Island in the Sky Trail (Babcock State Park, WV)

Dwarfed in size by nearby New River Gorge National River, Babcock State Park is often overlooked by visitors to southern West Virginia. Yet the park, most famous for its photogenic grist mill, offers several excellent hiking options. While the best lie elsewhere in the park, the short Island in the Sky Trail is easily accessible …

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Island in the Sky District, Canyonlands National Park (photo collection)

Less than an hour’s drive from Moab, Utah, the Island in the Sky District is the most frequented of Canyonlands National Park’s four sections. What squiggly canyons and spindly knobs are to the nearby Needles District, sweeping overlooks are to Island in the Sky. While hiking is the most encouraged activity of this blog, Island …

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Mesa Arch Trail (Canyonlands National Park, UT)

Pictures of iconic Mesa Arch, often photographed in the early morning glow, frequently grace the pages of calendars and coffee table books. There is something about the arch, maybe the most popular destination in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, which catches the eye. Perhaps it is the setting—the rare instance in which a natural arch is …

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Upheaval Dome Trail (Canyonlands National Park, UT)

Upheaval Dome—a deep, circular depression containing sharp, chalky badlands—is one of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park’s, or even the American Southwest’s, greatest geological mysteries. How did this peculiar feature form? Geologists continue today to debate the answer. To some, Upheaval Dome is a hollowed crater, evidence of a meteorite strike some 200 million years ago. To …

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White Rim Overlook Trail (Canyonlands National Park, UT)

Though just up the road from Grand View Point in Canyonlands National Park’s Island in the Sky District, the White Rim Overlook Trail receives far fewer visitors. The hike, an easy and quick jaunt out to the southeast tip of the “Island” plateau, offers unobstructed vistas to the north, south, and east—some of the best …

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Grand View Point Trail (Canyonlands National Park, UT)

Grand View Point, one of the finest overlooks in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, is situated at the end of the principal drive through the park’s iconic Island in the Sky District. Visitors in search of a rather casual stroll can venture even farther, hiking from Grand View Point to the very southern tip of the …

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