10 Top Trails for Winter Hiking Adventures

Some trails shine in summer, when they’re lined with wildflowers and bathed in long light. But others make their magic when temperatures tank, crowds vanish, and the world goes silent beneath layers of snow. From glinting desert cliffs to alpine basins where every flake seems to sparkle, winter hikes reveal a side of America only the colder months can deliver.

Winter hikers from yesteryear would strap on wooden snowshoes and venture out by torchlight. You can enjoy those wonderland moments much more comfortably with a decent pair of waterproof hiking boots or aluminum snowshoes and some trekking poles. Cold-weather hikes are less about conquering miles and more about savoring moments—so lace up, layer on, and let these 10 trails show you what happens when the off-season becomes the best season.

1. Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop // Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
2. Hermit Trail // Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
3. The Narrows // Zion National Park, Utah
4. Sky Pond Trail // Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
5. Hurricane Ridge // Olympic National Park, Washington
6. Artist Point Trail // Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
7. South Rim Trail // Big Bend National Park, Texas
8. Mount Willard Trail // Crawford Notch State Park, New Hampshire
9. Crater Lake Rim Winter Route // Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
10. Cascade Canyon Trail // Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop // Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

In winter, Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos (those sandstone spires that look like the work of a feverish sculptor) get sprinkled with snow and transformed into something out of a fairy tale. Dubbed the best three-mile hike in the world, the Queen’s Garden-Navajo Loop is the park’s most popular trail, named for a hoodoo said to resemble Queen Victoria on her throne. 

Frost, rather than flowing water, made these geological masterpieces. Each winter’s freeze and thaw cycles chisel a little bit more out of the cliffs, meaning the canyon’s beauty literally depends on the cold. Be sure to check for trail closures before you head out, and bring traction (such as Yaktrax) for the slick terrain. 

Hermit Trail // Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Named after an actual hermit (the French Canadian prospector Louis Boucher, who lived alone in the area in the late 1800s), the Hermit Trail originally wasn’t meant for backcountry adventurers—it was constructed in 1911 by the Santa Fe Railroad as part of a luxury tourism venture. Winter arguably is the best time to be in the Grand Canyon, and because the Hermit sits at a lower elevation and faces more sunlight, this trail can be perfectly pleasant (but it should be attempted only by experienced desert trekkers). In colder months, the strenuous 10-mile hike to the Colorado River features less crowding, cooler air for the climb back up, and snow-dusted cliffs. You’ll trade summer’s swelter for solitude and crisp weather. 

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The Narrows // Zion National Park, Utah

The Narrows is not for the faint of foot, and in most sections, the “trail” is the Virgin River. Contained by canyon walls that soar up to 1000 feet high and pinch to as little as 20 feet wide, winter hikers use drysuits for water temperatures that hover just above freezing. The canyon, part of the Navajo Formation, is comprised of 190 million-year-old sandstone; centuries of consistent flash flooding have refined the fluted texture of the walls. Summer hikers face tourist hordes and higher risk of flash floods, while winter offers cool, calm quiet throughout the full 16-mile hike. Just make sure to marvel at the red rock dripping with icicles from a safe distance.

Sky Pond Trail // Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Winter turns the Rockies into something of a snow globe, and the hike to Sky Pond is a favorite for both snowshoers and hardy hikers. This trail is about nine miles long with an elevation gain of around 1700 feet. Winding past frozen waterfalls, the route runs through spruce forests and glacial geology. You’ll want traction or snowshoes (and an early start), but the reward at the trail’s end is something that National Park Service literature from the 1920s describes as “the gem of all” [PDF]. Hikers finish at Sky Pond, an alpine cirque shaped like nature’s amphitheater—a steep, three-sided bowl carved into the mountain’s side by a glacier and filled with water after its retreat.

Hurricane Ridge // Olympic National Park, Washington

While Olympic’s famous Hoh Rain Forest bathes in drizzle, its Hurricane Ridge becomes a sun-splashed snowy wonder. Named after the wild winds that blow through the area (especially in winter), gusts reaching 75 mph are common and shape the snow into sculpted drifts. The single paved road opens Fridays through Sundays in the colder months, weather permitting, and leads to an alpine ridge with miles of snowshoe and hiking routes above the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On a clear day, you can see Canada, and the peaks of the Olympic Range flash like cut glass. Another bonus: It’s relatively easy to approach, which is unusual for Olympic alpine peaks.

Artist Point Trail // Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

As Yellowstone’s crowds vanish with the first snow, the steam and silence of the park become even more otherworldly. The short trail (a breezy 0.2 miles) to Artist Point was so called by photographerF. Jay Haynes in 1883 after he thought the painter Thomas Moran had sketched the Lower Falls from there. Moran was actually on the rim opposite, but the name remains. 

Hikers arrive at this popular lookout facing the frozen 308-foot Lower Falls framed by the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The river below froths against icy cliffs, and the golden canyon walls glow from within. It’s proof that Yellowstone doesn’t close in winter—it takes a welcome break from the crowds that the winter wanderer can enjoy as well. But in addition to taking precautions against slips, trips, and falls, be prepared for bears.

South Rim Trail // Big Bend National Park, Texas

In summer, the desert in Big Bend is an unforgiving, fiery furnace. And in winter? It’s a delight. The park’s South Rim Trail is 6.3 miles one way and has an elevation gain of nearly 1900 feet. It climbs from the Chisos Basin through a forest of oak and juniper trees before delivering one of the grandest sights in the Southwest—the Chihuahuan Desert stretching before you all the way to Mexico, with frost adorning the agave. Mornings are crisp, afternoons are golden, and solitude is a solid guarantee. When it comes to desert hiking, winter isn’t the runner-up—it’s the reward. But do bear in mind, peregrine falcons nest here, so parts of the park close to protect them starting in February.

Mount Willard Trail // Crawford Notch State Park, New Hampshire

For an East Coast winter jaunt that delivers high mountain drama without high effort, Mount Willard has your hike. The 3.2-mile trail traverses mixed hardwood and conifer forests with sections of exposed bedrock near the summit, landing hikers at a lookout perched above Crawford Notch. There, the snow-coated peaks of Mount Webster, Mount Willey, and the surrounding White Mountains encourage thoughtful reflection. And when the fog lifts from the valley floor, it can feel as though you’re peering into the past. It’s easy to imagine trains threading through the pass below when the only sound is the whisper of wind.

Crater Lake Rim Winter Route // Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Crater Lake doesn’t slow down in winter either—it simply swaps picnickers for snowshoers. Rim Village is the starting point for ranger-led and self-guided snowshoe treks along the rim’s 31-mile-long circuit through forest and meadow. The deep blue bowl of the caldera is a constant companion, rimmed by the frosted faces of the crater’s surrounding cliffs. With a depth of 1943 feet [PDF], Crater Lake is the deepest in the U.S. as well as one of the deepest in the world. It’s also one of the country’s snowiest places with 40-plus feet of annual powder. 

Cascade Canyon Trail // Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton in winter offers hikers an alpine cathedral—think peaks serrated against the pale sky, moose browsing in frozen willows, and snow muffling your passage. When the park was officially established in 1929, trails like Cascade Canyon were among its first, offering maintained access to glacial valleys and alpine lakes. Snowshoe or ski along the trail’s 13-mile round trip, and you’ll pass frozen creeks, spruce forest, and mountain crests so close they seem to lean in and listen. Many animals will be hibernating, but you’ll likely see tracks left by bighorn sheep and wintering birds. And when the late-day sun hits the granite spires, the whole scene glows pink as a final reward for facing the cold.