Everyone is on the famous trail. The better trail is empty and right beside it.
The outdoor recreation boom has concentrated hikers on a small number of famous trails while leaving adjacent trails — sometimes more beautiful, almost always less crowded — nearly empty. The famous trail gets the Instagram posts. The trail beside it gets the actual experience. Here is where to find the second option.
Everyone Does Angel’s Landing in Zion. Take the West Rim Trail Instead.
Angel’s Landing requires a permit lottery and involves a crowded chain section with hundreds of people. The West Rim Trail from the same starting area goes to Cabin Spring and beyond with panoramic views, almost no crowds, and a longer but more rewarding wilderness experience.
Everyone Does the Half Dome hike in Yosemite. Try the Four Mile Trail.
The Half Dome permit lottery, the cable section crowds, and the 16-mile round trip make it a significant logistical undertaking. The Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point has one of the most spectacular views in Yosemite with dramatically less competition for it.
Everyone Does Delicate Arch in Arches. Try Devils Garden Instead.
Delicate Arch is worth seeing but involves a hot shadeless climb to reach an arch surrounded by dozens of other visitors. Devils Garden trail at the other end of the park passes eight significant arches with better variety, more shade, and a fraction of the foot traffic.
Everyone Does the Appalachian Trail’s Most Famous Sections. Try the Long Trail in Vermont.
The AT sections in the Smokies and in the White Mountains are extraordinarily popular and crowded at peak times. Vermont’s Long Trail — the oldest long-distance hiking trail in America, running the length of Vermont — has similar scenery with dramatically lower traffic.
Everyone Does the Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon. Try the South Kaibab.
Bright Angel is wider, has water stations, and is less steep — which makes it the obvious choice and therefore the crowded one. South Kaibab has more exposed ridge walking, more dramatic views, and significantly fewer people especially on weekday mornings.
Everyone Does the Kalalau Trail in Kauai. Consider the Alakai Swamp Trail.
Kalalau requires a permit and involves serious exposure and significant physical challenge. The Alakai Swamp Trail through the highest swamp in the world on the Kokee plateau gives access to one of the most otherworldly landscapes in Hawaii with almost no crowds.
Everyone Does the Highline Trail at Glacier. Try the Gunsight Pass Trail.
The Highline Trail at Logan Pass is the park’s most famous hike and its most crowded. The Gunsight Pass Trail from Lake McDonald to the Jackson Glacier area passes through comparable scenery with a fraction of the foot traffic.
Everyone Does the Narrows in Zion. Try Keyhole Canyon Instead.
The Narrows slot canyon wading experience in Zion is genuinely extraordinary — and genuinely packed with people wading in both directions in a narrow canyon. Keyhole Canyon in the same area requires a permit and a guide but provides a technical slot canyon experience with dramatically smaller groups.
Everyone Does the John Muir Trail. Try the Tahoe Rim Trail.
The JMT is one of the great hikes in the world and worth the permit process and planning it requires. The Tahoe Rim Trail — 165 miles around Lake Tahoe through alpine scenery that rivals the Sierra Nevada — is accessible without permits for most of its length and is dramatically underused relative to its beauty.
Find the trail next to the famous trail. It is almost always better.
