Explore Map

All places on the map

Every spot on the map above, with a short description and a related My Outdoor Exploring guide.

• Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park (Day hike): A quieter corner of the park with waterfalls and forest, from Copeland Falls to Ouzel Falls and Finch Lake. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Acadia National Park (Day hike): Rocky coastline, carriage roads and short cliff trails on Maine's Mount Desert Island, with easy options for first-timers. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Arches National Park (Day hike): Red-rock arches near Moab, Utah, with lots of short, beginner-friendly hikes. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Badlands National Park (Day hike): Striped buttes, prairie wildlife and fossil beds in western South Dakota. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Big Bend National Park (Day hike): A huge, remote desert park in West Texas where the Rio Grande cuts through deep canyons and the Chisos Mountains rise above the Chihuahuan Desert. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Day hike): A steep, narrow canyon in western Colorado with sheer dark walls, including the striped Painted Wall. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Bryce Canyon National Park (Day hike): A high plateau in southern Utah where thousands of orange and pink rock spires, called hoodoos, fill a huge natural amphitheater. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Canyonlands National Park (Day hike): Deep red-rock canyons and mesas in southeastern Utah, carved by the Green and Colorado rivers. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Capitol Reef National Park (Day hike): A long wrinkle in the earth's crust called the Waterpocket Fold, with white sandstone domes, red cliffs and a historic pioneer orchard town in the middle. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park (Day hike): A huge limestone cave system under the Chihuahuan Desert of southeast New Mexico, famous for giant rooms full of cave formations and summer bat flights. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Congaree National Park (Day hike): A quiet river floodplain in central South Carolina, shaded by some of the tallest trees in eastern North America. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Death Valley National Park (Day hike): A vast desert park on the California–Nevada line with salt flats, sand dunes and colorful badlands, including the lowest point in North America. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Gateway Arch National Park (Day hike): A 630-foot stainless steel arch on the St. Louis riverfront, with a free history museum underneath and green parkland stretching toward the Mississippi. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Glacier National Park (Day hike): A wild stretch of the Montana Rockies with jagged peaks, cold blue lakes and over 700 miles of trails, home to both grizzly and black bears. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Grand Canyon National Park (Day hike): A mile-deep canyon in northern Arizona, carved by the Colorado River, with layered red and tan rock as far as you can see. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Grand Teton National Park (Day hike): A row of sharp, glacier-carved peaks rising straight up from a wide Wyoming valley full of lakes, meadows and wildlife. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Great Basin National Park (Day hike): A quiet, remote park in east-central Nevada where desert sagebrush climbs to alpine lakes, ancient pine groves and a marble cave. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (Day hike): A huge field of sand dunes piled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado, with a seasonal creek at its edge. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Day hike): A rugged, windy mountain range rising out of the West Texas desert, with a hidden green canyon tucked inside. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Hot Springs National Park (Day hike): A national park in the middle of a historic Arkansas town, built around hot springs and old bathhouses, with wooded mountain trails just above downtown. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Indiana Dunes National Park (Day hike): Sandy Lake Michigan beaches and wind-shaped dunes, with bogs, marshes and woods behind them, just a short trip from Chicago. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Joshua Tree National Park (Day hike): A Southern California desert park known for its spiky Joshua trees, giant boulder piles and very dark night skies. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park (Summit hike): A 14,259-foot peak in Rocky Mountain National Park that's a serious climb to the top but also has gentler trails to enjoy near its base. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Mesa Verde National Park (Day hike): A high mesa in southwest Colorado where stone villages are tucked into canyon cliffs, an ancestral home that's still sacred to many tribes today. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Mount Rainier National Park (Day hike): A huge glacier-covered volcano in Washington, with old-growth forest around its base and wildflower meadows high on its slopes. Beginner day-hike checklist
