When one of your less adventurous group members says, “There’s this off-trail adventure in the middle of nowhere with a really cool cabin built by Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch Gang; we’ve got to go see if we can…
Exploring Goblin Valley: Valleys 1, 2, and 3!
If you spend much time on forums about hiking in Utah, you’re sure to hear about Goblin Valley State Park. It’s doubly true if someone is asking about hiking with kids in Utah. You see, while there are trails (Caramel…
The Rock Garden in Worlds End State Park
Before I headed out on the Canyon Vista Trail in Worlds End State Park, I noticed a sign across the road from the parking area (Loyalsock Canyon Vista) that pointed toward the Rock Garden. Curious, I walked over to see…
Exploring to Ribbon Arch
Ribbon Arch was one of the destinations I didn’t quite get to find in Arches National Park back when I visited on a gorgeous November day in 2020. That was the trip where I finally visited Canyonlands and Arches after…
Adventures on the Fossil Forest Route
The Fossil Forest is a hidden gem of Yellowstone National Park. Located in the Lamar Valley, it’s not marked, nor is it especially official. But I was able to follow a trail all of the way up, so I can’t…
Exploring Fern Canyon
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,…
Scrambling Daylight Peak
In my ramblings around the internet looking for cool hikes to add to my ever-growing site about Death Valley National Park, I ran across the fact that I could hike to the top of an unnamed mountain called Daylight Peak…
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…
Scrambling up Lake Hill (aka the Chocolate Drops)
In my perusals of unofficial routes in Death Valley, I ran across three hikes that seemed fascinating (to me, anyway!) in Panamint Valley: Panamint Dunes (which is actually an official route, though its trail is pretty much invisible in many…