The descriptions and photos below all link to stories at The Big Outside that have more images and information about these trips (most of which require a paid subscription<\/a> to read in full)\u2014including detailed tips on planning each one yourself and when to apply for a backcountry permit, which is generally months in advance of a spring or fall trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See also \u201cThe 5 Southwest Backpacking Trips You Should Do First<\/a>,\u201d my expert e-books<\/a> to some of the trips described below, and my Custom Trip Planning page<\/a> to learn how I can help you plan any of these adventures, variations of them, or any trip you read about at The Big Outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d love to read your thoughts about my list\u2014and your suggestions for trips that belong on it. Please share them in the comments section at the bottom of this story. I try to respond to all comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most multi-day hikes, including some of the best, feature stretches of hours at a time that are ordinary. Not the Grand Canyon. With huge physical relief and so little vegetation to obstruct views in this desert environment\u2014except for brief stretches of forest at the South and North rims\u2014there\u2019s never a dull moment as you traverse a cross-section of a chasm stretching 277 miles long and averaging a mile deep and 10 miles across (as the crow flies\u2014hiking distances on winding trails are much greater). It\u2019s undoubtedly one of the most unique and spectacular treks in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although most trails here are quite rugged\u2014and some routes on the map are not even maintained\u2014the three so-called \u201ccorridor\u201d trails, while strenuous, are maintained, don\u2019t present the kind of scary exposure or difficult scrambling found on other trails, and have more frequent water availability. The typically three-day hike crossing from rim to rim (one-way, can be done in either direction) via the South Kaibab and North Kaibab trails is 21 miles with over 10,600 feet of cumulative ascent and descent; via the Bright Angel and North Kaibab, it\u2019s 23.5 miles with over 10,100 feet of cumulative ascent and descent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my stories \u201cFit to be Tired: Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a Day<\/a>,\u201d \u201cA Grand Ambition, or April Fools? Dayhiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim<\/a>,\u201d and all stories about South Rim backpacking trips<\/a> at The Big Outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most uniquely magnificent and coveted hikes in the National Park System, The Narrows of the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion squeeze down to the width of a hobbit\u2019s living room in places, with walls of golden, crimson, and cream-colored sandstone that rise as much as a thousand feet tall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On this 16-mile, top-to-bottom hike\u2014typically done in two days\u2014you\u2019ll walk in the shallow river most of the time and see very little direct sunlight, marveling at the constantly changing canyon and natural oddities like a waterfall pouring from cracks in solid rock, creating a hanging garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enormously popular, the lower end of the Narrows teems with hundreds and sometimes thousands of dayhikers on hot days of late spring through early fall, when the river is warm and low. Many of those people don\u2019t walk more than a mile or two upriver, while some go as far as Big Spring, at mile five, the farthest point dayhikers can venture without a wilderness permit. The hauntingly quiet upper Narrows can feel remarkably lonely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not surprisingly, this unrivaled adventure ranks among \u201cAmerica’s Top 10 Best Backpacking Trips<\/a>\u201d and \u201cMy 25 Most Scenic Days of Hiking Ever<\/a>,\u201d and our campsite in The Narrows graces my list of 25 favorite backcountry campsites<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cLuck of the Draw, Part 2: Backpacking Zion\u2019s Narrows<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Stratified cliffs stretch for miles. Stone towers, with bulbous crowns bigger around than the column on which they sit, seem ever at the verge of toppling over. Multi-colored candlesticks of Cedar Mesa sandstone, in more hues than Crayola has yet replicated, loom 300 feet tall, forming castle-like ramparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trails marked by zigzagging lines of stone cairns lead across waves of slickrock slabs, up narrow water runnels and calf-pumping ramps. In the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, trails ignore the axiom of Euclidian geometry that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Hikers there navigate a maze without walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Needles District encompasses a high plateau split by canyons. Erosional forces working over unfathomable gulfs of time formed this arid and tortured landscape; but it looks more like the work of giant children squeezing mud from their fists. That network of trails creates multiple options for short, relatively easy, but strikingly scenic backpacking trips and dayhikes through The Needles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cNo Straight Lines: Backpacking and Hiking in Canyonlands and Arches National Parks<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For much of the first three days of this five-day descent, you pass through the twisting narrows of Paria Canyon, where walls of searing, orange-red sandstone shoot up for hundreds of feet, so close together