In Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, there is a very famous trail known as Fern Canyon. It’s so popular, in fact, that you need a permit to park in the parking area May 15-September 15. It’s worth it: Fern-covered walls,…
Big Ridge Road to The Neck
The Flint Trail is famous, but as a spur just before descending, the Big Ridge Road takes 4x4ers out to some of the most beautiful almost-road-accessible scenery atop the Orange Cliffs in the Maze District of Canyonlands. (At least in…
Wheelchair Accessible Trails and Views in Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon is my most-visited National Park – with good reason! The views are spectacular and generally easy to access. The good news is that most of these views are also wheelchair accessible or accessible to the mobility impaired. In…
Climbing Fern’s Nipple
I finally found my favorite hike in Capitol Reef National Park, but it has a ridiculous name: Fern’s Nipple. So the story goes, Butch Cassidy named it after one of his girlfriends. I prefer the story of an early settler…
Explore Willow Springs Canyon
Willow Springs Canyon is a mostly-unknown scramble of a hike near the western border of Arches National Park. You’ll need 4×4 to get to the trailhead, but with high clearance, you can get close enough to the trailhead to walk…
Exploring Resurrection Canyon
In the way of explorable canyons, Resurrection Canyon near Big Water in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a stand-out. It’s not a slot – it’s rarely less than 20ft. wide – but it boasts a wild assortment of rock…
Hiking to Elephant Arch
I sometimes imagine that it must be hard for explorers to come up with original names for the features they discover. How many Beacon Rocks, Twin Peaks, Old Baldies, Haystack Mountains, Sugarloaf Peaks, and Flat Top Mountains are there in…
Sneak Peak: Arches, Island in the Sky, and More!
Yesterday, I posted about all of the trails in Arches National Park. Today, I’ll tell you the rest of the story – everything else we did while exploring the area around Moab on my most recent visit to the area. …
An Itinerary to Hike All the Trails in Arches National Park!
The main park road in Arches National Park is only 18 miles long – but it packs a punch in those miles! The park boasts close to 20 trails and routes, and I had the pleasure of hiking (at least…
The Endless Wall Trail
The Endless Wall Trail is the premier hike in New River Gorge National Park. I personally didn’t find it to be the most scenic trail (that award goes to Long Point), but it does have several advantages: It’s near the…