The United States is littered with great places to hike and is internationally recognized for having one of the best national park systems in the world. Besides the national parks there are many other state parks and forested conservation land that offer hiking. The national park and state park systems have insured that some of the most pristine, beautiful natural land will remain intact and preserved for future generations. Almost all of the national parks in the United States offer some kind of hiking whether it be limited in scope or more comprehensive, which makes hiking a really convenient activity wherever you live. All of the hikes that I've done have been day hikes and most of my favorite ones have taken place in New England. For any true hiking aficionado hiking up the tallest mountains in New Hampshire and Maine, Mt. Washington and Mt. Katahdin respectively, is a true rite of passage. Those two hikes have been the most memorable and enjoyable hikes I've ever done. What makes those two hikes so special is the fact that they require a bit more planning than your normal day hike at a nature preserve. You have to camp overnight to be able to wake up at four or five the next morning to complete the hike in one day. Both hikes are also more technically challenging which forces you to be more engaged and alert on the trail. The trails itself are both very beautiful with varying topographies and changing scenery as you make your farther up. The best part of both hikes though is when you reach the summit and are rewarded with spanning vistas that go on for miles on a clear day. Unfortunately the summit of Mt. Washington is almost always enshrouded in clouds and is notorious for having some of the worst weather in New England. You'll be proud though after you conquer the beast by hiking up it instead of driving up it and putting on one of those "This car climbed Mt. Washington!" stickers. Moving on to the western United States where I have less hiking experience but where some of the best hiking in the world is found. My first time hiking in the West was when I was ten or eleven out in Yosemite national park with my family. I didn't get to hike any of the challenging, famous hikes since I was too young but hope to do so someday. The second time hiking out west was more memorable and rewarding as my family and I along with my uncle and cousins all went down to the Grand Canyon and hiked three quarters of the way down before turning around due to a lack of daylight. The Grand Canyon is a world class attraction that annually has over five million visitors. People from around the world flock to the treasured site for it's unique, otherworldly landscape and breathtaking views. Most of the visitors though don't end up hiking down the canyon and instead take pictures near the rim. The hike itself is pretty long and unless you start it early in the morning it will take longer than a day. The challenge level of the hike is surprisingly easy for a natural feature as immense and expansive as the grand canyon. All along the meandering trail are log steps that have been built into the trail to make hiking the trail easier and more accessible for people. While one of the upsides of the hike is it's easier skill level and greater accessibility it can become monotonous overtime as there's no variation in scenery or vegetation. Another issue with the hike is the fact that the only reward you get is from making it down to the bottom which is obviously a lot different from the reward you get for making it to the top of a mountain. The last place in the west that I've had the fortune to hike in is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Montana. Yellowstone national park is one of the most popular tourist attractions and for good reason. It has one of the most spectacular assortments of natural wonders in the world with geysers and super heated, rainbow colored pools. For most people walking around and taking pictures of the natural wonders is the most they'll do while at the park. For a small minority of visitors though exploring the pristine natural surroundings through camping and hiking is undertaken. The hiking experience at Yellowstone was, for me, a bit underwhelming, especially compared to some of the other hiking experiences I've had. The trails that we went on were somewhat bland and boring but I'd still highly recommend visiting Yellowstone national park if you haven't yet.







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