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1) Berg Lake trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park
Where: Mount Robson Provincial Park, on the border between British Columbia and
Alberta in the northern Canadian Rockies
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I'm prepared to admit to some vacillation as to the ranking of most of the hikes on this page, but when it comes to the number one spot there's no doubt - the best day hike in North America is the trail to Berg Lake in the shadow of Mount Robson's Emperor Face. Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and the sight of the Berg glacier flowing from the summit snowfield all the way down to the lake is itself incomparable. A great hike, though, needs to be about more than a first class destination, and the Berg Lake trail is outstandingly varied and scenic for almost its entire length. Along the way you pass tranquil Kinney Lake, climb past several waterfalls (including the magnificent Emperor Falls), and traverse a beautiful high valley filled with the braided outlet stream from Berg Lake. At 26 miles it's admittedly a stretch to call this a day hike (though you can use mountain bikes along the first few miles of the trail which helps a lot), but whether you tackle the trail in one day or as a backpack this is one not to miss. |
2) The Narrows, Zion National Park
Where: Zion National Park in southwest Utah, near the town of Springdale |
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Upstream of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park the Virgin River flows for several miles through the Zion Narrrows, a narrow gorge that in places is no more than thirty feet wide but perhaps a thousand feet deep. Although some would vote for the Paria Canyon / Buckskin Gulch, in my opinion the Narrows is the finest narrow canyon in the Southwest that can be explored without technical equipment. The narrowest sections, where the river fills the gorge completely, are an incredible sight, and some are close enough to the Temple of Sinawava trailhead to be easily accessible on an out and back hike. The hike is enormously entertaining - there's no real trail and for most of the way you progress upstream by wading from sandbank to sandbank in knee to thigh deep water. A wading staff comes in very handy. To see the best of the Narrows you need to make it at least as far as the junction of Orderville Canyon, which joins the Narrows near the start of a magnificent stretch that extends all the way up to Big Spring. The only downside of this hike is that it's dependent on good weather - you don't want to venture into the Narrows if the forecast danger from flash floods (updated daily and available in the Park) is anything but "low". In the event that the Narrows is out of bounds, though, there are other excellent hikes in Zion, including the airy route to Angels Landing which has a claim to being in the top ten itself. |
3) Highline trail to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook, Glacier National ParkWhere: Glacier National Park, in northern Montana |
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Glacier National Park, adjoining the Canadian border in northern Montana, boasts breathtaking glacial scenery, an extensive trail system, and exceptional opportunities to see wildlife including grizzly bears, which are easier to see here than in the Canadian Rockies or Alaska's Denali National Park. My recommended day hike in the park follows the Highline trail from Logan Pass along the base of the Garden Wall, with non-stop views out to the peaks in the western half of the park. After about 7 miles of moderate hiking the trail reaches a junction with the Grinnell Glacier Overlook trail. From the junction, it's a viciously steep climb of a thousand feet in less than a mile to a notch in the Garden Wall overlooking Upper Grinnell Lake and the Grinnell Glacier. It's worth the effort - the panorama here is as spectacular as any you'll find accessible by trail in a US National Park. Returning to the Highline from the overlook, it's possible to either backtrack to Logan Pass (15 miles in all, this is what we did), continue on toward Granite Chalet and descend to The Loop further West along the Going-to-the-Sun road (13 miles), or cross Swiftcurrent Pass and descend into the Many Glacier area emerging at the Swiftcurrent Motor Lodge (17 miles). A hiker shuttle in the park makes the one-way options feasible. |
4) Conrad Kain hut, Bugaboo Provincial Park
Where: Bugaboo Provincial Park, British Columbia |
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One of the shortest hikes in this list is also the most remote, and part of the enjoyment of hiking in the Bugaboos is the lack of crowds (this is a famous climbing destination, but few hikers seem to make the short drive over from the Rockies into the Purcells). The trail to the Conrad Kain hut is short but steep, and in places the route is protected by cables bolted into the rock. There's even one spot where you climb a steep section with the aid of a metal ladder, but the trail is in excellent shape and at least in dry weather these aids are more for reassurance than for necessity. The views of the Hound's Tooth, with the Bugaboo glacier flowing past the spire and down the valley, are continual and astounding throughout the hike, and is season there are nice patches of wildflowers in several small meadows along the trail. The hut is perched on a rocky shelf with a panoramic view of both the spires and the valley along which the trail ascends. It's a great spot for lunch. You can also scramble off-trail without much difficulty to attain a small ridge that allows a closer vantage of the glaciers. This is about as wild a spot as can be reached by mere hikers. |
