The 10 best hikes for sunset viewing with an “easy” AllTrails rating

Abstract

• Simple US hikes supply gorgeous sundown views with minimal problem ranges
• Hikes in varied components of the US, like West Virginia and Hawaii, present picturesque westward sundown views
• Trails like Limitless Wall, Purple Hill, and Second Seashore supply scenic sundown spots for hikers to take pleasure in

Few hikes present lasting reminiscences fairly like these taken at sundown. Whereas the daytime are actually wonderful instances for having fun with the outside, night hikes can present a degree of peace and tranquility that may be more durable to return by earlier within the day (particularly in mild of the bigger crowds of hikers that are inclined to flock to common trails then).

The very best night hikes present expansive westward views from which hikers can watch a good looking sundown throughout the western horizon. Nevertheless, regardless of their apparent sights, sundown hikes could also be much less accessible to hikers with much less expertise or who’ve sure mobility limitations. Lots of the greatest hikes to view the sundown come from mountain summits or greater floor, equivalent to those found in some of the best state parks in the US. Hikes to those areas usually have more durable, or no less than reasonable, problem ranges. Consequently, sundown seekers searching for a simple hike to their sundown spot could not need to try extra strenuous trails.

Fortuitously, the USA has quite a few mountain climbing routes that function an “straightforward” problem score from AllTrails however however present wonderful, Instagram-worthy sundown views. These are the highest 10 straightforward US hikes that provide gorgeous sundown views.

10 Limitless Wall Path

A wide ranging view of the solar setting over New River Gorge

West Virginia’s New River Gorge National Park & Preserve options a few of the greatest spots to view each sunrises and sunsets anyplace east of the Mississippi. The park’s New River Gorge is a wide ranging canyon descending alongside tree-covered slopes of the encompassing Appalachian Mountains. And few spots within the Appalachian Mountains look higher when framed by the setting solar.

Hikers who need to get a terrific view of the solar setting over the gorge will need to flock to one of many park’s westward-facing lookouts. Fortuitously for hikers searching for a much less strenuous hike, among the best of those west-facing lookouts lies alongside the accessible Endless Wall Trail. Rated as an “straightforward” path by AllTrails.com, Limitless Wall Path takes hikers on a 3.2-mile loop by the park’s stunning forest surroundings.

Whereas the Limitless Wall Path’s 3.2 miles are well worth the hike, the actual centerpiece of the path is the Diamond Level Overlook. This overlook gives hikers with an expansive, breathtaking view of the New River Gorge and the encompassing mountains. And because of the lookout level’s westward orientation, this can be a notably good spot to get superior views of the solar setting over the gorge with out having to trudge by a extra strenuous hike.

9 Purple Hill Overlook Summit Path

A once-in-a-lifetime view of the solar setting over Maui

No journey to Hawaii will likely be full with out experiencing the grandeur of the solar setting over the Pacific from one of many Hawaiian Islands’ greatest vantage factors. Relating to Hawaiian locations, Haleakala National Park is likely one of the extra underrated locations in comparison with extra common spots like Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park and Mauna Loa. However with its huge volcanic wilderness and unbelievable views, Haleakala greater than holds its personal on the subject of Hawaiian surroundings.

The park sits atop Haleakala, a dormant shield volcano that occupies a lot of the southern fringe of the island of Maui. Haleakala’s giant defend form offers it the elevation to offer unbelievable sundown views whereas remaining flat sufficient to maintain the sunsets accessible to most hikers. One of many best trails in Haleakala for hikers trying to catch the sundown is the Red Hill Overlook Summit Trail.

This loop path is kind of brief, round 0.1 miles, and takes only some minutes to finish at a leisurely tempo. However throughout these couple of minutes, hikers will get a few of the greatest views of the island of Maui and the encompassing Pacific. At sundown, the Purple Hill Overlook Summit Path loop gives wonderful westward scenic views for hikers to absorb the glory of the solar setting over the volcanic slope and the ocean past.

8 West Seashore-Dune Succession Path

Catch the Chicago skyline from Indiana Dunes because the solar units over Lake Michigan

Due to North America’s Nice Lakes, residents of the Higher Midwest do not must journey to the Pacific Coast to expertise the solar setting over the water. The Nice Lakes themselves present considerable spots for hikers of all expertise ranges to enterprise at nightfall and watch the solar from a placid lake shore. Top-of-the-line spots round all the Nice Lakes to view the sundown is Indiana Dunes National Park. Due to the park’s giant dunes across the lakeshore, hikers have quite a few vantage factors to get clear views of the solar setting over Lake Michigan. A bonus of the sunsets at Indiana Dunes is the distinctive visible of the Chicago skyline silhouetted against the setting sun throughout the lake within the west.

