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Review: The Best Short Hike in the Winds (9 Miles!)

day hike

Review: The Best Short Hike in the Winds (9 Miles!)

Review: The Best Short Hike in the Winds (9 Miles!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 8 minutesNo hike in the Winds is this so easy for such a payoff. As such, it’s great to take kids to. It does require some acceptance off off-trail navigation, but nothing serious.

Review: 22-Mile Day Hike to Picturesque Paintbrush Pass

Review: 22-Mile Day Hike to Picturesque Paintbrush Pass

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 7 minutesPaintbrush Pass is an easy hike for people who get lost easily but are in shape, and it offers stunning views of the Cathedral Group. Being in the Tetons, it’s always going to come with crowds.

Review: Beauty & Ennui Hiking Grizzly Lake

Review: Beauty & Ennui Hiking Grizzly Lake

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 13 minutesGrizzly Lake offers some nice fall colors, but isn’t worth the hike in any season. A trip to the first pond on the hike might be worth it.

Review: Stupendously Short Overnight Hike to Lost Lake, WY

Review: Stupendously Short Overnight Hike to Lost Lake, WY

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 11 minutesLost Lake is a very short hike to a picturesque, colorful lake. It’s good for people who aren’t in shape, or for families with little children.

Review: Hiking (Or Surviving) MacLeod Lake, Gros Ventre Range

Review: Hiking (Or Surviving) MacLeod Lake, Gros Ventre Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 15 minutesMacLeod Lake (also spelled McLeod and Macleod) is a scenic lake in a rocky bowl best accessed from Swift Creek Trailhead by those who win competitions climbing the Empire State Building and by those who just hate their lives and want them to be a little bit more miserable.

Upper Silas Lake shoreline
Review: Easy 8 Miles to Upper Silas Lake (Day Hike!)

Review: Easy 8 Miles to Upper Silas Lake (Day Hike!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 6 minutesUpper Silas Lake is one of the few hikes in the Winds that can be an honest, easy day-hike. You won’t be rewarded with staggering scenery, but it’s better than being stuck in town, and the fishing is still fun!

Granite Creek by Granite Hot Springs
Reviews: Hoback Guard Station, Granite Hot Springs, and Clear Lake Day Hike

Reviews: Hoback Guard Station, Granite Hot Springs, and Clear Lake Day Hike

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 12 minutesClear Lake is a beautiful lake surrounded by cliffs. It can be done as a day hike but is best accomplished with enough time for one to fully take in the concept of eternal damnation. Everything else in this post is tops!

Fish Creek Park, Wyoming, at sunset.
Review: Fall Day Hike to Donald Lake, Wind River Range

Review: Fall Day Hike to Donald Lake, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 6 minutesDonald Lake has excellent fishing for brookies and is a very low-use area of the Wind River Range. It’s also one of the easiest hikes you can do and only has a low number of miles. Most people looking for a hike of this distance will probably want to do this as an overnight hike in order to maximize time at this picturesque lake.

Review: Hiking Gorgeous Lost Twin Lakes, Cloud Peak Wilderness

Review: Hiking Gorgeous Lost Twin Lakes, Cloud Peak Wilderness

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 13 minutesThis is a high-use trail to Lost Twin Lakes, but I had it all to myself for 2 days thanks to bad weather. I loved the fishing!

goldbug hot springs idaho with pretty chilean girl in bikini under waterfall
2 Stars: Goldbug Hot Springs after Gabriel Iglesias

2 Stars: Goldbug Hot Springs after Gabriel Iglesias

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 10 minutesGoldbug Hot Springs in Idaho is worth 2 stars. 3 stars have been deducted for excess urine and an infestation of trashy sex hippies.

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Hiking and Adventure Map (Work in Progress)

  • NOTE! Zoom in for full list. Some icons at default view contain 5+ hikes when zoomed in. I'm transcribing these hikes in my own order, but if you'd like to see one moved to the top of the review list, just let me know.


Map Symbology:

  • •Blue—Hiking plus kayaking trips
  • •Green—Day hikes; can be done as overnights.
  • •Yellow—Overnight hikes, typically 2 nights.
  • •Red—Long-duration hikes, typically 5+days.
  • •Purple—Camping, international trips; excursions.

The Site and Careers

  • About the Author—Hey, That’s Me!
  • Beginner’s Backpacking Guide
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • DSIA
  • Frequencies
  • Maps
  • My Backpacking Rating System
  • Pressing on the Upward Way
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recent Posts
  • RK
  • Welcome Home

Top Posts & Pages

  • Kühl Review: Comparing Deceptr, Renegade, Radikl, and Transcendr Pants
  • Review: Hiking Downs Mountain, Bomber Basin, Mile-Long Lake, etc., Plus a Crashed B24
  • The 7 Stages of All Great Nations: End-Stage Guilt
  • Review: Fun Overnight Hike to Powell Lakes, Wyoming
  • Review: Dickinson Park to Smith, Cloverleaf, Cook, Mendarrin, Middle, & Cathedral Lakes

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