Hiking
Hiking in the West runs the full range, from a paved quarter-mile to an overlook to a committing scramble with no shade and no water. What ties them together is the desert's one hard rule: it's drier, hotter, and bigger than it looks. Carry more water than you think you need, start early to beat both the heat and the afternoon storms, and turn around before you want to. These trails give back exactly what the terrain demands you respect — go in clear-eyed and they're the best of the trip.
IR-71
UT-91
I-10 / I-191
Scenic Byway 126
Boulder Mountain
A 50-mile forested plateau at 11,000 feet with 80 alpine lakes
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Walk among 150-million-year-old stone trees
Lower Calf Creek Falls
A 126-foot waterfall hidden in a desert canyon
Mossy Cave Trail
A hidden waterfall and ice cave just off the highway
Red Canyon
A blazing red gateway carved by water and wind
Upper Calf Creek Falls
A remote 88-foot cascade reached by a rugged trail
Scenic Byway 12 / UT-631
I-151
UT-181
UT-243
UT-251
NV-28 / US-50 (Spooner Summit)1
I-402
US-401
US-502
Glenbrook & Spooner Summit
Lake Tahoe's east shore, where the basin was logged nearly clean to timber the Comstock—the forest that paid for the silver, and the century it has spent growing back
Great Basin National Park
Nevada's only national park — caves below, the oldest trees on earth above, the darkest skies overhead
SR-641
I-702
SR-881
SR-89A1
SR-89A / SR-1791
US-896
Jardine Juniper
One of the oldest living trees in the world at over 1,500 years old
Logan Canyon
A winding National Scenic Byway through limestone cliffs and alpine forest
Manti-La Sal National Forest
Alpine peaks rising above red rock desert
Sunset Crater Volcano
The volcano northern Arizona watched erupt, around 1085
Wind Cave Trail
A short hike to a triple-arched limestone cave overlooking the canyon
Wupatki National Monument
The red pueblo the volcano built — remembered, not abandoned
US-89/911
UT-921
UT-1281
UT-1504
Bald Mountain Pass
The highest point on the Mirror Lake Highway at 10,715 feet
Mirror Lake
A pristine alpine lake reflecting the Uinta peaks like glass
Ruth Lake
A hidden alpine gem reached by a short trail through wildflower meadows
Trial Lake
A popular high-alpine fishing lake surrounded by granite peaks