at times that a person can cross from one side to the other in a dozen strides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunshine often ignites the upper walls and reflects warm light downward, painting every wave of rock in a subtly different hue. You\u2019re often walking in the shallow river, and pockets of quicksand add an adventurous element to this trek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 38-mile hike down Paria Canyon has become famous among backpackers for its towering walls painted wildly with desert varnish, massive red rock amphitheaters and arches, hanging gardens where the few springs in the canyon gush from rock, and sandy benches for camping, shaded by cottonwood trees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s done alone or combined with its 15-mile-long tributary slot canyon, Buckskin Gulch\u2014which gets so tight that you have to take off your pack and squeeze through sideways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cThe Quicksand Chronicles: Backpacking Paria Canyon<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n On a two-family, roughly 15-mile backpacking trip through Coyote Gulch, we hiked across ancient, petrified dunes; squeezed through a less-than-shoulder-width, 100-foot-long slot called Crack-in-the-Wall (which was fun and not as hard as it sounds); and stood at a cliff top overlooking a desert landscape of redrock towers and cliffs, including Stevens Arch, measuring some 220 feet across and 160 feet tall. And that was just in the first hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the Southwest\u2019s easier backpacking trips\u2014because of its short distance, lack of a narrows creating flash-flood potential, and the presence of a perennial stream (read: you don\u2019t have to carry several pounds of water)\u2014Coyote Gulch features a natural bridge, two of the region\u2019s most distinctive natural arches, and one deeply overhanging wall some 200 feet tall with amazing echo acoustics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Coyote\u2019s sheer walls at times loom close and you walk in the creek; elsewhere, the upper canyon walls spread a quarter-mile apart and rise up to 900 feet overhead. In a sense, Coyote delivers a complete\u2014and beginner-friendly\u2014canyon-hiking experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cPlaying the Memory Game in Southern Utah\u2019s Escalante, Capitol Reef, and Bryce Canyon<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whoa, you\u2019re thinking\u2014the \u201cbest<\/em> backpacking trip in the entire Grand Canyon??\u201d That was my initial reaction when a longtime backcountry ranger in the canyon whom I know, who\u2019s hiked every mile of trail in the park, described this 74-mile route from the South Kaibab Trailhead to Lipan Point to me using those words. I mean, every hike in this place is amazing, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I backpacked it and found myself agreeing with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides the fact that the South Kaibab is one of the absolute best hikes<\/a> in the entire National Park System, this route\u2014which has shorter alternatives\u2014follows one of the of the prettiest and most adventurous \u201ctrails\u201d (if it can be called that) in the canyon, the Escalante Route, and incorporates the little-traveled and beautiful Beamer Trail, as well as another rim-to-river footpath, the Tanner Trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s some tricky route-finding and exposed scrambling, and water sources are sporadic\u2014this high-level adventure is better for experienced and fit backpackers, ideally with a previous GC or other Southwest backpacking trips under their belts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you\u2019ll enjoy some of the best backcountry campsites you\u2019ve ever spent a night in, including beaches on the Colorado River (with the prospect of mooching real food from a river party).<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cThe Best Backpacking Trip in the Grand Canyon<\/a>\u201d and all all stories about backpacking in the Grand Canyon<\/a> at The Big Outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Just 12 miles long from its west trailhead to its east one, southern Arizona\u2019s Aravaipa Canyon captures enough water flowing out of the Galiuro Mountains to sustain a vibrant, perennial stream and an oddity in the Grand Canyon state: a desert oasis, where cottonwood trees taller and more abundant than you\u2019ll see in most Southwest canyons line both creek banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lush greenery contrasts starkly against redrock walls that rise as much as 700 feet above the creek. But high up the canyon walls and the often-dry side canyons, the environment shifts abruptly to that of the surrounding, vast Sonoran Desert, with saguaro occupying the numerous cliff ledges like thousands of spectators in a strangely steep-sided, long, narrow, and winding stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With no maintained trail in the canyon, backpackers follow whatever user trails get beaten into the sandy ground\u2014or, more often than not hike directly in Aravaipa Creek, splashing through water that ranges from not too cold to chilly and rarely up to calf-deep. The max stay permitted is two nights and most backpackers set up a base camp and dayhike to explore this unique and truly lovely canyon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cBackpacking the Desert Oasis of Aravaipa Canyon<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the same Southwest trip that we backpacked in Aravaipa Canyon in early April, three of us from that group also backpacked one of the finest three-day sections of the Arizona Trail, Passage 