hikespeak

Pittock Mansion is a popular place to visit in Portland, perhaps less for the building itself than for its view over city and surrounding mountains. You can drive right up to Pittock Mansion and take a tour or hike up through Forest Park and immerse yourself in a temperate rainforest that's closer to the city than you might expect. Start from Cornell Road for a partial loop hike on Wildwood... Read more.

Lower Oneonta Falls is an enchantress – a 100-foot ribbon of white water plunging down a steep wall of dark volcanic rock draped in moss and ferns. Getting to this waterfall demands an off-trail adventure up Oneonta Gorge that involves wading through crystal clear stretches of Oneonta Creek as it passes between the towering walls of this narrow gorge. Located in Columbia River Gorge... Read more.

Mount Hollywood is a prominent peak in Griffith Park, located above and behind Griffith Observatory. While it isn't the park's tallest peak at 1,625 feet, the summit offers excellent 360-degree views. The trails on Mount Hollywood have postcard perspectives of the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory, plus views of downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains. Set out from the... Read more.

Rankin Ridge forms part of the southeast edge of the Black Hills and at 5,013 feet in elevation, it is the highest point in Wind Cave National Park. A lookout tower rises above the ridge top, which can be reached via a 250-foot ascent on a 0.55-mile long single track. Take a wide dirt trail back down the ridge to form a one-mile loop. Although this hike is short, it is not short on rewards.... Read more.

The smart people who shaped Binghamton University knew that deep-rooted oaks can teach us more than ivory towers. With the good foresight, the SUNY Binghamton campus set aside 182 acres of wetlands and woodlands for the benefit of students, faculty, and the community. On a first visit to Binghamton University Nature Preserve, Pond Trail and Marsh Trail are recommended routes for... Read more.

Some centers of higher learning probably overlook nature's value in education, but not Binghamton University. This SUNY Institution in Vestal, New York set aside 182 acres for the benefit of students, faculty, and the community. Several intersecting trails explore Binghamton University Nature Preserve, creating numerous hiking options, like this one — a figure-eight loop on the easiest... Read more.

We can learn a lot from nature, which is probably why Binghamton University, a SUNY Institution in Vestal, New York had the foresight to preserve a 182-acre natural space right on its campus. Binghamton University Nature Preserve has hillsides and valleys full of forests and marshes with lots of interconnected trails open to the students and the public. For a quick mile-long escape, get to... Read more.

Gould Mesa Trail Camp is a hike-in campground in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains, quite close to cities like Altadena and La Cañada Flintridge. The most obvious route to Gould Mesa is Gabrielino Trail. For something that's about half as long and twice as steep, you can take Gould Mesa Road, which drops 525 feet over 1.15 miles going from Angeles Crest Highway down a ridge and... Read more.

Gabrielino Trail is one of the principle trails through Angeles National Forest. Starting from the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, you can take this trail a short distance up a canyon along the lovely Arroyo Seco and come to Gould Mesa Trail Camp, a hike-in campground just a couple miles from civilization that delivers a quick escape from cities in the valley below. Starting in an... Read more.

Mount Maunganui is an extinct volcano crowning the tip of a peninsula at the mouth of Tauranga Harbour in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. The mountain has stunning sea views from its base all the way up to the summit, so it is a delight to hike. Next to Mount Maunganui, a beach city with the same name covers the flat part of the peninsula between sandy strips and is a popular spot... Read more.