The Best Hikes in the World, Picked By the Experts
By John O’Connor
This exhaustive (and highly subjective) list of the ultimate hiking spots can guide you to your next outdoor adventure, and on adventures for years to come. To create the list, we canvassed some of the most accomplished guides, mountaineers, and backcountry adventurers, including pro climber Jimmy Chin, who recommends Wyoming’s “stunningly beautiful” Teton Crest Trail as “the number one hike in America”; three-time Everest summiter Conrad Anker, whose hands-down favorite is the sandstone Angels Landing Trail in Zion; legendary mountaineer Jim Whittaker; backpacker Andrew Skurka; and Brad Ludden.
Some of these hikes are rambling strolls, and some are true tests of skill and endurance. While most are here at home in the U.S., we’ve thrown in a few classics from around the world. Happy trails.
East Fork Quinault River Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington (26 miles)
(Photo: Aaron Mccoy / Getty Images)
A major portal to Olympic National Park’s legendary Enchanted Valley, the Quinault River plows deep into primeval rainforest and a fern-ringed canyon of slate and sandstone outcroppings. With 140 inches of rainfall per year, the valley walls are almost blindingly verdant and lined throughout with waterfalls — it’s also known as the “Valley of 10,000 Waterfalls.” The midway point is a historic chalet and emergency ranger station that was once used as an aircraft warning post during World War II, and now teeters on the banks of the river. There’s a large year-round black bear population, and in winter the valley is home to one of the largest elk herds in America. More information: nps.gov/olym
See all of the 50 best hikes in the world
Hundred-Mile Wilderness, Maine (100 miles)
(Photo: Sam Abell / National Geographic / Getty Images)
The last 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail are undeniably the hardest and most isolated, holding the AT’s longest section of unbroken wilderness. A sign at the start reminds hikers that there’s nowhere to re-supply until the end of the line. “It’s really out in the sticks,” says guide and trail expert Philip Werner. “The first 35 miles are extremely mountainous, up and down, up and down. But the last 65 are flat and gorgeous, with ample lakes and streams and waterfalls. It’s also moose city. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the greatest hike in the world.” Be sure to arrange a pickup at the end, as the trail ends unceremoniously in the middle of nowhere, on a dirt road with logging trucks blowing by. More information: Maine’s Wilderness Trail
Tenmile Range Traverse, Colorado (15 miles)
(Photo: John Kieffer / Getty Images)
“I mostly prefer off-trail routes these days,” says long-distance hiker Andrew Skurka. “It demands a higher level of engagement with the environment. You’re forced to pay attention.” Case in point: this high alpine route, beginning near the town of Frisco and ending in Breckenridge. Besides the on-trail start and finish, it traverses an unmarked ridgeline between no fewer than 10 12,000-foot-plus peaks, doable in a single day by a strong, experienced hiker. By the time you get to the tenth, you’re at 13,633-feet. “It’s big Colorado scenery,” says Skurka. “Rocky, craggy, high and exposed. And the views are fantastic.” A free shuttle in Breckenridge takes you back to your car.
