Within Red Rocks National Conservation Area are a number of hikes into deep canyons in the Spring Mountains. Icebox Canyon leaves the Scenic Drive and crosses rocky desert hills to the mouth of the canyon which become increasingly narrow until it ends in a vertical slot where a seasonal waterfall cascades into a pool. The first section of the trail … Continue reading…
Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area is located just a few kilometers west of Las Vegas. The colorful desert hills and mountains offer many opportunities for hikers to follow established trails or to explore new routes. One of the designated trails is the one to Turtlehead Peak. From the one-way Scenic Drive Trail, the trailhead starts at the Sandstone … Continue reading…
Swakane Canyon is north of Wenatchee just off Highway 97 (Alt.) on the west side of the Columbia River. Drive north for 8.7 km, then turn left on the Swakane Road. Follow this rougher dirt road for 5 km and park where an old double track road climbs uphill, bearing east. The entire hike is on a double track … Continue reading…
The hike on Whiskey Dick Mountain in central Washington follows old double tracks to the top of open ridges. There are no trees in this desert hills environment in the Whisky Dick Wildlife Area. The trailhead is off a short (signed) dirt road north at Mile Marker 18 off the Old Vantage Highway (Highway 14). A larger readerboard by the … Continue reading…
The Batchelor Range is a chain of rocky hills overlooking the North Thompson River from the Deep Lake area to the edge of the City in the Batchelor Hills. The south end of the Range is accessible from the Lac du Bois Road, but the north end is harder to get to. We can drive on rough backroads to get … Continue reading…
One of the largest petrified forests in the world can be explored in the desert lands of Central Washington. Lava flows caused mineralization of buried forests of gingko, fir, spruce, elm, and walnut. Bits of petrified wood dot the hills. There is an interpretive trail, but we chose a faint double track into the backcountry of Gingko Petrified Forest State … Continue reading…
Access to Dogwood Marshes snowshoeing area is from the Bush Lake parking area off the Lac le Jeune Road. There are a number of routes through the marshes and up into the hills above for any day of exploration in the winter. It is easier ti follow “stomped-in” tracks than it is to break a new trail, especially when the … Continue reading…
When Lac le Jeune was the main cross-country ski center there were top-notch trails bearing west in several loops that were well-used and some national-level competitions were hosted in the area. The ski hill was in operation too. We brought out kids there to learn to downhill ski. A double track trail also went up the west side of the … Continue reading…
Makena State Park is on the shoreline of Makena (south of Kihei and Wailea) on the Island of Maui. There are two beaches and a dormant volcanic cinder cone on the 165 acre park. Big Beach is a kilometer-long crescent of golden sand. A small reef provides safe swimming conditions near the shoreline. Separating the two beaches is a rocky … Continue reading…
The trail up Waihee Ridge starts on a side road off the Kahekili “Highway” (at mile 6.9) on the north side of the West Maui Mountain Range. A good road leads to a parking area and a signed trail. The trail is in good shape, well-signed, and brushed out. There were a couple of muddy spots on north-facing … Continue reading…
All of the side roads and tracks off the Lac le Jeune Road have areas to snowshoe. Most are explorations, but as more people venture out, tracks are set for others to follow. One area that has many hours of snowshoeing for explorers is the Upper Goose Lake Hills. This is crown land adjacent to the upper end of the … Continue reading…
Kauai has many wonderful hikes but there are also a number of excellent seacliff routes down to pocket beaches. Many of these are off backroads to a parking spot. Larsen’s Beach is down Koolau Road south of Kilauea, then along the Larsens Beach sideroad. At the end of the gravel road are a number of parking spots. The trail … Continue reading…
The north shore of Kauai has fewer trails than other parts of the island, although it does have the Kalalau Trail, one of the top destination hikes in the world. There are a few beach hikes or scrambles down to pocket beaches, but the only other hike in the Hanalei area is the Okolehao Trail. We went out with a … Continue reading…
The Alakai’i Swamp Trail starts at the end of the road. On the island of Kauai the roads end at either end of the Na Pali Coast and one road runs up onto the central mountain, climbing the west side hills onto a ridge overlooking Waimea Canyon. Glimpses of red-orange-coral rock caught the eye while we wound our way toward … Continue reading…
On many Top 10 Trails in the world, the Kalalau Trail on Kauai draws hikers from all over the world. The trail starts at the end of the road at Ke’e Beach on the North Shore and climbs across the steep slopes of the Na Pali Coast for 11 miles. The first section traverses the pali to Hanikapi’ai Beach, a … Continue reading…
The Maha’ulepu Trail starts at Shipwreck Beach in Poipu on Kauai. The trail climbs to the top of the seabluffs looking over Keoneloa Bay. The bluffs are mostly lithified sand dunes – calcite cementation of wind-blown carbonate and other materials. Trails run along the top of the bluffs but the most interesting routes go up and down on rock shelves … Continue reading…