Sundown seekers searching for a simple hike in Indiana Dunes ought to make their strategy to the West Beach-Dune Succession Trail. This path encompasses a easy, roughly one-mile loop that begins on the path’s parking space and circles by the encompassing forest space proper as much as the lake shore. Hikers on the West Seashore-Dune Succession Path can wait for a night exploring the park’s stunning forests and unbelievable dunes. Then, when the solar lastly begins to set, hikers can journey as much as the park’s West Seashore and get good views of the sundown over the lake.

7 Hatches Harbor And Race Level Lighthouse

Take pleasure in a uncommon view of the solar setting over the Atlantic from Cape Cod

There are few locations alongside the US Atlantic shoreline the place hikers can watch the solar setting over the ocean. Hatches Harbor and Race Point Lighthouse Trail is likely one of the few. Situated on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the Hatches Harbor and Race Level Lighthouse Path takes benefit of the distinctive geography of the Cape Cod Peninsula to offer guests with a uncommon view of the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

This 3.3-mile-long path has a number of sights, together with cozy walks alongside the seashore and nice pictures of the path’s namesake lighthouse. However within the night, hikers can look westward from Cape Cod and watch the solar setting throughout the Atlantic and the Massachusetts Mainland past. Hatches Harbor and Race Level Lighthouse Path has an “straightforward” score on AllTrails, which implies that most hikers can expertise this distinctive sundown view no matter talent, expertise degree, or incapacity.

6 Dune Life Nature Path

Take pleasure in a hassle-free hike to look at the sundown over the New Mexican desert

New Mexico’s White Sands National Park is a lesser-known however well-worthwhile spot to get unbelievable views of each the dawn and the sundown. As its title suggests, White Sands Nationwide Park options extraordinary white dunes unfold out in mesmerizing shows throughout the New Mexican panorama. The glimmering white gypsum in these dunes, mixed with the mountain peaks throughout the horizon, gives an ideal body during which hikers can watch the solar setting within the night.

Due to devoted upkeep by the Nationwide Park Service, White Sands Nationwide Park has a number of well-maintained trails for hikers to entry the park’s greatest sundown viewing factors. Dune Life Nature Trail is the very best of those trails for hikers trying to entry the sundown with out having to fret a couple of troublesome or strenuous hike.

Rated as an “straightforward” hike by AllTrails, Dune Life Nature Path encompasses a roughly one-mile loop that takes hikers on a terrific introductory tour of the park’s dunes and surrounding panorama. When night comes, the path has wonderful westward-facing vantage factors the place hikers can pause and take one of the vital singular and memorable sundown views on this planet.

5 Balsam Nature Path To Mount Mitchell

Expertise the sundown behind the Blue Ridge Mountains from the very best level in Appalachia

The Appalachian Mountains have a few of the greatest sundown views on the US East Coast, and what spot in the whole mountain vary could be higher to look at the sundown than its highest level? Mount Mitchell, the very best mountain in the whole Appalachian Vary, is situated within the magnificent physiographic region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the place rolling mountain peaks and alluring mists present the well-known “blue tinge” that offers these mountains their title.

Mount Mitchell is situated a brief drive from town of Asheville, North Carolina, so hikers searching for unbelievable sundown views do not must journey removed from civilization. Mount Mitchell State Park’s Balsam Nature Trail is the right hike for a leisurely, straightforward stroll by the mountain’s expansive forests. However at sundown, hikers could make their strategy to the path’s statement level to catch the once-in-a-lifetime view of the sun setting over the Blue Ridge Mountains from the angle of Mount Mitchell’s summit.

4 Boicourt Overlook Path

Watch the solar setting over North Dakota’s badlands from a fair, accessible path

Regardless of their title, the “Badlands” of the Dakotas supply a few of America’s biggest views of nature. The term “badlands,” on the whole, refers to distinctive landscapes the place the sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soil of comparatively flat prairie land have been eroded over time into advanced geological formations like buttes, hoodoos, and ravines. Due to their distinctive geography, North and South Dakota function a few of the greatest (and most stunning) examples of badlands on this planet.

