Byline: Hostetter, Kristin; Dorn, Jonathan A; McGivney, Annette; Lanza, Michael; Flax, Peter; Wagner, Kris
Best Hikes in America’s National Parks: 25 classics that belong on every backpacker’s life list
Best Hikes in the National Parks
Consider this booklet a road map to the rest of your backpacking life. Hike all 25 trails described in these pages–or even just a few–and you will have witnessed the country’s highest, wildest, deepest, and most beautiful wilderness. We can’t guarantee you’ll rank the routes in the same order, but chances are you’ll be left too speechless to debate.
The Top Five
#1 Grand Teton Hike and camp beneath North America’s most memorable skyline on the Teton Crest Trail.
#2 Yellowstone Trek this park’s least-traveled corner on the wildlife- and geyser-rich Bechler River Trail.
#3 Grand Canyon See it all–slot canyons, sandy beaches, and wildflowers–on the adventurous Escalante Route.
#4 Denali Strike deep into a vast tundra wilderness to views of the Big One on the Three Passes Route.
#5 Olympic Play castaway on the West’s wildest stretch of coast by hiking from Ozette River to Shi Shi Beach.
The Rest of the Rankings
Rainier placed higher than Zion!? Badlands before the Smokies!? From Yosemite to Shenandoah, we have 20 more picks guaranteed to make you argue, stomp your feet–and start packing.
Contributors: Jonathan Dorn, Peter Flax, Kristin Hostetter, Michael Lanza, Annette McGivney, Kris Wagner
1. Grand Teton National Park: Teton Crest Trail
WARNING: After this hike, you may be ruined for any other trail. That’s because there are precious few trips in North America that measure up to the views along this mostly-above-treeline route and the deep canyons through which it passes. The 36-mile traverse starts in the moose-infested depths of Death Canyon and climbs to the wildflower gardens of 9,600-foot Fox Creek Pass. Turning north onto the Teton Crest Trail, you’ll head across the broad, 3-mile-long plateau of Death Canyon Shelf. Be sure to camp a night here for outrageous dawn and dusk panoramas. Sheer cliffs rise more than 1,000 feet on your left and drop the same distance on your right, and the jagged main peaks of the Teton Range are straight ahead. The trail then meanders past tiny lakes in Alaska Basin and crosses more alpine tableland en route to 10,732-foot Hurricane Pass. Here, the Grand, Middle, and South Tetons appear to be almost within arm’s reach. Descend past the tiny Schoolroom Glacier and camp in the South Fork of Cascade Canyon, then dayhike the unmarked path climbing 1.6 miles to a pass overlooking the tarns and soaring cliffs of Avalanche Canyon. Continuing up Cascade Canyon’s North Fork to Lake Solitude, you’ll look through a classic U-shaped, glaciated trough at the Grand rising 5,000 feet overhead. Don’t blow your camera’s memory card just yet, though. The hike’s apex and most commanding view is 10,720-foot Paintbrush Divide, followed closely by a descent through Paintbrush Canyon beneath towering, streaked walls.
Drive Park one car at the String Lake trailhead (end of hike). From Moose Junction on US 187/89, turn west onto Teton Park Rd. Go 10 miles to the North Jenny Lake Junction; turn left for String Lake. Backtrack with the second car to Moose-Wilson Rd. (just outside the Moose Entrance Station) and go south 3 miles; turn right for the Death Canyon trailhead.
Permits One-third are by reservation, starting January 1; two-thirds are on a first-come basis 1 day prior to your hike.
Guidebook Teton Trails, by Katy Duffy and Darwin Wile, $7
Contact (307) 739-3309; www.nps.gov/grte. Backcountry trip planner: www.nps.gov/grte/pubs/brochures/backcountry.pdf
1. Yellowstone National Park: Bechler River Trail
Ever wonder what the first people to wander through Yellowstone saw? Well, stop guessing and head out on the 34-mile traverse from Old Faithful to the Bechler River ranger station. In pristine country that feels several centuries removed from the bumper-to-bumper logjams on the park’s main roads, this trip dishes out a life-list smorgasbord of wildlife (moose, grizzlies, deer, and waterfowl), thermal features, and waterfalls. Lone Star Geyser, just 3 miles into the hike, erupts frequently enough that you may get a show, especially if you plan early enough to score the nearby campsite. A 6-mile out-and-back side trip through Shoshone Geyser Basin, which sits on the western edge of sprawling Shoshone Lake, features 40 more backcountry geysers–and no soft-serve-licking crowds. In the broad meadows and verdant forests of the enormous Madison Plateau, you’ll twice cross the Continental Divide, perhaps unknowingly. Then, continuing south, you’ll drop into the narrow, rugged canyon of the Gregg Fork. The mystical setting of Three River Junction will remind you of Middle Earth, as the Phillips, Gregg, and Ferris Forks crash together in a crescendo of waterfalls and steaming thermals to form the Bechler River. Leave lots of time to visit Mr. Bubble on the Ferris Fork, where bubbling waters warm a pool to hot-tub temps. The final day’s eye candy includes the steep cliffs of Bechler Canyon, 45-foot Iris Falls, and Colonnade Falls, which tumbles over drops of 35 and 67 feet. This easy hike can be done in 3 days–but deserves 5 or more.
Drive Park one car at the Bechler River ranger station (end of hike). From US 20 in Ashton, ID, take Marysville Rd., which becomes Cave Falls Rd./FR 582. Leave a second car at Old Faithful.
Route From Old Faithful, take the Howard Eaton, Shoshone Lake, Bechler River, and Bechler Meadows Trails, in that order. End at the Bechler River ranger station. For the side trip to Shoshone Geyser Basin, follow the Shoshone Lake Trail.
Permits Required. Reserve sites in advance by mail, beginning April 1.
Map Trails Illustrated Yellowstone National Park #201 ($10)
Contact (307) 344-7381; www.nps.gov/yell. Backcountry trip planner: www.nps.gov/yell/publications/pdfs/backcountry
3. Grand Canyon National Park: Escalante Route
A mile deep and up to 18 miles wide, the Grand Canyon harbors more awe-inspiring beauty and potential for wilderness adventure than just about any other national park in the system. You would need at least a lifetime to explore every nuance of this diverse natural wonder. But if you have, say,
5 days, and you want to stuff them full of Big Ditch scenery, challenge, and solitude, you can do no better than the Escalante Route. This rugged 33-mile trek descends from the South Rim to the Colorado River on the
Tanner Trail and exits on the Grandview Trail. In between, you’ll negotiate an obstacle course that goes on for 15 spectacular miles. You won’t soon forget peering 1,000 feet straight down into the roiling torrent of river from Unkar Overlook, scrambling through a pleasantly cool slot canyon, traversing steep talus slopes, climbing down a 150-foot rockslide, and hiking across undulating meadows reminiscent of Swiss Alps, only far drier. While the days are demanding on the Escalante Route, the camping is cushy (at least by Grand Canyon standards); you’ll spend most nights at riverside beach campsites with soft sand, abundant water, and the soothing sound of tumbling rapids to lull you to sleep.
Drive Park one car at Lipan Point, which is 2.3 miles west of the park’s east entrance on East Rim Drive. Leave a second car at Grandview Point (end of hike).
Route Consider this itinerary when requesting your backcountry permit. Day 1: Descend from the South Rim via Tanner Trail to Tanner Rapids campsite. Day 2: Camp at Cardenas Creek site.
Day 3: Camp at Red Canyon/Hance Rapids site (you can hike out here on the New Hance Trail for a shorter trip). Day 4: Follow the Tonto Trail to Horseshoe Mesa campsite (fill up water bottles at Hance Creek).
Day 5: Take the Grandview Trail to climb up to Grandview Point.
