Best Beginner Hikes in the US: 12 Easy Trails Worth Traveling For
An easy hike near home is a nice way to spend a Saturday. An easy hike worth traveling for has to give you something you can't get at your local park: a glacier, a 136-foot waterfall, a lake above 9,300 feet, a summit that looks across a whole valley. That's how we picked the 12 trails in this guide to the best beginner hikes US travelers can build a trip around. Every one is rated easy in our own trail guides, and most are under 3 miles round trip, so they suit new hikers, families and anyone who wants big scenery without a big climb. They're spread from New Hampshire to Alaska. For each trail we list the distance and gain from its TrailMates guide, what makes it special, and the practical catch, such as a timed-entry booking, a road that only opens in summer, or a parking lot that holds eleven cars. Short doesn't always mean simple once you factor in the logistics.
What makes an easy trail worth the trip
We applied three tests. First, the trail has to be easy on the legs: our guides rate every pick as easy, and none climbs more than 535 feet. Second, the payoff has to be distinctive, the kind of view or feature people travel across the country to see. Third, you have to be able to plan around it. That means we've noted entrance fees, passes, opening hours and seasonal road closures, because on short trails the logistics are often the hard part. A 1.6-mile loop isn't much use if you arrive to find the lot full and roadside parking banned. The list is grouped by type of scenery rather than ranked, so you can pick the experience you're after: mountain views, waterfalls and canyons, alpine and glacier country, or desert walks with a story. Several picks make good add-ons to a bigger trip. Stony Man fits into a day on Skyline Drive, Lost Creek Falls pairs with other stops in Red Rock Canyon, and Palisade Falls is a short stop on the way up Hyalite Canyon. As always, carry water, wear shoes with grip, and check the managing agency's page on the morning you go.
Easy on paper, not always in practice
A few of these trails have a catch the distance doesn't show. Cecret Lake starts above 9,300 feet, so visitors from sea level feel it straight away. Artist's Bluff has a short, steep scramble that gets slick when wet. Byron Glacier's last half mile is unmaintained talus. None of that makes them unsuitable for beginners, but take them slowly and turn back if a section feels beyond you.
Big views without a big climb: Virginia, North Carolina and New Hampshire
These three eastern trails reach summits and ridgelines with views that usually take hours to earn. Fall is the busiest time on all three, and early October is prime foliage season at Artist's Bluff.
1. Stony Man, Virginia
The Park Service lists Stony Man at 1.6 miles with 340 feet of gain, taking about an hour, and rates it easiest. From milepost 41.7 on Skyline Drive, the trail briefly follows the Appalachian Trail before looping over a 4,011-foot summit whose cliffs face west over the Shenandoah Valley and Luray. Entry is $30 per vehicle for seven days, card only. This is one of the few Shenandoah trails where dogs aren't allowed. Keep children back from the cliff edges.
2. Max Patch Loop, North Carolina
This mowed bald near Hot Springs has 360-degree mountain views from a 1.6-mile loop with 311 feet of gain, partly on the Appalachian Trail. Under the Forest Service order, nobody may be on the bald between an hour after sundown and an hour before sunrise, camping and fires are banned, and groups top out at ten. The lot holds about 11 cars and roadside parking isn't allowed, so if it's full you'll have to leave and come back. You reach it on winding gravel roads. Fall color usually peaks in the second and third weeks of October.
3. Artist's Bluff and Bald Mountain, New Hampshire
This 1.5-mile loop gains 535 feet and looks straight down on Echo Lake toward Cannon Mountain, one of the most photographed foliage views in New England. The Bald Mountain spur includes a short ledge scramble with grades up to about 45 percent, which is fine when dry but slippery when wet. The free dirt lot on NH-18 can be shut outside ski season, in which case use one of the designated highway lots close by.
Waterfalls and canyons: Tennessee, Illinois, Oregon and Montana
Waterfalls make ideal beginner destinations because the payoff is obvious and the trails tend to be short. Flow varies a lot by season, so time your visit with the notes below.
4. Burgess Falls, Tennessee
About 1.3 miles and 183 feet of gain take you past cascades, a 30-foot upper falls and an 80-foot middle falls to an overlook above the 136-foot main falls, roughly 90 minutes east of Nashville. Entry is free. The overlook is the end of the trail, and there's no legal hiking route to the base. In spring 2026 the upper lot closed for construction of a new visitor center, which left parking extremely limited, so check park alerts before you drive. The park asks visitors not to park on the roadside.
