Author Archives: Andrew Wojtanik

Anniversary Narrows (Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV)

Anniversary Narrows is Nevada’s best answer to the challenge laid down by neighboring Utah: give us your best, most picturesque slot canyon. Better yet, extend the slot for more than 1/3 mile, place the trailhead less than an hour’s drive … Continue reading

Posted in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Moderate Hikes, Nevada | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Goldstrike Canyon Trail (Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV)

Most visitors flock to Lake Mead National Recreation Area—straddling the Arizona–Nevada border, a short drive from Las Vegas—for water-related activities on the United States’ largest reservoir by volume. However, adventure-seekers of the land-bound sort are also treated to a fair … Continue reading

Posted in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada, Strenuous Hikes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saratoga Gap – Ridge Trail Loop, including Castle Rock Falls (Castle Rock State Park, CA)

Situated in the Santa Cruz Mountains just south of Silicon Valley in the South Bay, Castle Rock State Park is known primarily for its rock climbing—but the 34 miles of hiking trails are worthwhile as well. To avoid the tech … Continue reading

Posted in California, Moderate Hikes, Santa Cruz Mountains | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Phantom Falls Loop (North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, CA)

Each year, for a brief period—after recent rains in winter and early spring—the usually dry and dreary landscape of northern California’s North Table Mountain comes alive with color, flowing streams, and stunning seasonal waterfalls. And these are no run-of-the-mill cascades: … Continue reading

Posted in California, Moderate Hikes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coronado Peak Trail (Coronado National Monument, AZ)

Gaining 300 feet in elevation, the Coronado Peak Trail tackles a summit at the southern end of Arizona’s Huachuca Mountains, one of many “sky islands” in the area. Named for famed Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, this is the … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona, Coronado National Memorial, Moderate Hikes | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chiricahua Big Loop (Chiricahua National Monument, AZ)

At first glance, the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona appear little different from the hundreds of other small ranges of the Basin and Range area, which spans from southern Oregon and Idaho down to Mexico: an abrupt north-south range rising … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona, Strenuous Hikes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Fort Bowie Trail Loop (Fort Bowie National Historic Site, AZ)

– Civil War Series – At a time when most eyes were on the major battlefields of the Civil War out east, the Union Army was engaged in 1962 in a series of smaller skirmishes in the American Southwest with … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona, Moderate Hikes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Scenic – Packrat Trail Loop (Saguaro National Park, AZ)

Southern Arizona’s Saguaro National Park—split into two districts separated by the San Luis Valley—feels in some ways like a local park due to its proximity to Tucson, Arizona’s second-largest city. Taking off from this neighborhood or that, numerous hiking trails … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona, Easy Hikes, Saguaro National Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Eagle Lake Trail (Desolation Wilderness, CA)

Nestled in a scenic drainage nearly 800 feet above Emerald Bay, the pristine Eagle Lake is one of the most popular day hike destinations in the Lake Tahoe area. Less than a mile’s walk into the Desolation Wilderness, the lake … Continue reading

Posted in California, Moderate Hikes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

City of Rocks Loop (City of Rocks National Reserve, ID)

Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve—one of only two national reserves in the National Park system—protects a 14,000-acre tract that includes an extensive cluster of granitic formations known as the “Silent City of Rocks.” While the chalky white and grey … Continue reading

Posted in Idaho, Strenuous Hikes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment