The shortest distance between two points of outdoor interest is rarely a straight line, but it’s always a trail–whether it’s over water…
Buffalo Pound–Nicolle Flats Nature Trail
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Trail
Drumheller Valley–Star Suspension Bridge Trail
…or mud,
Great Smoky Mountain NP–Andrews Bald Trail
…or through a tunnel…
Great Smoky Mountains NP–Lakeshore Trail
…through a tree…
Yosemite– Tuolumne Grove Trail
…or under a rock;
Sequoia NP–Potwisha Trail
Mammoth Caves-NP–Historic Trail
Whether it requires a conventional staircase…
Valley of Fire–Atlatl Rock Trail
Sequoia NP–Moro Rock Trail
Eureka Springs–Center St. to Main St. Trail
Lower Antelope Canyon Trail
Kentucky Natural Bridge Trail
…or integrated steps,
Arches NP–Windows Trail
…or at times, a ramp,
Jonathan Dickinson State Park –Hobe Mountain Trail
trails can be linear or curvey, ascending or descending.
Great Smoky Mountains–Crescent Mountain Observation Tower Trail
Some trails are meant for bicycles…
Tres Rios Ecopark –Cenotes Trail
Jonathan Dickinson State Park–EaglesView Trail
…while others are intended for boats…
Everglades Holiday Park–Everglades Canal Trail
…or horseback…
Palo Duro Canyon Horse Trail
…or a four wheel drive vehicle.
Canyonlands NP–Horseshoe Canyon Trail
At times there are trails that require more extreme modes of transportation, like an all-terrain Ice Explorer…
Columbia Icefields–Athabasca Glacier
…or a train to explore the Rockies…
Banff–Rocky Mountaineer Tracks
Pikes Peak–The Broadmoor’s Cog Railway
…or a formation of F/A-18 Hornets…
Marine Corp Air Station Miramar–Air Show
or even a Space Shuttle.
Kennedy Space Center
But mostly, hiking a trail is best accomplished by putting one foot in front of the other, although the terrain can vary from sand…
White Sands National Monument
Singer Island Beach
Saguaro NP–Valley View Overlook Trail
…to volcanic gravel,
Lassen Volcanic NP–Cinder Cone Trail
Lassen Volcanic NP–Painted Dunes Trail
Olympic NP–Staircase Rapids Nature Loop Trail
or from ice…
Columbia Icefields–Athabasca Glacier
…to salt;
Death Valley–Badwater Basin
and from granite…
Yosemite–Four-Mile Trail
…to sandstone;
Valley of Fire–White Dome Trail
Valley of Fire–Fire Wave Trail
Palo Duro Canyon–Big Cave Trail
Bryce Canyon–Hoodoo Amphitheater Trail
Death Valley–Charcoal Hives–Wildrose Mountain Trail
Death Valley–Fall Canyon Trail
Death Valley–Golden Canyon Trail
and from tree bark…
Yosemite–Cedar Grove Trail
…to tree roots…
Athabasca Falls Trail
…to pavement.
Sioux Falls–Falls Park Trail
Kill Devil Hill–Wright Brothers Memorial Trail
But in the end, regardless of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,
Great Smoky Mountains NP–Andrews Bald–Parhelic Circle with Sun Dogs
it’s the journey to get from here to there that matters most–because it’s the journey that builds character, and defines us like the lines on the palms of our hand.
Sequoia NP–Sequoia seed
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