{"id":858,"date":"2026-06-05T21:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/?p=858"},"modified":"2026-06-09T08:39:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T08:39:56","slug":"the-worlds-most-beautiful-hikes-arent-in-patagonia-or-nepal-some-of-the-best-will-surprise-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/2026\/06\/05\/the-worlds-most-beautiful-hikes-arent-in-patagonia-or-nepal-some-of-the-best-will-surprise-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The World’s Most Beautiful Hikes Aren’t in Patagonia or Nepal. Some of the Best Will Surprise You."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"A
A Plitvice Lakes National Park boardwalk offers visitors unique views (Photo: James Ronan\/EyeEm\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Ten Most Beautiful Hikes in the World<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A trails columnist who has hiked thousands of miles picked the ten routes on his bucket list \u2014 from a Croatian lake system that looks AI-generated to a Hawaiian ridgeline where six people have fallen to their deaths<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Grayson Haver Currin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: May 2, 2023<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The map that has become a meme first began arriving in text messages, emails, and social media tags at least five years ago. Maybe you\u2019ve seen it online, too\u2014a Google Maps screenshot of the globe with a blue line that curves nearly 14,000 miles northward from Cape Town, South Africa to Magadan, Russia, arcing like a launched rocket through zones of extreme geopolitical turmoil. It is, allegedly, \u201cthe world\u2019s longest continuous walk,\u201d a fact I\u2019ve never bothered to vet despite the dozens of friends who\u2019ve sent it my way. I\u2019m not very interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s true that I love walking long distances, whether that means going from Mexico to Canada via the Pacific Crest Trail<\/a> or traversing entire states like Florida<\/a> and Arizona<\/a> a month at a time. But for me, hiking is a means to an end, never the end itself. I don\u2019t want to walk the longest continual path so much as the most impactful ones, the ones that show me nature and beauty, myself and others, the present and especially the past from some surprising vantage. I suppose this viral trek would do the trick, but I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s the best or most efficient way to encounter the unexpected I crave, at least compared to these ten hikes I\u2019m determined to do in my time.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rakiura Track, New Zealand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Walking
Walking the Rakiura Track; tui bird, New Zealand (Photos: Scott Howes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 20 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> Three days
\nTerminus:<\/strong> Near Oban<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at a map of Te Araroa, a 1,900-mile path that splits both the North and South Islands horizontally. Notice the dot of land just beneath the trail\u2019s southern terminus? That\u2019s Stewart Island, or Rakiura<\/a>, home to an eponymous national park and perhaps the most enticing of New Zealand\u2019s ten Great Walks: the Rakiura Track. Kiwis take \u201ctramping\u201d seriously, devoting so many public resources to developing, protecting, and maintaining their routes that Americans can only be envious\u2014or at least visit. Consider the Rakiura, which winds along near a series of bays and inlets (head out at night to look for kiwi feeding) and heads into forests of towering rimu. Enjoy three days of slow walking and reverie on isolated beaches, and choose from multiple huts (think Appalachian Trail shelters, but sturdy and clean) and campsites, ranging from $5 to $60 per night. And while I do love hiking in ankle-deep mud, officials work hard to curb the bog\u2019s creep by packing down the trail. Thanks to flipped hemispheres, you\u2019ll want to trek Rakiura\u2014or tack it onto the Te Araroa\u2014between October and March, when stateside hiking opportunities dwindle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greater Patagonian Trail, Chile and Argentina<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A group of arrieros, who transport goods and other pack animals, riding along the Greater Patagonian Trail in South America (Photo: Bethany Hughes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 1,900 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> A lifetime
