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Donning a backpack and trekking to the world’s most far-flung locales doesn’t have to mean gritting your teeth through days of abject solitude. You can do many of the most scenic and well-known thru-hikes with a hiking guide. These trek leaders can help with details like meal planning and also answer questions about the area’s history and local flora and fauna.
Whether you prefer a guided trek for the camaraderie, the extra snacks, or the navigation help, we’ve narrowed down a list of the top guided thru-hikes to book this year and who to book with. From high-altitude treks in California’s “Range of Light” to soulful multi-day hikes in Bhutan, there’s a little something for everyone.
John Muir Trail
Location: California
Time required: 23 days
Hike with: Wildland Trekking
Often considered the most breathtaking stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail, the John Muir Trail (JMT) follows a series of high-alpine passes in California’s Sierra Nevada, stretching 211 miles from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney. I self-guided the trail, back in 2021, and it left me totally awestruck, with new natural wonders sprouting into my field of view every day. Starting this July, Wildland Trekking will be guiding the entire path, leading hikers along the strenuous trail, which passes numerous 14ers, sparkling alpine lakes, and immense granite cliff faces. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime journey.
Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim
Location: Arizona
Time required: 5 days
Hike with: Dreamland Safari Tours
From its crumbling crimson cliffs to the rumbling Colorado River, the Grand Canyon is never short on spectacular scenery, and there’s nothing more classic than a desert trek across this mile-deep ravine. Plus, it’s one of the few U.S. thru-hikes that’s even better during shoulder season, as I discovered in 2020 when I hiked it with my partner. Dreamland Safari Tours offers guided hikes of the iconic route, which start and end in Kanab, Utah. Along the way, hikers will encounter hanging gardens, secret waterfalls, rust-red mesas, and if they’re lucky, a cowboy-led mule team heading down to Phantom Ranch.
Trans-Bhutan Trail
Location: Bhutan
Time required: up to 36 days
Hike with: Local guides or Trans-Bhutan Trail
You’ll need a visa and a guide just to enter the country of Bhutan, so why not double-up on adventure and nab a trekking-specific guide who can take you along a stretch of the infamous Trans-Bhutan Trail? The official website for this temple-and-monastery-strewn pilgrimage lists a variety of trip itineraries, ranging from 6 to 36 nights, or you could hire one of the very few female guides in Bhutan, Dorji Bidha, for a bespoke tour showcasing wildflower-studded alpine valleys, hand-painted Buddhist stupas, and a side trip to the cliff’s-edge Tiger’s Nest Monastery.
Appalachian Trail Section Hike
Location: North Carolina
Time required: 6 days
Hike with: Blue Ridge Hiking Company
Blue Ridge Hiking Company, founded by one-time AT FKT holder Jennifer Pharr Davis, hosts a huge variety of overnight treks along the famed Appalachian Trail (AT). Their longest offering is a six-day itinerary that covers 50 miles of rolling, forested hills, stretching from Davenport Gap all the way to the panoramic views of Allen Gap. If you’re AT-curious but not yet ready to take the full 2,200-mile leap, this is a great amuse-bouche.
Wonderland Trail
Location: Washington
Time required: 6 days
Hike with: Mountain Madness
Circumnavigate the most glaciated peak in the Lower 48 on this journey around 14,410-foot Mt. Rainier. Legendary guiding company Mountain Madness offers a six-day itinerary along the northern portion of the route, which traverses wide open alpine meadows, dense old growth forests and rocky river canyons. Visit in late July or early August, and you’ll discover why John Muir called this area “the most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld.”
Turquoise to Twin Traverse
Location: Alaska
Time required: 7 days
Hike with: Alaska Alpine Adventures
Escape the cruise crowds and bus tours of Denali, and instead set out on Alaska Alpine Adventures’s bespoke seven-day trip that traverses some of Lake Clark National Park’s most stunning scenery. Guests on this remote expedition get dropped off by a Cessna floatplane at Turquoise Lake, then traverse the wild Alaskan backcountry for a week, getting up close and personal with 2,000-foot waterfalls, the towering peaks of the Aleutian Range, and the delicate wildflowers and tundra plants that characterize the region. History buffs won’t want to miss the opportunity to peek inside renowned mountain man Dick Proenneke’s cabin, set on the shimmering shore of Upper Twin Lake.
Laugavegur Trail
Location: Iceland
Time required: 5 days
Hike with: Icelandic Mountain Guides
Unleash your inner Viking on this five-day itinerary through some of Iceland’s most impressive mountainous landscapes. Sure, the Laugavegur Trail is one of the most popular backpacking routes in all of Europe, but I found that its out-of-this-world scenery and quaint mountain huts make it a worthwhile adventure. Starting at the painted hills and steaming fumaroles of Landmannalaugar (try saying that three times fast), the trail winds up and into a series of glacially-carved passes, stopping for the night in stark volcanic landscapes littered with obsidian, as well as emerald green hillsides bordered by crystal clear streams.
This trek by Icelandic Mountain Guides ends in the lush peaks and valleys of Þórsmörk, though many elect to continue on to the famous waterfalls of Skógar, 15.5 miles away. Pro tip: For a bit of privacy, pack a shelter and book tentsites, instead of mountain huts, at each of the established lodging areas.
Teton Crest Trail
Location: Wyoming
Time required: 3 days
Hike with: Teton Backcountry Guides
Few guiding companies are able to secure the permits required to navigate the Teton Crest Trail, but Teton Backcountry Guides offers a three-day Alpine Wildflower Circuit that covers a portion of this legendary hike. Guests can immerse themselves in the rugged splendor of the Tetons, camping near terraced cliffs on the shoreline of Marion Lake and ascending to expansive views of craggy granite peaks at Mesquite Divide. The trip finishes up away from the national park crowds in the shady Fox Creek drainage of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
Crossing the Continental Divide
Location: Colorado
Time required: 5 days
Hike with: Wildland Trekking
Rocky Mountain National Park is perhaps most famous for sporting sincerely gorgeous views of the Continental Divide, which splits the North American watershed in half, and this five-day guided trek by Wildland Trekking crosses the iconic landmass in style. Beginning at a conifer-lined trailhead on the park’s eastern side, this route quickly gains elevation, offering opportunities to strip down in chilly alpine tarns, view elk munching on grassy fields and frolic on paths through the park’s high tundra, which is my personal favorite slice of the park. Hikers can get an eyeful of the park’s snowfields as they cross the Divide before descending into the wildlife-filled Western Slope and navigating the burbling waterfalls of the North Inlet Trail. The best part? Wildland’s guides serve hearty dinners each night of the trek, so your hiker hunger will never go unsatiated.
From 2025