Mountains and Maps

Now this, this is the real meat of the content. These are my top 10 favorite and most visited locations out of everywhere we have been in the US.

1. Glacier NP
   • Grinnell Glacier Trail, but we stop at Grinnell Lake
     • Easy to moderate
     • 3.4 miles round, out an back
     • Runs alongside of Lake Josephine
     • We allot about 4 hours so we can spend time swimming
   • Going to the Sun road
     • A beautful drive that I suggest coming in the West Entrance and going East.
     • Make all the stops! This will take you a couple of hours to do anyway, might as well stop and check out all of the sites.
   • Avalanche Lake Trail
     • About 5 miles round-trip
     • Moderate difficulty
     • I would allot about 3-4 hours to give yourself time to enjoy the walk up.
2. Redwoods NP
   • Avenue of the Giants
   • We tend to go from North to South with this drive, catch it around the start of sundown and it makes it ever so ominous.
   • Pretty much any trail – We don’t have a preference since they are all beautiful
3. Zion Np
   • Watchman Trail
     • Do this one before noon!
       • Especially in late Spring and through the Summer or you will get baked.
         • Our water packs were in cooler bags and had ice in them but still turned very warm by the time we reached the top.
       • 3.3 Miles roundtrip and moderate
         • Uphill for the entire trip up
   • Scouts lookout
     • 3.8 miles out-and-back
     • This one starts off all uphill and in the sun then levels out for a little while in the shade. Then you are back into all switchbacks going uphill but moreso in the shade.
     • Beautiful views up top without the need to go onto Angels Landing.
     • Weirdly enough our favorite views were not the top, they were actually about halfway up before you get to the shadey leveled out area.
4. Sedona, AZ
   • Devils Bridge
     • 4-4.6 miles depending on your initial route out. Typically takes us around 3 hours.
     • We went at the beginning of Summer and there weren’t a lot of people here. But I hear this is typically a very busy spot.
     • It starts out as a walk on a gravel road with huge stones, so don’t twist an ankle! Then you have a little ways of walking through the valley and after a bit of that you will have to low-key climb for a little while to get to the top.
   • Birthing Cave
     • 2 miles on mostly flat ground until the end. Then you will have to scramble for a little while to get into the cave.
     • Beautiful views, weird and small parking lot, cave is cool and fun to hang out in.
   • West fork trail
     • This one doesn’t take you out to a view, but the trail itself if very pretty.
     • Is 22 miles long but we only hiked a couple miles in and played on the rocks.
       • There are some tiny fish in the stream that will go after your toes. They are harmless but it tickles!
5. Bryce Canyon NP
   • Navajo Loop Trail
     • 1-1.6 miles, I start on the Wall Street side and go down but coming up either side is intense,
     • If you get there a couple hours before sunset then you can sit and watch the sunset at the end of your hike and it is a beautiful moment.
   • Sunset point
     • The top of the Navajo Loop Trail, no hiking necessary. Just a beautiful place to watch the sunset.
6. Goblin Valley SP
   • No hikes but lots of exploring!
   • The bathrooms were a little rough and covered in flies. So I would suggest using the bathroom prior to getting to this location.
   • Also suggest going during the morning or afternoon. The midday sun is very harsh and overhead where there seems to be 0 shade.
7. Grand Canyon NP
   • Ooh ahh point
     • 1.8 mi out and back
     • Go in the morning or take an umbrella for portable shade
     • This hike is a liar and seems very easy when going out but then coming up is a killer.
       • You start by going down for a very short amount of time. You can get to the point very quickly.
       • The going up part is sneaky and will take almost triple the amount of time to do.
   • Stop at any of the overlooks
8. Yosemite NP
   • Half-dome overlook is on our list
   • We didn’t hike here much, but we did a bunch of the scenic drives at sunset and i would suggest pretty much any road. Gorgeous park!
9. CA-1
   • Start at Leggett and just drive for 2-3 days.
   • Stop at a couple of the parking areas and walk to the edge of the cliffs, sometimes there are seals on the beach below!
   • Make sure to stop in at some of the towns. They are all unique and gorgeous.
10. Dead Horse Point SP
    • Prepare for a good long walk with no shade or drive a high set 4×4.