Beyond the OverlookBest Hikes: Firsthand Hiking Guides by Destination
Browse our firsthand hike guides by destination. National parks and other destinations are sorted alphabetically, with our strongest or most useful hikes first within each destination.
Aspen, Colorado
Big Bend National Park
Balanced Rock via Grapevine Hills
A fun 2.2-mile rock hike reached by a road that now requires high clearance.
Boquillas Canyon Trail
A riverside canyon walk where we saw lots of animals, before crossing into Mexico afterward.
Big Bend Hot Springs
A short walk to a 105°F spring beside the Rio Grande.
Lost Mine Trail
4.8 miles of climbing with huge Chisos views and an excellent effort-to-payoff ratio.
Santa Elena Canyon
A short canyon hike with a creek crossing that became an adventure after heavy rain.
South Rim Trail
A full-day Chisos adventure with route options and sweeping overlooks from the South Rim.
The Window Trail
A canyon walk with a fun rocky approach to the Window pour-off—and an uphill return.
Canadian Rockies & Waterton
Crypt Lake
A full-day adventure with a boat, waterfall, ladder, tunnel and alpine lake.
Iceline Trail
Steep switchbacks, glaciers up close and Takakkaw Falls across the valley.
Parker Ridge
One of our top hikes: enormous Saskatchewan Glacier views for surprisingly little effort.
Wilcox Pass
A spectacular first viewpoint - or continue into open alpine terrain for 360° views and bighorn sheep.
Big Beehive + Plain of Six Glaciers
The substantial Lake Louise hiking day we would recommend.
Sentinel Pass via Larch Valley
One of our favorite Canadian Rockies hikes, with Ten Peaks views and a dramatic final climb.
Sunshine Meadows
Wildflowers and flexible alpine hiking with gondola access.
Johnston Canyon
A worthwhile canyon-and-waterfall walk, but much more crowded than our favorite Rockies hikes.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Channel Islands National Park
Dolomites
Sassolungo Loop
10.4 miles, roughly 3,400 feet of gain and one of our favorite hiking days in the Dolomites.
Seceda via Col Raiser
Iconic Seceda views, refugios and quieter lower trails on a roughly six-mile route.
Lago di Sorapis
A magnificent turquoise lake reached by a crowded, narrow trail with some exposed sections.
Rifugio Puez
A steep, strenuous hike into the high Puez landscape with enormous views and a rewarding rifugio stop.
Tre Cime
Our early counterclockwise strategy for seeing much of the loop before the crowds arrived.
Cadini di Misurina
A short hike to a dramatic viewpoint where the exposure feels bigger than the mileage.
Glacier National Park
Grinnell Glacier
Our best bang-for-your-buck hike in Many Glacier.
Dawson-Pitamakan Loop
A huge full-day hike with ridge walking, passes and much more solitude.
Highline Trail in 3 Hours
Skip the shuttle and still get the classic Highline experience with a timed out-and-back from Logan Pass.
Hidden Lake Overlook
Crowded, accessible and still worth doing at Logan Pass.
Avalanche Lake
A beautiful west-side hike that worked much better for us later in the day.
Ptarmigan Tunnel + Iceberg Lake
Two very different hikes strong hikers can stack into one day.
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Hawaiʻi
Pololū Valley at Sunrise
A steep, short hike to a quiet black-sand beach with enormous sea-cliff views.
Papakōlea Green Sand Beach
Why we think the coastal hike is part of what makes this unusual beach worth visiting.
Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail
A short paved climb with enormous coastal views that is easy to fit into a busy Oʻahu day.
Lanikai Pillbox Trail
Short, steep and worth it for the huge view over Lanikai and the Mokulua Islands.
Waiheʻe Ridge
Five miles of green ridgeline, gorge views and fast-moving mountain clouds.
Sliding Sands
Walk a few miles into the crater for the volcanic landscape - then save energy for the climb out.
Pīpīwai Trail
Four miles of lush forest, bamboo and waterfalls in Kīpahulu.
Kalalau Trail
22 miles round trip through five valleys to Kalalau Beach, one of our biggest hiking days.
Hanakāpīʻai Falls
A substantial Nāpali Coast day that gives you a taste of Kalalau without committing to the full trail.
Mahaʻulepu Heritage Trail
An easier coastal hike with cliffs, beaches and a very different feel from Kauaʻi’s big mountain days.
Waimea Canyon + Waipoʻo Falls
A canyon hike that adds a real trail experience to the classic Waimea viewpoints.
Iceland
Fimmvörðuháls
Waterfalls, snow, young lava and Þórsmörk in one enormous day.
Glymur Waterfall
A fun day trip with steep canyon trails and river crossings.
Reykjadalur Thermal River
Hike uphill, then soak in our favorite geothermal experience.
Dettifoss + Selfoss
A short route to two very different waterfalls.
Stuðlagil Canyon
An ordinary walk with a spectacular basalt-column payoff.
Skaftafell
Full-day glacier views and our S3-over-S4 recommendation.
Olympic National Park
Mt. Storm King
Our favorite Olympic hike, with forest, steep climbing, unofficial ropes and huge Lake Crescent views.
Rialto to Hole in the Wall
A low-tide beach hike with driftwood, sea stacks, tide pools and a completely different kind of Olympic adventure.
Mt. Ellinor
A steep, short-mileage mountain hike from the upper trailhead with a huge summit payoff.
Hurricane Hill
A paved and popular climb with huge mountain views that was especially beautiful at sunset.
Marymere + Sol Duc Falls
Two easy forest waterfall stops, with Marymere our priority if you only have time for one.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Sky Pond
Our favorite big family hike in Rocky, with The Loch, Timberline Falls, Lake of Glass and a memorable final alpine push.
Bear, Nymph, Dream, Emerald & Haiyaha
Five lakes in one excellent Bear Lake Road day, with Haiyaha as our favorite easier payoff.
Ute Trail
A completely different Rocky experience: open tundra, huge views and a perfect pairing with Trail Ridge Road.
Chasm Lake
A serious high-elevation hike below Longs Peak where early-season ice changed the decision for our group.
Gem Lake
A shorter but steep Lumpy Ridge hike with giant rocks, Estes Park views and a surprisingly scenic backcountry toilet.
Adams Falls & East Inlet
Do not stop at the waterfall. Continuing on East Inlet turned this west-side stop into a real hike for us.
Sequoia + Kings Canyon
Utah
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Prismatic Overlook
A short climb to the perspective that reveals the spring’s full color, shape and scale.
Mystic Falls Loop
River, forest, waterfall and a steeper overlook loop near the Old Faithful area.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Start at Artist Point, then walk the rim toward Point Sublime for repeated canyon and waterfall views.
