10 of America’s Most Haunting Hikes

These hiking trails are not for the easily spooked. They are places where the past and panic-inducing phenomena play together. From fog-shrouded swamps to deep, dense forests hiding long-lost cemeteries, America’s most haunting hikes bear stories that linger long after the sun sets.

So lace up, find a flashlight, and come with a corporeal companion—because on the following 10 trails, there might be a few spirits tagging along.

1. Ghost House Trail // Big Ridge State Park, Tennessee
2. Jericho Lane Trail System // Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia/North Carolina
3. Bloody Lane Trail // Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland
4. Transept Trail // Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
5. Devil’s Path // Catskill Mountains, New York
6. Heritage Trail // Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
7. Devil’s Kettle Trail // Judge C. R. Magney State Park, Minnesota
8. Seneca Ridge Trail to Coffin Rock // Seneca Creek State Park, Maryland
9. Lime Kiln Trail // Robe Canyon Historic Park, Washington
10. Iron Goat Trail // Stevens Pass, Washington
11. Haunted Trails Cheat Sheet

Ghost House Trail // Big Ridge State Park, Tennessee

Hidden in the hills of Big Ridge State Park, the Ghost House Trail is a 1.2-mile loop that climbs past a cemetery. This trail was named after a nearby abandoned home, Hutchinson House, where a young girl, Mary Hutchinson, died of tuberculosis in the late 1800s. Mary, her father Maston, and their dog are all reported to haunt the trail. Hikers have heard footsteps, the movement of the phantom pet, and a child’s soft cries. Visitors have also photographed shadowy shapes near gravestones. But no one is ever there. 

Beyond whispered lore, the hike sweeps through history: the land was condemned and acquired by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s. These rolling ridges were once dotted with homesteads, a gristmill, and the drowned town of Loyston, and only ruins remain to carry on their legends.

Jericho Lane Trail System // Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia/North Carolina

The Great Dismal Swamp spans more than 113,000 acres of thick marshland and forest, and its history is as dark as the waters winding their way within. Before and during the Civil War, the Underground Railroad ran through the swamp, and it also fostered secluded settlements for enslaved people seeking freedom [PDF]. Those who extricated themselves from enslavement, as well as their descendants, were called maroons, a term said to come from the Spanish cimarrón, meaning “wild and defiant.” 

As today’s hikers meander down muddy boardwalks and forest paths on the Jericho Lane trail system [PDF], they encounter moss-draped cypresses and sounds that echo across the environment. The swamp’s aggressive atmosphere—or is that one of the hundreds of black bears that prowl about here?—can make it feel like the past is panting down your posterior.

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Bloody Lane Trail // Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland

On September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam resulted in approximately 23,000 Union and Confederate casualties, making for the Civil War’s bloodiest single-day engagement. Though it was technically a draw, President Lincoln claimed victory because the brutality had paused the Confederate invasion of Maryland—which allowed him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Bloody Lane is the battlefield’s most infamous location. About 5500 soldiers were killed or wounded in this one road, whose surface had been deeply worn down by perpetual farm traffic. By 1862, this sunken road lay several feet below the surrounding ground, funneling soldiers from both sides into a battle at point-blank range that lasted for hours.  

The trail, once the stage of devastating slaughter, is now calm and contemplative—but some visitors have reported hearing phantom footfall and smelling gunpowder, particularly at dawn and dusk. Many have claimed to find fleeting figures in period uniforms who disappear when approached. 

Transept Trail // Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The Transept Trail combines stunning sights with a splash of the supernatural. A large side canyon at a right angle to the Grand Canyon, the Transept was named from its resemblance to the crosswise portion of a cathedral’s floor plan. 

The 3-mile (round trip) trail along canyon’s rim is one of the most storied sites in the park due to its connection to the “Wailing Woman.” As local legend goes, a young family visiting the Grand Canyon Lodge in the 1920s met a tragic end: the father and son had set out on the trail just before a sudden storm struck. They were killed, and when the mother learned of their deaths, she ended her life in the lodge. 

Hikers passing the area have reported seeing a translucent figure wearing a white gown and a garland of blue flowers along the trail. Rangers and visitors have told stories of steps echoing along deserted paths and the sound of crying. A sad new chapter in the Grand Canyon unfurled in July 2025 when a wildfire destroyed the historic lodge, the nearby visitor center, and guest cabins; large areas of the North Rim are closed to visitors indefinitely. Make sure to call ahead before venturing out to the site.