\nTermini:<\/strong> Santiago, Chile (north), and Navarino Island, Chile (south)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often lament that much of my hiking life happens on established trails, following routes that can be navigated via maps on apps. But what would it be like to really explore, to feel the frontier of modern adventure? For the next several years, the Greater Patagonian Trail<\/a> should provide some answers. Dreamed up by German engineer Jan Dudeck and his dauntless Chilean wife Meylin Ubilla over almost two decades, the GPT, despite its name, is less a trail than a confederation of cattle paths, tiny roads, and otherwise unmarked expanses that you must make your own way through. Sure, the Pan-American Highway and Chile\u2019s Route of Parks can guide you deep into some of the least developed parts of the planet, but no journey questions and expands the philosophical underpinnings of hiking quite like this one does. Can you negotiate your way through private land in Spanish? Can you slow down and embrace local culture and astounding beauty without feeling the American compulsion to finish, let alone finish fast? Can you accept failure, the most common GPT outcome, as a variety of success? With its stunning diversity of terrain and dependence on diplomacy, the GPT might be my ultimate trail\u2014the one that, when I\u2019m ready to commit, could be my final trek. Good thing Dudeck and Ubilla have yet to settle on its ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Greater
View on Gaia (Photo: Gaia GPS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ocean to Lake Trail, Florida<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A boardwalk in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, part of the Ocean to Lake Trail (Photo: Mark Conlin\/Alamy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 61 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> Four days
\nTermini:<\/strong> Lake Okeechobee (west) and Hobe Sound Beach (east)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m cursed to be a completist. The trait becomes arduous with through-hiking, where the desire to finish every side jaunt quickly piles on the miles. If hiking is partly about minimizing what you need, maybe I can learn to let completeness go, too? Some winter soon, I\u2019ll head south to the Ocean to Lake Trail, a fee-free, west-east offshoot of the 1,200-mile Florida Trail, a playground of swamps and sand, cypresses and pines. The Florida Trail is as fun and uncanny as American through-hiking gets, but it\u2019s also a monthlong negotiation with alligators and grotesque, blistered feet. This sampler offers plentiful campsites, nearby restaurants (it\u2019s South Florida\u2014always go to the Mexican spot), and cell service, so you can post trail pics for your adoring masses to enjoy. Although Florida is infamous for ceaseless strip malls and ostentatious development, its woods and wetlands remain among the wildest places in the U.S. This lush little corridor proves it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Route K, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"High
Plitvice Lakes National Park (Photo: susan.k.\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 11 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> Five hours
\nTerminus:<\/strong> Entrance Station 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To glimpse Plitvice Lakes<\/a>\u2014a chain of sapphire and emerald jewels cut into karst and connected by streams, many of them subterranean\u2014is to wonder whether you\u2019ve wandered into an AI-generated simulacrum of natural beauty. Not only are these gems at the core of Croatia\u2019s oldest national park, but you can see many of them during day hikes on a network of serpentine trails. The longest one, Route K, is a circuit among the lower and upper lakes; it spools around the awe-inspiring Jezero Kozjak, like a Lake of the Ozarks retouched in Photoshop, and leads you across a series of boardwalks\u2014ideal platforms to take in an unbelievable panorama of verdant forests, towering waterfalls, cascading seeps, and sprawling tufa embankments. Despite the place\u2019s popularity (it\u2019s affordable, and a quick trip from the Adriatic Sea, which separates this coastline from Italy), wolves, black bears, and wildcats prowl the landscape, a rarity in Europe. There\u2019s a nominal entrance fee; otherwise, you\u2019re free to roam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backbone Trail, California<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A perch along California\u2019s Backbone Trail looks out to the ocean (Photo: Michael Kovalsky\/Explore More Nature)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 67 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> Three to five days
\nTermini:<\/strong> Point Mugu (west) and Will Rogers State Historic Park (east)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell people you hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and they\u2019ll wonder how many times you saw the ocean. (Answer: zero.) So here\u2019s your chance to admire the big blue expanse from several thousand feet above Los Angeles. The Backbone Trail<\/a> zigs and zags across the Santa Monica Mountains, just north of the lavish homes of Malibu, before descending to coastal coves. Slicing through a rare safeguarded stretch of Mediterranean ecosystem, this is arguably the country\u2019s most anomalous trail\u2014public land with ocean views, in an area where private interests buy up every scrap of acreage. During the pandemic, the Backbone became a hot spot on the fastest-known-time circuit, with runners racing it in ten hours. Assuming you\u2019re not pursuing such a record, know that campsites are infrequent. So have a friend pick you up at day\u2019s end, or recruit a guide via the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council to lead you and secure lodging, though it could cost upwards of $500. Otherwise, if night sets in and you\u2019re out of options, you\u2019ll need to burrow in among the chaparral; if anyone asks, you\u2019re from Calabasas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chilkoot Trail, Alaska<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ascending