Permits Required. In addition to the park entrance fee of $25 per car, there’s a $10 backcountry permit fee, plus a charge of $5 per person, per day.
Maps Trails Illustrated Grand Canyon National Park #207 ($10). USGS quads Desert View, Cape Royal, Grandview Point
Guidebook Hiking the Grand Canyon, by John Annerino, $17
Contact (928) 638-7875; www.nps.gov/grca/backcountry
4. National Park Denali: Three Passes Route
Don’t be intimidated by this legendary park’s promise of heavy weather, hulking bears, and off-trail navigation. None is beyond the skills of the sensible intermediate hiker. In fact, the biggest challenge you may face on this hike into Denali’s most coveted high country is scoring a backcountry permit; 3 days is a typical high-season wait. No matter, because making this weeklong trek is like walking into the pages of a coffee-table book featuring the broadest valleys and brawniest peaks of the Alaska Range. From your first steps south along the Sanctuary River, the views are measured in tens of miles; exiting the park bus, your gaze will follow a snaking set of braids and brushy river bars to the eastern foothills of the range. As you climb–slowly at first, then onto gentle tundra benches, then more aggressively as you cross from the Sanctuary’s headwaters to the West Fork of Windy Creek–you’ll find it hard to believe that these first 2 days are a mere appetizer to the feast ahead. Get out the compass at Windy Creek; the up-and-down stretch through Foggy and Easy Passes to the West Fork of the Chulitna River and then Anderson Pass is not as straightforward as following a half-mile-wide glacial river. By now, you’ve probably seen grizzlies and moose, and gotten your feet wet in frigid stream crossings; more of the latter is coming shortly. From the Chulitna, follow the moraine line of a glacier west (in plain English, that’s the berm of rocks churned aside as a glacier courses through a drainage). When you finally top out at Anderson Pass, McKinley rears up–weather permitting–in all its massive glory. You’ve seen pictures, but it’s always bigger than you expect. Pick up your jaw and drop down to Glacier Creek, which leads north to Eielson Visitor Center.
Drive From Anchorage, take the Glenn Highway (AK 1) east to the Parks Highway (AK 9) north to the park (about 4 hours). No car? Try the train or hiker shuttle. Once in Denali, take the park bus to your desired drop-off spot.
Permits Required, free, limited by quotas, and available only on-site (there is a bus charge). Our advice: Go late August to mid-September to avoid crowds and bugs.
Guidebook Denali National Park Guide, by Ike Waits, $20
Contact (907) 683-2294; www.nps.gov/dena. Backcountry planner: www/nps.gov/dena/home/visitorinfo/backcountry/bcguide/pdf
5. Olympic National Park: Ozette River to Shi Shi Beach
Tall, snowy mountains and deep canyons are all well and good, but the most exotic landscape in the national parks may be Olympic’s coastline, especially the 10-mile stretch of sea-stack-and-starfish-studded beach between the Ozette River and Shi Shi. It’s dramatic, too. One visit may play out as a sun-bleached castaway campout with driftwood fires beneath a twinkling sky. The next may be a tempestuous symphony of crashing surf, tumbling logs the size of telephone poles, and horizontal winds whipping froth from rogue waves. Whichever hike unfolds, you won’t soon forget the stark beauty and sense of turbulent, ever-changing life that pervades this lonely promenade of cobbled sand, tidal pools, and rainforest. Watch the park’s website for trail closings–flooding is common–and pack a full rainsuit.
Permits Advance reservation required, up to 30 days in advance. Fee is $5, plus $2 per person per night.
