5 OF THE BEST FULL-DAY HIKES IN THE U.S.
We’re all for multi-week, life-changing forays into the wild, but there’s plenty to be said for the Big Day—the self-contained adventure that doesn’t dominate the calendar but sticks with you for days after it’s done. These five hikes do just that: provide just enough challenge to make you feel a sense of accomplishment while overdelivering on scenery, vibes, and general epic-ness. Put a few on your bucket list and bag one on your next personal day.
1. Mount Lafayette and Franconia Ridge Trail Loop, NH
If you can’t find an inspiring memory from hiking this New England classic, featuring plenty of ridgeline traverses—well, we can’t help you. On the 8.6-mile loop you’ll touch the sky via the summits of Mount Lincoln, Haystack Mountain, and Mount Lafayette. The loop is an all-day affair, and few would call it easy, but the payoffs—mainly, those 360-degree panoramas—are worth the effort. Grab a few minutes rest at one of numerous waterfalls—or at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Greenleaf Hut, which overlooks Eagle Lake and is near the Franconia Ridgeline.
2. Three Dunes Challenge, Indiana Dunes National Park, IN
Sure, you might have notched a few 14,000-footers in your time, but how about summiting three peaks in the sub-200-foot range? That’s the task at hand on the “Three Dunes Challenge,” a 1.5-mile path that summits Mount Holden, Mount Jackson, and Mount Tom, the tallest of the three, at 192 feet. On a clear day you’ll see the Chicago skyline. Though the mission won’t take you all day, upon completion you can enjoy the recently minted national park’s 15 miles of pristine shoreline, featuring a biodiverse array of vegetated dunes studded with black oak groves.
3. Lost Palms Oasis, Joshua Tree National Park, CA
There are plenty of highlights on this 7.4-mile out-and-back jaunt through the southern part of Joshua Tree National Park—ocotillo cacti, yucca, the changing desert panorama—but the payoff comes midway, when you arrive at an oasis. (A real one, not in a cartoon.) There you’ll find a strand of California Fan Palm trees—the only palm native to California. With only modest elevation gain over the gently rolling trail (at 649 feet), you can soak in the slow-changing desert light.
4. Breakneck Ridge, NY
Breakneck Ridge—a classic New York hike if there ever was one—is definitely worth the 80-minute drive from Midtown. One of this outing’s perks? No drive. The Metro-north Railroad’s Hudson Line stops here on weekends and holidays. But be prepared: Once that train stops, you’re in for some work. The Taurus Loop gains 2,500 feet in its six reasonably difficult miles, with plenty of scrambling over and around boulders. The finishing payoff is a windswept vista with a full panorama: hawks above, the swirling Hudson below.
5. Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain Loop, NC
Here’s an alpine experience to remember long after your head has left the clouds. This loop traverses roughly five miles in the sky atop grassy balds, with 360-degree views of the surrounding time-softened peaks. Located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the loop combines the Art Loeb and Ivestor Gap trails to summit both Black Balsam Knob (6,214-foot) and Tennent Mountain (6,040-foot) with plenty of blueberries, blackberries, and balsam in between.