Hiking Fodorites: Name the Most Spectacular Day Hikes You've Ever Done
 

Other than marriage and the birth of my kids, some of the most exhilirating days I've ever spent have been day hiking in the Western U.S. I'd like to plan more and I'd recommend these to any Fodorites who love the outdoors and are in reasonably good shape. I'm an addict, so please add your favorites to the list (not listed in any particular order):

1. Half Dome - Yosemite National Park
2. Upper Yosemite Falls - Yosemite N.P.
3. Glacier Point > Panorama Trail > John Muir Trail > Mist Trail - Yosemite N.P.
4. Angel's Landing - Zion N.P.
5. The Narrows - Zion N.P.
6. Long's Peak - Rocky Mountain N.P.
7. Kalalau Trail - Kauai North Shore
8. South Kaibab Trail - Grand Canyon National Park (only hiked one way in a single day)
9. Guadalupe Peak - Guadalupe Mountains National Park

This list is exclusively west of the Mississippi, but I'm also interested in any spectacular hikes in the East.
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/hiking/hik_guid.htm is a good hiking resource, but I'm interested in recommendations for any other particularly good hiking web sites.

Alkali Flat Trail-White Sands NM

I pick my favorites largely on the basis of scenery not physical challenge. I love the areas around Lake O'Hara Lodge (near Field, BC) and the Mt. Engadine Lodge (near Canmore, AL). The scenery is absolutely spectacular.
Last summer we stayed at Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch and did some fantastic hikes in the Sawtooths and White Clouds.
America, the beautiful!

I wouldn't say they are as spectalcular as the hikes you mentioned, but these are a couple of our nearby favorites. We're in Maryland.

Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah NP
Maryland Heights at Harpers Ferry
Billy Goat A Trail in Great Falls NP
Swallow Falls Trail in western Maryland

Highline trail
Glacier national park

West Fork, Doe Mountain, and Brins Mesa Trails in Sedona are all beautiful. On Brins Mesa Trail we climbed out on a large flat rock about 20 yards off the main trail to relax and have a snack. The view from there was so spectacular it took my breath away.

The Panorama Trail at Yosemite was the first thing that popped into my mind.

Walking through the bamboo forest on the Pipiwai Trail on Maui was a unique experience. The waterfall at the end was a worthy payoff.

The portion of the King's Highway from Wai'anapanapa State Park towards Hana is one of the most beuatiful coastal hikes I've taken.

Another great coastal walk on the Sonoma Coast is to start at the Sea Ranch Lodge and take the Bluff Trail north all the way to Gualala. Do it in April/May when the yellow lupines are blooming.

-Bill

One of my three things to see before I died was Delicate Arch. Went during spring break. There was some ice/ snow on the trail. Curving around and seeing Delicate Arch for the first time was absolutely amazing for me. Almost spiritual in a way.

Without an order...
-Keet Seel in Navajo National Monument
-Hunt's mesa in Monument valley
-Syncline loop in Canyonland(island on the sky district)
-Some hikes in Grand Gulch primitieve area with Jay, guide at faroutexpeditions in Bluff
-Landscape arch and the entire loop by
Devils garden in arches national park
-Saddle/Castle/Medecine root/notch/castle/saddle pass in the badlands(south dakota)
-Red beds trail/valley view trail/
jonction to joyner trail/joyner trail/jonction/red beds at Devils tower national monument
-Loop trail at natural bridges national monument.
-Confluence overlook in Canyonlands(Needles district).
Erik.

Hiking to the top of Mt. St. Helens and gazing into the crater.

Paradise park on Mt. Hood

Dog Mountain in the Gorge

Angel's Rest in the Gorge

Hamilton Mountain in the Gorge

Cascade Head on the Oregon Coast

Saddle Mountain on the way to the coast

Hi - I love hiking out west, too. BUT we are from Massachusetts and another spectacular place to hike is the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We go almost every year for a few days during Fall foliage. There are many wonderful trails both easy and hard. One of our favorites for an all day hike is the Franconia Ridge.
sue

Narrows, Zion NP

Avalanche Lake and Grinnel Glacier, Glacier NP

Eagle Creek (and assorted smaller hikes), Columbia River Gorge, OR

Hike from Glacier Point down to Valley floor via Mist Trail, Yosemite

Hidden Lake near Glenwood Springs, CO

West Fork, Oak Creek, Sedona, AZ

and...even though it wasn't a day hike, I loved the trail to Havasu and Mooney Falls near Supai, AZ

MRand, I LOVE hiking out west. I've yet to find anything to compare back east. I like some hikes on Cape Cod, and in the White Mnts. of Vermont, but they are not as "dramatic". I am lucky to have a nice hiking area nearby in, of all places, NW Phila, but it's merely a nice woods, nothing spectacular. I love the waterfalls, and far reaching scenery out west.

Eurotraveler mentioned several of my favorites. But my all time favorite is the South Sister. It is a long day hike, but well worth it!

