Of all the trails and viewpoints I saw (and hiked!) along the shore of Yellowstone Lake, Storm Point was my favorite. It offers sweeping views, a pleasant forest walk, a meadow or two, and even a chance to see wildlife…
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…
Pinto Arch near Moab, Utah
I’ve hiked to Corona Arch twice. But I’d never even heard of Pinto Arch until I was researching hikes in the Moab Area a couple of years ago. It was marketed as an off-trail trek diverging from the Corona Arch…
20 Lakes Basin Loop from Saddlebag Lake
The 20 Lakes Basin Loop above Saddlebag Lake just outside of Yosemite National Park along the Tioga Road is a stunner at its minimum. The alpine scenery is jaw-dropping from the moment you set foot on the trail and never…
Autumn in the Genesee River Gorge
Back in 2020, I did a really beautiful (and fairly easy) paddle from Turning Point Park to the Lower Falls of the Genesee River. This past weekend, I decided to do it again – only with a few improvements. First,…
The Route to Billings Gap Overlook
After our success on the Wilderness Loop in Petrified Forest National Park, it made sense to try out one or two of the other “official routes” in the park (they’re not really trails, but they’re also usually pretty easy to…
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…
Waterfalls along the Firehole Canyon Drive
The Firehole Canyon Drive is a somewhat overlooked one-way scenic drive just south of Madison en route to more famous parts of Yellowstone, including Midway Geyser Basin and Old Faithful. So it’s on the way for anyone staying in West…
Exploring Paradise Park and Beyond
Paradise Park has been on my bucket list for hiking every time I visit Mt. Hood, and every time, we don’t do it. That’s mostly due to poor weather (why hike to views of the volcano when the volcano is…