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Kristen May

Adventurer, hiker, and photographer from Portland, Oregon.

I spend a lot of time camping throughout this country, and Alabama Hills has to be my favorite spot of all time. It does get VERY windy, which kept us up the nights we were there in May, but the views made it all worth it. There are so many creative and hidden campsites around this place so make sure you really take the time to find your perfect spot. The town nearby has a small grocery store and cell service, but Alabama Hills itself has no services or cell reception.

This place is definitely worth checking out if you are in the area. The tunnel is just the right amount of cool but creepy to make it fun to walk though.

This is definitely my favorite hike in this area, its challenging enough to get a good workout and offers some of the best views around here. It gets pretty busy on weekends so be sure to arrive early. I've stuck to weekdays and have mostly had the entire trail and overlook to myself.

This trail may be exhausting and very hot when done in the warmer months but it is 100% worth your time. It is not only beautiful but is also a really fun trail.

This arch is definitely pretty, but the crowds make it harder to enjoy. If you're at this trail and are physically able take the time to hike the primitive trail to the other arches in this part of the park.

This was my favorite hike in all of Moab. It can be a little hard to follow at times but other than that it's amazing. The ladders and climbing that is required makes this even more fun.

You can't go wrong with this hike. It's one of the most fun and most beautiful ones in all of the DC area. The rock scrambling is a lot of fun and can be tricky in parts so be sure to wear sturdy shoes. I've seen countless people here try to hike it in sandals with not so great results. The only downside is this place really draws in the crowds.

My favorite hike in all of Maryland. This is a challenging and fun hike that gets very steep in parts so you truly can get a great workout. The views from Annapolis and Black Rocks are both the best in the area. If you are into climbing and bouldering Annapolis rocks is a perfect place to do that.

The falls themselves are beautiful, but this is one of the most crowded places I've visited. Unless you want to swim here I strongly discourage you from going on a summer day as it fills up with loud teenagers swimming. On a cool fall or spring day however it is fairly secluded.

A fun hike, I always take the way that leads you more up into the mountains, instead of tuning right at the fork in the trail I always go straight and take the way in that is full of some fun rocks to boulder and more challenging hills.

This is definitely my favorite hike in this park, the views from Chimney Rock are very beautiful. I always try and go on a weekday to avoid the weekend crows.

This hike was my favorite I've done in all of Moab. The trail is a little hard to follow but it's definitely manageable and worth the trip to see. Some parts of the trail could be tricky to less experienced hikers so I would suggest being in fairly good shape to do this hike! The views are some of the best in the area.

I loved this hike and the views, it was easy and didn't take long at all which was nice for a day when we had a lot else to do. The only thing that makes it a little less exciting were the massive crowded standing on and around the arch making it nearly impossible to get a photo without anyone in it.

This park is always worth a trip to if you're in the Vegas area. Or in my case you drive an extra 5 hours to see it because it was that amazing. Elephant rock was one of the coolest parts of the park and the easiest part to access.

Fun hike to this famous arch. Hike it early to beat the crowds.

Very neat trail, only draw back was the crowds.

Great Hike! Hiking in the slot canyon was very cool, definitely a good place to learn how to hike in slot canyons.

Honestly this was one of my favorite hikes I've ever done, defintely a must do if you are able to.