HIKING TRAILS

The following are the three major national trails in the United States: • Appalachian Trail (2,158 miles): Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. A thru-hike takes about 165 days. There are about 2,000 thru-hike attempts each year, according to Adventure, with approximately 400 successful completions. More than three million people use the trail annually, according to the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (www.aldha.org). • Continental Divide (3,100 miles): New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. There are approximately 25 thru-hikers each year. • Pacific Crest (2,638 miles): California, Oregon, and Washington. There are about 125 thru-hikers annually.

Each of the 57 U.S. National Parks have extensive hiking trails and camping facilities, and all have spectacular views. Clingman’s Dome, along the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee), was rated by USA Weekend as one of the 10 Most Beautiful Places in America. Yosemite National Park (California) also ranks among the most scenic. About the size of Rhode Island, the park embraces some 1,200 square miles in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California. The park offers 840 miles of hiking trails that wind through backcountry which comprises 94% of the park. With hundreds of waterfalls plunging down rugged granite escarpments and wildlife that ranges from bears to fish, the park attracts more than 4 million visitors annually.

Eight national scenic trails (NST) and 15 national historic trails (NHT) have been established, administered by the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management (depending on the trail). These trails are as follows: • Appalachian NST: Established 1968, 2,158 miles • Pacific Crest NST: Established 1968, 2,638 miles • Continental Divide NST: Established 1978, 3,100 miles • Oregon NHT: Established 1978, 2,170 miles • Mormon Pioneer NHT: Established 1978, 1,300 miles • Lewis and Clark NHT: Established 1978, 3,700 miles • Iditarod NHT: Established 1978, 2,350 miles • North Country NST: Established 1980, 3,200 miles • Overmountain Victory NHT: Established 1980, 275 miles • Ice Age NST: Established 1980, 1,000 miles • Florida NST: Established 1983, 1,300 miles

RICHARD K. MILLER & ASSOCIATES • 1 • • Potomac Heritage NST: Established 1983, 700 miles • Natchez Trace NST: Established 1983, 95 miles • Nez Perce (Nee-me-poo) NHT: Established 1986, 1,170 miles • Santa Fe NHT: Established 1987, 1,203 miles • Trail of Tears NHT: Established 1987, 2,200 miles • Juan Bautista de Anza NHT: Established 1990, 1,200 miles • California NHT: Established 1992, 5,665 miles • Pony Express NHT: Established 1992, 1,966 miles • Selma to Montgomery NHT: Established 1996, 54 miles • El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro NHT: Established 2000, 404 miles • Ala Kahakai NHT: Established 2000, 175 miles • Old Spanish NHT: Established 2002, 2,700 miles

Trails (www.trails.com) annually ranks the best trails in North America based on popularity and usage. Over 10 million votes for top hiking trails were cast online to rank the top trails in 2016, as follows: 1. Breakneck Ridge Trail (Beacon, NY): hiking - 9.6 miles 2. Glacier Gorge (Longs Peak, CO): hiking - 9.6 miles 3. Appalachian Trail: The Pinnacle (Hamburg, PA): hiking - 8.7 miles 4. Mount Whitney (Lone Pine, CA): hiking - 22 miles 5. Conundrum Hot Springs (Aspen, CO): hot springs - 18 miles 6. Bear Mountain Loop (Highland Falls, NY): hiking - 9.7 miles 7. Deep Creek (Hesperia, CA): hot springs - 12 miles 8. Appalachian Trail: Sunfish Pond & Mount Mohican (Columbia, NJ): hiking - 8.8 miles 9. Appalachian Trail: Springer Mountain to Hightower Gap (Suches, GA): hiking - 9 miles 10. Chain Lakes (Scenic, WA): hiking - 22 miles 11. Appalachian Trail: Crampton Gap to Harpers Ferry, WV (Burkittsville, MD): hiking - 10.2 miles 12. Half Dome (Vernal Fall, CA): hiking - 16 miles 13. Dolly Sods Wilderness (Laneville, WV): hiking - 2.4 miles 14. Hut to Hut Presidential Traverse (Gorham, NH): hiking - 25.5 miles 15. American River Confluence to Lake Clementine (Auburn, CA): hiking - 6 miles 16. Canyon Creek Lakes and L Lake (Weaverville, CA): hiking - 16.5 miles 17. Mount Marcy - New York Highpoint (Lake Placid, NY): hiking - 14.8 miles 18. Alder Glen Recreation Site (Beaver, OR): campgrounds 19. Bear Mountain (Mount Frissell, CT): hiking - 6 miles 20. Appalachian National Scenic Trail - Pennsylvania Section (Rouzerville, PA): hiking - 232 miles 21. Carson Mineral Hot Springs Resort (Carson, WA): hot springs 22. Mount Mitchell (Asheville, NC): hiking - 12 miles 23. Appalachian National Scenic Trail: Connecticut and Massachusetts (North Adams, MA): hiking - 138 miles