Contact (360) 565-3100; www.nps.gov/olym/wic
THE REST OF THE BEST
6 [Yosemite]
The physically challenging, navigationally demanding, 200-mile Sierra High Route is the taller, tougher, and cooler brother of the more-traveled John Muir Trail. Guide: The Sierra High Route, by Steve Roper
7 [Glacier]
Mountain goats built the Highline Trail–or so it seems. This 20-mile classic has some of America’s most reliable wildlife-watching. Guide: Hiking Glacier, by Erik Molvar
8 [Rocky Mountain]
The airy Keyhole Route up 14,259-foot Longs Peak yields unrivaled panoramas of hundreds of cloudscraping peaks. Guide: Colorado’s Fourteeners, by Gerry Roach
9 [Kenai Fjords]
Plan a kayak trip in Aialik Bay, a glacier-rimmed zoo of salmon, sea lions, whales–and sandy beach camping. Guide: Complete Guide to KFNP, by Jim Pfeiffenberger
10 [Bryce]
On the Under the Rim Trail, you’ll get close to the park’s erosion-sculpted hoodoos and camp in cool, fragrant forests. Guide: Hiking Zion & Bryce Canyon, by Erik Molvar
11 [Canyonlands]
Paddle the Green River through Stillwater Canyon to the Colorado Confluence for outrageous redrock scenery, or to access secret entrances to Maze District hiking. Either way, it’s a life-lister. Guide: Exploring Canyonlands & Arches, by Bill Scheider
12 [Gates of the Arctic]
When you’re ready to roll without a safety net, hire a floatplane and explore the arctic beauty of the Arrigetch Peaks, one of the world’s last true wildernesses. Guide: Alaska’s Parklands, by Nancy Simmerman
13 [North Cascades]
From cedar forests to alpine wildflower meadows, the Northern Passes Traverse from Ross Lake to Mt. Baker ski area is quintessential Cascades. Guide: Cascade Alpine Guide (3 vols.), by Fred Beckey
14 [Sequoia & Kings Canyon]
You won’t see the parks’ biggest trees on the John Muir Trail, but you’ll get Yosemite-quality high country without that park’s traffic. Guide: John Muir Trail, by Alan Castle
15 [Mt. Rainier]
Tough call, but ours is a 34-miler on the Wonderland and Northern Loop Trails. It hits primeval forest, tundra, and big views. Guide: Hiking MRNP, by Heidi Schneider
16 [Zion]
Easy call: Hike the psychedelically contoured Virgin River Narrows. Guide: Hiking Zion & Bryce Canyon, by Erik Molvar
17 [Capitol Reef]
A sweet multiday slot-canyon hike is the towering, twisting crack of Spring Canyon. Guide: Exploring CRNP, by David Crowell
18 [Guadalupe Mountains]
Don’t tell Vermont, but McKittrick Canyon is the nation’s premier fall-color hike. Guide: Trails of the Guadalupes, by Don Kurtz
19 [Isle Royale]
Minong Ridge looks over the world’s largest freshwater lake and offers moose encounters and wolf-pack serenades. Guide: Isle Royal National Park, by Jim DuFresne
20 [Badlands]
Heaven for black-and-white photographers is a cross-country trek in the Sage Creek Wilderness, with its unique, stark topography. Guide: www.backpacker.com
21 [Big Bend]
A paddle through Santa Elena Canyon is an alternately rapid and mellow ride between immense limestone cliffs. Guide: River Guide to the Rio Grande, by park staff
22 [Great Smoky Mountains]
Combine the AT with the Welch Ridge and Forney Creek Trails for a 31-mile loop with bears, balds, and ruins. Guide: Day & Overnight Hikes in GSMNP, by Johnny Molloy
23 [Theodore Roosevelt]
Soak up Badlands vistas on the 4-day float on the cottonwood-lined Little Missouri. Guide: www.nps.gov/thro/tr_boats.htm
24 [Joshua Tree]
Camp among bizarre granite domes and the park’s famous trees on the Boy Scout Trail. Guide: Joshua Tree Trails, by Patty Knapp
25 [Shenandoah]
Hike the Knob Mountain-Jeremys Run Loop for trout, cascades, and quiet campsites. Guide: Day & Overnight Hikes in Shenandoah, by Johnny Molloy
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