16, during a wildflower superbloom. See my story<\/a> about that surprisingly beautiful hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For most of the trips in this article, competition for a backcountry permit is stiff. But not in Capitol Reef. In fact, the park doesn\u2019t accept permit reservations; you just show up, get a free permit, and set out in a park with few backpackers and where the scenery compares with any other park in Utah\u2019s canyon country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On a two- to three-day, relatively easy hike into Spring Canyon via Chimney Rock Canyon, you hike a fairly broad canyon where burnt red and orange walls rise several hundred feet tall, passing slender spires and a narrow gorge with walls sculpted in dramatic, smooth curves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s at least nine miles from the Chimney Rock Trailhead to the bottom end of Spring Canyon, where it meets the Fremont River. While some hikers knock it off in a day, get the full experience by spending a night below Spring\u2019s walls, looking up at a sky riddled with stars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the canyon\u2019s mouth, you have to ford the river to reach UT 24 and the trailhead parking lot, and it can be too fast and deep to ford safely. Alternatively, hike out-and-back from Chimney Rock Trailhead, camping somewhere near the spring in Spring Canyon, and exploring farther down canyon from your camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cPlunging Into Solitude: Dayhiking, Slot Canyoneering, and Backpacking in Capitol Reef<\/a>,\u201d and all stories about Capitol Reef National Park<\/a> at The Big Outside<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other Southwestern parks have natural arches, spires, and ancient cliff dwellings, but none really matches Zion\u2019s grandeur: the giant walls of white and blood-red rock, with striations rippling across vast spans of sandstone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the park is best known for the 2,000-foot-tall cliffs of Zion Canyon and the justifiably popular dayhike up Angels Landing<\/a> (which I consider one of the best dayhikes in the entire National Park System<\/a>), backpacking a nearly 50-mile, north-south traverse takes you on a grand tour of this flagship park. And it can be broken into sections for shorter, beginner-friendly trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Lee Pass Trailhead in the Kolob Canyons, where burgundy cliffs rise above verdantly green stream bottoms, you\u2019ll pass between the black-streaked, red walls of Hop Valley, and follow the West Rim Trail\u2014considered by some Zion aficionados the park\u2019s best\u2014high above a maze of deep, white-walled canyons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After descending a sidewalk-wide footpath blasted out of cliffs, the traverse passes Angels Landing\u2014a must-do side trip\u2014before crossing Zion Canyon and taking the East Rim Trail past Weeping Rock, through Echo Canyon, and past the white beehive cliffs of the park\u2019s east side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See all of my stories about Zion National Park<\/a>, including \u201cPilgrimage Across Zion: Traversing a Land of Otherworldly Scenery<\/a>\u201d and \u201cMid-Life Crisis: Hiking 50 Miles Across Zion in a Day<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, this top-10 list has three hikes in the Big Ditch\u2014and it could justifiably have more. There is no place like the Grand Canyon, period. But of all the backpacking trips I have taken there, the most unique, varied, and magical just may be this rugged and remote, 25-mile loop off the North Rim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Long on the radar of in-the-know backpackers and river-rafting parties taking side hikes, the Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop has an unusual abundance of a rare element in much of the canyon: water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The two perennial creeks and one river (not counting the Colorado River, which this hike follows for a few miles) pour over some of the Grand Canyon\u2019s loveliest waterfalls (see lead photo at top of story), course through sculpted narrows, and nurture oases of trees and vegetation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Descending a vertical mile to the Colorado River and then climbing back up again, on often-rugged trails, with seasons limited by road access and heat often challenging to put it mildly, this hike is no walk in the park\u2014which is why many backpackers take four days or more to complete it. But it packs in all the qualities you go to the Grand Canyon for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my feature story \u201cBackpacking the Grand Canyon\u2019s Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop<\/a>,\u201d \u201c8 Epic Grand Canyon Backpacking Trips You Must Do<\/a>,\u201d and all all stories about backpacking in the Grand Canyon<\/a> at The Big Outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n From crossing a high, sand and slickrock plateau on the Boulder Mail Trail, to descending the sometimes narrow and always dramatic canyon of Death Hollow, and finally ascending the upper canyon of the Escalante River between soaring, overhanging walls of red, brown, and cream-colored rock painted with desert varnish, the 22-mile Death Hollow Loop northeast of the town of Escalante delivers a primer on the rugged and adventurous character of a host of desert Southwest landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Boulder Mail Trail\u2019s circuitous route over waves of rippling Navajo Sandstone repeatedly rises and falls steeply\u2014but nothing compares to the overlook of Death Hollow just