Best Hikes in the US!

[hikethe115]

Great list!

Thanks for posting this, it's great! I would add 2 in PA:

Old Loggers Path - 23 mile loop with an old ghost town thrown in
Loyalsock Trail - 60 miles one way

 

[woodsxc]

There are several excellent hikes in Turkey Run State Park and Shades State Park in Indiana. In particular, Devil's Backbone in Shades SP.

 

[jniehof]

Ugh, this is long.

NM:
Alcove House isn't all that great of a "hike." It's a simple flat walk in along the bottom of Frijoles Canyon and then up the ladders into the alcove. The Tsankawi Unit is much more interesting both as a hike and for the archaelogical remains. Bandy's site is, as usual, slow as snot, but my pamphlet says 1.5mi. You walk up onto the mesa top, across some older ruins (foundations and the like), with shards of pottery everywhere, great views into White Rock Canyon. Then you come down a little bit and walk past the cliff dwellings. Seriously underrated.

For that matter, the loop down Blue Dot, across the bottom of White Rock canyon, then up Red Dot and along the rim is pretty close to deserving inclusion. I think it's of order 7 miles with 2000' vertical.

For White Sands, I'd say "run around anywhere" is better than the Dune Life Trail and probably better than Alkali Flats. The best way is to sign up for the full moon bike ride--you get to bike in after the Monument closes and then run around the dunes in the moonlight. You also don't die in the sun.

If Alcove House counts as a "hike", Carlsbad's Lower Cave counts and I'd highly recommend it. It's somewhat physical (compared to the fully-lit rooms) and entirely by headlamp, but no squeezing through places.

I haven't been to the Bisti Badlands in...uh...at least 25 years, but they made an impression.

Tent Rocks is finally reopened after fire damage, haven't been there yet.

I don't think Santa Fe Baldy deserves "best of" status. Maybe the full loop including Lake and Penitente, which I haven't done yet. That and Lake Katherine probably get spots for being close to Santa Fe.

I strongly suspect there's something worthy in the Sacramento Mountains, but I haven't done any serious hiking there. They are a long ways from everything.

I haven't been up San Antonio, but just driving past it is incredible, and it's a very common destination.

Kitchen Mesa, on Ghost Ranch, has a fun easy scramble that leads to great views of the Ranch. Four-ish miles, maybe a thousand vertical? Round number approximations.

CO:
Again, if Alcove House counts, throw in Mesa Verde's Balcony House. The CT by Molas Pass is top-notch. And the Decalibron ain't all that great, just relatively easy for bagging three 14ers.

IA:
Lost Lake at Ledges is definitely a good pick.

UT:
I definitely want to do the Uinta Highline Trail sometime. Two ultrarunning reports: 1, 2. A nice shorter one in the area is the loop around Lofty Lake; not sure it's listworthy as such.

 

[Tuggy]

Falls Trail, Rickett's Glen State Park, Pa. 7 mile loop, 22 named waterfalls, the highest of which is 94 feet. Many of the trees in the Lower Glen are over 300 years old. The park sits on a natural fault in the Allegheny Mountains. Go after a couple days of heavy rain and the falls are magnificent. If you can combine a good rainful in the fall, you'll get the leaves too. Start from Pa 118 follow the stream to waters meet where two glens converge, follow either branch to the top, cross thru some typical Pa forest, some big boulders and descend the other glen to waters meet and back down to the road thru the ancient forest. If winter or early spring, check park's website to see if trail is open as it ices up from the mist from the falls.

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/rickettsglen.aspx

 

[rup]

Is the 'button' disconnected now?? Doesn;t work.

 

[roadtripper]

Is the 'button' disconnected now?? Doesn;t work.

Yes, I removed the link. VFTT-ers are welcome to PM me if they still want the file.

I just didn't want to put this list out onto the general internet as much of the information was copied from guidebooks and magazines. Although I did put quotation marks whenever I used a quote, I don't want to run the risk of a publisher getting upset.