It’s not too often that one can say that they overcame death. But conquering the Death Canyon Trail in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park offers such an opportunity. The beauty of the canyon—with its rushing cascades, inviting meadows, and cool forests—belies the ominous name, making this one of the finest hikes in Grand Teton. While …
Continue reading Death Canyon Trail to Patrol Cabin (Grand Teton National Park, WY)
- Civil War Series - Before becoming the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln spent most of his life in what was then considered the “Northwest Territory” of the United States: the relatively unpopulated states north of the Ohio River Valley. From his boyhood in Kentucky and Indiana to his rise to prominence as a lawyer and …
- Civil War Series - Well before he rose to prominence as an Illinois politician and 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln spent much of his boyhood on a modest farmstead at Little Pigeon Creek in southern Indiana. It was here that young Abe, from 1816 to 1830, came of age: he worked …
Continue reading Lincoln Boyhood Loop (Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, IN)
Conventional wisdom suggests that slot canyons—narrow, slithering cuts in the sandstone—are relatively confined to the American West: Arizona, California, and Utah. Yet this is not precisely true. While different in character from its western counterparts, The Channels—also known as “The Great Channels”—in southwest Virginia meet the same usual definition of a slot: a sluice in …
Continue reading The Channels via Brumley Mountain Trail (Jefferson National Forest, VA)
Of the many hikes in the Peaks of Otter Recreation Area—part of Jefferson National Forest in central Virginia—the most popular is the Sharp Top Trail for its stunning views of the area. A second walk to consider, however, is the nearby Fallingwater Cascades Trail, which explores a shaded stream valley just off the northbound Blue …
Continue reading Fallingwater Cascades Trail (Jefferson National Forest, VA)
Viewed from the valley below, Sharp Top (3,862’) in central Virginia is an imposing peak, once thought by 19th century Virginians to be the highest point in the state. Although later surveyors found this not to be true (the honors go to Mount Rogers at 5,728’), Sharp Top remains a popular destination for hikers seeking …
Continue reading Sharp Top Trail (Jefferson National Forest, VA)
The Youghiogheny River Gorge in southwest Pennsylvania’s Ohiopyle State Park has many echoes of other, arguably grander canyons in the area, such as New River Gorge in southern West Virginia and Cheat River Gorge at Coopers Rock State Forest near Morgantown: sweeping vistas and lush side canyons, flush with rhododendrons and picturesque waterfalls. While most …
Continue reading Jonathan Run Trail and Sugar Run Falls (Ohiopyle State Park, PA)
What precisely happened on May 28, 1754 at Jumonville Glen in southwestern Pennsylvania remains unknown to this day. British forces led by a young Lieutenant Colonel George Washington claimed that, when they encountered a French contingent encamped at the base of a cliff, the French fired first. The French forces, commanded at the time by …
Continue reading Jumonville Glen Trail (Fort Necessity National Battlefield, PA)
At Coopers Rock State Forest in northern West Virginia, the Cheat River carves a deep, sandstone canyon through thick forest, making the area one of the most popular outdoors destinations in the Morgantown area. While most flock to the overlook near the main parking area at Coopers Rock, the nearby Raven Rock Trail offers an …
Continue reading Raven Rock Trail (Coopers Rock State Forest, WV)
The roughly one-mile circuit hike in Maryland’s Swallow Falls State Park would be impressive enough if its only attraction was the last remaining stand of virgin hemlock and white pine trees in the state. But in addition to this exquisite forest, the Swallow Falls Canyon Trail also passes four waterfalls, cuts under towering sandstone cliffs, …
Continue reading Swallow Falls Canyon Trail (Swallow Falls State Park, MD)
Live and Let Hike 