The Best 11 National Park Hikes for Winter - Backpacker

The 11 Best National Park Hikes for Winter

While the summer crowds hibernate, you can cure your cabin fever. Here are the 11 best national park hikes to do during the cold-weather months.

Author:: Madeleine Godfrey
Publish date:: Dec 8, 2014

Best National Park Hikes for Winter - Bryce Canyon National Park

Swamp Canyon Trail, Bryce National Park

The contrast of red rock, white snow, and blue sky leaves hikers speechless after an 800-foot climb to the Swamp Canyon overlook," says Janice Stock, a Bryce Canyon NP spokesperson. Although not as dramatic as other viewpoints, swamp canyon is surrounded by fins and hoodoos that hikers can explore for peace and quiet. 4.3 miles; moderate.

While the summer crowds take the cold months off, you can cure your cabin fever by trying out these winter-friendly trails.

Don't see a park near you on this list? Find more national park hikes here. Call up the ranger station and they'll be happy to recommend trails that remain accessible year round.

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With dizzying exposure and supreme panoramas of Zion’s colossal towers, choose this delightfully strenuous 8-mile up-and-back to Observation Point instead of the classic (read: overcrowded) Angels Landing hike. [Photo: Melissa Hopkins / Flickr]

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This 3.9 mile round-trip offers low elevation gain but plenty of reason to crane your neck. You’ll be dwarfed by the world’s tallest trees, including the 367.8-foot Howard A. Libbey Tree, which is nearly twice the size of the Eiffel Tower.

Cabin fever got you down? These trails are even better in the cold weather months.

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These national park towns have everything you need start and finish your next adventure.

The Grand Canyon covers a staggering 1.2 million acres and remains one of the most visited parks in the U.S., so perhaps it should come as no surprise that it saw 348 SAR missions in 2012. The park also had the highest death toll of any park that year, claiming 21 lives. [image: NPS]

National parks are pretty safe, but some carry more risk than others.

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.

This trail is so haunted that Big Ridge State Park went ahead and named it accordingly. Hikers near the historic Hutchinson compound still claim to hear the panting of an approaching dog (though none can ever be found). Even spookier still, the ghostly silhouettes of family are said to appear in any photographs taken at the family cemetery. [image: Dieter Weinelt / Flickr]

Ghostly tales and unsolved mysteries will send a chill down your spine on these spooky hikes.

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.

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.

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.