More information: trails.com
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Pawnee Pass Trail, Colorado (4.5 miles)
(Photo: John Kieffer / Getty Images)
The first quarter-mile of this rugged trail outside of Boulder is heavily trod, but traffic lightens once you enter the Indian Peaks Wilderness — home to seven mountains over 13,000 feet — where it becomes more rocky and exposed. The route follows the Continental Divide between Pawnee Peak and Shoshoni Peak (13,409), along several switchbacks that meander under a ridge above the stunning glacial Lake Isabelle, with Navajo Peak (13,409) and Apache Peak (13,441) hovering in the distance. Most folks skip the extra half-mile of 400 vertical feet to the summit of Pawnee Peak, where even more spectacular views await. More information: fs.usda.gov
Lostwood Refuge Prairie Trail, Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota (7.5 miles)
(Photo: Tom Bean / Getty Images)
An overlooked gem in the North Dakota backcountry, the Lostwood contains 42 square miles of stunning mixed-grass prairie and wetlands that are a bird-watcher’s paradise. This loop follows a gravel road along the southern border of the refuge, rolling through a landscape of gentle hills and plains, and with one of the refuge’s 40 “leks” — breeding grounds for Sharp-Tailed Grouse. The rugged grasslands are the essential habitat for this grouse and over 200 other bird species, including Sprague’s pipits, Baird’s sparrows, American avocets, willets, and marbled godwits. More information: parkrec.nd.gov
The Lost Coast Trail-North, California (25 miles)
(Photo: David H. Collier / Getty Images)
Named for its tendency to vanish beneath California’s tide, and for its scarcity of roads, the 64,000-acre Lost Coast encompasses the state’s most undeveloped stretch of shoreline. Much of the King Range wilderness is beach hiking, including three lovely black-sand stretches, with diversions into redwood groves, chaparral, grassy meadows, old-growth forest and fern glens, and several stream and tide-pool crossings. A herd of Roosevelt Elk considers the area around Chemise Mountain home, and seals, sea lions, and whales can often be spotted offshore. It’s a popular hike, with some occasionally heavy rainfall. A midweek summer season trek is your best shot at solitude and dryness. More information: blm.gov
Camp Muir Trail, Mt. Rainier, Washington (9 miles)
(Photo: Cliff Leight / Getty Images)
This classic mountain trek up to Camp Muir, a popular base camp for Mt. Rainier summiters, takes you to the 9,000-foot mark — as high as one can go without a climbing permit. With snow and ice common into late August, and two crevasses to negotiate, you’ll want to take it slow. “And crampons don’t hurt,” says Jim Whittaker. The trail stops at about 7,000 feet, and from there you’re on the Muir Snowfield for another three miles to Camp Muir. “At the top, you can see all the way into Oregon,” says Whittaker. “Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, St. Helen’s are all in the distance. You can almost see Seattle.” More information: wta.org
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Backbone Trail, Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana (7.6 miles)
(Photo: John Elk III / Getty Images)
As the name suggests, this well-blazed track follows a spine-line ridge for much of its length, offering expansive views of the hills and bayous of the Louisiana countryside. Located in the state’s only national park, a 600,000-acre swath of hardwoods and cypress-tupelo gum swamp, it’s without question the most beautiful trail in Louisiana, bisecting a longleaf pine forest that provides ample shade from the molten southern sun. About four miles in, you hit the tallest overlook on the trail, a sandstone outcrop facing the valley and Bayou Cypre. It’s doable in a day, but there are several good campsites, and no alligators, along the way. More information: fs.usda.gov
Laugavegurinn Trail, Iceland (34 miles)
(Photo: Getty Images)
This trail is set among the violent, volcanic, glacier-bound land of the Norse sagas, which has more diversity of terrain than probably anywhere else in the world. From Skogar, the trail winds through a mountain pass between the twin lava-belching craters of Magni and Móði, (“Strong” and “Angry,” respectively), who in the Icelandic Edda are the sons of Thor. After crossing the glacial Krossa River, you pitch down to the southern lowlands of the Thorsmork (Thor’s wood) and Porsmork nature reserve. Near the end you have a chance to take a second trail, Fimmvörduháls, which skirts a volcano’s cap for 14-miles toward the coast. More information: fi.is
Tower Fall Trail, Wyoming (2.5 miles)
(Photo: Nathan Chor / Getty Images)
A short, simple hike, and a go-to for tourists and out-of-towners, but also probably a necessary stop in Yellowstone. Try tackling it in November by snowshoe, when the unplowed trail presents a little more of a challenge, and bison, bighorn sheep, and bald eagles outnumber hikers. The Tower Fall Trail follows a road past the Calcite Springs Overlook to Tower Fall, a 130-feet waterfall that plunges into Tower Creek. Just above the falls, the creek passes through a scraggy, broken jumble of orange volcanic spires that look like giant incisors chopped out of a mountainside. More information: nps.gov
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