Browse Through the Traveler Content

The Old Settlers Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a quiet, solitary experience. The trail is full of historic artifacts and is perfect for a winter ramble, even if there's not much winter in the southern Appalachians this year.

The Florida National Scenic Trail will mark its 30th anniversary during 2013, and a special event is scheduled for January 4 to dedicate the trail's Southern Terminus with a monument at the Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve.

There are many nice hikes in Shenandoah National Park, some that ramble on for miles, some that run just a short way to a wonderful payoff. Dark Hollow Falls is one such payoff, but the hike is just a mile-and-a-half roundup, rather short if you were looking for a good leg stretcher. You can, however, easily extend that hike by more than a few miles.

Badlands sprawled out in every direction I looked. East, west, south, or north, from the Ridgeline Trail in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park it was easy to understand how the "badlands" term was coined.

Most visitors to Yellowstone National Park are familiar with the Upper, Lower, and Midway geyser basins, but how many these days have made the trek to a basin that once, thanks to its oddly shaped spires and acidic hot springs, was another must-see attraction for park visitors?

The Smokies’ stellar Mountain Farm Museum at the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center may just be a stroll, but combine it with one of the Smokies best kept secret easy walks, the Oconaluftee River Trail, and you have one of the park’s best combinations of scenery and interpretation.

It's the heart of summer, the hottest time to visit Petrified Forest National Park, but that doesn't mean you still can't enjoy the Long Logs and Agate House trails near the park's south entrance. You just have to be strategic in planning when to do these companion hikes.

Though it's a "national river," the forests surrounding the Buffalo National River have quite a few options for getting out and stretching the legs. Indeed, hiking in the upper Buffalo National River can be your Arkansas ‘Walk in the Woods."

Though it's called the "Crystal Forest," it could just as easily have been dubbed "the wood lot" for all the slabs and trunks of petrified wood you'll find along this easy hike in Petrified Forest National Park.

At the time when most of the Blue Ridge Parkway seems closed in North Carolina, you can take a delightful, short hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail to Rattlesnake Lodge. You'll see the many remains of the summer home of Chase Ambler.

Lake Shore Loop in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a great winter hike. It offers history, a visit to a cemetery and reminders that the area still makes news today.

Thigh-deep in the strong, bracing currents of the Bechler River was not exactly what I expected when I set out to explore Yellowstone National Park's "Cascade Corner." But at least it was mid-September, and not mid-July, when the torrent surely would have been colder, deeper, and stronger.

The busiest weeks for the Blue Ridge Parkway—fall color season—are almost here. If a drive along the scenic roadway is on your calendar, here's a fine stop for an easy walk to stretch your legs and enjoy the view at a slower pace.

The Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia is a spectacular section, with open meadows and feral ponies. Meeting thru-hikers is a bonus.