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5) Coyote Gulch, Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument
Where: Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, Utah |
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Coyote Gulch may well be the most impressive canyon in the Southwest. The sinuous sandstone canyon features spectacular rock arches, deeply undercut alcoves, and lush vegetation. It's an unforgettable sight, and the hike through the canyon would be higher on the list were it not for the fact that it doesn't quite work as a day hike. The easiest approach (which I followed) is via Hurricane Wash, in which case you have about 5 miles of pleasant but unremarkable hiking before the real drama of Coyote Gulch begins. It's also possible to make a loop from the Forty Mile Ridge trailhead by first heading to the lower Gulch, then hiking upstream and exiting the canyon near Jacob Hamblin Arch, but the climb out of the canyon is exposed and borderline dangerous without climbing skills. Even with these reservations, however, the canyon is a must-see destination and highly recommended. |
6) Harding Icefield trail, Kenai Fjords National Park
Where: Kenai Fjords National Park, near Seward in Alaska. The Park is about 120 miles
south of Anchorage. |
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Awe inspiring scenery and solitude are not in short supply in Alaska, but hiking trails (and even roads) are few and far between in much of the state. Excellent day hikes on established trails do exist, however, in the Chugach mountains bordering Anchorage, around other towns such as Juneau, and in a few of the National Parks. An outstanding hike in Kenai Fjords National Park climbs alongside the Exit Glacier to reach its source at the Harding Icefield. The trail is well constructed but indisputably steep, especially for the first mile and a half or so that it takes to climb above the tree line. Good views start at the 1.3 mile mark at Marmot Meadows where, on the day we did the hike, one of the eponymous critters was contentedly basking on a rock just by the trail. From there, the trail ascends to the Top of the Cliffs overlook at 2.3 miles before continuing somewhat less steeply to an emergency shelter and the icefield overlook that marks the end of the hike. An icefield makes a difficult photographic subject - a sheet of white nothingness - but when you're there in person the views of the glacier, together with the panorama of peaks in the coastal mountains and the icefield itself stretching off into the distance, are extraordinary. Bears are commonly sighted in the Exit Glacier area, and we saw a number of black bears foraging in the area and crossing the snow slopes above the trail. The bears were surprisingly nimble on the snow. |
7) Panorama Ridge trail, Garibaldi Provincial Park
Where: Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia |
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Garibaldi Provincial Park, just a short drive north of Vancouver, is home to by far the most accessible sliver of British Columbia's mighty Coast Mountains. The trail to the Panorama Ridge - generally considered to be the best hike in the park - is long and, especially near the start, steep, with a total elevation gain of some 5,000 feet. In truth, the first few miles, as you climb relentlessly upward through the forest, might be described as drudgery. These travails are soon forgotten, however, once the trail clears the trees at Taylor Meadows. From here on the exertion starts to pay off as views of snowy peaks emerge and the trail traverses (in late July) some of the richest wildflower meadows I've ever seen. A final steep ascent brings you to the Panorama Ridge, and a truly breathtaking vista. Mount Garibaldi, the Tantalus Range, and the Black Tusk frame the intense blue of Garibaldi Lake to form a 360 degree portrait of what looks like boundless wilderness. This is a spot to savor, so be sure to bring protection against bugs or you might need to beat a hasty retreat - the one downside of the Coast Mountains is the presence of dense swarms of black flies, which will envelope you the moment you pause to rest or eat lunch! |
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8) Panorama trail, Yosemite National Park
Where: Yosemite National Park, California |
