Top 10 Hikes in 2023

High Trail, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, August 2023 This year, Live and Let Hike celebrated its 10-year anniversary of bringing you thorough trail descriptions and extensive photo collections of day hikes and backpacking routes across the United States and beyond. The web design may not be world class—and no one would mistake my …

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Fire Wave Trail – Seven Wonders Loop (Valley of Fire State Park, NV)

Seven Wonders Loop, Valley of Fire State Park, February 2023 In a hike combining Valley of Fire State Park’s most Instagram-famous spot with the wilder and more adventurous Seven Wonders route, this scenic loop traverses some of the park’s most spectacular scenery, from narrow slot canyons to vibrantly-hued sandstone knobs. The wonderful diversity makes this …

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White Domes Trail (Valley of Fire State Park, NV)

White Domes Trail, Valley of Fire State Park, February 2023 There is perhaps no other place in the American Southwest where the sandstone erupts in such a range of color—from pastel pink to orange, cream, gold, and deep red—as Valley of Fire State Park in southeast Nevada. As one enters the Las Vegas-area park, the …

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Anniversary Narrows (Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV)

Anniversary Narrows, Muddy Mountains Wilderness, February 2023 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 from the state’s largest metropolis (Las Vegas), and …

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

Goldstrike Canyon Hot Springs, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, February 2023 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 amount of challenging and …

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Top 10 Hikes in 2020

Crown Lake, Hoover Wilderness, July 2020 Well, what a strange year it has been. In the early days of 2020, it was hard to imagine that, by March, much of the world would be dealing with a global pandemic that would take the lives of millions and usher in lockdowns, mask mandates, and economic recessions. …

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Grimes Point Petroglyph Trail (Grimes Point Archaeological Area, NV)

Grimes Point Petroglyph Trail, Grimes Point Archaeological Area, September 2020 For travelers driving Nevada’s Highway 50—the “Loneliest Road in America”—Grimes Point is an excellent spot to get out and stretch your legs, taking advantage of a short trail to a fantastic set of ancient petroglyphs. Undoubtedly more vivid and more interesting than Hickison Petroglyphs, which …

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Hickison Petroglyphs Interpretive Trail (Hickison Petroglyphs Recreation Area)

Hickison Petroglyphs Interpretive Trail, Hickison Petroglyphs Recreation Area, September 2020 Highway 50, which stretches for more than 400 miles across central Nevada, is called the “Loneliest Road in America” for a reason. Services and cell service are in limited supply as travelers skirt the desolate mountain ranges and sagebrush-studded valleys of the Great Basin region. …

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Top 10 Hikes in 2019

2019 has come and gone, and it was an excellent year for hiking. Over the course of the year, I added 43 posts to Live and Let Hike and notched nearly 150,000 site visits (81,000 visitors). As always, the travel was diverse, spanning hikes and scenic drives from 13 states (plus the District of Columbia), …

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