Devil’s Path // Catskill Mountains, New York

Renowned for its difficulty, Devil’s Path is also famous for its paranormal potential. Steep ascents and rocky descents challenge hikers, and the thick forest canopy completely swallows the sunlight in many spots, creating a near-perpetual twilight. Those brave enough to hike Devil’s Path are reminded that the ghost of the Mohawk leader Thayendanegea (also known as Joseph Brant), who fought on the British side during the Revolutionary War, is said to haunt these mountains, as do the spirits of the witches who gathered plants here for their potions. Some have spotted cloven prints in the path (sure, they could be deer tracks, but still!). The trail’s foreboding name and history of hiking accidents contribute to its reputation as a place where the natural and unnatural intertwine.

Heritage Trail // Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Mammoth Cave, the world’s longest cave system, has been the scene of more than 150 documented paranormal events. The Heritage Trail may have the darkest rep of all the above-ground routes. The half-mile, paved route passes by the Old Guide’s Cemetery, where early guides and their families were buried. Mammoth Cave also was used as an experimental tuberculosis sanatorium in the 1840s, with a few patients who died during this period interred in the old cemetery as well. Hikers claim to have heard whispers, walking, and coughing from phantom patients. The deep, natural darkness of the cave and the noises emanating from unseen sources make Mammoth Cave one of the creepiest places in the country.

Devil’s Kettle Trail // Judge C. R. Magney State Park, Minnesota

The Devil’s Kettle is a natural waterfall with an unnatural twist. The 1-mile trail climbs upwards through picturesque forests to where the Brule River splits into two streams. One channel cascades down the 50-foot waterfall, and the other disappears into a deep pothole known as the “kettle,” which for years had no known exit. Folks attempted to figure out where the water that poured into the kettle went, throwing in objects and even dyes to see where they would come out, yet nothing ever did. A 2017 effort by a handful of hydrologists has largely solved the mystery—the water empties into a larger waterway from underground—but the geological quirk has earned this trail a reputation for being more than just a scenic stroll.

Seneca Ridge Trail to Coffin Rock // Seneca Creek State Park, Maryland

Coffin Rock, a flat slab near a creek, sits in the same woods made infamous by the legend of and movie based on the Blair Witch. Though the movie’s seemingly real backstory—of a search party investigating the disappearance of an 8-year-old girl in the 1880s—didn’t actually happen, modern hikers do claim there is a profound sense of unease in the area. The 5.8-mile Seneca Ridge Trail takes hikers through thick woods along Seneca Creek and past Coffin Rock, where the movie’s search party is said to have been discovered missing their internal organs..

The locale is also near the legendary home of Maryland’s native cryptid, the Snallygaster, a dragon-like flying reptile with sharp talons and teeth. German immigrants to Maryland in the 19th century told folk stories of the Schneller Geist (“quick spirit”), a ghostly figure said to swoop from the sky and snatch up the unsuspecting, so keep an eye out if you walk these secluded woods.

Lime Kiln Trail // Robe Canyon Historic Park, Washington

Lime Kiln Trail looks the part. With its 6.7 mile trek in and out, you’ve got foggy forests, constant mist, and the remnants of 19th-century lime kilns to set the scene for one of Washington’s most atmospheric hikes. Before the invention of cement, workers would quarry and burn lime in a kiln to create quicklime for construction and agriculture. The Lime Kiln Trail winds past these industrial relics, where the abandoned, empty chambers stand covered in moss and lichen. Visitors have heard the sound of boots and the occasional whisper of voices when no one is nearby. The combination of history and an industrial-era graveyard of tools and trappings give Lime Kiln Trail an eeriness that lingers long after you leave.

Iron Goat Trail // Stevens Pass, Washington

The Iron Goat Trail winds through the remnants of the Great Northern Railway's path over Stevens Pass in the Cascades. This trail is steeped in tragic events, most notably the Wellington avalanche disaster in 1910, the deadliest in American history. Two trains, stuck on the tracks during a huge snowstorm, were slammed by a massive avalanche and propelled into the river below. Thanks to the quick work of the townsfolk, 23 people were pulled out alive, but it took days to recover all of the 96 victims. 

Due to the sheer number of deaths from that accident, some have claimed the victims’ spirits persist: hikers have reported hearing disembodied voices and feeling the tingle of phantom hands along the Iron Goat Trail, which follows sections of the original railway and winds through its old tunnels and trestles.

Haunted Trails Cheat Sheet