Over the years, I’ve explored trails across the United States. A select few have risen above the rest: more inspiring, more exciting, and more memorable. These are the hikes that feel truly epic, the kind that stay with you long after the journey ends. This page is a curated collection of those standout experiences.

I’ve categorized them as “Day Hikes,” meaning they typically take the better part of a day to complete and cover more than five miles (eight kilometers) round trip. Some routes are more demanding than others, and those distinctions are noted in each description.

The list is presented in order of my personal ranking, shaped by firsthand experience. Still, every trail featured here promises something remarkable, an unforgettable journey through some of the most inspiring landscapes in the country.

16. The DeCaLiBron Loop

As mentioned in this post, the DeCaLiBron Loop in Colorado covers an impressive path. It spans four 14,000-foot summits in the Mosquito Range near Fairplay, Colorado. At 7.6 miles (12.3 kilometers), it presents one of the most rewarding multi-summit challenges you can experience in a single day.

Unlike a traditional out-and-back ascent, the DeCaLiBron transforms into something far more dynamic after the first summit. From there, the route unfolds along rugged ridgelines, weaving together the four summits as a single loop passage.

While it’s not a route suited for first-time climbers, hikers who have already stood atop a few Colorado fourteeners will find this loop to be a natural, and unforgettable, next step.

15. Big Pine Lakes, California

The Big Pine Lakes are a series of turquoise lakes in California’s Sierra Nevadas west of the town of Big Pine. The lakes get their color from glacial melt, an rarity in California.

The lakes are numbered One, Two, Three and onward to Seven, depending on how far you decide to hike. The journey to the first three lakes is a 10 mile (16 km) round trip, with a moderately challenging elevation gain.

You can even continue hiking deeper into the heart of the Sierras after passing the lakes, and make an attempt on the North Palisade Peak, the third highest mountain in California at 14,248 ft.

I recommend camping at the Big Pine Creek campground near the trail head. The campground is situated perfectly in a pine forest near the trail head.

14. Iceberg Lake, Glacier National Park

Glacier has so many miles incredible hikes that it’s almost unfair to the rest of America’s national parks. Many of those hikes are a bit longer than what would credibly called a day-hike for the average hiker. Perhaps the most epic trail in the park is the Highline Trail, a hike that is typically done as a multi-day journey.

The Iceberg Lake trail is a genuine day hike. The trail is beautiful, traversing some of Glacier’s most majestic alpine scenery from its trailhead in Many Glacier. The journey is a 10 mile (16 km) roundtrip, but the elevation gain is modest.

Be aware that this trail crosses through some of Glacier’s prime grizzly bear habitat. You should always carry bear spray while hiking in Glacier, of course. At the end of my hike to Iceberg Lake I was fortunate to see a moose.

If you can reserve a room at the Swiftcurrent Lodge, you’ll be able to sleep very near the trailhead.

13. Mount Elbert Summit Trail, Colorado

The Mount Elbert summit hike is the highest in Colorado, and for that reason alone it is a popular hike. Summiting this peak is almost a right of passage for avid Colorado hikers.

But it’s also beautifully scenic, with views of the Twin Lakes and the surrounding Sawatch Range to enjoy along the way. And at 11 miles (17.7 km) round trip from the most popular trailhead west of Leadville, Colorado, it is indeed a day hike.

While the Mount Elbert trail is a non-technical ascent (it is considered one of the “easy” 14ers), this is a very strenuous and steep hike to 14,440 ft. Anyone who attempts it must also start very early in the morning to avoid the dangers of afternoon thunderstorms.

12. Sky Pond, Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is packed full of terrific hiking trails within the confines of the park.

But Sky Pond is especially rewarding. On a 9 mile (14.5 km) round-trip hike from the trailhead at Glacier Gorge, you’ll pass two additional alpine lakes, the cascading Alberta Falls, and ascend a cliff face next to a Timberline Falls.

