Coyote Gulch is an amazing beautiful canyon in the Grand Staircase-Escalante desert in Utah. It's a popular destination for backpackers and day hikers due to the incredible arches, waterfalls, and petroglyphs all found within a relatively short distance. This post was last updated: Jan 2026 with new safety information, FAQs, and more detailed route guides. We did this trip over...

Floating just off the coast of Southern California, Channel Islands National Park is a beautiful preserved wilderness that’s home to some wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. Visiting these islands for a day hike or overnight camping trip is like stepping into a fairytale Disney movie. Wind-sculpted cliffs, kelp-full waters, adorable wildlife, and remote enough to feel wild without requiring...

If you like mud, rivers, slot canyons, awesome rock formations, and a vastly varied beautiful landscape, then this trip is for you! Paria Canyon offers some really amazing slot canyon hiking with a vast variety of terrain. The landscape and hiking here is similar to the Zion Narrows, but with almost no people (only 20 overnight permits per day). There...

If you've ever taken a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, it's not something most people look forward to. It's pure boring nothing - almost 300miles of flat, plain, middle of nowhere desert. But if you're traveling this road for work or for pleasure or just as a means to get to somewhere else, there are a...

If I'm being honest, backpacking The Grand Canyon of Tuolumne in Yosemite was not our favorite trip. Don't get me wrong, it's Yosemite, it's gorgeous everywhere you look. The views are spectacular, the waterfalls are awe-inspiring. But there were several environmental and logistical factors that reduced our enjoyment of this hike. Some of which were our fault and could...

Download this list as a PDF Essential Backpacking Gear For Any Location This is your standard essential gear that will always be with you on every trip. Trail Backpack: Osprey Backpack I just got an Osprey Atmos 65 backpacking pack from REI and I love it! It comes with a day pack inside the pack that can be fully removed, hydration sleeve,...

Hiking in the Valley of Fire State Park in NV is a very unique experience and a great way to see the attractions of the park. There are lots of incredible rock formations which create some stunning landscapes. It's a relatively small park and most of it can be seen in just one day (things to do in Valley...

I love the Platypus GravityWorks 4L Water Filter! So much so that I decided to write a review about it. It saved our butts on our last desert backpacking trip. But it's not a completely perfect system, so this will still be an objective review. Treating your water is is crucial when in the backcountry and it's important to choose...

The hike through Peek-a-boo Gulch and Spooky Gulch is so fun!! While you can do them separately, they are usually done together as a modified loop. It's a fairly short hike to get to the Gulches and navigating them is like an adult obstacle course. Located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, this is an adventurous hike...

The West Fork of Oak Creek trail was one of our favorites in Sedona. It's a hike through a beautiful gorge which follows along the creek and provides ample shade, fantastic views, and the opportunity to do some exploring. It's a relatively easy hike with big pay offs and also provides a big change from the other surround red rock...