also has the added bonus having r...

Roxborough State Park is one of the closest parks to the Denver metro area and is the perfect place to go if you're looking to experience the great outdoors without having to drive too far from the city.One of my favorite trails in the park is the South Rim Trail which takes you on an easy to mod...

Starvation Creek Falls is an impressive 190 ft. waterfall just a few feet from the parking lot. If you don't know it's there, you'll miss it. Keep walking past the restrooms, away from the trail head to see this beautiful two-tiered waterfall. There are a couple of picnic tables near the creek to...

Grassy Creek Falls is a beautiful waterfall that lies on private property just north of Little Switzerland's downtown area. The trailhead is easy to find. From Little Switzerland simply go under the Blue Ridge Parkway and the driveway is immediately on the right. You will park at the top of the...

Getting Started There is a good amount of parking at the Lupine Meadows Trailhead but on weekends and nice days it will fill up quickly so it is best to arrive as early as possible.  The Trail The trail to Surprise Lake starts relatively level before quickly beginning to ascend after about a t...

Once you have turned into the picnic area off of Highway SC 28, you will see the open and easy parking area. The trail begins at 2 points on the southern end of the parking area. These 2 points form a small loop about 0.2 miles long, with a spur in the middle of the loop onto the main yellow bran...

This is a somewhat incomplete report because we did not venture too far into the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. The sky had been threatening us with rain for the duration of our hike along Eagle Creek and we did not want to push our luck too far since we were hoping for an early start on our drive ...

Hiking Sitton's Gulch is a great option for those who want to get a little more distance than what the 2.1 mile Waterfalls trail has to offer.  This bit of extra distance will separate you from a lot of the weekend crowd and will expose you to two more waterfalls, in addition to Cherokee and Heml...

Water Canyon is a narrow canyon on the southern side of Canaan Mountain in the Canaan Mountain Wilderness south of Zion. It makes for a great hike away from the crowds, though do not expect to have the trail to yourself as it is a great starting point for backpacking and canyoneering trips into t...

The Ancestral Puebloan Ruins found up Forgotten Canyon can only be described as awe inspiring and humbling. The small adobe brick homes are known as the Defiance House. It is believed that there were a couple of families (15-20 people) who dwelled in these homes circa 1200 A.D. These ruins can ...

An offshoot from the Ozark Trail, the Bell Mountain Loop trail offers a 12 mile loop (when starting from the HWY A trail head) that works perfectly as a beginner backpacking trip. The Ozark Trail website offers excellent maps for all sections of the trail (for free!), click here.Day 1: Hike 7.5 m...

Although you can reach these hot springs via the main trail in the winter, the Thompson Ridge route is a shorter option that comes in from above the springs rather than below. If you go in winter, you'll need winter route finding skills for the trail (there's no signage at any point) and an all w...

Let me start off by saying, this is not an easy hike by any means. Only attempt this if you are an experienced hiker. The route has over 5,000 ft elevation gain in a little over 5 miles. You start off your hike in the Katahdin Stream Campground parking area, following the white Appalachian Trail...

Of all the trails in Palo Duro Canyon, the Rock Garden is arguably the most challenging, the most strenuous, and – not coincidentally – rewards hikers with the best views of the canyon. It is a five-mile round-trip hike with a rigorous incline, and is the only trail in the park that takes hikers ...

Hole in the Rock is a historic site in Utah where the Mormon Pioneers had to dynamite a path down the mountain to get through to the Colorado River. The pathway at Hole in the Rock is still cleared out, and you get to hike through the path that these enduring people traveled, bringing wagons down...