Long-distance hiking has become one of America’s favorite outdoor pastimes. While multi-day backpacking trips have always appealed to adventure seekers and nature lovers, in recent decades, long trails have popped up across the country, inspiring many to embark on weeks- or months-long journeys through some of our most stunning landscapes. As these long-distance trails have grown in popularity, it has become harder to choose which routes represent the best experiences. After researching the most famous long-distance trails and speaking with dozens of seasoned thru-hikers, I’ve selected ten trails that deserve top billing on any longtime hikers shortlist. Each offers awe-inspiring scenery, challenging physical feats, and the opportunity for deep immersion in America’s wilderness, ensuring memorable and transformative journeys. In the following blog post, I’ll introduce these premier long trails and provide a brief overview of what makes each deserving of its place among the nation’s finest.
1. Great Western Loop
Great Western Loop is truly a marvel of American wilderness, offering intrepid hikers an unmatched journey across 6,875 miles of diverse landscapes. This extensive trail interconnects five long-existing major trails – the Pacific Crest Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, and the Arizona Trail – and passes through 12 National Parks and over 75 wilderness areas. Traversing through this loop is like taking a grand tour of the Western United States, offering breathtaking views of deserts, mountains, forests, and coastlines. It’s the longest of all American thru-hikes and takes a seasoned hiker approximately 7 to 9 months to complete. Given its length, diversity, and the commitment it demands, the Great Western Loop is truly a test of endurance and a profound immersion into the wild heart of America.
2. American Discovery Trail
The American Discovery Trail (ADT) is a coast-to-coast recreational hiking and biking trail that stretches 5,051 miles from Delaware to California. It’s the first non-motorized trail of its kind, passing through fifteen states along the way.
Starting in Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, the ADT winds its way westward across Maryland and Virginia before crossing into West Virginia and Kentucky. From there it heads north through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri before finally entering Kansas. At this point, it turns west again towards Colorado before veering south to Utah then Nevada. Finally, after one last turn northwards, the ADT enters California – ending at Pt Reyes National Seashore in the San Francisco Bay Area after somersaulting across five thousand miles of countryside!
Along with being known as America’s longest marked nature trail from pier to pier (and one of only three national scenic trails ever created), it is also perhaps one of the most diversely populated regarding ecosystems: mountains high enough for glaciers; deserts so dry they are nearly lifeless; great plains where bison once roamed freely; wide rivers as well as trickling streams – all these can be found while following this remarkable route! And let’s not forget about the historic sites either. Along your journey, you will likely encounter national monuments such as Mount Rushmore or Fort McHenry plus many more hidden gems like ghost towns or old school houses too!
No matter what path you take while traversing this great country on foot or by bike – you can rest assured that with some luck and patience – you will find something worth seeing along every twist and turn of The American Discovery Trail!
3. Eastern Continental Trail
The Eastern Continental Trail (ECT) is an incredible 5,400-mile-long hiking trail that spans from the Florida Keys to Cape Gaspe in Quebec. It is made up of 7 connected trails, namely the International Appalachian Trail (IAT), Long Path in New York, Great Eastern Trail (GET), American Discovery Trail (ADT), North Country National Scenic Trail, Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail and finally the East Coast Greenway.
Starting from the south at Key West in Florida and ending at Newfoundland’s Cape Gaspe in Quebec Canada, hikers have the opportunity to experience a plethora of terrain types as they traverse through wetlands, beaches, forests, and mountains along this amazing journey. Major sights along this incredible trail include:
• The historic Chattahoochee River Valley – located between Northern Georgia and Southern Alabama where hikers can find some of the area’s best remote camping opportunities;
• Mount Mitchell – Home of North Carolina’s highest peak with access to stunning mountain vistas;
• Long Island Sound – Here hikers can explore over 100 miles of seacoast with beaches and seaside cliffs;
• Shenandoah National Park – Through its dense forest cover visitors can experience waterfalls while taking a much-deserved break on their journey
• Acadia National Park – Situated across Maine’s Cranberry Isles visitors have access to coastal hikes featuring spectacular views.
4. North Country Trail
The North Country National Scenic Trail is a 4,600-mile footpath stretching from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in New York to Lake Sakakawea State Park in central North Dakota. This trail is one of the longest trails of its kind, and it consists of eight states (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota), twenty-six national forests or grasslands, and hundreds of public lands managed by state park agencies or private organizations.
The trail passes through a variety of beautiful terrain including hardwood forests with majestic trees such as maples and oaks; vast wetlands full of native plants; prairies filled with wildflowers; rivers that provide excellent fishing opportunities; small towns where local history can be explored; mountain ranges providing breathtaking views over some glorious countryside. It also passes through some famous sites such as Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania and Badlands National Park in South Dakota.
5. Great Western Trail
The Great Western Trail, also known as the GWT, is a 2500-mile non-motorized recreational trail stretching from Canada to Mexico along the Rocky Mountains of western North America. The route passes through seven states: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. The trail roughly follows parts of five large mountain ranges – the Flathead Range in Montana and Idaho; Big Horn Range in Wyoming; San Juan Mountains in Colorado; Uinta/Wasatch Range in Northern Utah and Southern Wyoming and southern Arizona’s Gila Mountains in New Mexico. It passes numerous National Forests such as Apache National Forest in Arizona/New Mexico; Medicine Bow National Forest & Routt National Forest in Colorado& Wyoming; Beaverhead Deerlodge NF & Custer Gallatin NFs in Montana along with Grand Staircase Escalante Monument & Glen Canyon Recreation Area sites among many others. There are many natural wonders that hikers will come across while on the GWT such as Yellowstone Park (Wyoming); Teton Mountain range (Idaho/Wyoming); Gateway Canyons Resort (Utah); Zion NP(Utah) plus Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park(Arizona). All these places offer a unique experience for riders to explore rich cultures, vibrant wildlife, ancient civilizations, and dramatic landscapes of pristine wilderness which makes for an amazing journey lasting anywhere between 4 to 8 weeks or even more depending on your style of riding!
