Backpacker – September 2019

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

74 BACKPACKER.COM

Hike

Local

Backyard Epics

You don’t always need to go far to go big.

Phoenix

You don’t even need to leave the

greater metro area to go backpacking

here. In Maricopa County’s White Tank

Mountain Regional Park, a little-known

rule allows backcountry camping 200

feet from the trail. Permit required.

Palm Springs

If it’s elevation gain you’re after,

head to the desert. The Cactus to

Clouds Trail, up Mt. San Jacinto,

gains a leg-buckling 10,400 feet

in about 15 miles.

San Francisco

Score an all-day hike

without leaving the city

on San Francisco’s new

Crosstown Trail. The

17-mile route opened in

June, and hits the top

parks and open spaces

as it crosses the city.

Portland
Not many cities can claim a
National Recreation Trail within
their borders. Forest Park’s
Wildwood Trail has earned the
designation for its outstanding
natural beauty, and at 30 miles,
it’s also one of the country’s
longest urban trails—perfect for
thru-hikers in training.

Seattle

Skip the crowds and get

views of the most glaciated

mountain in the Lower 48 by

hiking in Mt. Rainier National

Park’s Tatoosh Range.

Denver

You could brave the crowds

on a nearby Fourteener, or

you could tackle the Boulder

Skyline Traverse, which tags

five peaks and delivers two

Fourteeners’ worth of hiking

(16 miles and 12,000 feet of

elevation change).

Minneapolis

For ambitious hikers, the

Superior Hiking Trail (310 miles,

pictured) is plenty close. But

for those who want to go big

without going long, try nearby

Itasca State Park—it’s just a

short stroll to the knee-deep

stream where the mighty

Mississippi River starts.

Austin

Help the effort to create the 30-mile

Violet Crown Trail, which will join

Portland’s Wildwood Trail as one

of the longest urban paths in the

country. Afterward, cool off in Barton

Creek Wilderness (pictured), Austin’s

swimming-and-hiking epicenter.

PHOTOS BY ISTOCK.COM (6); LARRY GEDDIS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO