In a country as vast and varied as the United States, narrowing down the most beautiful hiking trails is no easy task. This country has more stunning hikes than anyone could tackle in a lifetime, particularly in its national parks. With that in mind, treat this list as a launchpad: explore these specific routes or let them spark ideas for other equally rewarding adventures. These are the most beautiful hikes in the United States.
Hikes in Arches National Park
With more than 2,000 natural stone arches in Arches National Park, you won’t see all of them on one short day hike. But four relatively short day hikes? Well, you’ll see at least some of the favourites. This easy tour of Arches is technically four hikes bundled into one sandstone-filled day. You’ll see some of the most famous arches in the park: Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, Double Arch, and the Windows. Stand under, photograph, and marvel at these naturally occurring stone arches as you walk through the desert just outside of Moab, Utah. Because each hike has its own trailhead, you can choose how much you want to do and adjust the distance to your energy level.
Experience it for yourself on: Hiking Utah's Mighty 5
Half Dome
Photos of the iconic Yosemite Valley don’t do it justice. The valley will leave you astonished, staring up at walls of towering granite. The bucket-list item? Scaling Half Dome, one of Yosemite National Park's most famous rock formations. To tackle this challenging 22km to 27km (14 mi to 17 mi) route in a day, you’ll start at the valley floor, hike the Mist Trail past Nevada and Vernal Falls, and then climb the cables to Half Dome’s summit. After gaining 1,463m (4,800 ft) in elevation and pulling your way up the final 121m (400 ft) on the cables, you’ll get views over the entire valley. It’s a huge endeavour, taking 10 to 16 hours or more, and while it's possible in one day, many folks do the route as a backpacking trip to break it up. Either way, hiking Half Dome requires a permit, so planning is essential.
Experience it for yourself on: California National Park Discovery
Horseshoe Lake Trail
Home to North America’s tallest peak, Denali National Park offers plenty of stunning hikes. The 3.2km (2 mi) Horseshoe Lake Trail is a well-maintained, beginner-friendly loop that offers rewarding views and gentle terrain. The trail leads to the shoreline, looping around the lake, through the forest, and along the Nenana River, taking one to two hours. On the lake’s north side, a spur trail leads to a beaver dam, and if you’re lucky, you might see one of the critters working hard on it. Aside from beavers, keep an eye out for moose, bears, and birds along the way.
Experience it for yourself on: Hike Alaska: Glaciers and Denali
Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop
One of Utah’s "Mighty 5" national parks, Bryce Canyon is famous for its huge sandstone hoodoos. The 4.6km (3 mi) Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop trail gives you one of the best introductions to the park in just a couple of hours. Going clockwise, you hike down the Queen’s Garden trail into the Bryce Canyon Amphitheatre, where you have the opportunity to experience hoodoos up close. On the Navajo Loop trail (either the Two Bridges or Wall Street side), you begin the steep trek back up to the rim. This heart-pumping set of switchbacks is a challenge, but you’ll enjoy plenty of beautiful views along the way to make it worth it, including one of the most photographed hoodoos in the park, Thor’s Hammer.
Experience it for yourself on: Hiking the Best of the West's National Parks
Pacific Crest Trail
The 4,265km (2,650 mi) Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) through California, Oregon, and Washington is not your run-of-the-mill beautiful day hike. However, for experienced thru-hikers looking to put their skills and grit to the test for a whopping four to six months, you won’t find too many hikes more beautiful than the PCT. Spanning from Mexico to Canada, this monumental trail covers desert, mountain passes, and vast forests. Each section holds its own beauty, but taken together, it's one of a kind. If you’re not feeling up to a six-month expedition, you can always hike smaller sections.
Angels Landing
One of the most infamous hikes in the U.S., Angels Landing in Utah's Zion National Park offers phenomenal views along a thin ridgeline with long drop-offs on either side. In other words, this 8.7km (5.4 mi) hike is not for the faint of heart, but it’s worth it. From the Grotto shuttle stop in Zion National Park, you hike up unrelenting switchbacks next to sandstone cliffs to Scout Lookout, where you’ll enjoy aerial views of Zion Canyon. This is also where the extra fun part begins as you make your way up the narrow ridgeline to Angels Landing. Chain handrails and footholds in the rock help with the ascent, but it’s still a challenging route to the final 360-degree views. Because of the hike’s popularity, you need a permit to hike to Angels Landing, but if you don’t get one, you can still hike to Scout Lookout without one.
Experience it for yourself on: Hiking Utah's Mighty 5
Teton Crest Trail
For alpine scenery and colourful wildflowers, this tour of Grand Teton National Park is a winner. During this challenging 63km (39 mi) hike over three to five days, you’ll climb more than 2,740m (9,000 ft), travelling between the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton National Park doesn’t always get the notoriety of Yellowstone or Yosemite, but it’s a gem filled with mountains, alpine lakes, and, in the summer, some of the best wildflowers in the West. You need a wilderness permit to backpack the trail, but it’s well worth it for the solitude you experience camping under the stars.
