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Johns Lake Loop starts as a pleasant trail through a mossy forest leading to a small lake, but this Glacier National Park hike has a lot more to offer. The trail follows a cascading creek past McDonald Falls, getting an eyeful of the water that feeds the expansive Lake McDonald. This varied 2-mile loop has just 225 feet of elevation gain, making it one of the easiest hikes on the west side... Read more.

Diminished by drought and tarnished by wildfire, Crystal Lake is not the glistening destination it once was. Crystal Lake is the only naturally occurring lake in the San Gabriel Mountains, cradled by granite summits north of the San Gabriel River Valley above the city of Azusa at 5,500 feet. It is a 1 1/3-mile round trip paved hike to Crystal Lake with 150 feet of elevation gain. The 2002... Read more.

The bloom of wildflowers on Naches Peak Loop is the #1 draw to this trail. An extraordinary carpet of purple lupines and other colorful flowers appearing along this trail each summer. The fact that Naches Peak Loop stands out among other trails in Mount Rainier National Park, which has lots of great places to see wildflowers, tells you that this trail is something special. The 3.75-mile... Read more.

You know you're hiking in a special place when the trail to a waterfall-filled lake in the shadow of America's most famous volcano is not the area's must-do hike. With so many exceptional trails in Washington's Cascade Mountains, June Lake Trail could easily be overlooked. This 2.6-mile hike visits a shallow subalpine lake on the southern slopes of Mount Saint Helens. There is 450 feet of... Read more.

In the northwest corner of Yosemite National Park is a valley that John Muir described as “a wonderfully exact counterpart of the great Yosemite.” Since Muir's time, Hetch Hetchy Valley has changed. It was dammed in 1923 and a large blue reservoir now covers the valley. Muir opposed the dam, and fellow conservationists lost a long battle to preserve the valley. An effort... Read more.

May Lake is a high elevation lake off Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park north of Yosemite Valley. This 2.4-mile hike with 475 feet of elevation gain is a perfect outing for summer and early fall when the road and trail are free of snow. Stroll along a wide trail through a lovely pine forest. As you near the lake, gradually ascend a granite floor with sparser tree cover. When you... Read more.

Wedged between the granite walls of Half Dome and North Dome on the east end of Yosemite Valley, visit an enticing body of water that doubles the Yosemite splendor. Mirror Lake, which is not actually a lake but rather a shallow seasonal pool, is famous for its reflective beauty. Due to it's popularity and easy-to-reach-ness, a few trails lead to Mirror Lake. The most traveled option is a... Read more.

The short interesting hike to Bear Gulch Reservoir ascends a beautiful boulder-filled gorge on the east side of Pinnacles National Park (known as Pinnacles National Monument prior to 2013). A split in the trail offers two parallel routes to reach the reservoir. Bear Gulch Cave Trail climbs through a talus cave, while Moses Spring Trail takes a scenic but less daring course along the rim of... Read more.

The scenic vista point at the top of Lake View Trail provides a beautiful view overlooking Malibu Lake and the surrounding mountains. The network of trails through Malibu Creek State Park offer several routes to the overlook, including a short 2.1-mile loop from a trailhead off Lake Vista Drive and a longer 4.1-mile out and back trek that begins down Cistern Trail from Mulholland Highway. ... Read more.

Located just west of downtown San Luis Obispo, the 1,292-foot Cerro San Luis (or San Luis Mountain) offers sweeping views of the Santa Lucia Mountains and other peaks in the Morros, the chain of mountains that Cerro San Luis is a part of. The Morros, or Nine Sisters, are a line of prominent volcanic peaks between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. These beautiful peaks set the postcard-like... Read more.