5. Saint Louis Canyon, Illinois
At Starved Rock, this out-and-back is about 2.2 miles with 262 feet of gain along a sandstone canyon floor to a spring-fed waterfall. That spring is why it's the park's most reliable frozen fall in winter. The Illinois DNR's $18 million trail project has closed several eastern canyons, including LaSalle and Tonti, but Saint Louis Canyon is open. Illinois charges no state park entrance fee, and trails are open from 7 a.m. to sunset. Stay on the marked trails, because the sandstone rims crumble.
6. Wahclella Falls, Oregon
This 1.9-mile walk with 288 feet of gain enters a mossy box canyon off I-84 at exit 40 and loops past a two-tier falls on footbridges. You need a Northwest Forest Pass. The canyon burned in the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire and has had rockfall and landslide trouble since, so check the trail status before you go, especially after heavy rain. Winter brings peak flow and few people. Watch for ice on the footbridges.
7. Palisade Falls, Montana
A paved half-mile nature trail, about 1.2 miles round trip with 250 feet of gain, leads to a falls dropping more than 80 feet over columnar basalt in Hyalite Canyon near Bozeman. It's stroller- and wheelchair-friendly, though a few steeper sections may challenge some wheelchair users. There's no fee. The East Fork road to the trailhead is open to vehicles from May 16 to December 31, so late autumn works, but the path can ice up.
Ice, alpine flowers and red rock: Alaska, Utah and Colorado
These three show you landscapes that normally require far more effort to reach: a glacier valley, a high alpine basin and the tilted sandstone fins of the Front Range.
8. Byron Glacier, Alaska
The Forest Service lists this Portage Valley route at 1.4 miles one way with about 100 feet of gain, with 0.9 miles of maintained gravel and then a rough talus route. The agency warns of huge cornices and says the valley is safest once they fall, usually late June or early July. Its listed season runs from mid-June to October. Never enter ice caves or walk on snow bridges over Byron Creek. Bring rain gear and bear spray.
9. Cecret Lake, Utah
This 1.8-mile hike with 465 feet of gain climbs from Albion Basin above Alta to an alpine lake. Wildflowers usually peak from mid-July into early August. The dirt road is open only in summer, and snow closes it by late autumn, so check access before an autumn visit. Little Cottonwood is protected watershed, so dogs, swimming and wading are all banned. Pace yourself, because the altitude makes a short walk feel harder.
10. Red Rocks Trading Post Trail, Colorado
This rolling 1.4-mile loop with about 200 feet of up and down winds between fins of Fountain Formation sandstone near Morrison, at around 6,280 feet. Entry is free, and restrooms and water are at the Trading Post. Climbing on the formations isn't allowed. On days with no event, you can add laps of the amphitheatre steps. Check the concert schedule first, because access and parking change on show days.
Desert walks with a story: New Mexico and Nevada
The last two show that desert hiking doesn't have to mean a punishing climb. Both are at their best from October through spring, and both come with cultural history worth slowing down for.
11. Volcanoes Trail, New Mexico
On Albuquerque's West Mesa, in Petroglyph National Monument, a 3-mile loop with 318 feet of gain circles a row of volcanic cones, with long views of the Sandias. Entry is free. The day-use lot is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you can walk in from sunrise to sunset if you park outside the gate. The Park Service asks visitors not to climb the cones, which are sacred in Pueblo beliefs. There's no shade, so carry water and a hat.
12. Lost Creek Falls, Nevada
From the Willow Springs picnic area in Red Rock Canyon, this 1.5-mile loop with 200 feet of gain uses boardwalks through willow and cottonwood to a seasonal waterfall that usually runs from about November through May. Rock art sits near the trail, so look but don't touch. From October 1 through May 31, Scenic Drive entries between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. need a timed-entry booking from Recreation.gov, plus the entrance fee. One booking covers the whole day, so you can add another stop.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the easiest hike on this list?
Palisade Falls is the gentlest. It's a paved trail about 1.2 miles round trip that suits strollers and most wheelchairs, though a few sections are steeper. Red Rocks Trading Post and Burgess Falls are also short and well-maintained. For a first summit, Stony Man is rated easiest by the Park Service and takes about an hour.
Which of these beginner hikes allow dogs?
Dogs aren't allowed on Stony Man or at Cecret Lake. Leashed dogs are permitted at Max Patch, Red Rocks, Wahclella Falls, Saint Louis Canyon, Volcanoes Trail and Lost Creek Falls, under each agency's leash rules. Palisade Falls requires a six-foot leash at the developed site. At Artist's Bluff, confirm with Franconia Notch State Park before bringing a dog.
What should a beginner bring on these hikes?
Even on a short trail, bring water, sun protection, a snack, a light warm layer and shoes with good grip. Add a rain shell for Byron Glacier and Wahclella, bear spray in Alaska and Hyalite Canyon, and an offline map where there's no signal. Our gear checklist for beginners covers the rest.