And all that before arriving at beautiful Sky Pond.

Once there you can admire the beauty of the lake from a granite sofa seat as you enjoy a well-deserved snack, with the jagged “Shark’s Tooth” piercing the sky in the distance.

11. Mount Washburn Trail, Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone has thousands of miles of hiking trails across a huge expanse of wilderness.

So in a park with endless natural features, what makes the Mount Washburn trail the number one day hike in the park?

For one, it provides an amazing birds-eye view across a vast expanse of Yellowstone’s majestic expanse. On a clear day, you’ll see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone cutting through dense forest to the east, Yellowstone Lake in the distance to the south, and numerous geyser basins as well.

In the summer the mountain is painted by wildflowers of every color and you can be sure to enjoy wildlife views as well. Bighorn sheep live near the summit. You may see any number of other animals include grizzly bears too.

The trail is a steep 6 mile (9.6 km) roundtrip from Dunraven Pass.

10. Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park

The ultimate hike in Rocky Mountain National Park is also arguably the most challenging and dangerous day hike on this list.

At 14,255 ft Longs Peak is among the highest peaks in Colorado, and with its distinctive diamond face, one of the most photographed. The trail to the summit is 15 miles (24.1 km) round trip.

The first five miles are a relatively steep, but straightforward, high altitude hike, with incredible views of Rocky Mountain’s high alpine scenery in very direction. If you only cover this first five miles before turning around, you’ll still have enjoyed a tremendous hike.

However, once you cross through the notch known as the “Keyhole”, the pathway narrows to steep ledges and rock scrambles to the summit. Care must be taken to avoid afternoon thunderstorms with an early start in the summer time.

9. Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon National Park

This is the second trail that might be extended into a multi-day hike. To travel the entire distance from The South Rim to the North Rim (or vice versa) would require an overnight stay at Phantom Ranch in the canyon’s depths, but most hikers start at the South Rim and travel as far as Indian Gardens before returning.

The vast majority of visitors to Grand Canyon National Park never leave the South Rim. While the views from the rim are majestic, particularly at sunrise and sunset, they really don’t really tell the canyon’s story. It’s like seeing only the cover of a great novel and never reading past the first page.

Entering the canyon is to travel through layers of time and through varied ecosystems. The views are ever-changing and show features of the canyon that you’d never appreciate from the rim.

I would also note that colorful bands of rock within the Grand Canyon are as enchanting as those you’ll see at Zion or Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. But the Grand Canyon keeps many of its secrets hidden from above.

8. The Narrows, Zion National Park

The Narrows stetches the definition of a trail. Is it a trail? Or a journey upriver?

You won’t often experience anything like this hike, which will have you at times wading through shoulder deep water and at other times peering upward a thousand feet to see the sky splitting the canyon walls above.

At one point you’ll feel you could almost touch each wall of the canyon with outstretched hands. But you’ll never quite reach this moment of glory. But you will feel immense joy at the wonder of nature.

It’s slippery, often cold, and sometimes dangerous if conditions aren’t right, but it’s a bucket list hike for anyone in Zion National Park.

7. Harding Ice Field Trail, Kenai Fjords National Park

This is one of those hikes that everyone says is among the most beautiful they have ever done. Like traveling to another planet.

It’s a hike I didn’t quite get the opportunity to complete. But I have a return trip to Alaska planned and I look forward to reaching the end of this trail at the Harding Ice Field.

I tried this hike in late May and after a couple thousand feet of elevation gain, I reached a point where the snow was impassible and the trail disappeared. I was about a mile short of the full Icefield, that awe inspiring view of the Pleistocene world.

What I did see along the way was glacial scenery that became steadily more impressive the higher I ascended. Starting from the trailhead (where a black bear and hoary marmots congregated) to Exit Glacier, the views were gorgeous and Alaska at its finest.

Even without reaching the end of this hike, I can confidently say it is among the greatest hikes in America. The full hike is 8.2 miles (13.2 km) round trip.

