Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle, United States. It is the most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of 14,411 feet (4,392 m). Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list. Because...

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is located at the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, just 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park (282 feet (86 m) below sea level). The western slope of the ...

The narrows of Blue John Canyon are some of the best anywhere in the Southwest. Blue John Canyon is a slot canyon in eastern Wayne County, Utah, southwest of the Horseshoe Canyon Unit of Canyonlands National Park and 42 miles south of Green River. It is a tributary of Horseshoe Canyon, running northeastwards from the Robbers Roost Flats. The canyon is deep with branc...

This is a very challenging 9-mile loop hike but once you get to the top of Old Rag you get a sweeping view of the range, ridge after ridge, for 100 miles in every direction on a clear day. The hike begins at Old Rag Parking lot, located south of Sperryville, Virginia. This circuit hike ascends Old Rag Mountain to the well-known boulder scramble and leads to spectacula...

Outer Mountain Loop trail in the Chisos, which begins in the Chisos Basin, climbs into the high mountains, descends into the desert along the Dodson Trail, and then returns to the Chisos Basin, completing a thirty mile loop. This 3 is considered a moderate backpacking trip and takes 3 days to complete. National Geographic names this hike one of the 20 Best Hikes in t...

The Ozark Highlands Trail roams 218 miles (351 km) through parts of seven counties in northwest Arkansas. It stretches from Lake Fort Smith State Park, across the Ozark National Forest, to the Buffalo National River. The trail passes through some of the most remote and scenic portions of the Ozark Mountains, like the Hurricane Creek Wilderness Area. It also crosses Wh...

The Pacific Crest Trail (commonly referred to as the PCT, and occasionally designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail) is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range, which lie 100 to 150 miles (160 to 240 km) east of the U.S. Pacific coast. The trail's southern terminu...

The Paintbrush Canyon Trail is a 9.1-mile long hiking trail in Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Access to the Paintbrush Canyon Trail is from the String Lake trailhead. From there the trail follows the west shore of String Lake and is also known as the String Lake Trail. The Paintbrush Canyon Trail then enters Paintbrush Canyon and becomes steep...

A Presidential Traverse is a strenuous and sometimes dangerous trek over the Presidential Range of New Hampshire's White Mountains. Contained almost entirely in the 750,000-acre (3,000 km2) White Mountain National Forest, the Presidential Range is a string of summits in excess of 4,000 feet (1,200 m). To complete the traverse, one must begin at either the northern or ...

The Quinnipiac Trail is a 24-mile Blue-Blazed hiking trail in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is the product of the evolution and growth of the first 10.6-mile (17.1 km) trail designated in Connecticut's Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail system, with its light-blue rectangular vertical painted blazes . From its southeastern trailhead, its easternmost leg runs northward, para...

Sargent Mountain Loop is a 5.5 mile loop trail that includes two panoramic mountain summits and views along one of the most scenic ponds in Maine. This loop hike begins at the Jordan Pond House, Jordan Pond is an oligotrophic tarn in Acadia National Park near the town of Bar Harbor, Maine. The Spring Trail along the loop consists of climbing up some rocks and require...

The trail to Shi Shi Beach goes along coastal forest and ocean beach. Shi Shi itself offers two miles of hard-packed sand bookended by tall cliffs and sea stacks. Permits/Reservations: Obtain permits in person at the Wilderness Information Center (WIC) in Port Angeles or at the South Shore Lake Quinault Ranger Station. Call for hours. Before your trip, contact the WIC...

The Silver Moccasin Trail is a 53-mile trail located in the San Gabriel Mountains, just northeast of Los Angeles. It begins at Chantry Flat Recreation Area above the city of Arcadia, California, traversing upward and down through several canyons and along the high ridges of the Angeles National Forest. This trail connects Mt. Baden-Powell, Mount Burnham, Throop Peak a...

The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail is a 29.5-mile (47.2-kilometre) hiking trail that descends from the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California to the Pacific Ocean, passing through Castle Rock State Park and Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Big Basin is California's first state park. It contains beautiful waterfalls and some of the largest, tallest, and oldes...

Stone Mountain is the centerpiece of Stone Mountain State Park. It is a dome of exposed granite (specifically a quartz diorite to granodiorite) of Devonian age, which has intruded into the gneiss of the Precambrian Alligator Back Formation. It rises sharply over 600 feet (183 m) above the surrounding terrain. The mountain, which has an elevation of 2,305 feet (706 m) ...