Looking for a fun outdoor activity? Step out of the city and enjoy exploring these trails. You don’t need to be a seasoned mountaineer to enjoy what nature can offer. Today, we’ve curated 9 beautiful but accessible trails that are perfect for those who think hiking isn’t for them. That’s right, your little walk can go a long way to the most scenic spots.
9. Hall of Mosses Trail, Olympic National Park (Washington)
If you’re in for a complete nature experience, here’s a trail for you. This 0.8-mile loop features a flat path, which makes it accessible to everyone. Yet, it will bring you to a prehistoric-like landscape. The trail will bring you to the Hoh Rainforest, which is one of the few in the Northern Hemisphere. It has a unique ecosystem thriving for centuries as it receives over 140 inches of rain annually.
8. Horseshoe Bend Trail, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Arizona)
This trail is a 1.5-mile round-trip path that’s highly accessible. There are no steep climbs or tricky footing as it involves a short walk across the sandy desert towards the edge of a 1,000-foot cliff. Once you approach the railing, the ground will drop away, and you’ll get a view of the Colorado River with its orange and red rock. There’s also a bend about 1,000 feet from its rim to the river in a perfect horseshoe shape, thus its name.
7. Rim Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
If you love science, then this trail is a geological wonderland that is entirely flat and paved between Sunrise and Sunset points. Just a short 15-minute walk will bring you to a view with a canyon below. You’ll see towering rock formations that were created over millions of years through a process they call frost wedging. It’s when water seeps into cracks, freezes, and expands to break the rock apart. It’s perfect to catch the sunrise or sunset.
6. Clingmans Dome Trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee)
The Clingmans Dome (officially known by its Cherokee name, Kuwohi) features a paved trail that is a half-mile path with a 337-foot elevation gain. It’s a short and direct route to the highest point of the Great Smoky Mountains. The real treat is the 54-foot spiral observation tower that was designed in the 1950s. You get a 360-degree view of the rolling, blue-tinged mountains. On a clear day, you’re lucky to see the view that stretches over 100 miles that encompassing seven states. It’s a part of the ancient Appalachian mountain range that’s popular during summer and fall.
5. Canyon Overlook Trail, Zion National Park, Utah
This trail features a 1-mile round trip to get a panorama of Zion Canyon. The adventure starts at the east of the historic Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel with its 1930s engineering. The trail will take you in sections of shaded alcoves, over slickrock, and on a railed path that’s carved in the side of a cliff. It will then surprise you with a view of the main canyon with the Virgin River through the valley floor. It’s best hiked in the morning or late afternoon so the light is softer with cooler temperatures.
4. Artist Bluff Trail, Franconia Notch State Park (New Hampshire)
It features a short, 1.5-mile loop with a trail taking you to a rocky path to see the most iconic vistas in the White Mountains. You’ll get a view of Echo Lake and the peaks of Franconia Notch, which includes Cannon Mountain. It’s perfect to travel to during autumn as the surrounding forests turn red, orange, and yellow. But don’t worry, it’s snowshoe-friendly during the winter.
3. Marymere Falls Trail, Olympic National Park (Washington)
This Marymere Falls Trail is a mostly flat path with a 1.8-mile round-trip that’s perfect for families and first-time trail goers. You’ll begin in Douglas fir and Western red cedar trees that are hundreds of years old and reach heights of over 200 feet. You’ll get to cross wooden bridges over Barnes Creek, which serves as a soundtrack for your walk. You’ll also get to pass through a grove of ancient trees that will take you to two viewpoints of the falls, fed by Lake Crescent.
2. Big Room Trail, Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
If you’re up for a different kind of trail, then The Big Room Trail is entirely underground. It’s actually one of the largest cave chambers in the world, and it only takes an elevator to go 750 feet down in the cavern. As you reach the cavern, you’ll get to see formations of dripping stalactites hanging from stalagmites. There are even rock formations that stand 62 feet tall and a massive stalagmite that’s been growing for thousands of years.
1. Bar Island Trail, Acadia National Park (Maine)
For just a few hours a day, the tide will recede to reveal a wide and gravelly sandbar that will connect the town of Bar Harbor to the wooded Bar Island. This unique trail is the Bar Island Trail, wherein, for 1.5 hours before and after low tide, you can walk across the ocean floor. The path is even covered in shells, smooth stones, and seaweed, plus a small tide pool to see along the way. Once you get to the island, there’s a short trail that will lead you through a forest with a view back on the town and mountains of Acadia. The thrill? It’s the race before the path disappears under the waves.