When I started this new hobby of hiking, I fell in love with it. As someone who has to sit inside all day – working from home, just my computer and I, there have been instances where I don’t go outside for days. I love the outdoors and exploring. I especially love waterfalls and beautiful landscapes and amazing landmarks.
I have gathered my Hiking Trail Bucket List of all the places I would like to go. Of course, I will happily add more trails as I tackle the ones on the list. 🙂 You may notice I have a thing for waterfalls! I also have a bucket list for those, so its nice when I can incorporate both hobbies into one. I have listed the trails by the region I am in, then nationally.
There are a few trails that I have already visited. I will be doing blog posts on them soon to provide an overview of my experiences on those hikes. I look forward to sharing each adventure with you.
Virginia Trails
I am located in Virginia on the East Coast. Virginia has some beautiful trails, mountains, beaches and waterfalls. There are plenty of trails throughout the state that are through the most gorgeous landscapes. Below are my current picks, mostly because they have waterfalls.
- Crabtree Falls, George Washington National Forest: Round trip, 3.4 miles. Features beautiful overlook at top of waterfall, waterfall. (Hike Completed)
- The Devil’s Bathtub, Jefferson National Forest: Round trip, 4 miles. Features cascading waterfall run.
- The Cascades, Jefferson National Forest: Round trip, 4 miles. Features waterfall and an area where hikers took a dip in the water. (Hike Completed)
- Overall Run Falls, Shenandoah National Park: Round trip, 5.7 miles. Features waterfall.
- Dark Hollow Falls, Shenandoah National Park: Round trip, 1.5 miles. Features waterfall.
West Virginia Trails
We visited West Virginia in the past year and I fell in love with mountainous terrain. Granted just to visit, I am a fan of sea level. However, I look forward to exploring West Virginia.
- Blackwater Falls: This is not necessarily a hike but I am including it because although it was a short trip (.25 miles), there were over 200 steps to get to the falls. (Hike Completed)
- Rhododendron Trail, Valley Falls State Park: Round trip, 1.9 miles. Features Twin Falls.
- Maryland Heights Trail to Maryland Heights Overlook, Harpers Ferry National Historic Park: Round Trip, 4.5 miles. Features historical aspects of Harpers Ferry. Stone Fort Loop can be added to hike for an additional 2 miles.
- Endless Wall Trail, New River Gorge National River: Round trip 2.7 miles (includes .3 miles to walk back to car from end of trail.) Features cliffs overlooking the gorge.
Maryland
We are too close to Maryland not to head north and visited these highly recommended trails!
- Annapolis Rock Trail via Appalachian Trail: Round trip, 5.1 miles. Features beautiful overlooks and Annapolis rock.
- Mountain Loop Trail, Sugarloaf Mountain: Round trip, 2.5 miles. Can add Northern Peak Trails to make trip an additional seven miles. Features beautiful overlooks.
- Tolliver Falls, Swallow Falls State Park: Round trip, 1.1 mile loop. Features 4 waterfalls and trail cuts through sandstone cliffs.
- Falls Nature Trail, Catoctin Mountain Park: Round trip, 2.5 miles. Features Cunningham Falls which is a 78 foot waterfall. This is the largest waterfall in the state of Maryland. (Hike Completed)
North Carolina
North Carolina is one of my favorite vacation areas when we are looking for outdoor, activity based getaways. We have recently visited Asheville and enjoyed many of the outdoor activities. Although, we were not able to get a hike in, I hope to get back to North Carolina soon and check out these trails.
- Grassy Creek Falls, Blue Ridge Mountains: Round trip, 2.8 miles. Features a waterfall.
- Tanawha Trail from Rough Ridge Trail: Round trip, 2.5 miles (mile post 302). Features overlooks and river.
- Catawba Falls, Pisgah National Forest: Round trip, 2.5 miles. Features Falls and Catawba River.
State Parks I want to visit with Trails
Some of the State Parks listed below have tons of trails. My goal is to visit each State Park and depending on the length of my trip and the season, picking the trail that best fits. Please note that the trails listed below include hiking, biking or other activity. I can’t wait to get started!
- Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA: Round Trip, 3 miles. Features desert plants and animals, oasis.
- Makoshika State Park, MT: This state park has three trails, each trail varies from 0.7 – 0.9 miles. They are easy to strenuous. Trails: Diane Gabriel Trail, Cap Rock Nature Trail, and Kinney Coulee Hiking Trail.
- Yellowstone National Park, WY, MT & ID: This state park has over 900 miles of trails. I am hoping by the time I can hike here, I will be able to decide what trail(s) I would like to do.
- Yosemite National Park, CA: This state park has over 282 trails. It features water falls, peaks and valleys. It has beautiful overlooks.
- Glacier National Park, MT & Canada: National park features over 154 hiking trails with lakes and mountains.
- Zion National Park, UT: National park features 113 trails. Features is Zion Canyon where the most popular trails can be found.
- Sequoia National Park, CA: National Park has 110 trails. Trails feature mountains, vistas, waterfalls, and rivers.
- Arches National Park, UT: National Park has 48 trails. Features sandstone basins, arches, and desert plants.
- Grand Teton National Park, WY: National Park has 110 trails. Features lakes, canyons, ridges, mountains.
All the trails and parks listed above are just my initial bucket list of hikes I would like to go on. There is so much in the United States to see and visit that I hope to be able to enjoy hiking for a long time to come. If you have completed some great hikes and would like to offer suggestions, I would love to hear them. Please comment below and tell me about your experiences and your recommendations. I hope to hear from you.
Happy Hiking,
Michelle Louise
w. hikingnewbies.com
e. michellelouise@hikingnewbies.com