before the trail plunges into it. Death Hollow poses flash-flood risk and, in the best conditions, involves walking in cold water ranging from below the ankles to mid-thigh or deeper\u2014when<\/em> you successfully skirt the deepest pools\u2014with challenging obstacles and possibly wind blowing up or down the canyon to compound the water\u2019s chill. Then there\u2019s the poison ivy, which is, well, hard to exaggerate about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But hit this route in good weather and safe water levels and you will be blown away by it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cBackpacking Utah\u2019s Mind-Blowing Death Hollow Loop<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Descending the trail off Maze Overlook, we followed a wildly circuitous trail across slickrock, marked by cairns but otherwise unobvious and not visible on the ground, winding below redrock cliffs and towers, past mounds of shattered boulders resembling ancient ruins, and along the sloping rims of giant bowls of rippled stone. In several spots, we removed and lowered our packs to scramble through tight crevices or downclimb a ladder of shallow footsteps chiseled into a sandstone cliff face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was on the second morning of our five-day backpacking trip into the Maze\u2014and it came after we had lingered long over the panorama at the brink of the white cliffs of Maze Overlook, above the vast, chaotic sweep of sandstone fins, towers, and canyons that could only<\/em> be called the Maze. A very rugged, remote, and hard-to-reach corner of the Southwest, with few water sources that can dry up seasonally, the Maze is undoubtedly one of the hardest trips on this list\u2014for many reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the adventurous character of its routes, jaw-dropping vistas and canyons, ancient pictographs, and deep solitude make it a holy grail for serious Southwest explorers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See my story \u201cFarther Than It Looks\u2014Backpacking the Canyonlands Maze<\/a>.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See all stories about hiking and backpacking in Southern Utah<\/a> and national park adventures<\/a> at The Big Outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re a beginner or seasoned backpacker, you\u2019ll learn new tricks for making all of your trips go better in my \u201cHow to Plan a Backpacking Trip\u201412 Expert Tips<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<\/a>A Practical Guide to Lightweight and Ultralight Backpacking<\/a>,\u201d and \u201cHow to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be<\/a>.\u201d With a paid subscription to The Big Outside<\/a>, you can read all of those three stories for free; if you don\u2019t have a subscription, you can download the e-guide versions of \u201cHow to Plan a Backpacking Trip\u201412 Expert Tips<\/a>,\u201d the lightweight and ultralight backpacking guide<\/a>, and \u201cHow to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By Michael Lanza We all love the majesty of mountains. But the vividly colored, sometimes bizarre, occasionally incomprehensible geology of the Southwest canyon country enchants and inspires us in ways that words can only begin to describe. And while you will find very worthy dayhikes and even roadside eye candy in classic parks like Grand Canyon, Zion, and Canyonlands, you … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/06224823\/Tet19-047-Me-on-Teton-Crest-Trail-copy-cropped.jpg?resize=103%2C103&ssl=1\")
<\/strong>Hi, I\u2019m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside.\u00a0Click here<\/a> to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Join The Big Outside<\/a> to get full access to all of my blog\u2019s stories. Click here<\/a> for my e-guides to classic backpacking trips. Click here<\/a> to learn how I can help you plan your next trip.<\/p>\nFind your next adventure in your Inbox. Sign up for my FREE email newsletter<\/a> now.<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Gran8-003-Todd-Arndt-at-Ooh-Ah-Point-South-Kaibab-Trail-Grand-Canyon..jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Rim to Rim Across the Grand Canyon<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Bright](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/06232640\/Gran7-137-Bright-Angel-Creek-along-the-lower-North-Kaibab-Trail-Grand-Canyon..jpg?resize=427%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Do this trip smartly. Get my expert e-book to backpacking the Grand Canyon rim to rim<\/a>
or my expert e-book to dayhiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim<\/a>.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/07001153\/Zion4-074-Day-two-The-Narrows-Zion-National-Park.-copy.jpg?resize=1200%2C797&ssl=1\")
<\/a>![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/07000016\/Zion4-054-The-Upper-Narrows-Zion-National-Park..jpg?resize=387%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/a>The Narrows, Zion National Park<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Click here now<\/a> to get my e-book \u201cThe Complete Guide to Backpacking Zion’s Narrows.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Backpackers](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/06231414\/Cany1-031-Squaw-Canyon-Needles-District-Canyonlands-National-Park-Utah-copy-1024x680.jpg?resize=1024%2C680&ssl=1\")
<\/a>![\"Along](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/07000013\/Cany1-057-Chesler-Park-Trail-Needles-District-Canyonlands-National-Park-Utah.jpg?resize=425%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/a>The Needles District, Canyonlands National Park<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Want to read any story linked here?
