Hiking & Trekking in North America
The best hikes and treks in North America, from the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails to the Grand Canyon.
North America is laced with some of the finest hiking trails on the planet, from short but spectacular day walks to epic long-distance thru-hikes that take months to complete. Its national parks and wilderness areas are threaded with well-marked, well-maintained trails, making it one of the most accessible and rewarding regions on Earth for walkers.
The diversity is extraordinary: you can descend a mile into the Grand Canyon, traverse the granite high country of the Sierra Nevada, scramble a knife-edge above a red-rock canyon, or walk for weeks through the Rockies and the Appalachians. The great thru-hikes, the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails, are legends in their own right.
Whether you want a heart-stopping half-day hike to a jaw-dropping viewpoint or a multi-week backcountry expedition through grizzly country, the trails here deliver. Superb infrastructure, clear signage and a strong hiking culture mean adventure is never far from reach.
North America's Best Hikes & Treks#
Grand Canyon, USA Hiking below the rim transforms the Grand Canyon from a view into an experience, descending through two billion years of rock strata to the Colorado River far below. The Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails offer everything from a taste of the descent to a demanding rim-to-rim traverse.
Angels Landing, Zion, USA One of the most thrilling day hikes in the world, ending along a razor-thin ridge with chains bolted into the rock and sheer 1,000-foot drops on either side. The dizzying finale rewards you with a jaw-dropping panorama over Zion Canyon.
Half Dome, Yosemite, USA A strenuous, exhilarating full-day climb up Yosemite’s iconic granite dome, finishing with a hair-raising haul up steel cables to the summit. The view over the valley and the High Sierra from the top is one of the great rewards in American hiking.
Mount Whitney, USA The highest peak in the lower 48 states, reached by a demanding but non-technical 22-mile round trip through the stunning granite country of the eastern Sierra. Standing atop the 14,505-foot summit at dawn is a coveted goal for hikers across the country.
Appalachian Trail, USA The original long-distance trail, a legendary 2,190-mile footpath running along the ancient, forested spine of the Appalachians from Georgia to Maine. Even a few days on ‘the AT’ immerse you in classic Eastern woodland and a famously welcoming trail culture.
Glacier National Park, USA Montana’s ‘Crown of the Continent’ offers some of the finest alpine day hiking in America, from the wildflower meadows of the Highline Trail to the glacier-fed lakes of Grinnell. Mountain goats, bighorn sheep and grizzly bears share the trails.
Gros Morne, Canada The Long Range Traverse across this Newfoundland park is one of Canada’s great wilderness backpacking routes, an unmarked crossing of fjord-cut tablelands and moose-filled valleys. Even day hikers can climb Gros Morne Mountain for sweeping views over the coast.
Denali, USA Alaska’s flagship park offers a raw, trail-less hiking experience, where you chart your own course across open tundra beneath North America’s highest peak. Encounters with grizzlies, caribou and Dall sheep amid limitless wilderness make it unlike anywhere else.
Grand Teton, USA The Cascade Canyon and Paintbrush Divide trails climb from shimmering lakes into a world of granite spires, hanging glaciers and alpine meadows. Few mountain ranges rise so abruptly or so beautifully straight from the valley floor.
Vancouver Island, Canada The West Coast Trail is a legendary 47-mile coastal trek through rainforest, along wild surf-battered beaches and up ladders and cable cars, once a lifesaving route for shipwrecked sailors. It is a demanding, unforgettable Pacific wilderness adventure.
Sequoia National Park, USA Trails here wind beneath the largest trees on Earth and climb into the granite High Sierra, including the start of the famous John Muir Trail. Walking among the giant sequoias of the Giant Forest is a humbling, cathedral-like experience.
Rocky Mountains, USA Colorado’s high country is a hiker’s dream of alpine lakes, wildflower basins and more than fifty peaks topping 14,000 feet. Trails climb quickly into the tundra, where marmots whistle and elk graze against a backdrop of jagged summits.
Chiricahua Mountains, USA A hidden gem in southeastern Arizona, where trails wind through a fantastical ‘wonderland of rocks’, a maze of balanced boulders and towering stone pinnacles. This sky-island range is a birding and hiking paradise far from the crowds.
Great Smoky Mountains, USA The most-visited national park in the US laces the misty, biodiverse Appalachians with hundreds of miles of trail, from waterfalls to the panoramic summit of Clingmans Dome. Spring wildflowers and autumn colour make it a year-round hiking destination.