When hiking in Saguaro National Park, you get to see iconic saguaro cacti, the “sentinels of the desert”, from up close. You’ll walk among them, underneath them and past them, on the way admiring multi-armed saguaros, baby saguaros hiding in the shade of a nurse tree, and other regional desert flora.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a hiker’s paradise, offering everything from lakeshore strolls to summit hikes to backcountry adventures. On our visit, we did nearly a dozen hikes in this spectacular park. These are our favorites!
To really experience the beauty and depth of iconic Arches National Park, there’s no better way than hiking. The Arches trails I’ve selected in this blog post take you to, through and around several of the 2,000+ natural rock arches in the park, the greatest concentration of those rock formations on Earth.
There are a number of Haleakala National Park trails in the park’s two tourist areas, from the desert-like Crater to the verdant Kipahulu rain forest, allowing you to explore each of them as you please. Feel like a challenging full-day hike? Or rather an easy coastal stroll? The hiking trails in Haleakala National Park are varied as its landscapes!
Wiping the sweat off your forehead, you try to catch your breath as you gaze across a landscape dominated by red rocks and sandstone hills. Towering rock pillars and enormous domes fill the view, interspersed by wide valleys and, here and there, a hardy desert bush. Your chest still heaving up and down after a short but steep climb to the overlook, you sit down and take a well-deserved sip from your water bottle.
One of my favorite ever camping experiences was in the Painted Desert in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. It was neither a particularly difficult hike nor was it extremely remote, yet the amazing solitude and absolutely beautiful landscape took things to the next level.
From driving Skyline Drive to sunset hikes and stays at historic lodges, wonderful Shenandoah National Park has plenty to offer. What I haven’t talked about in greater detail, though, is the best waterfall hikes in Shenandoah National Park.
Nothing can prepare you for your first view of the Grand Canyon. No matter how many pictures you’ve seen or documentaries you’ve watched, the immense scale of this place needs to be seen in 3D, not on paper or a screen.
If you’re after inspiring canyon landscapes, great campgrounds, and a challenging hike or two, Utah’s Zion National Park has your name written all over it. There’s obviously a reason for the park’s popularity: its truly magnificent scenery and accessible yet epic Zion National Park hiking trails.