Also for the eastern Fodorites- don't dismiss the areas around NYC! My husband and I have really enjoyed several hikes in the area, especially at Bear Mountain. The book "60 Hikes within 60 Miles of NYC" has been a great resource.

Not an easy one, but one of the most memorable was Sliding Sands, into the crater of Haleakala.

Parker ridge in Banff, cresting the ridge to see Saskatchewan glacier tumbling down from the Columbia ice field.

Blue Lake trail in the North Cascades in early June, finding more than a foot of snow covering the trail in the upper reaches, Blue Lake still encased in ice, and seeing the mountain goats that were supposed to be on the mountain side crossing the trail right in front of us.

Most of my favorites have already been covered but didn't see these two. Only order is when we did them.

The hike from Uncle Tom's stairs in Yellowstone, along the canyon rim to Artist Point. Lots of beautiful views along the way. Then, instead of backtracking, circle back to the Uncle Tom's area past a dead lake, mud pots and fumerols, and finally through an Alpine meadow. Saw very few people along the rim trail and no one once we left the Artist Point area. And this was in early August. Not on the map at the time. A ranger told us how to do it. Not a full days hike, but we enjoyed just stopping along the way and enjoying the view and a snack or drink.

Second is the hike to The Wave in the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness area. Did this, this past May. The photos you've seen just don't do the place justice. Saw only 7 other people the entire day. Had the Wave, itself, all to ourselves for probably 2 hours. I just can't imagine wandering this general area without a GPS. No real trails, and all that sandstone and slick rock sure starts to look a lot alike. We hope to go back one day to explore more of the area. Preferably when it isn't so hot. :-)

I'm enjoying reading about all these others. I'm going to print this thread later for future reference.

Fran

My favorite day hikes at Yosemite (Half Dome), Mt. Rainier (Paradise) and Lake O'Hara have already been mentioned. So I'll add few new ones:

In the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, the hike to Catherine's Pass from Albion Basin. Also the hike up Gad Valley to the top of the Snowbird tram. Wildflowers galore.

In Washington's North Cascades, the Maple Pass Loop, Cutthroat Pass, the hike to Cascade Pass, Yellow Aster Butte near Mt. Baker, Mt. Dickerman on the Mountain Loop highway, Marmot Pass in the Olympics. . . I could go on and on. A good website for Washington trails is www.wta.org

Mt. Washington, NH - as you can bet this was a pretty tiring hike, but once I reached the summit (on a gorgeous September high pressure day, no less) it was so worth it.

Mt. Pisgah, Westmore, VT - located opposite Mt. Hor in Westmore (in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom where I went to college), and overlooks Lake Willoughby, a glacial lake. You can see for miles from the summit, including to Canada and New Hampshire.

Wilcox Pass - icefields parkway between Banff and Jasper

confluence trail -canyonlands np

iceberg lake - glacier np

sperry glacier (from sperry chalet) glacier np

franconia ridge - franconia notch st pk, NH

Mt. lecomte- great smokey mtns np

the narrows - zion np

grinnell glacier - glacier np

primrose ridge (no trail) - denali np

wall street - bryce canyon np

My thoughts on eastern hiking, the best is in the white mountains... although GSM np has some really great stretches of the the AT as does shenandoah np

eastern hikes tend to go straight up, no room for the switchbacks they have in the west. and the trip up doesn't have as many vistas (you are rarely above tree line) but once at the top, WOW. so anything that takes you up up up is good! enjoyed some maine hikes but their names escape me, moosehead lake area.... best hiking white mountains of NH great hiking book available -AMC White Mountain Guide.

Diamond Creek Falls off highway 58 near Willamette Pass, OR.
http://www.efn.org/~k_mccree/DiamondCkFallsTrail.html

It isn't the most "spectacular" hike in the Pacific NW, but it's one of our favorites. The first time we went with our 6 month old puppy, it was a beautiful early summer day, we didn't run into another soul on the entire hike--one of our best days in Oregon.

A better link:
http://tinyurl.com/2zbvg2

Greatest hike ever: a slot canyon near Zion that shall remain nameless

others, Angel's Landing (Zion)
Cloud's Rest (Yosemite)
all of Arches
everywhere in the Wasatch and Unitas

Western US:
Grand Tetons - Cascade Canyon up to Lake Solitude and return through Paintbrush Canyon
Yellowstone - Bunsen Peak, down the backside to Sheepeater Canyon, down the canyon to Osprey Falls, and return via old road to the trailhead

Eastern US:
Short hike, but spectacular: Whiteside Mountain, near Cashiers, NC (2 mile loop)
Bartram Trail to Whiterock Mountain, near Franklin, NC
Lots of hikes in GSMNP
Table Rock Trail, Table Rock State Park, SC

In GSMNP, trail from Newfound Gap to Charlie's Bunion is outstanding!

South Kaibab Trail at the Grand Canyon, we hiked down AND back in a single day with our then 10 and 13 year old sons - We rewarded them with steaks from the adult menu at the El Tovar dining room at a window table overlooking the canyon, what a great day!

Kalalau trail on Kauai. MRand's #7.

The unmarked trail to the top of Rugged Mountain in the Adirondacks

One of my favorite hikes is Iron Mountain/Cone Peak - in the general vicinity of Sweet Home Oregon (not far from Sisters) There are over 300 varieties of wild flowers so at peak season - about the 2nd week of July- it is spectacular. Its a windy switchback trail leading up to a lookout tower. I think its about 1200 ft elevation gain.
I do it or at least a portion of it almost every summer.

Hiking with the Hadzabwe tribesmen at Lake Eyasi, Tanzania.

Hiking fanatics here!My DH has done many in the west with his son. However, my favs are
Switzerland:
1) Hiking from Scuol to Tarasp Castle in Engadin area
2) Sentiero Panaranomica in Soglio
3) Wengen to Kleine-Scheidegg, Berner-Oberland
4) Wine trail along Lac Leman/Lake Geneva
5) Hiking the entire Val D"anniviers in the Valais
6)Hike to Gruyeres castle from Bulles
7) Hiking to lake in Kandersteg
8) Muottas Muragl over Pontresina
South Africa:
1) Kanenkop Mountain in Cape town region
2) Table Top Mountain Cape Town

I thought this was limited to the US, but since it's not, I adored hiking to the different towns in the Cinque Terre, definitely the best rest stops I've ever encountered on a hike.

Here are some of mine -

Eastern U.S. -
The climb up Mt Monadnock in Southern New Hampshire. (It was our first hike every spring when we lived in Boston)

Any of the routes up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park; the trail along the west side of Somes Sound in Acadia (I forget the name) and many other trails in the park.

Eastern Canada -
The first 20 or so miles of the Bruce Trail from Tobermory, Ontario. For a day hike you can do the ten or so miles from Tobermory to the Bruce Peninsula National Park.

England -
The trail along the west side of Derwentwater lake in the Lakes District. From the town of Keswick, you take a ferry to the NW side of the lake, hike up and over the mountian then back down to the SW side of the lake then take the ferry back into town. (it does a circular route of route of the lake and stops at five or six place.)

I enjoyed the Fathers Day hike we did on Monadnock too, wayfarer.

The following Father's Day we had one of the best hikes of our lives, no probably <u>the</u> best and we've done lots of great hikes. It was a 3/4 day circular hike starting in Ambleside on the north end of Windermere in the Lake District in England. The &quot;trail&quot;, more a path, quite faint in some areas, crossed up and over the fells, over, under and around every ingenious means of gating (all quite OK to do in England), through pastures containing very mobile animals (:) ) up to the little village of Troutbeck where we'd heard there was a pub, the Mortal Man http://www.themortalman.com/ for some liquid refreshment before heading the backside of the loop home, over a path that rose steeply from the Inn. The views were spectacular on this crystal clear day, a rarity evidently in the Lake District. This web page has some snapshots we took during the hike, which describe it much better than I could. It really was spectacular! http://home.thirdage.com/travel/cmcdaniel/page8.html

Some of my favorites

1. Zion Narrows
2. Paradise to Camp Muir up Mt. Rainier
3. Delicate Arch
4. Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon
5. Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns
6. Mist Trail in Yosemite
7. Supernovae at Chaco Culture

Most of my favorite hikes are near where I live:
--Mt. Raine
--Mt. Baker
--the San Juan Islands
--Twin Falls (off I 90)
--Olympic Pennisula
(and Bridle Trails State Park, which is walking distance from my house)

I've been on some great hikes in Hawaii and Malaysia (Cameron Highlands) and when I lived in Bavaria, but the hikes around here are my favorites, which is one of the reasons I live here--I LOVE to hike!

The Presidential Range leading up to, and over, Mount Washington is awesome...especially if you finish it off by going down into Tuckerman's Ravine near the glacier-fed waterfall.

The Art Loeb Trail, heading out off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, going to the peaks of both Shining Rock and Cold Mountain. This trail is never the same....your surroundings change constantly all along the way, and the views are awesome. You'll pass through forests of pine, giant mountain rhododendrons, grassy fields, peaks with views stretching into Tennessee, etc..etc...

Cascade Canyon in Tetons national park, HANDS DOWN! We saw a moose with her baby, a male moose with huge antlers, a big brown bear, and a doe with her two young babies. Breathtaking scenery too!

Not my all time favorite, but my husband and I did a full moon hike on the Sand Dunes in Death Valley last month. It was very cool!

Mostly lacking from this list so far are hikes near cities. It's easy to find a great hike in Yosemite or Zion, but what about Los Angeles, where you really need a break from urban stress? My fave there is the hike to Pt. Mugu, but there are dozens of other great hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains. Likewise in the SF Area, I love the hike from the Marin Headlands to Muir beach, but there are dozens of others.