Experience it for yourself on: Journeys: Iconic Wildlife of Yellowstone and Grand Teton
Rim-to-Rim Trail
There’s no doubt about it: Grand Canyon National Park’s 39km (24 mi) Rim-to-Rim trail comes with bragging rights. On this route, you drop into one of the world’s seven natural wonders and hike out the other side. It’s one thing to see this magnificent canyon from the rim, but you get an entirely different perspective from the shores of the Colorado River at the bottom. Don’t be fooled by the relatively low mileage; with 1,570m (5,150 ft) of elevation in almost constant direct sunlight, it's a serious trek. You can hike north to south or vice versa. If you end at the South Rim on Bright Angel Trail, you can finish with a celebratory meal and beer from one of the several restaurants in Grand Canyon Village. If your final destination is the North Rim on the North Kaibab Trail, you emerge into a peaceful pine forest with significantly smaller crowds.
Experience it on: Southwest Road Trip: Zion, the Grand Canyon & Santa Monica Sunsets
Precipice Loop
Acadia National Park is often known as the "Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast," and for good reason. Located on the coast of Maine, Acadia offers scenic coastline, rocky headlands, and forested mountains. An exhilarating route, the challenging 5.1km (3.2 mi) Precipice Loop brings you to the summit of Champlain Mountain, where you enjoy panoramic views of Frenchman Bay, the Atlantic, and surrounding islands. While the views are spectacular, the real draw of this trail is the adventure you’ll have getting to the top, using iron rungs and ladders to scale the cliffside. It’s not a route for anyone afraid of heights, but if you’re willing to brave it, it’s worth the challenge.
Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful
A trip to Yellowstone National Park isn’t complete without a visit to Old Faithful. Once you’ve seen the famous geyser, escape some of the crowds by heading out on the boardwalks and bike path leading through the Upper Geyser Basin. This area is truly one of a kind — it has the highest concentration of geysers on the planet with more than 150 thermal features. You follow this easy-to-moderate route past many of those features, including Old Faithful, Beehive Geyser, Sawmill Geyser, Morning Glory Pool, and Daisy Geyser. As you walk through this desolate landscape, admire the rainbow pools. These hot springs sustain microbes that create the spectacular show of colour.
Experience it for yourself on: National Parks Family Journey: Yellowstone and Grand Teton
Congress Trail
It’s not every day that you get to walk among giants, but along the 4.3km (2.7 mi) Congress Trail in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, you do. Marvel at 1,000-year-old giant sequoias as you walk along this gentle, well-maintained path. You can even walk through some of the giant fallen trees. Along with the General Sherman Tree (the largest living tree on Earth), you’ll see many other mature sequoias, including the House and Senate groups. Throughout this display of majesty, notice how many of the trees have hollowed out trunks big enough to fully stand inside. These cavities are from former forest fires that the giant trees have endured over the years.
Experience it on: Hiking Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite
Marys Rock
For prime autumn leaf-peeping, the 6km (3.7 mi) Marys Rock Summit hike in Shenandoah National Park offers some of the best. Walk along a portion of the long-distance Appalachian Trail (another strong contender for this list) to Marys Rock, where you have sweeping views of the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain. Thanks to the mixed hardwood forests, this trail comes alive with yellows, oranges, and reds around October as all the leaves change color.
Bonanza Mine Trail
This challenging 14.5km (9 mi) trail offers a little bit of everything: wild scenery, rugged mountain views, and a cultural history. Nestled in Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, the Bonanza Mine Trail showcases some of the best of the state, including interesting pieces of 20th-century mining history. While the Bonanza Mine is now closed, these relics of buildings and the Bonanza tram station are cool to see, especially when placed next to the gorgeous mountains surrounding you.
Experience it for yourself on: Hike Alaska: Valdez and Wrangell St Elias
Hidden Lake Overlook
Hidden Lake Overview is one of the best hikes in Glacier National Park for postcard-worthy scenery. You follow a boardwalk through alpine meadows that bloom with wildflowers around mid- to late summer. As you hike, look up at the towering peaks of Clements Mountain, Mt Oberlin, Bearhat Mountain, and Mt Reynolds. When you reach Hidden Lake Overlook, you can take in the lake sprawled out below and turn back from there. However, if you’re feeling adventurous, hike an additional 1.9km (1.2 mi) each way down to the lakeside for a cold dip in the water. The only downside of this dreamy route? Parking can get overcrowded during the summer, so arrive early.