Ascending the Chilkoot Trail\u2019s Golden Stairs (Photo: Jessica Auer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 33 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> Two to five days
\nTermini:<\/strong> Dyea, Alaska (south), and Bennett Lake, British Columbia (north)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From battlefield paths to Appalachian gaps, I love historic trails\u2014journeys that foster a visceral connection with the past in ways books can\u2019t. Exemplary in that regard is the Chilkoot Trail<\/a>, a Tlingit trade route across the Coast Mountains that bustled with prospectors racing from Alaska into Canada\u2019s Yukon during the Klondike gold rush. Officials weighed their gear just below Chilkoot Pass to ensure that they were bringing enough food and supplies for the expedition ahead. Remnants of this American avarice litter the trail, which, if you\u2019re heading south to north, climbs from a gold-rush ghost town to the Canadian border before descending to mountain-bound Bennett Lake. (\u201cThe world\u2019s longest museum,\u201d the National Park Service calls it.) You\u2019ll need a permit ($60) from Parks Canada<\/a> to overnight at the many otherwise free campgrounds. The trail\u2019s international border was closed in 2022, and the trail itself was damaged by floods in October, though the entire thing is expected to reopen in August of this year. If you want to attempt the entire trek, double-check the status before you start\u2014you\u2019re here for a Klondike gold bar, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more ideas on spectacular Alaska hiking, check out our recommendations in The Best Places to Visit in the U.S.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trans-Bhutan Trail, Bhutan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The 17th-century Paro Taktsang monastery, built into a Paro Valley cliff\u2014a must-see on the Trans-Bhutan Trail (Photo: Sam Power\/Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 250 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> 35 days
\nTermini:<\/strong> Haa (west) and Trashigang (east)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from their traditional uses, historic trails fascinate me because they often involve a renaissance story that occurred long after they were supplanted by train tracks or highways. Case in point: the Trans-Bhutan Trail<\/a>, used by royal couriers, soldiers, and religious pilgrims for half a millennium before parallel road construction led to disuse and disrepair in the 1950s. Last September, the eastern Himalayan nation reopened the route after substantial fixes by a small army of trail builders. Few places in the world offer an experience of a culture this distinct, especially on foot. When Bhutan, a Buddhist and matrilineal society, opened its borders to tourists in 1974, it revealed rich folklore, verdant expanses of uncut forests, and ornate temples and fortresses tucked into cliffside crags. As you make your way across sweeping valleys, through cramped passes, and into welcoming villages, you can look forward to sharing hearty meals like ema datshi\u2014<\/em>a stew of cheese and chilies\u2014with the people who made them. The Trans-Bhutan Trail strings together such experiences (along with possible sightings of red pandas, Bengal tigers, and Asiatic black bears) like an ancient charm necklace. Save up, though, since a local guide is required. A five-day trek through a remarkable section near Paro is just $375, but a through-hike will run you around $20,000\u2014cheaper at least, and less clich\u00e9, than an attempt on Mount Everest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinai Trail, Egypt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Early-morning
Early-morning clouds on the Sinai summit of Jebel Mileihis (Photo: Frits Meyst)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 340 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> 50 days
\nTermini:<\/strong> Serabit el-Khadim (west) and Ras Shaitan (east)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow many trails do you have left?\u201d friends always ask. But how can I reach the proverbial trail\u2019s end when new ones appear every year? To wit, in 2015 three Bedouin tribes on Egypt\u2019s storied Sinai\u2014the land bridge between Africa and Asia\u2014banded together to introduce an amazing 140-mile route from the Red Sea to the country\u2019s highest summit, 8,600-foot Gabal Katrine. With proof of concept and new revenue bolstering a region not frequented by tourists, organizers soon got five more tribes on board and expanded the trail by 200 miles. The Sinai traces an austere desert landscape beneath massive skies. What\u2019s out there? Tiny chapels and abandoned mines, Martian-like rock outcroppings and near tropical oases, serrated mountains and slot canyons. Due to local custom, and an attempt to create an economic boom in an area that sees few of them, you\u2019ll hike with Bedouin guides, your gear and water ferried by camels that, yes, you can ride. Each of the four sections takes about a dozen days to complete and costs a little over a grand, an absolute bargain in the realm of international accompanied treks. The first official through-hike is set for autumn 2023 with local outfitter Sinai Trail. While the trip is high on my list, it\u2019s going to have to wait, because terrorism remains a threat in the region; at press time the U.S. government advised against travel in the Sinai. Check with the State Department\u2019s Bureau of Consular Affairs before you book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sinai