6. Continental Divide Trail
The Continental Divide Trail is a 3,100-mile-long hiking path that traverses the Rocky Mountain landscape of North America. Spanning from Mexico to Canada along the spine of the continent’s major mountain ranges, it follows the divide between two watersheds and connects five different National Parks, 24 National Forests, and seven wilderness areas.
The Continental Divide Trail is known for being one of the most remote trails in North America as well as having varied terrain ranging from open meadows to high alpine passes reaching elevations above 12000 feet—a great way to experience some of nature’s grandest views! Wildlife sightings are abundant with species such as grizzly bears, wolves bighorn sheep, and many more all found along its routes making every hike special. Overall this trail will give any hiker an unforgettable life-changing journey filled with breathtaking scenery that takes you through nine states and two countries!
7. East Coast Greenway
The East Coast Greenway (ECG) is a multi-use trail that spans more than 3,000 miles along the eastern coast of the United States. It runs from Calais, Maine, through 15 states and Washington DC to Key West Florida. Along its length, it connects major cities such as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Miami as well as numerous state capitals.
The ECG is designed for biking and walking but also allows for rollerblading, handicap accessibility, and equestrian use in some sections. Over 250 local organizations have collaborated to help develop the trail over the years. 116 of these are official partners committed to building specific sections or managing promotion events.
At such an impressive distance there are plenty of sights worth seeing along this incredible journey – from historical sites like Old Brattonsville in South Carolina or Fort McHenry in Maryland; natural wonders like Niagara Falls or Gorges State Park; to vast cityscapes like New York’s Manhattan skyline. If you want to make your way down this unique route it’s best you plan – although parts of it remain unpaved many are now asphalt trails running alongside roads so safety should not be an issue but do check with relevant authorities before embarking on any part of your trek so you can receive updated information about closures due to storm damage etc..
8. Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650-mile-long trail stretching from Mexico to Canada along the western edge of the United States. It passes through California, Oregon, and Washington as it traverses the Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada mountains.
The PCT begins in Campo, California near San Diego’s eastern border with Mexico and ends at Manning Park in British Columbia. Along its course, hikers will experience some of America’s most scenic landscapes – from desert plains to lush forests – as well as numerous highlights such as Mount Whitney, Crater Lake National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness (in north-central Washington), and many others.
To complete this trail, a thru-hiker typically takes 4-6 months if they are attempting to go end-to-end; however, day or weekend hikes can range anywhere between 10 days or even just one hour depending on individual plans or desires. Because it covers such an incredible variety of environments, rivers that must be forded at times, steep grades requiring scrambling up jagged rockscapes at other times, extreme heat during parts of summertime sojourns – each hiker experiences something totally different no matter how long their stay is!
9. Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,190-mile-long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally significant landscapes of the Appalachian Mountains. Originating from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, this continuous footpath is the longest marked hiking trail in the United States.
Along its journey, hikers are able to witness some of nature’s most magnificent sights and features such as waterfalls like Triple Falls and Abbot’s Creek Falls in North Carolina; historic sites like Harpers Ferry National Historical Park on the border of West Virginia and Maryland; high peaks such as Clingmans Dome atop Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s border with North Carolina & Tennessee; numerous overlooks offering impressive panoramas from Shenandoah National Park; lush forests with diverse species found within state parks like Pine Grove Furnace State Park near Pennsylvania/Maryland border; various wildlife like elk that can be found around Roan Highlands near Tennessee/North Carolina line; camping spots available along portions of its length giving adventurers a plenty opportunity to rest throughout their journeys.
10. International Appalachian Trail
The International Appalachian Trail (IAT) is an amazing hiking trail that stretches across the North American continent. It extends from its beginnings on the Atlantic coast in Newfoundland, Canada, to its southeastern end in Alabama. This 3,000-mile route passes through 4 countries and 15 states – including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Quebec, and New Brunswick in Canada; as well as parts of Massachusetts, New York State, and Pennsylvania; Maryland; Georgia; North Carolina; Tennessee; Kentucky and Virginia.
Along this spectacular trek, you can explore some stunning terrain – ranging from rural wooded areas to high mountain peaks. Along the way, you will also see some amazing natural sights such as wetlands, pristine lakes and rivers, beautiful waterfalls, and historic sites like lighthouses along the coasts. Wildlife enthusiasts can spot bears (American black bear & polar bear); moose deer & salmon; wolves & beavers among many others!
The IAT allows hikers to experience different cultures throughout their journey since they have a chance to explore villages & towns located alongside this picturesque path! Whether you are taking the full adventure or just visiting for a short period there is always something new waiting for you around each corner. You can plan your trip by studying detailed maps that pinpoint all of the possible points of interest available along this magnificent trail for your exploration!
Overall, the United States is blessed with a wealth of beautiful and diverse long-distance hiking trails for adventurers of all ages. So take some time out of your busy schedule and get out there and explore! From the majestic treasures of the Appalachian Trail to the stunning legacy of Old Pueblo, this unique part of America should be on every hiker’s bucket list. Each of these trails has its unique quirks and marvelous sights that will leave even seasoned hikers amazed. Whether it’s an overnight camping weekend or an extended trip through multiple states, you won’t regret exploring any one of these awe-inspiring paths. The best way to learn more about American wilderness is to immerse yourself in it.
