HIKING in USA

39.1 Overview

According to 2015 Sports, Fitness And Leisure Activities Topline Participation Report, by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA, www.sfia.com),

36 million people ages six and older take at least one day hike each year. Eight million people take an overnight backpacking hike at least once; 2 million backpack eight or more times.

According to the U.S. Travel Association (USTA, www.ustravel.org), among those who engage in outdoor activities while traveling, 9% hike or backpack, making this the second-most popular type of outdoor recreation, trailing only camping.

Top Trails

While the backwoods of America abound with an estimated one million regional footpaths, a few are most prominent. Trails (www.trails.com) annually ranks the best trails in North America based on popularity and usage. The top ranked trails in 2016 are presented in Chapter 79 of this handblog.

The following are the three major national trails in the United States:

• Appalachian Trail (2,158 miles): Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. A thru-hike takes about 165 days. There are about 2,000 thru-hike attempts each year, according to Adventure, with approximately 400 successful completions. More than three million people use the trail annually, according to the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (www.aldha.org).

• Continental Divide (3,100 miles): New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. There are approximately 25 thru-hikers each year.

• Pacific Crest (2,638 miles): California, Oregon, and Washington. There are about 125 thru-hikers annually.

Minnesota’s 200+ mile Superior Hiking Trail passes mountains, waterfalls, gorges, lakes, wetlands, prairies, and forests as it follows majestic Lake Superior in northern Minnesota from Two Harbors to the Canadian border.

Each of the 57 U.S. National Parks have extensive hiking trails and camping facilities, and all have spectacular views. Clingman’s Dome, along the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee), was rated by USA Weekend as one of the 10 Most Beautiful Places in America. Yosemite National Park (California) also ranks among the most scenic. About the size of Rhode Island, the park embraces some 1,200 square miles in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California. The park offers 840 miles of hiking trails that wind through backcountry which comprises 94% of the park. With hundreds of waterfalls plunging down rugged granite escarpments and wildlife that ranges from bears to fish, the park attracts more than 4 million visitors annually.

Best Trails By State

Based on a poll of tourism experts, USA Today compiled the following list of best trails in each state:

Alabama

• Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail (between Gulf State Park and Orange Beach; http://alapark.com/gulfstate/trails)

Alaska

• Sitka National Historical Park Trail (www.nps.gov/sitk)

Arizona

• Red Mountain Trail (30 miles north of Flagstaff; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/) Arkansas

• Ozark Highlands Trail (www.ozarkhighlandstrail.com)

California

• Lassen Volcanic National Park (www.nps.gov/lavo)

Colorado

• Maroon Lake Trail (near Aspen; www.fs.usda.gov/whiteriver)

Connecticut

• Devil’s Den Preserve (www.nature.org)

Delaware

• Creek Road and Rocky Run (Brandywine Creek State Park; www.destateparks.com/park/brandywine-creek)

District of Columbia

• Rock Creek Park (Washington; www.nps.gov/rocr)

Florida

• Florida Trail (www.floridatrail.org)

Georgia

• Cloudland Canyon State Park (Lookout Mountain; www.gastateparks.org/CloudlandCanyon/)

Hawaii

• Waihee Ridge Trail (Maui; www.hawaiitrails.org)

Idaho

• Tubbs Hill (www.visitidaho.org)

Illinois

• Shawnee National Forest (Garden of the Gods Recreation Area; www.fs.usda.gov/shawnee)

Indiana

• Dunes Nature Preserve (www.in.gov/dnr/naturepreserve/files/Dunes-color.pdf) Iowa

• Devil’s Backbone (Backbone State Park; www.iowadnr.gov/parks/)

Kansas

• Rocktown Trail (Wilson Reservoir; www.travelks.com)

Kentucky

• Ridge Trail (part of the Daniel Boone Trail; www.backpackcamp.com/CumberlandGap.html)

Louisiana

• Port Hudson State Historic Site (Fort Desperate; www.lastateparks.com)

Maine

• Gulf Hagas Gorge (www.visitmaine.com)

Maryland

• Billy Goat Trail (Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park; www.nps.gov/choh)

Massachusetts

• Blue Hills Reservation (Quincy, Dedham, Milton and Randolph; www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-south/blue-hills-reservation.html)

Michigan

• Scoville Point (Isle Royale National Park; www.nps.gov/isro)

Minnesota

• Superior Hiking Trail (www.shta.org)

Mississippi

• Cypress Swamp Trail (off the Natchez Trace Parkway about 20 miles north of Jackson; www.nps.gov/natr)

Missouri

• Ha Ha Tonka State Park (www.mostateparks.com)

Montana

• Highline Trail (Glacier National Park; www.nps.gov/glac)

Nebraska

• Toadstool Geologic Park (www.visitnebraska.gov)

Nevada

• Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail (Elko; www.exploreelko.com)

New Hampshire

• Champney Brook T rail (about 10 miles west of Conway; www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white mountain)

New Jersey

• Green Trail (Cheesequake State Park; www.njhiking.com)

New Mexico

• Chaco Culture National Historic Park (www.nps.gov/chcu/)

New York

• Adirondacks (www.adk.org)

North Carolina

• Appalachian Trail (www.appalachiantrail.org)

North Dakota

• Maah Daah Hey Trail (www.mdhta.com)

• Ledges Trail and Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail (Cuyahoga Valley National Park; www.nps.gov/cuva)

Oklahoma

• Robbers Cave Trail (Robbers Cave State Park; www.oklahomaparks.com)

Oregon

• Deschutes National Forest (www.fs.usda.gov/centraloregon)

Pennsylvania

• Turkey Path (Leonard Harrison State Park; www.dcnr.state.pa.us)

Rhode Island

• Cliff Walk (Newport; www.gonewport.com)

South Carolina

• Magnolia Plantation & Gardens (Charleston; www.magnoliaplantation.com)

South Dakota

• Narrows Walking Trail (about 4 miles north of Lower Brule; www.lbst.org) Tennessee

• Twin Arches Loop Trail (Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area; www.nps.gov/biso)

Texas

• Guadalupe Peak (Guadalupe Mountains National Park; www.nps.gov/gumo)

Utah

• Delicate Arch (Arches National Park; www.nps.gov/arch)

Vermont

• Mount Independence State Historic Site (www.historicvermont.org)

Virginia

• Old Rag (Shenandoah National Park; www.nps.gov/shen/)

Washington

• Olympic National Park’s Enchanted Valley (www.olympicpeninsulawaterfalltrail.com/enchanted-valley)

West Virginia

• Greenbrier River Trail (www.greenbrierrailtrailstatepark.com) Wisconsin

• Rock Island State Park (http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/rockisland) Wyoming

• Mystic Falls Trail (Yellowstone National Park; www.nps.gov/yell)

39.5 Hut-to-Hut Hiking

Hut-to-hut hikes – group hikes with lodging stays scheduled as part of the itinerary – have long been popular in Europe. The activity is now emerging in the United States.

The following are some hut-to-hut excursions:

• 10th Mountain Division Hut Association (Colorado; www.huts.org)

• Appalachian Mountain Club (New Hampshire; www.outdoors.org)

• Country Inns Along the Trail (Vermont; www.inntoinn.com)

• Maine Huts & Trails (Maine; www.mainehuts.org)

• The Sisters Country (Oregon; www.thesisterscountry.com)