I am looking for good/long hike recommendations in the US. Group of friends like to travel and do a challenging destination hike each year. We're mostly mid 40s, in good shape (marathon/ultra runners) and we'll train, but not elite athletes or anything.

So far we've done...
Grand Canyon R2R
Mt. Whitney ascent
10-15 mile Zion hikes, including Angels Landing (although a few said no thanks on that section).

Basically, we're looking for...
-Maybe 20-40mi or multiple 10s would be considered
-Challenging but nothing that requires mountaineering skills or any technical equipment beyond crampons. So, something like Rainier is probably out.
-A trail that can be followed. Come prepared, but no one is experienced wilderness-men or navigators.
-Scenic a must
-Probably no overnight camping, but can maybe be convinced. But no issues with hiking overnight if it's reasonably sane to do so (we did that on both GC and Whitney).
-Entire trip including travel and maybe a little R&R time in a nearby city doable in 4-5 days.

Thanks for any recs!

All my ideas are probably a little short but they are near other trails so you could double up.

Buckskin Gulch in Utah
Toulemne Meadows in Yosemite
Trails in North Cascades National Park (Sahale, Thornton Lakes)
Trails in Glacier NP (Highline, Grinnell Glacier, Iceberg)

Mt Elbert in CO - if you want to bag another 14er....

Paintbrush Canyon - Cascade Canyon Loop - Grand Teton NP - 19 mile loop trail.....high on my list to complete; you can imagine the epic scenery on this trail

I'll second Yosemite, even if you don't do Half Dome. Plenty of other challenging hikes.

The problem with Half Dome is it's only available in the summer, which is peak attendance. Given the routes into/out of the park from nearby lodging areas, I think this would be miserable during that time. Just too many people and too much traffic.

We went in mid-April. The Yosemite Falls hike (all the way to upper) and the Nevada/Vernal falls hike would both meet your criteria and should be available during less crowded times. April-May is peak waterfall viewing, too.

My "trip report" is here: https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/3455334

The nearest city is Fresno. Not really an R&R tourist destination. We spent our entire trip in Yosemite/Mariposa Grove and just alternated more strenuous hiking days with more laid-back sightseeing ones. There is more than enough in Yosemite to keep you occupied.

I would be remiss to not suggest Havasu Falls. This IS an overnight camping trip, though. We did it through Wildland Trekking, who provided all the camping gear, food, and obtained the permits.

It's 10 miles just to get down to the campsite. Then we had several days of pretty challenging hikes (from the campsite) to the various different falls. You are also totally off the grid while you're there. The last mile of hike to get back out is brutal, considering everything you do in the preceding days.

It's an absolutely epic experience, though, and one I'd consider doing again.

We did that hike the week of Thanksgiving. You wouldn't want to do it in the summer months - heat would be way too brutal.

If you're interested, I can post a link to my pics.
Edit: found my trip report. I forgot I even did one.
https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/3001895

Another good location is Sedona. That might fit your bill perfectly. The Devils Bridge hike is fantastic. We focused on shorter hikes, but there are longer ones. Much more to do in town. Again, just be mindful of the season and avoid summer.

**Edit, sorry missed you stated US based, I'll leave below for your consideration** You should look into Canada, they have a really nice backcountry network.

You could link some primitive hut to hut hikes for a nice multi day trip. You should start here for research: https://alpineclubofcanada.ca/

I don't have first hand experience with the hut system, but have looked into it.

I can 100% recommend shadow lake lodge and skoki for an amazing experience. Do 2 nights if you can and use these as base camp. It's awesome, you will love it.

You could also do Smokey mountain, LeConte as for a similar experience as above. It's epic in a different way. You can also link LeConte to Appalachian trail and use primitive covered shelters to spread out and get more miles in. I have done the lodge and shelters, it's a good way to get out and not be burdened with gear.

Have you thought about doing some segments of John Muir?

Run up Guadalupe Peak.

Thru-hike the Enchantments. It's 17 miles. You can overnight if you pull a lottery permit, but doable in a day.