RICHARD K. MILLER & ASSOCIATES • 2 • 24. Appalachian Trail - Chester Gap to Harpers Ferry (Front Royal, VA): hiking - 54.4 miles 25. Appalachian Trail: Bear Mountain - Harriman State Parks - West (Arden, NY): hiking - 5.7 miles 26. North Country Trail (NCT) - Michigan Section (Morenci, MI): hiking - 875 miles 27. Boynton Canyon (Sedona, AZ): hiking - 6 miles 28. Verde Hot Spring (Strawberry, AZ): hot springs - 2 miles 29. Blue Lake (Ward, CO): hiking - 5 miles 30. Deer Creek Canyon Park (Morrison, CO): hiking - 5.6 miles 31. Kauai: Kalalau Valley & The Na Pali Cliffs (Hanalei, HI): hiking - 22 miles 32. Lincoln Woods (Lincoln, NH): mountain biking - 6.4 miles 33. Chasteen Creek Loop (Cherokee Indian Reservation, NC): hiking - 17.4 miles 34. Uwharrie National Forest Trails (Asheboro, NC): hiking - 66.5 miles 35. Old Rag - Shenandoah National Park (Sperryville, VA): hiking - 15.4 miles 36. Slide Mountain Loop (Woodstock, NY): hiking - 7 miles 37. Black Mountain Campground (Burnsville, NC): campgrounds 38. Havasu Canyon Trail (Seligman, AZ): hiking - 20 miles 39. Central Alpine Lakes Loop (Cle Elum, WA): hiking - 35 miles 40. Mount Pisgah Area Trails (Brevard, NC): hiking - 6.4 miles 41. American River Bike Path (Sacramento, CA): mountain biking - 64 miles 42. Holy Jim Falls Trail (Lake Forest, CA): hiking - 2.7 miles 43. Four Peaks Mine (Phoenix, AZ): off-highway drive - 28 miles 44. Bagby Hot Springs (Estacada, OR): hot springs - 3 miles 45. McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area (Seneca, MD): hiking - 7.9 miles 46. Boulder County: Longs Peak (Estes Park, CO): hiking - 14 miles 47. Eagle Rock Loop (Glenwood, AR): hiking - 26.8 miles 48. Appalachian Trail - Damascus to Marion (Damascus, VA): hiking - 63.8 miles 49. Bright Angel Trail (Grand Canyon Village, AZ): hiking - 19.2 miles 50. The Hudson Highlands (Cold Spring, NY): hiking - 16 miles 51. Cross Timbers Trail (Dallas, TX): hiking - 18 miles 52. North Lake to Humphreys Basin Loop (Bishop, CA): hiking - 27 miles 53. The Narrows of Zion Canyon (Springdale, UT): hiking - 15.4 miles 54. Difficult Run - Reston to Great Falls National Park (Reston, VA): mountain biking - 24 miles 55. Palisades Interstate Park and the Long Path (Englewood, NJ): hiking - 17 miles 56. Ocala National Forest (Ocala, FL): hiking - various distances 57. The Grand Teton Loop (Jackson, WY): hiking - 32.6 miles 58. Camelback Mountain: Summit Trail (Paradise Valley, AZ): hiking - 2.4 miles 59. Black Mountain Loop (Lake George, NY): hiking - 7 miles 60. Appalachian Trail: Bake Oven Knob to Lehigh Gap (Lehighton, PA): hiking - 9.5 miles 61. San Gorgonio Mountain (Big Bear Lake, CA): hiking - 21.3 miles 62. Canyon Loop Trail (Boulder, CO): hiking - 1.4 miles 63. Mount Mansfield, Sunset Ridge Trail (Burlington, VT): hiking - 6.6 miles