View on Gaia (Photo: Gaia GPS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hayduke Trail, Utah and Arizona<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Zion\u2019s
Zion\u2019s Hop Valley; Buckskin Gulch slot canyon, Hayduke Trail (Photo: Endless P. Summer; Danielle Vilaplana)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 812 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> Two months
\nTermini:<\/strong> Arches National Park (east) and Zion National Park (west), both in Utah<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Washington Hayduke is the justifiably spiteful hero of Edward Abbey\u2019s The Monkey Wrench Gang<\/a>,<\/em> a comical, canonical manifesto of guerrilla environmental resistance. I have a suspicion Hayduke would approve of the lengthy gauntlet<\/a> now bearing his name. An unsanctioned route that rambles across the mighty sandstone mesas, canyons, and monoclines of the lower Colorado Plateau, the Hayduke traverses public land, including five national parks. With its river crossings, treacherous descents, barely-there pathway, dearth of resupply options, and general water scarcity, it may be the most demanding trek in America. The commensurate beauty, however, is a testament to the no-guts-no-glory credo that compelled Hayduke (and maybe got him killed). At least it\u2019s free, as Hayduke would have wanted. This is the trail I most covet, but even as I near 10,000 total miles on foot, I don\u2019t know that I\u2019m ready yet. My motto, should the time come: Prepare to go through hell to see the Southwest\u2019s heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olomana Trail, Oahu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Inland
Inland vista on the Olomana Trail, known to be treacherous in sections (Photo: Jackson Groves\/Journey Era)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distance:<\/strong> 4.4 miles
\nTime to Tackle:<\/strong> Four hours
\nTermini:<\/strong> Olamana Ridge Trailhead (north) and Ahiki (south)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Honolulu recently posted a pair of signs at the famed Olomana Trailhead in eastern Oahu, but these weren\u2019t a polite guide to trail etiquette. \u201cSix people have fallen to their deaths after hiking past the first peak,\u201d read the top placard, a stern preamble to a second sign listing the dates and locations of the accidents. The trail, just ten miles from the capital, is part of the island\u2019s incredible free recreational network\u2014which is to say that, despite the signs, you can legally hike it. But it\u2019s worth considering whether you\u2019re up for the challenge. Named for the first of three steep and narrow summits, linked by a short but harrowing path lined with guide ropes, Olomana is one of the most polarizing trails in the U.S. It\u2019s trumpeted by adrenaline junkies, who also champion the sweeping coastline views that such extreme exposure allows, but scorned by those who see it as a potentially fatal magnet for YouTube bros. Maybe it\u2019s both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Map It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nothing gets us excited about a hike more than a good map<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s no better backcountry map out there than Gaia GPS. For the ten hiking routes featured here\u2014many of them in places where cell service may be nonexistent and advanced beta on terrain and logistics could be a lifesaver\u2014you can download detailed Gaia GPS trail maps for offline use, so you always find your way. Gaia Topo\u2019s interactive maps set the standard for clarity and detail, and help you locate campgrounds, scenic overlooks, water sources, and summits. Precise weather forecasts are available by tapping the map, and you can leave a breadcrumb trail of your progress, in case you want to take that detour to a waterfall and still find your way back. Once you\u2019re home again, relive the whole experience in 3D on gaiagps.com<\/a>. Bonus: Outside+<\/a> members get access to all these routes\u2014and millions more trails worldwide\u2014along with Gaia GPS\u2019s safety tools, giving them everything they need to get after it with confidence. (Disclosure: Gaia GPS is owned by Outside Inc., which also owns Outside <\/em>magazine.) \u2014Tasha Zemke<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ten Most Beautiful Hikes in the World A trails columnist who has hiked thousands of miles picked the ten routes on his bucket list \u2014 from a Croatian lake system that looks AI-generated to a Hawaiian ridgeline where six people have fallen to their deaths By Grayson Haver Currin Published: May 2, 2023 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main"],"modified_by":"jtempleman","acf":{"article_authors":"","send_as_draft":true,"send_as_paid":true,"send_as_featured":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":903,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions\/903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}