We had such an amazing adventures in 2022 and hiking is always something we love to do when we travel and close to home. It was really hard to choose but here are my top 5 hikes from 2022:
Plan de l’Aiguille to Mer de Glace – Chamonix, France
Plan de l’Aiguille to Mer de Glace
When in Chamonix we rode the cable car to Plan de l’Aiguille then hiked part of the way to Mer de Glace, we would have loved to do the entire hike but it’s 8 miles one way and the kids aren’t ready for that big of a hike (yet, next time!). This area is so incredibly beautiful, this takes the #1 spot for me.
5 lakes hike – Zermatt, Switzerland
The 5 lakes hike above Zermatt, Switzerland comes in second for it’s views of the Matterhorn and delicious mountain top restaurants. Why do we not have these hiker rest areas in the US, they are amazing. It was a bit brown given the time of year we were there, I would love to see it in the spring/summer with all the wildflowers! This is a 6.8 mile hike but it’s mostly down hill. Easy enough for our 4 and 6 year old kids.
Emerald Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
We love hiking to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s a bit tricky because the best time to go is in the summer or early fall when everyone else also wants to go. You have to get a special reservation to get to this part of the park and it is hard to come by. That said it is totally worth it. You pass three other alpine lakes before getting to Emerald Lake and the entire hike is gorgeous. It’s only 3.2 miles out and back but I would rate it as moderate difficulty given the altitude and steepness.
Broken Arch Trail- Arches National Park, Utah
We love visiting Arches National Park in Moab Utah, we are usually at least once a year. It’s hard to pick a favorite hike because they are all spectacular but Broken Arch Trail won out because it has interesting things to see and do all along the trail. Also Sand Arch is along this trail and it’s the kids’ favorite. The trail is an easy 1.7 mile trail and good for almost all ability levels.
Crescent Beach Trail – Cannon Beach, Oregon
We LOVE Cannon Beach doing anything on the Oregon Coast is amazing, and you can’t really go wrong hiking any trail here. We choose to go into Ecola State Park because it has beautiful trails, beaches and views of Haystack Rock. This is an easy 3.2 mile out and back hike. You can see the kids are dressed for rain and wind and this was July, Oregon coast weather can be cool even in the summer.
It was SO hard to pick just five, honorable mention goes to:
Not sure if this counts as a “hike” or just a tour of an historic site, but we walked over 5 miles and loved it so much! A place in Mexico deserved at least a mention here.
Lastly this is not a specific hike as there are many and you can’t go wrong. The “waterfall corridor” in the Colombia river gorge is a dream to hike in.
Please tell me some of your favorite hikes!
We can’t wait to return to some of our favorites and find some new ones in 2023.
Leave a Reply