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Almost of the trails in Yosemite offer exceptional views, but they're also typically crowded and during busy periods of the year the scrum down in the Valley is frankly best avoided. Instead of one of the routes starting on the Valley floor I'd recommend the Panorama trail, much of which is surprisingly lightly frequented. The hike starts at Glacier Point - which itself affords one of the best drive-up panoramas to be found in America's National Park - and stays high for about four miles as it traverses the edge of the Valley, passing along the way Illilouette Falls. There are great views of Half Dome, Liberty Cap and the Valley Falls for almost all of this stretch. Approaching the top of Nevada Falls you can either take the scenic but very wet Mist trail down to the Valley, passing both Nevada and Vernal Falls, or the slightly less scenic but drier John Muir trail. At the peak of the Spring runoff both waterfalls are spectacular sights. I did this hike as a partial loop from Glacier Point - descending via the John Muir trail and coming back via the Mist trail - which made for a strenuous but unforgettable 16 mile day. In the summer, though, you can also catch a bus from the Valley floor up to Glacier Point, in which case the 8.5 mile hike down to the Valley is almost all downhill. |
9) Paintbrush / Cascade Canyon loop, Grand Teton National Park
Where: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming |
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An exceptional loop hike amid some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the lower 48 states, the Paintbrush Canyon / Cascade Canyon loop is the shortest of several hikes in Grand Teton National Park that are just about doable in a single day. Starting from the String Lake trailhead it's both more scenic and safer to hike the loop counter-clockwise, starting with the ascent through Paintbrush Canyon to almost 11,000 feet at the Paintbrush Divide. These first 7 miles are stiff work, but once you reach the Divide the rest of the day is mostly downhill with the jagged peaks of the Tetons a continual backdrop. The trail passes Lake Solitude (pictured above) and Hidden Falls, both of which are attractive destinations, and the short side trip to Inspiration Point overloking Jenny Lake is also worthwhile (if you're hiking 19 miles, why not make it 20?). It's possible to cut a couple of miles off the total by riding the boat back across Jenny Lake, or you can walk the last section of the trail around the northern shore of the lake back to the trailhead. |
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10) High Divide trail, Olympic National Park
Where: Olympic National Park, on the Olympic Peninsual in Washington state.
Port Angeles is the nearest town. |
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Olympic National Park is one of the unsung gems of the US National Park system. It features an exceptional diversity of landscapes - glaciated peaks, temperate and rain forests, and wild coastline - that is ideal for both day hiking and backpacking. One of the best destinations - the Blue Glacier on Mount Olympus - is probably out of range for a day hike (it would be 36 miles round trip), but an excellent loop that takes in part of the famed High Divide trail can be done in one day starting from the trailhead at the end of the Sol Duc road. Best done counter-clockwise (in case snow on the High Divide trail forces a retreat) the trail passes Sol Duc Falls before climbing steeply to reach the Seven Lakes Basin, the High Divide, and expansive views across the forested valleys toward Mount Olympus. The trail then descends past Heart Lake along the Sol Duc valley, passing numerous small waterfalls along the way. |
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Are these really the ten best hikes in America? Of course not! Quite apart from the inevitable subjectivity, this list is limited to trails that I've personally hiked, and I certainly hope that I haven't exhausted the best that North America has to offer yet. Hikes I know about (but haven't done) that might one day make this list include Half Dome in Yosemite, the Sahale Arm in the North Cascades, and hikes out of Kennicott in Wrangell-St Elias National park. Surely there are many more I don't know about. Finally my own personal bias is toward full day hikes that leave you exhausted but with a real sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. If the metric were instead maximum scenic reward for minimum effort the list would look very different, with the Eielson ridge trail in Denali National Park, the Delicate Arch trail in Arches, and the Parker Ridge trail in Banff being hard to beat. Still, whether or not these are the best trails out there I can almost guarantee that none of the hikes above will disappoint. Enjoy! |
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Disclaimer: these are all non-technical hikes, mostly on excellent trails in National Parks. Still, the number of ways in which people can come to grief in the outdoors is almost limitless, and both mountains and narrow canyons pose their share of dangers. Conditions change from season to season (and sometimes from hour to hour), so don't rely on my word and take all due care. I'd particularly note that many of these are pretty long and strenuous hikes that might work better as short backpacks than day hikes for some folks. |
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References: Best hikes in North America has
more suggestions for great hikes. |
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photography, text and design by Phil Armitage
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