\nJoin now<\/a> to read ALL stories and get a free e-book!<\/h4>\n![\"Backpackers](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/07000009\/Paria1-051-In-the-narrows-day-two-Paria-Canyon-copy.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Paria Canyon<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/07000011\/Paria1-039-Nate-in-Narrows-day-two-Paria-Canyon.jpg?resize=427%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Want my help planning any trip on this list?
Click here<\/a> for expert advice you won\u2019t get elsewhere.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/06231601\/Esca2-047-Above-Crack-in-the-Wall-Coyote-Gulch-Grand-Staircase-Escalante-Utah-1-1024x680.jpg?resize=1024%2C680&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Coyote Gulch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/07000009\/Esca2-066-In-Coyote-Gulch-Grand-Staircase-Escalante-Utah.jpg?resize=425%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Coyote Gulch is one of \u201cThe 5 Southwest Backpacking Trips You Should Do First<\/a>.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/06231807\/Gran8-044-A-backpacker-on-the-Tonto-Trail-above-the-Colorado-River-Grand-Canyon-1024x636.jpg?resize=1024%2C636&ssl=1\")
<\/a>The Grand Canyon\u2019s \u2018Best Backpacking Trip\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Wildflowers](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/06232347\/Gran8-066.jpg?resize=427%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Click here now<\/a> for my expert e-book to the best backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon.<\/h4>\n
Score a popular permit using my
\u201c10 Tips For Getting a Hard-to-Get National Park Backcountry Permit<\/a>.\u201d<\/h4>\n![\"Backpackers](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/06224813\/Arav1-18-Backpacking-into-Aravaipa-Canyon-Arizona-1024x683.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Aravaipa Canyon<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/06224637\/Arav1-19-Todd-Arndt-backpacking-into-Aravaipa-Canyon-from-the-West-Trailhead-Arizona-1-683x1024.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Planning a backpacking trip? See \u201cHow to Plan a Backpacking Trip\u201412 Expert Tips<\/a>\u201d
and \u201cHow to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be<\/a>.\u201d<\/h4>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/06230943\/Cap4-93-Chimney-Rock-Canyon-Capitol-Reef-NP-UT-1024x680.jpg?resize=1024%2C680&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Spring Canyon, Capitol Reef National Park<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"My](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/07000007\/Cap4-87-Alex-Spring-Canyon-Capitol-Reef-NP-UT.jpg?resize=532%2C800&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Plan your next great backpacking adventure using my expert e-books.
Click here now<\/a> to learn more.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/07003157\/Zion3-48-Zion-Canyon-from-West-Rim-Trail-Zion-NP-2-1024x589.jpg?resize=1024%2C589&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Traversing Zion National Park<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"La](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/06232721\/MLanzaZion2-26-La-Verkin-Creek-Zion.jpg?resize=532%2C800&ssl=1\")
<\/a>The right backpack makes all of your trips easier.
See \u201cThe 10 Best Backpacking Packs<\/a>\u201d and the best ultralight packs<\/a>.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/06230942\/Gran7-053-Jeff-Wilhelm-on-the-Granite-Narrows-route-in-the-Grand-Canyon-2-1024x683.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop, Grand Canyon<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Deer](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/06232620\/Gran7-072-Deer-Creek-Falls-in-the-Grand-Canyon.jpg?resize=427%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Planning your next big adventure? See \u201cAmerica\u2019s Top 10 Best Backpacking Trips<\/a>\u201d
\nand \u201cTent Flap With a View: 25 Favorite Backcountry Campsites<\/a>.\u201d<\/h4>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/06224500\/Esca3-18-Todd-Arndt-backpacking-above-Death-Hollow-on-the-Boulder-Mail-Trail-Utah-1024x683.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Death Hollow Loop, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Backpackers](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/22072922\/Esca3-54-David-Gordon-backpacking-down-Death-Hollow-in-southern-Utah-683x1024.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/a>I\u2019ve helped many readers plan unforgettable backpacking and hiking trips.
\nWant my help with yours? Click here<\/a> now.<\/h4>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/06230004\/Maze1-010-Jeff-Wilhelm-at-Maze-Overlook-in-the-Maze-District-Canyonlands-National-Park.-1024x683.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1\")
<\/a>The Maze District, Canyonlands National Park<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Hikers](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/06230002\/Maze1-054-Todd-and-Jeff-hiking-the-Petes-Mesa-Route-in-the-Maze-District-Canyonlands-National-Park.-683x1024.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Don\u2019t miss any stories at The Big Outside. Join now<\/a> and get a free e-book!<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"