Specifically, early fall during the Larches. Top views I've ever had hiking.

https://climberkyle.com/2023/09/30/enchantments-sideways-thru-hike/

The Pilot said:

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4 pass loop in CO

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This was my thought

Thanks all!

A lot to go through - Half Dome came up, but a few in the group have already done it.

TXTransplant said:

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Another good location is Sedona. That might fit your bill perfectly. The Devils Bridge hike is fantastic. We focused on shorter hikes, but there are longer ones. Much more to do in town. Again, just be mindful of the season and avoid summer.

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I live in AZ currently, and have done the Devil's Bridge hike twice, and love the amazing view once you get up to and on the arch. It's a great place to take people that haven't been to Sedona before, IMO.

But I'm not sure it fits the 20-40 mile hike description of the OPs request. It's only a 5-6ish mile hike for the most part, and 90% of it is on relatively flat terrain, so it's mostly not any challenge. The last 10% or so involves elevation gain, and then standing in line for 30 minutes to get your picture out on the arch.

It is scenic and has a trail that can be followed though, so there's that. And you can hang in Sedona afterwards for food and drink (though much of Sedona's "nightlife" closes very early).

I was thinking there was a longer part of the hike you could do (that we skipped). But maybe my memory is wrong and it's not as long of a trail as I thought. We went really early in the morning to miss the crowds, so we did the shortest version possible.

I also misread the OP - saw the part about the 10-15 mile hikes and focused on that.

Havasu falls would not meet the 20-40 mile criteria. The longest part is the 10 mile hike in; the others are probably 5-8 miles each.

I'm in my 40s and in pretty good shape, but multiple 20-40 mile hikes over a few days is way too much for me…haha!

The Beaten Path in the Beartooth Mountains just outside Yellowstone would be a great one to look into. This would be a multi-day through hike, but epic scenery in a cool part of the country.

Do the South Rim at Big Bend. Did this with Aggie buddies in October. We did three other hikes there.

Stayed at Study Butte which is right outside of the park.

Southlake said:

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Run up Guadalupe Peak.

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not sure an 8 mile "run" really fits the bill OP is asking for.

Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain NP
Pitamakin-Dawson Loop in Glacier NP

Aggie87 said:

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TXTransplant said:

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Another good location is Sedona. That might fit your bill perfectly. The Devils Bridge hike is fantastic. We focused on shorter hikes, but there are longer ones. Much more to do in town. Again, just be mindful of the season and avoid summer.

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I live in AZ currently, and have done the Devil's Bridge hike twice, and love the amazing view once you get up to and on the arch. It's a great place to take people that haven't been to Sedona before, IMO.

But I'm not sure it fits the 20-40 mile hike description of the OPs request. It's only a 5-6ish mile hike for the most part, and 90% of it is on relatively flat terrain, so it's mostly not any challenge. The last 10% or so involves elevation gain, and then standing in line for 30 minutes to get your picture out on the arch.

It is scenic and has a trail that can be followed though, so there's that. And you can hang in Sedona afterwards for food and drink (though much of Sedona's "nightlife" closes very early).

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Hah, well actually also going to Sedona this Spring Break with the family and this is on the list. Although the 5-6mi is probably approaching the limits of my wife and kids. We'll see.

Have you looked at something like a Crested Butte to Aspen or Aspen to CB hike?

Hike Crested Butte to Aspen

SJEAg said:

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Aggie87 said:

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TXTransplant said:

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Another good location is Sedona. That might fit your bill perfectly. The Devils Bridge hike is fantastic. We focused on shorter hikes, but there are longer ones. Much more to do in town. Again, just be mindful of the season and avoid summer.

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I live in AZ currently, and have done the Devil's Bridge hike twice, and love the amazing view once you get up to and on the arch. It's a great place to take people that haven't been to Sedona before, IMO.

But I'm not sure it fits the 20-40 mile hike description of the OPs request. It's only a 5-6ish mile hike for the most part, and 90% of it is on relatively flat terrain, so it's mostly not any challenge. The last 10% or so involves elevation gain, and then standing in line for 30 minutes to get your picture out on the arch.

