“Hit the trail on these iconic and under-the-radar hikes through unforgettable desert, mountain, and coastal terrain” –Sunset Magazine

The 45 best hiking trails of the West according to Sunset Magazine:

• South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
• South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ
• McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Scottsdale, AZ
• Dry Creek Trail #52, Sedona, AZ
• Soldier Pass Trail, Sedona, AZ
• Arizona Trial, Superior, AZ
• Sam Merrill Trail, Altadena, CA
• Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur, CA
• East West Ranch, Cambria, CA
• Mission Creek Preserve, Desert Hot Springs, CA
• Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, Foothill Ranch, CA
• Jack London State Historic Park, Glen Ellen, CA
• Armstrong Redwoods State National Reserve, Guerneville, CA
• Grizzly Falls, Kings Canyon National Park, CA
• La Quinta Cove, La Quinta, CA
• Mt. Tamalpais, Mill Valley, CA
• Back Bay Loop Trail, Newport Beach, CA
• Point Reyes National Seashore, Olema, CA
• Chino Canyon at Mt. San Jacinto State Park, Palm Springs, CA
• Anza-Borrego State Park, San Diego, CA
• Land's End coastal trail, San Francisco, CA
• Marin Headlands, Sausalito, CA
• Desolation Wilderness, South Lake Tahoe, CA
• Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, CA
• Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, CA
• Vernal Fall, Yosemite National Park, CA
• Cathedral Lake Trail, Aspen, CO
• Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness, Aspen, CO
• Haleakala National Park, Maui, HI
• Lanikai Pillbox Trail, Oahu, HI
• Adams Gulch area trails, Ketchum, ID
• Grinnell Glacier Trail, Glacier National Park, MT
• Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Las Vegas, NV
• Valley of Fire State Park, Overton, NV
• Dale Ball Trails, Santa Fe, NM
• Williams Lake, Taos, NM
• Pacific Crest Trail, Devils Lake, OR
• Delicate Arch hike, Arches National Park, UT
• Golden Throne Trail, Capitol Reef National Park, UT
• Cottonwood Canyons, Snowbird, UT
• Angels Landing, Zion National Park, UT
• Zion Narrows, Zion National Park, UT
• Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, WA
• Sol Duc Falls, Olympic National Park, WA
• Moran State Park, Orcas Island, WA

Sunset Magazine:Top 45 hikes in the West



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2014 02:15AM by plawrence.

Mirror Lake?

Grizzly Falls is a pullout and walk fifty steps! seriously?

The Half Dome hike is what I would call the worst - the trail sucks. Covered with littering, yelling, hooting, dehydrated orangutans in running shorts.

WHICH trail in Point Reyes? There are some awesome ones, to be sure. The trail in Julia Pfieffer Burns - ?????????????? No. The falls is pretty but the best view is from the side of the ROAD.

Someone who actually hikes needs to write things about hiking.

Give it a rest about Half Dome.

And it's Sunset Magazine. What do you expect?

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chick-on
Give it a rest about Half Dome.

And it's Sunset Magazine. What do you expect?

I agree, it is Sunset Magazine and they like to give info for wide variety of people. If you want hike suggestions from a magazine then read Backpacker or one of the other hiking magazines. BTW, nice to see you chick-on.

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parklover

I agree, it is Sunset Magazine and they like to give info for wide variety of people. If you want hike suggestions from a magazine then read Backpacker or one of the other hiking magazines. BTW, nice to see you chick-on.

What's interesting, I first saw a link to the photo spread on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper's website. The Chronicle has a well known and well respected outdoor writer, Tom Stienstra, so I first assumed that it was he who came up with the list. Color me disappointed when I saw it was actually an article from Sunset Magazine with some (as already noted) questionable choices of "hikes". Still I thought it was an interesting (and a bit odd) list so I decided to post it here anyway.


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parklover
I agree, it is Sunset Magazine and they like to give info for wide variety of people.

Yes, but even Sunset should know the difference between a hike and a picnic area.

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eeek

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parklover
I agree, it is Sunset Magazine and they like to give info for wide variety of people.

Yes, but even Sunset should know the difference between a hike and a picnic area.

True but think of the demographics of some of the readers of Sunset - 50 steps can be a hike for them. I am not defending the list because I feel that the title is misleading because not all on the list can be called a hike and some of them are definitely not under the radar, but consider the source and take it with a grain of salt. I found it interesting because it mentioned some areas that I have not thought of in a long time.

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parklover
True but think of the demographics of some of the readers of Sunset - 50 steps can be a hike for them.

There's no trail other than an arc along the picnic tables. Still not a hike.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2014 08:54PM by eeek.

It has been so long since I have been there, I couldn't even remember what it is like there. Maybe if you are a ant looking for a picnic it would be a hike. I wonder if the person who wrote the article has seen all the choices he wrote about.

I'm disappointed that they included a Hawaiian hike but nothing in Alaska!

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AlmostThere

Covered with littering, yelling, hooting, dehydrated orangutans in running shorts.

Yeah, that list, sheesh! They left off the hike from the Curry parking lot up to the pizza deck, it's slightly uphill, and it winds around a bit.

Coney, ewe jest maid mai dey


I'd go up The Mist to see that. Maybe get glimpse of Kong atop Z Big Dome two.

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AlmostThere
Grizzly Falls is a pullout and walk fifty steps! seriously?

Yeah, it's a picnic area. Nice in the spring but certainly not a hike.

I've hiked several of those. The one they forgot, and it most certainly beats at least a half of those mentioned; the Ohlone Trail from Fremont to Del Valle Reservoir in the spring. Some people do it in one day, others in two. I beat them all and do it in THREE days.

I wonder how many of these the author has hiked...or even seen the trailhead.