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TIME REQUIRED: about five to six hours roundtrip DIFFICULTY: moderate-to-challenging Jon Massie / Alamy Stock Photo MOUNT LECONTE (GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, TENNESSEE) Several
trails lead to the summit of this 6,593-foot mountain, and we suggest the Alum Cave Trail. Yes, it’s the shortest route to the summit (about 10 miles roundtrip and 3,000 feet of elevation
gain), but it’s also especially scenic, including Alum Cave Bluffs, showy rhododendrons and Arch Rock. Just before you reach the summit, you pass romantic LeConte Lodge; built in the 1920s,
it’s a rustic resort of cabins and a restaurant, the only accommodations in the park. The lodge makes a great base camp, but it’s rustic and you’ll need to reserve well in advance (though it
offers snacks and pack lunches to day hikers). TIME REQUIRED: about six hours roundtrip DIFFICULTY: challenging SHORTER OPTION: a 4.4-mile roundtrip hike on the Alum Cave Trail TMI / Alamy
Stock Photo WILDROSE PEAK (DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA) A maintained trail leads to the summit of 9,064-foot Wildrose Peak, an 8.4-mile (roundtrip) route with an
elevation gain of about 2,200 feet. At the trailhead you’ll find 10 striking (but surreal) beehive-shaped charcoal kilns that were used to help fuel silver mine smelters in the late 1800s.
The trail travels through a lovely pinyon-juniper forest characteristic of much of the Southwestern U.S. At higher elevations, look for long-lived bristlecone pines. Reaching the bald summit
requires negotiating only one short, steep pitch of trail, most of it above tree line. Look to the east to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the continental U.S. (282 feet below sea
level), then turn around to see Mount Whitney to the west, the highest (14,505 feet). Remarkable! This high-elevation trail is a good choice in summer, when most of the rest of the park
swelters. TIME REQUIRED: About five hours roundtrip DIFFICULTY: moderate-to-challenging SHORTER OPTION: Stop 2.9 miles up, where you’ll find great views of Death Valley and Badwater Basin.
Dennis Frates / Alamy Stock Photo LASSEN PEAK (LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA) Summiting 10,457-foot Lassen Peak, the park’s namesake volcano, is the glamour hike in this park and
many of your new best friends will join you for this very doable and satisfying trek, about 5 miles roundtrip, with an elevation gain of 2,000 feet. Much of the trail is a persistent series
of switchbacks that climb moderately, but the sweeping views demand regular stops for photos (and allow for a few deep breaths). Hemlocks are found at the lower elevations, but yield to a
krummholz of stunted white bark pines higher up. At about 9,000 feet you reach the alpine zone, where only low-lying vegetation can survive the severe winter winds and weather. At the summit
you see the dramatic remains of the park’s other volcanoes. Reverse your course back to the trailhead, greeting other climbers with encouraging words.