Best of the Rest: Hiking Competitions

If our writer’s experience racing in the Phoenix Summit Challenge (November 2017), has you itching for a close-to-home hiking competition, consider these worthy of your time.

Author:: Hannah Johnson
Publish date:: Oct 13, 2017

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Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, MO: 1.5-mile Loess Bluff Interpretive Trail. In 1935, FDR established this northwest Missouri refuge (formerly known as Squaw Creek) for migratory birds and other wildlife. Good thing because today Loess Bluff’s grasslands and wetlands offer hikers easy views of bald eagles and snow geese (fall migration brings up to 200,000 of the latter to the refuge). October is best for viewing ducks and mid-November to December for bald eagles. Take the Loess Bluff Interpretive Trail and climb 200 steps to the Loess Hills for panoramic views of the refuge.

Grab your binoculars and cameras on these prime bird-spotting trails.

Though a short trail leads you right to the lighthouse, the Heceta Lighthouse Trail is part of a larger 7-mile network with routes of varying difficulty. Hikers will see nesting sea birds, sea lions, and whales from atop a cliff near the lighthouse overlook. [image: Beau Rogers/Flickr]

These see-worthy beacons are just a day hike away.

Who doesn’t want to soak at the foot of 14ers? Take a 8.5 mile hike to Conundrum Hot Springs outside of Aspen, Colo. for ridge views like this in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. [Photo by Wanderstruck / Flickr]

Reward your tired hiking muscles with a soak in these hidden hot springs.

Best National Park Hikes for Winter - Bryce Canyon National Park

While the summer crowds hibernate, you can cure your cabin fever. Here are the 10 best national park hikes to do during the cold-weather months.

This 35-foot tall tower in the Adirondacks was nearly demolished in 2001 after the state recommended its removal, but activists waged a successful campaign to list it on the National Register of Historic Places and ensure its preservation. [image: John Sweeney/Wikimedia]

These towers offer the best views in town, and you can hike to them.

Scaling this short, steep trail up the east-facing cliffs of Champlain Mountain takes more than just cardiovascular fitness. You'll need some courage, too. The route gains nearly 1,000 feet of elevation in less than a mile by linking a series of challenging natural and man-made features. Climb sheer rock walls on ladders and iron rungs, and tightrope walk across exposed ledges. Catch your breath with summit views across Frenchman Bay and Mt. Desert Island. [image: Garden State Hiker/Flickr]

Wild, adventurous, and possibly dangerous trails.

For the ultimate dinosaur fix, check out the Fossil Discovery Trail at Dinosaur National Monument. Over 165 million years and 10 species of dinosaurs are jam-packed into this relatively short hike. Prepare to see dinosaur bones jutting out of the path’s surrounding rock faces, some belonging to beasts that would have weighed over 50,000 pounds in their heyday. The trail also contains fossilized squid, fish scales, and the remains of an ichthyosaur (think "dinosaur dolphin"). [image: Rob Glover/Flickr]

Want to feel young? Hike to some of the continent's coolest prehistoric sites.

Over a thousand people made their home in Rausch Gap at its peak, but unproductive mines doomed the town to abandonment in 1910. Old foundations litter the townsite, which lies along the Appalachian Trail.[image: Joey Klein/Flickr]

These eerily beautiful ghost towns—complete with abandoned mines and train depots—add historical interest to nearby hikes.

Oregon's 500,000-year-old Mt. Hood is a picturesque stratovolcano that features popular climbing and skiing destination. While the last major eruption was in the 1790's, hot steam vents near Crater Rock and the magma detected three miles below the surface demonstrate ongoing volcanic activity. The 40-mile Timberline Trail (which circles the mountain) offers views aplenty. [image: Rachel Sandwick/Flickr]

Make like Frodo and climb one of these volcanically active peaks—no passport required.