It is scenic and has a trail that can be followed though, so there's that. And you can hang in Sedona afterwards for food and drink (though much of Sedona's "nightlife" closes very early).

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Hah, well actually also going to Sedona this Spring Break with the family and this is on the list. Although the 5-6mi is probably approaching the limits of my wife and kids. We'll see.

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There are plenty of shorter hikes to do! We took it easy on that trip and didn't do anything too strenuous.

Spring break will be a bit crowded, and when we were there they had a park and ride system going for the most popular trailheads. You parked and then a bus took you to the trailhead. Some were more convenient than others in terms of parking and bus scheduling. Just requires a little planning ahead.

A top 5 hike of mine is the burroughs mountain loop in Mt Rainier. 9.5 miles, 2,600 elevation gain.

https://imgur.com/a/QDoKBOz

Lots of awesome recs so far: Paintbrush canyon, Enchantments, N Cascade NP. I know you said US, but you should look into Canada too. Lake O'Hara is my top pick.

I started this thread a while back. Wasn't looking for especially long hikes, just ones with great views.

Might be some good ideas here. There are certainly some great pictures!

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/3435480

Oops, looks like you're looking for stateside hikes

Appalachian Trail?

Bachelor99 said:

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Mt Elbert in CO - if you want to bag another 14er....

Paintbrush Canyon - Cascade Canyon Loop - Grand Teton NP - 19 mile loop trail.....high on my list to complete; you can imagine the epic scenery on this trail

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Leadville, for sure.

Day 1 - 5 mile run
Day 2 - ran the 11.6 mile loop
Day 3 - 6 mile hike
Day 4 - Mount Elbert - ~10 miles
Day 5 - scenic drive, short hike
Day 6 - Mount Massive - ~14 miles

I also enjoyed Taos
Wheeler Peak - ~9 miles

Applying for a Whitney permit

Think my crew is wimping out this year and some want to do a more relaxed hiking trip in CO and add some rafting. But definitely running some of these by them.

Good luck on the Whitney permit! We sent in 7 applications and only one of us was approved...but then again getting a group of 7 in September was probably a miracle.

SJEAg said:

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Think my crew is wimping out this year and some want to do a more relaxed hiking trip in CO and add some rafting. But definitely running some of these by them.

Good luck on the Whitney permit! We sent in 7 applications and only one of us was approved...but then again getting a group of 7 in September was probably a miracle.

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I only want to take 3 people at most. I suppose my chances go up if I select the entire permit season.

A buddy and me did the Teton Crest Trail in WY and it was amazing. About 35 miles over 3-4 days.

If you can't get the permit you can plan to camp just outside of the National Park which are just as nice

94chem said:

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SJEAg said:

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Think my crew is wimping out this year and some want to do a more relaxed hiking trip in CO and add some rafting. But definitely running some of these by them.

Good luck on the Whitney permit! We sent in 7 applications and only one of us was approved...but then again getting a group of 7 in September was probably a miracle.

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I only want to take 3 people at most. I suppose my chances go up if I select the entire permit season.

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If I recall you select 10 potential dates and can't just ask for whatever they got...definitely go for mid-week and not near holidays. You're not supposed to, but each individual in the party CAN put in their own requests and you go with the winner...that's what we did. We did pick different slightly different days and submitted at slightly different times to make it less obvious, but thinking 7 people from Sugar Land probably stood out to anyone who cared to notice. But you don't need to list names of your party until after you win.

Also, be careful about going early summer unless you're prepared to deal with a lot of snow/ice. I think sometimes the switchback section isn't even open until near August (and I think they recently got a ton of snow out there). Workarounds of course, but definitely throws some mountaineering skills into the mix.

mid week is much easier to get. I got pulled multiple years and had to decline b/c we had other stuff come up, but when we were able to go, we summited on a tues or wed. Also, it seems to be a bit easier to get a 24 hour permit than a multi-day. I never got pulled for a multi-day. That said, doing the hike in one push vs mult-day is also more difficult.

The Na Pali Coast trail in Kauai or the Kuli'ou'ou ridge trail on Oahu are two great ones in Hawaii that seem to fit the bill.. challenging but single day hikes with amazing scenery.