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 area is best explored during an overnight backpacking trip, but can be done as one long day hike as well. Overview: ...

Being properly hydrated when hiking or backpacking is not only vitally important for your health, but for your enjoyment as well. Dehydration can lead to serious health problems, which can be especially dangerous if you're on a backpacking trip in the middle of no where for days at at time. The biggest issue that comes with stay hydrated is that...

There are so many different options for backpacking foods and meal plans - less so if you're a vegetarian like me, but there are still a bunch of them out there! I personally enjoy putting a meal plan together when backpacking or camping. It's a challenge to get as much variation as possible without bringing a ton of stuff. It...

Hiking to Soldier Pass Cave is an awesome trek to a tucked away cave off the beaten path. This "secret" cave isn't much of a secret anymore as it's become instagram-famous due to the fantastic photos taken at this location. With this hike you'll not only get to visit the cave, but also see the Devil's Kitchen and Seven...

The Valley of Fire is a really cool little state park full of fascinating rock formations and vistas just outside Las Vegas. The biggest draw are the dramatic red, pink, and white rock formations made from Aztec stone that are found throughout the park. They literally look like coals from a red hot fire! The park is fairly small (46,000...

Foreboding, desolate, isolated, and brutally beautiful; Death Valley in the largest national part in the continental US at 140 miles long and 15 miles wide. It is the lowest, hottest, and driest area in North America and with a wide variety of unusual topography and landscapes, Death Valley is desert beauty at it's absolute best. I was surprised at...

There are SO many amazing places to visit in Death Valley it's really hard just pick 5, so we didn't, we picked 6! Death Valley has widely varying landscapes depending on what area of the park you're visiting, so it really depends on if you want to see desert or mountains, or even spring (yes there's water in Death...

Getting a permit for the Half Dome cables in Yosemite is like winning the lottery - literally!... It uses a permit lottery system rather than first come first serve, so you have to win the lottery to get the permit. And, YES YOU NEED A PERMIT to hike Half Dome. This top section goes over how to get a...

There are so many beautiful things to see in Yosemite, it's hard to narrow it down, especially if you only have a few days and want to maximize your time. One of the great things about Yosemite is that if you're staying in the park in a campground or lodge, you will by default see a lot of the...

Paria Canyon & Buckskin Gulch is a beautiful stretch of desert spanning from Utah to Arizona. The Canyon has towering walls (most famously Buckskin Gulch), huge red rock amphitheaters, sandstone arches, wooded terraces, and hanging gardens. It's very close to the popular The Wave day hiking area, all of which are included in the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area. To protect...