• New River Gorge National Park and Preserve (Day hike): A deep, forested river gorge in West Virginia, crossed by a famous steel-arch bridge, with whitewater below and sandstone cliffs along the rim. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Olympic National Park (Day hike): A huge park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, with mossy rain forest, high mountain meadows and a wild Pacific coastline. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Petrified Forest National Park (Day hike): A high Arizona desert park full of ancient logs turned to colorful stone, set in the banded hills of the Painted Desert. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Redwood National and State Parks (Day hike): Towering old-growth redwood groves and fern-filled canyons along California's foggy northern coast, managed together by the national park and nearby state parks. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Rocky Mountain National Park (Estes Park side) (Day hike): The busy east side of Rocky Mountain National Park, just outside Estes Park, with alpine lakes, elk-filled meadows and a road that climbs above treeline. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Rocky Mountain National Park (Grand Lake side) (Day hike): The west side of Rocky Mountain National Park near the town of Grand Lake, a green valley of willows and meadows where the Colorado River begins. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Saguaro National Park (Day hike): One park in two districts on opposite sides of Tucson, Arizona, filled with giant saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Sequoia National Park (Day hike): A mountain park in California's Sierra Nevada, known for its giant sequoia trees, including the General Sherman Tree. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park (Day hike): North Dakota badlands with colorful canyons, bison and prairie dog towns, spread across three separate units. Beginner day-hike checklist
• White Sands National Park (Day hike): Rolling white gypsum dunes in southern New Mexico, with short trails, a scenic drive and sledding. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Wind Cave National Park (Day hike): A South Dakota park with a cave you can tour with a ranger, plus prairie and pine forest overhead where bison roam. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Yellowstone National Park (Day hike): Geysers, hot springs, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and big wildlife across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Yosemite National Park (Day hike): A California park in the Sierra Nevada with granite cliffs, tall waterfalls and giant sequoia groves. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Zion National Park (Day hike): A Utah park of red sandstone cliffs and narrow canyons carved by the Virgin River. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Lone Star Recreation Area (Day hike): A quiet Fillmore County lake park with easy trails, fishing, a swimming beach and calm water for kayaking. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Harlan County Reservoir (Harlan County Lake) (Camping): A big prairie lake with fishing, camping and easy walks, near Republican City and Alma, Harlan County. Campsite setup tips
• Branched Oak Lake (Branched Oak State Recreation Area) (Camping): A big, family-friendly lake northwest of Lincoln, near Malcolm, with beaches, trails and lots of camping. Campsite setup tips
• Littlefield Recreation Area (Littlefield Park) (Camping): A quiet county park with a lake, a beach and easy trails, near Exira, Iowa, just off I-80. Campsite setup tips
• Lake Anita State Park (Camping): A friendly lake park with easy trails, fishing and a beach, near Anita, Iowa, just off I-80. Campsite setup tips
• Waubonsie State Park (Day hike): Ridgetop prairie hikes with big Missouri River valley views, near Hamburg, Iowa. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Indian Cave State Park (Day hike): Rugged wooded bluffs, river views and an ancient petroglyph cave, near Shubert along the Missouri River bluffs. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Lake Manawa State Park (Day hike): An easy paved lakeside walk or bike ride in Council Bluffs, across the Missouri River from Omaha. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Lewis and Clark State Park (Camping): An easy lakeside campground with real expedition history, near Onawa, Monona County, near the Missouri River. Campsite setup tips
• DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge (Day hike): Eagles, migrating waterfowl and a sunken steamboat's treasure, near Missouri Valley, Harrison County. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Saylorville Lake (Camping): Easy, well-equipped Corps campgrounds and a long paved trail, just north of Des Moines. Campsite setup tips
• Lake Red Rock (Camping): Easy Corps campgrounds, a paved trail to Pella, and pelicans and eagles, between Pella and Knoxville. Campsite setup tips
• Blue Springs Lake (Fleming Park) (Camping): An easy county campground with a beach and a marina, on the east side of the Kansas City metro. Campsite setup tips
• Willard Meyer Recreation Area (Swan Lake) (Camping): A quiet little no-wake lake with simple lakeside camping, a few miles northeast of Tobias. Campsite setup tips
• Atalaya Peak (Atalaya Trail #170) (Day hike): A steep, high-altitude climb to big views, right from the east edge of Santa Fe. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Devils Tower National Monument (Day hike): An easy paved loop around a towering rock landmark that's sacred to many tribes, near Hulett, Crook County. Beginner day-hike checklist
• Toadstool Geologic Park (Day hike): Otherworldly badlands and an easy fossil-filled loop, north of Crawford in Sioux County. Beginner day-hike checklist