6. Kalalau Trail, Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of the four main islands of Hawaii. And the Na Pali coast is the very dramatic and remote stretch of the island that is the location of the Kalalau Trail.

You should try to experience the Na Pali Coast by both land and sea. A boat tour can show its wonders from the surf, but only the The Kalalau Trail traverses the Na Pali Coast on land. Along the way you’ll journey through rainforests, past waterfalls, and gain access to striking coastal scenery, seemingly at the edge of the world.

This is arguably the greatest coastal hike in the entire country. Hiking as far as Hanakapiai Beach (5 miles/8 km round trip) is a rewarding experience, all by itself. Most hikers will from there, weather-permitting, continue to Hanakapaiai Falls (8 miles/12.9 km roundtrip), a bit further inland.

You can also, with the proper preparation and a permit, continue south and travel the more dangerous cliff-side passage that takes you on an overnight journey to the true end of the Kalaulau trail.

5. Mount Whitney Summit Trail, California

Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the continental United States at 19495 ft. It’s also the longest and most challenging of the listed day hikes with a 22 mile (35.4 km) round trip distance and an elevation gain of 6,100 ft. This is a real butt-kicker, but it can be done in one long day that starts before sunrise and ends right after sunset.

This first 8 miles up the trail are a long slow climb, but it’s the following 2 miles up a series of switchbacks to the ridge line that really test your stamina. As you ascend this section of the trail however, you truly get to appreciate the majestic beauty of the High Sierra.

Once you arrive at the ridge line and enter Sequoia National Park for the final thousand foot ascent, you’ll enjoy lake views down below and the soaring peaks of the Sierra Nevada standing sentinel in every direction. A mile later and you are standing above them all.

4. Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park

Zion National Park earns dual honors on this list, but I think most of those who have spent time in Zion agree the honor is rightly deserved.

Angel’s Landing hits all the right notes though it is the shortest by distance on the list, just making the cut at 5 miles roundtrip. But with awe-inspiring views and a unique, hair-raising traverse of a narrow precipice above the canyon floor, it is an undeniably memorable hike.

This is probably the most purely dangerous hike on the list and the one that should not be undertaken by anyone with a fear of heights or by children. Every year there are fatalities from those who mis-stepped. Take your time, watch your feet, and hold on to the chains.

3. Cascade Canyon to Lake Solitude, Grand Teton National Park

The vast, vast majority of visitors only see the Tetons from the valley floor. And those views are majestic and beautiful.

But taking a hike into the heart of the Tetons is otherworldly. I have done the Cascade Canyon section of the hike a few times, but the most astounding beauty awaits after the trail junction. Follow it Lake Solitude, or even over Paintbrush Divide, or just as far as the weather and trail conditions permit.

The 360 degree views on this trail are some of the most majestic anywhere in the world.

2. Grinnell Glacier Trail, Glacier National Park

Glacier is packed full of amazing hikes across the expanse of the park. The best of the day hikes is probably the Grinnell Glacier trail.

The scenery just doesn’t quit along the 6 miles from the trailhead to the glacier. you’ll pass by Swiftcurrent Lake, Lake Josephine, the ultra-turquoise Grinnell Lake, a waterfall on the trail and on up to the Glacier itself and the Upper Grinnell Lake.

I last completed this hike in July of 2023 with my teenage son and it was a great experience. We made a video of our hike which you can view below.

In my opinion the two parks with the greatest hikes are Glacier and the park the follows with the number one day hike.

1. Half Dome Trail, Yosemite National Park

I’ve hiked a lot of trails, but in the nearly two decades since I first hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite nothing has ever quite matched this unique and memorable hike.

With Vernal and Nevada Falls along the way, the final ascent of the cables is really the final act of an amazing journey through the best of Yosemite’s scenery.

When you finally arrive at the summit to gaze down on Yosemite Valley your effort is justly rewarded.