After setting up our tent at Willow Flat Campground in Canyonlands National Park, it was time to go hiking! We were in Island in the Sky, the most easily accessible district of the park. The two closest hikes to the campground are Mesa Arch and Aztec Butte. We planned to hike both, and we started with Mesa Arch Trail. If you’ve ever seen a photo of Canyonlands, odds are it was of Mesa Arch. It’s one of the most photographed…
After exploring Arches National Park for five days and hiking the majority of its trails, it was time to hit the road and head to Canyonlands National Park. There are three main districts: Island in the Sky, Needles, and the Maze. With only a couple days, we decided to focus on Island in the Sky, the most easily accessible. There is one campground in the district: Willow Flat Campground (also referred to as Island in the Sky Campground, but that’s…
It was going to be a busy day in Arches National Park. We decided to hike two trails, including Delicate Arch. But we started with the less strenuous Windows Section. The area boasts numerous arches, and a fairly short trail leads to North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch. Double Arch is also nearby – it’s unique in that it has two arches that share a central pillar. We decided to explore them all. The trails to the Windows and…
After getting set up at Devils Garden Campground and checking out the visitor center, we went on our first hike in Arches National Park. We chose Tower Arch Trail, in Klondike Bluffs, the northwest section of the park. The 2.5 mile trail is named after the titular Tower Arch at the end. Along the way is a well known rock formation called the Marching Men, which looks exactly like it sounds. Compared with most hikes in the park, this one…
Pinnacles Road runs through the southeast part of Crater Lake National Park. This road was once the eastern entrance to the park, but has fallen into disuse. Along the road are a couple of must-see attractions: Plaikni Falls and the Pinnacles. Plaikni Falls Trail, a 2.0 mile hike dotted with wildflowers, ends at a waterfall. Pinnacles Trail is a unique 0.8 mile hike that features pumice spires, remnants from the area’s volcanic past. We had just finished hiking Mount Scott,…
The average July rainfall in Crater Lake National Park is around one inch, the lowest of the year. So, it was just our luck that it was raining on our first few days in the park. We wanted to go backpacking in the northwestern section of the park (on Bald Crater Loop), but the rain and threat of thunderstorms put a stop to that. Instead, we decided on a 5.4 mile out-and-back dayhike to Boundary Springs. Boundary Springs Trail is…
Towering redwood trees. That’s what you think of when you come to Redwood National & State Parks. Our first hike in the park though? It would feature no redwoods. Lyons Ranch, a National Historic Site, has an easy 4.5 mile loop trail and features wide open prairies, dramatic views, and historic structures. You can see more than just trees at Redwood N&SP. Lyons Ranch Trail is in a remote section of the park called Bald Hills, near the park’s southeast…
Our intention was to visit as much of Saguaro National Park as we could. Crisscrossing desert trails in the northwest corner of the Rincon Mountain (east) District are known as the Cactus Forest. We wanted to hike somewhere up there, so we reserved a full day for it. Our initial plan was to do a longer loop, but we were exhausted after backpacking to Manning Camp, so we decided on a shorter hike. A ranger at the Rincon Visitor Center recommended a 4.0 mile out-and-back on Garwood Trail…
As a teacher, I’m always ready for a vacation by the time spring break rolls around. Since it’s only a week, we usually plan on a park that we can really explore in that time frame. In 2017, we ditched a chilly, windy April in DC for a week in Tucson. It felt pretty good as we left the airport and felt the arid climate for the first time. We headed to Gilbert Ray Campground to check in for our…
Sadly, our time on Mt. Desert Island had come to an end. We’d explored, hiked, eaten, and enjoyed ourselves immensely on the island. But we weren’t finished with Acadia yet. There are three districts in the park, and we had visited two of them. The last one, Schoodic Peninsula, awaited us. Schoodic is the only part of Acadia located on the US mainland. From the eastern coast of Mt. Desert Island, you can actually see Schoodic. One way to get…