RICHARD K. MILLER & ASSOCIATES • 3 • 64. Bull of the Woods Loop (Salem, OR): hiking - 41 miles 65. The Superior Hiking Trail (Two Harbors, MN): hiking - 175 miles 66. Appalachian Trail: Woody Gap to Neels Gap (Suches, GA): hiking - 10.7 miles 67. Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (Johnstown, PA): hiking - 70.1 miles 68. Santa Anita Canyon Loop (Sierra Madre, CA): hiking - 9 miles 69. Rainbow Hot Springs (Pagosa Springs, CO): hot springs - 9 miles 70. Arethusa Falls Trails (North Conway, NH): hiking - 4.5 miles 71. Appalachian Trail to Loudon Heights Trail Loop (Harpers Ferry, WV): hiking - 12.1 miles 72. Valley View Hot Springs (Alamosa, CO): hot springs 73. Blue Hills Reservation (Boston, MA): hiking - 4.5 miles 74. North Kettle Moraine (Dundee, WI): hiking - 10.3 miles 75. Mount Princeton Hot Springs (Nathrop, CO): hot springs 76. Sacramento and Western Sierra Foothills Campgrounds (Sacramento, CA): campgrounds 77. Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail (Woodbury, NY): mountain biking - 16 miles 78. Overall Run Falls and Twin Falls (Bentonville, VA): waterfalls - 6.8 miles 79. Backway to Crown King (Phoenix, AZ): off-highway drive - 34.4 miles 80. Reed Bingham State Park Trails (Adel, GA): hiking - 5.3 miles 81. Mount Rainier - Wonderland Trail Loop (Buckley, WA): hiking - 93 miles 82. Olympic Hot Springs (Port Angeles, WA): hot springs - 5 miles 83. Buffalo River Trail - Western Section (Clarksville, AR): hiking - 36.5 miles 84. Indian Head Mountain Loop (Saugerties, NY): hiking - 7.5 miles 85. Appalachian Trail: Hawk Mountain to PA 309 (Eckville, PA): hiking - 13.5 miles 86. Appalachian Trail: Kent to St. Johns Ledges (Kent, CT): hiking - 4.9 miles 87. Eagle Creek Trail to Wahtum Lake (Dodson, OR): hiking - 13.3 miles 88. Aliso - Wood Canyons Regional Park: Rock-It - Cholla Loop (Laguna Beach, CA): mountain biking - 10.2 miles 89. Sawyer River Road (Conway, NH): mountain biking - 9.4 miles 90. Peninsula to Olds Hollow Trail (Zaleski, OH): hiking - 4.2 miles 91. Big Walnut Creek Nature Preserve: Tall Timbers Trail (Bainbridge, IN): hiking - 1.7 miles 92. Gunpowder Falls North and South Loop, Gunpowder Falls State Park (Hereford, MD): hiking - 9.6 miles 93. Arapaho Pass Trail to Lake Dorothy (Nederland, CO): hiking - 6.4 miles 94. Chassahowitzka River Campground: Indian Ridge Loop (Chassahowitzka, FL): campgrounds 95. Matson Hill Park (Augusta, MO): hiking - 2.75 miles 96. North-South Lake loop (Catskill, NY): hiking - 10 miles 97. Angels Landing (Springdale, UT): hiking - 4.4 miles 98. Camel's Hump, Forestry, Dean, and Long Trails Loop (Montpelier, VT): hiking - 7.4 miles 99. Trinity Trail (Dallas, TX): hiking - 18 miles 100. Enchantment Lakes (Leavenworth, WA): hiking - 25 miles

RICHARD K. MILLER & ASSOCIATES • 4 •