North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park is an underrated vacation spot for hikers who need to go to America’s badlands in particular person. One of many park’s best hikes is the Boicourt Overlook Trail. With a size of solely 0.8 miles, the Boicourt Overlook Path covers comparatively flat terrain however doesn’t skimp on unbelievable views of the encompassing badlands panorama. And when night comes, the path’s west-facing expanses present hikers with beautiful views of the solar setting over the tough however unusually stunning North Dakota panorama. Guests at sundown can also be fortunate sufficient to catch sight of a few of the park’s most famous wildlife, together with American bison and wild horses.

3 Window View Path

Take within the night glow among the many desert and mountains of West Texas’ Large Bend

Big Bend National Park will get its title from the “large bend” of the Rio Grande because it flows by the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas. Throughout its route, the river travels by deep, rocky canyons, large desert plains, and distinctive ecosystems that at this time mark the park’s considerable pure magnificence. These distinctive desert options additionally make Large Bend Nationwide Park a great location to view the solar setting over a rugged desert wilderness in a novel show with none true parallel anyplace else on Earth.

Large Bend Nationwide Park has a number of well-maintained trails for sundown hikers to absorb a few of the park’s greatest night views. These desirous about a hike of a decrease problem degree can take a look at the park’s Window View Trail. This path consists of a mere 0.4 miles of flat, paved terrain looping across the park’s well-known “window formation” at the Chisnos Mountains. Come night, hikers on this path will likely be handled to majestic views of the solar setting throughout the huge desert panorama and the mountains rising on all sides.

2 Taggart Lake Loop

A peaceable however majestic view of the solar setting behind the Grand Teton Mountains

Whereas they will not be the very best, essentially the most distant, or essentially the most difficult, Wyoming’s Grand Tetons are maybe essentially the most picturesque of any mountain vary in the USA. As a subrange of the bigger Rocky Mountains, the Grand Tetons rise dramatically from the flat Wyoming plains to the east and create gorgeous views that nearly look unreal. And whereas they’re actually a sight to behold in any respect hours of the day, the Grand Tetons tackle a specific magnificence at sundown that needs to be seen to be believed.

Most hikers who need to discover the Grand Tetons at sundown can entry lots of the well-maintained trails in Grand Teton National Park. These trails function many ranges of problem, from brief, straightforward hikes to longer jaunts for extra skilled hikers. Sundown seekers who need to restrict their exertion whereas trying to find the right mountain sundown can go to Grand Teton Nationwide Park’s Taggart Lake Loop Trail. Although the path is round 3.8 miles lengthy, it covers comparatively flat terrain and options a number of clear markings. Attributable to these components, AllTrails charges the Taggart Lake Loop as an “straightforward” hike.

The path loops by a few of the park’s greatest mountain peaks to the shores of its namesake, Taggart Lake. From the lake’s jap shores, hikers can look west and watch the solar setting over the lake and the mountains past. Right here, hikers can absorb one of many notably mesmerizing results of the Grand Tetons at sundown. From the Taggart Lake Loop’s lookout factors, hikers can see the enchanting impact of the solar’s rays breaking over the mountain peaks and shining by any clouds within the sky in an unbelievable visible show.

1 Second Seashore Path

Expertise the sundown over the Pacific from one of the vital stunning coastal environments on Earth

Hikers in the USA who need to watch the solar setting over the ocean will probably make their strategy to one in every of a whole lot of wonderful mountain climbing trails alongside America’s Pacific Shoreline. With 1000’s of miles of shoreline and numerous mountain climbing trails, sundown seekers can take their choose when searching for an ideal sundown scene over the Pacific.

However one specific path that mixes unbelievable views with restricted problem is the Second Seashore Path in Washington’s Olympic National Park. Situated west of Seattle alongside Washington’s Pacific shoreline, Olympic Nationwide Park preserves a few of the most unusual surroundings on the whole West Coast. Not solely does Olympic Nationwide Park embrace pristine seashores, but it surely additionally options gorgeous alpine forests, expansive views of the Cascade Mountains, and a few of the world’s few examples of temperate rainforest.

Second Beach Trail is likely one of the simpler hikes alongside the park’s coastal area. Hikers can benefit from the path’s 2.1-mile tour by deep and peaceable coastal forest out to the picture-perfect sandy seashore and the quite a few rock formations that dot the park’s shoreline. At sundown, hikers can chill out on the seashore and benefit from the fantastic views of the solar setting over the Pacific Ocean whereas experiencing the night time sky rising over the mountains and forests to the east.