Explore 376 write-ups tagged with Free Trails

For a relaxing and fascinating hike in Central Oregon, take an easy stroll along the Metolius River. Leaving Lower Canyon Creek Campground, West Metolius River Trail quickly passes fantastical springs where water gushes from a riverbank. Summer wildflowers line the dirt single track as you continue downriver past calms and rapids. Follow the lovely river for 2. ...Read more.

Southeast of Lake Placid, you'll find a popular hike to a pair of scenic summits. Cascade Mountain (4,098 feet) and Porter Mountain (4,059 feet) are the thirty-sixth and thirty-eighth tallest peaks in the Adirondack Mountains and are members of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. Cascade and Porter are two of the easiest High Peaks to reach, thanks to maintained trails and a relatively manageable hike length (that still delivers a workout). ...Read more.

Take a trip to Arroyo Sequit Park to hike a short loop through a tucked-away pocket of the Santa Monica Mountains, The park is situated along Mulholland Highway inland of Leo Carrillo State Park and below the range's most rugged peaks. The surroundings for this 2.05 miles hike are beautiful. Arroyo Sequit Nature Trail has 285 feet of elevation change, winding over and around the upper reaches of a canyon carved by the East Fork of Arroyo Sequit. ...Read more.

While it is one of the more inland hikes in Morro Bay State Park, the loop formed by connecting Chumash Trail, Crespi Trail, and Hutash Trail delivers ample coastal views as it leads to a lovely grove of coast live oaks. This lollipop loop covers 2.9 miles with 420 feet of elevation change. Hutash Trail can be trimmed from the circuit to lower the round trip distance to 2. ...Read more.

An interesting chain of conical volcanoes, or volcanic plugs called the Morros, graces San Luis Obispo County. Terrace Hill is one of the smaller and harder to identify Morros within the city of San Luis Obispo County. Unlike the other Morros, Terrace Hill has a broad flat summit. The top of the hill was removed for use as construction material in the 1920s, leaving behind a flat mesa-like mountaintop. ...Read more.

A two-for-one special is going on at Cape Meares State Park. Here's the deal – two short hikes for the price of one (which is free). Take one trail to a well preserved more-than-a-century-old lighthouse on the Oregon coast, followed immediately by another short trail to a sprawling spruce worthy of its name, the Octopus Tree. Combine Cape Meares Lighthouse Trail and Octopus Tree Trail for hike that's less than a mile round trip with 180 feet of elevation change and oodles of ocean views. ...Read more.

Cape Kiwanda is the southernmost of the 3 Capes in the Tillamook area on the Oregon Coast. An Oregon State Parks Natural Area protects this short, dramatic point. The park is too small to have a visitor center or hiking trails, but is a scenic spot for a walk in the sand. This short trek is 1-mile round trip (or more), beginning from a large beach on the south side of Cape Kiwanda. ...Read more.

Marquam Nature Park is walking distance from downtown Portland, but is tucked away and remains less well known than other parks in the West Hills. Marquam Nature Park provides ample woodland solitude, despite its proximity to downtown. To explore most of this underused parcel of the West Hills near OHSU, create a a 4.25-mile loop with 500 feet of elevation change that combines multiple trails: Shelter Loop Trail Marquam Trail Flicker Trail Towhee Trail Upper Marquam Hill Trail The loop is oddly shaped and nearly connects at two points along the way, allowing the hike to be shortened to 1. ...Read more.

Shevlin Loop Trail explores pine forests along Tumalo Creek in Shevlin Park, which is just four miles west of downtown Bend. This pleasant woodland trail is mostly easy with a few rolling sections along the bluffs that border the creek. The loop is 4.75 miles long and explores much of Shevlin Park's 647 acres. The hike has 240 feet of elevation change and crosses lovely Tumalo Creek at two points. ...Read more.

Archie Briggs Natural Area presents views over a dramatic stretch of the Deschutes River north of Bend. The river makes a sweeping curve beneath tall cliffs of volcanic rock and is backed by grand mountains like Black Butte and Mount Jefferson. Gaze down the canyon from atop cliffs on the south side of the curve in the river by an intersection of Deschutes River Trail and Archie Briggs Canyon Trail. ...Read more.