There are hikes, there are great hikes, and then there are epic hikes. What are the best epics in the United States? Well, here’s a shortlist. You can do some of them in a long day, but most are best as backpacking excursions. No matter how you do them, you’ll enjoy amazing scenery you’ll never forget!
Wonderland Trail, Washington
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Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the Lower 48. In the national park named for it, the Wonderland Trail circumnavigates this mountain for about 93 miles, with frequent views of this icy giant on clear days.
Pacific Crest Trail, California-Oregon-Washington
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From the Mexican border, the PCT runs for 2,650 miles to Canada. Although it begins in desert terrain, most of it is high in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range, traversing through some of America’s most spectacular mountain scenery.
John Muir Trail, California
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If you’re not up for the full PCT, the JMT is an excellent sampling. It’s the section of the PCT between Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and Mt. Whitney in Sequoia National Park. Most people do this 211-mile High Sierra epic from north to south so that they can finish on Whitney, the highest point in the Lower 48.
Continental Divide Trail, New Mexico to Canada
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Not all of this 3,028-mile route is contiguous or complete, but it traverses along or close to the Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada, running through the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
Highline Trail, Montana
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This trail in Glacier National Park parallels the Continental Divide and requires at least 3 or 4 days for most people. It’s above or close to timberline for most of the way, so there are constant views of Glacier’s most rugged and remote backcountry.
Chinese Wall, Montana
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Deep inside the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness is this complex of sheer limestone cliffs. The heart of it is an unbroken 10-mile stretch where the cliffs are about 1,000’ in height on average. There are several ways to get to the Wall, with the shortest requiring about 20 miles of hiking one-way.
Teton Crest Trail, Wyoming
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The Tetons are among America’s most iconic mountains, with the Grand Teton itself being one of the most famous mountains in the world. The Teton Crest Trail is a 3- or 4-day journey through the heart of the range and its best scenery, including alpine lakes and high passes with commanding views.
Glacier Trail, Wyoming
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Beginning near the small and scenic town of Dubois, the Glacier Trail is a journey into the heart of the Wind River Range, Wyoming’s highest mountains. After climbing steeply to a high mountain pass, the trail descends past a series of lakes to a river valley, and then it gradually climbs again until it ends beneath the glaciers that drape the range’s highest peaks.
Flattop Mountain to Milner Pass, Colorado
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This is not an actual trail but rather a traverse of several peaks along the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park. A trail does lead to the summit of Flattop Mountain, but then the route goes along the Divide for several miles until it reaches a trail descending to Milner Pass. You’ll need a shuttle for this trip, and you’ll have to do it in one day since camping isn’t allowed in this zone.
Virgin River Narrows, Utah
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One of the most famous hikes in America, the Narrows is actually a hike up or down the Virgin River in a narrow canyon with high walls in Zion National Park. Most people do it as an in-and-out day hike from the southern end, but for the full experience, you have to start outside the park at Chamberlain Ranch. Some do this as an overnighter.
Buckskin Gulch, Utah
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Buckskin Gulch is one of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the world. About 16 miles in length, it ends at a confluence with the Paria River. The traditional access point is from Wire Pass via a high-clearance road, but there’s a lesser-known way to access the approximate middle of the canyon, and a long hike gets you to the far end. Note that there are sections that require swimming and downclimbing obstacles.
Rim to Rim, Arizona
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One of the greatest adventures in our national parks is to hike down from one rim of the Grand Canyon and back up to the other. The North Rim is higher than the South Rim is, so many choose to go from North to South. Unless you have a shuttle vehicle for the very long drive between the trailheads, though, you’re going to have to go back the way you came. Some hardy hikers go rim-to-rim in a day, but most others take advantage of one of the backcountry campgrounds along the way or a hostel-style lodge called Phantom Ranch.
Appalachian Trail, Georgia to Maine
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Perhaps the most famous trail in the country, the Appalachian Trail winds and climbs for 2,197 miles through the best mountain scenery in the East. People doing it in one epic journey rather than in segments typically start from the southern end at Springer Mountain in Georgia. Then they reach the northern end, Baxter Peak in Maine, in late summer or early fall before the snows begin.
The 30 Most Beautiful Places in the World That Everyone Must See
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There’s no way you could ever come up with a definitive list of the world’s most beautiful places. However, if you ask around, some places come up a lot more frequently than others do.
The following are some of the places that people mention over and over again, not in any particular order.
30 Breathtaking Places You Must See Before You Die
The Two Best Scenic Wonders in Each of the Mountain States
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The Mountain States– Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico– have some of the wildest and most rugged landscapes in the United States. Because they’re so big, it can take a lot of time to visit them, so it helps to be able to plan for some specific destinations.
Following are our choices for the top two must-see outdoor locations in each of these seven states.
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