| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS |
Trail Mix: Great November Hikes in the East
Your region's go-now guide: Explore New York City, hike four states in 24 hours, and perfect days in NC, GA, and NH.
Local Hikes
Jump-start your hiking season on these spring-ready trips from around the country.
Ultimate Adventure Handbook: Climb Big Trees
Discover a higher world.
Ultimate Adventure Handbook
Tired of the same old weekend loops? Looking to create memories your grandkids will talk about? In this how-and-where guide, we serve up 15 extraordinary escapes that will shatter your expectations of "normal." From adventure moviemaking to canyoneering, we'll take you places you've never been—but will long to visit again soon.
Readers' Choice 2012: Top 3 - Southeast Hikes
Our prolific map contributor has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and notched more than 90 bag nights while scouting routes for BACKPACKER.
Local Hikes: Southeast
Hike these long trails in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida, and paddle three days in the Everglades backcountry.
Trip Finder: Southeast
Your favorite Southeast trips—from dayhikes to weekenders to multiday trips.
Rip & Go: Approach Trail Loop, Chattahoochee National Forest, GA
Relax in a hiker-friendly lodge at the Appalachian Trail's southern tip.
Best. Hikes. Ever.
We've covered 245,591 miles of trails in our 37-year history. Here are our 20 all-time favorite trips, plus—shocking!—20 routes we never covered.
Best Hikes Ever: Appalachian Trail, GA-ME
Thru-hike America's most revered long trail: the Appalachian Trail.
Natural Wonders: Hells Canyon, Bighorn Sheep, and Longleaf Pines
See North America's deepest river gorge, the west's most violent mating Display, and the Southeast's last longleaf pines.
Natural Wonders: Longleaf Pines, GA
Walk beneath trees that predate the Revolutionary War.
Local Hikes: Atlanta, GA
The best hikes near Atlanta, GA.
Local Hikes: Southeast
The best local hikes in the southeast, as chosen by the area's best hiking clubs.
Local Hikes: New Hikes Near You
Our army of reader-reader scouts mapped 59 local hikes from South Carolina to Northern California. See their favorites, then learn how to download tracklogs and waypoints.
Local Hikes: Southeast
Climb to two killer views, see the South's best flowers, and hike to secluded falls. (Click linked trips for GPS waypoints, photos, and more.)
Top 3 Luxury Hikes
Hit the trail, then hit the oh-so-soft mattress at one of these hiker-friendly lodges.
Luxury Hikes: Amicalola Falls SP, GA
Trek to an off-the-grid bunkhouse.
Natural Wonders: Freaky Bats, Dry Falls, Winter Witch Hazel
Washington, Arkansas, and Georgia are host to these three life-list phenomena treks.
Free Maps! Our Contributors Favorite Local Hikes
Online or via your cellphone these trips are ready to be downloaded and explored.
Rip & Go: Jacks River Trail - Cohutta Wilderness, GA
Disappear into the largest–and probably the wettest–wilderness east of the Mississippi.
Trip Finder: Waterfall Hikes
Nine ways to get your cascade fix from Tennessee to Montana.
Hikes and Trips in all 50 States
Use our comprehensive state-specific pages to find hikes in your home state our a state you're planning on visiting.
Pack Man: The Appalachian Trail Guru
Thirty miles up the trail from Springer Mountain, Winton Porter shelters and feeds thru-hikers–and works tirelessly to slash their pack weight.
Trip Finder: 2-4 Day Warm-Weather Hikes
Track the sun on these 2-4 day trips in the Southeast, Southwest, and Hawaii
3 Ways to See North Georgia
By foot, kayak, or on top of a Boulder, North Georgia has plenty of outside activities.
Time 2 Go See Wild Horses
From Florida to Wyoming, track wild horses for four hours or 10 days.
60 Minute Fixes: Atlanta Adventures
Hiking, climbing, and fishing in this New South boomtown.
Backpack, Paddle, and Hike in the Deep South
Discover the beauty of our most southern states by paddling down Carolina rivers, camping out beside Alabama waterfalls, and climbing a 3,792-foot summit in Georgia.
High Points: Brasstown Bald, Georgia
Come visit this Cherokee named place of fresh green.
Paddle Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp
Only in 400,000 acres of wet backcountry will you find the oldest bird
Cloudland Canyon State Park
A thousand-foot-deep gorge is the centerpiece of this tri-state park.
Best Waterfall Hikes
Learn the weird science behind our addiction to waterfalls, and the location of the best trails in North America.
Best Backpacking In Georgia
Our comprehensive guide to the best backpacking you can find in Georgia.
Hiking The Appalachian Trail
The famed peaks of the Appalachian chain entice some 2,500 people to attempt the thru-hike each year.
Ellicott Rock Wilderness: Rock And Stroll
History is carved in stone in this wild and scenic southern river corridor in North Carolina and Georgia.
Snowbirds Of Okefenokee Swamp
The Purple Trail through Chase Prairie or the Green or Red Trails through Floyd's Prairie are good routes for viewing Sandhill cranes.
Georgia's Providence Canyon State Park
A slice of Utah canyon in the heart of Dixie.
Cloudland Canyon State Park
Tennessee/Georgia's Big Frog Wilderness
Why choose between breezy peaks and cool streams when you can have both at Big Frog Wilderness?
Duncan Ridge Trail, Georgia
Get lost on Georgia's Duncan Ridge Trail.
Georgia's Cumberland Island
Cumberland Island's south shore provides remarkably pristine beaches and mossy forests.
Alabama's Cheaha Wilderness: A Southern Secret
The little-known Cheaha Wilderness Area is the gateway to Alabama's largest trail system.
North Carolina/Georgia's Bartram Trail
Take along your plant guidebooks for this flora-filled treasure.
