Some people are foodies, and some are beach bums.

Brent and I are hikers.

Sometimes we’re also foodies and beach bums — and sometimes bikers too.

But our favorite thing in the world is simply walking. Whenever we arrive at a new destination, we immediately check out all the best nearby walks and hikes.

(Incidentally, what’s the difference between a “walk” and a “hike”? For our purposes, a walk is on a paved path.)

Here are seven of our favorite hikes and walks from the past eight years of nomading all around the world:

1. Arches National Park in Utah, United States

There weren’t many upsides to Covid, but when we returned to the U.S. for six months, it gave us the chance to explore a number of the country’s national parks — including some of southern Utah’s five national parks.

Fun fact: These five parks are nicknamed the “Mighty Five.” But my absolute favorite was Arches National Park.

Why You Should Hike It ✅

✅ Duh — the arches! The park contains over 2,000 natural sandstone “arches” that were formed over the past several million years as wind, water, and ice eroded the rock. Why are all these arches here? It’s all about the particular rock — delicate sandstone in which the iron minerals have been “oxidized,” or chemically changed when exposed to oxygen and moisture. The resulting red color is genuinely astonishing and is especially beautiful at sunrise and sunset.

✅ Arches isn’t a massive park — there are just over twenty miles of actual trails and only fifteen designated trails. But that means you can do much of the park in just a few days — and you don’t have to drive long between the trailheads. (If you have mobility issues, this is one national park where you can see quite a bit right from the car.)

✅ I’d like to tell you my three favorite trails, but honestly, Arches is such a fantastic place that you can’t really go wrong anywhere. But I especially loved Devil’s Garden Trail because entering it felt like walking into another world. It includes two of the park’s most iconic arches, Landscape Arch and Double O Arch.

What’s Not So Great ❌

❌ The desert heat can be extreme in the summer months, and because the park is so small, it can get very crowded during the peak months of April, May, September, and October.

How to Get There ✈️🚂🚗⛴️

It’s four hours by car from Salt Lake City, or an hour and a half from Grand Junction, Colorado. This is America, so public transit options are minimal.

2. The Skyline Walk in Bath, England

Bath, England, is itself an extremely walkable city, which we highly recommend.

But you can also walk around the entire city — which is located in a valley-like depression — on something called the Bath Skyline Walk.

Full disclosure: it’s only partially paved, so this is technically a hike as well.

Why You Should Walk and Hike It ✅

✅ The views! The six-mile circular route offers panoramic views of the city, including majestic Bath Abbey. But just as beautiful is the English countryside. You’ll see sheep grazing, country cottages, and lovely fields.

✅ If possible, come in the autumn to take advantage of the spectacular colors.

What’s Not So Great ❌

❌ The walk can be muddy. Hey, it’s England! Come with the proper footwear. Also, it isn’t always that well-marked — but getting a bit lost now and then may be part of the charm. It’s also a great way to meet locals.

How to Get There ✈️🚂🚗⛴️

From the “Bath Spa” train station, walk approximately one mile to the entrance at Bathwick Meadows. For a complete description of the Bath Skyline Walk and other access points, visit the National Trust.

3. Various Sea-Side Walks in Sydney, Australia

Sydney, one of the world’s most beautiful cities, is situated on and around Port Jackson — which is better known as Sydney Harbour and is arguably the largest natural harbor in the world.

Our favorite part of the city may have been all the sea-side walks along that harbor and the coast. The city has forty “official” walks for a total of (at least) 315 kilometers of paved walkway. But most of the trails connect, so if you’re near water, you can pretty much walk in either direction — until you’re outside the city!

Why You Should Walk There ✅

✅ The endless variety! The city has preserved a remarkable amount of its shoreline for public access, and the scenery is changeable and astounding — from sandy beaches to rocky headlands to lovely coves. One of the best legs is Bondi to Coogee. You can also do the “Bloody Long Walk,” which is an annual event that challenges participants to walk 35 km along some of Sydney’s most famous coastline in a single day.

✅ Better still, most of this is in the city, so you can stop periodically for a cup of tea or a typical Australian lunch of a meat pie and chips.

💡Bonus Tip: Just south of the city is the Royal National Park, which has even more great walking trails.

What’s Not So Great ❌

❌ Those bloody long walks can also be bloody hot! The Aussie sun is intense, so pack your sunblock and drink plenty of water.

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How to Get There ✈️🚂🚗⛴️

Once you arrive in the city, head to almost any of the beaches in the harbor or along the coast, and you’ll find one of the walks.

4. The Ozette Loop in Washington State

The Ozette Loop, located on the Pacific Coast of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, is too well known to be called “a hidden gem.” But because it’s so remote — about five hours from Seattle, often on winding roads — it can still be called “an incredibly beautiful gem that is very difficult to get to.”

But it is absolutely worth it.

Why You Should Hike It✅

✅ This 9-mile loop has three separate parts: three miles in through lush forests and boggy swamps; three miles along a dramatic, rugged coastline dotted with rocky seastacks; then three miles out again. You can make the loop in either direction. (Brent also once hiked many miles south along this same beach.)

✅ The forest is fantastic, but the real reason to come here is that oh-so-dramatic coastline, which is inaccessible by car and feels utterly pristine. This beach area was chosen as a hike because the entire length is passable even at high tide, but you are still walking on the beach — and it can be fairly rocky.

✅ The area is teeming with wildlife. We’ve seen seals, sea lions, otters, a black bear, and once we even watched a deer give birth to a fawn on the beach!

What’s Not So Great ❌

❌ The area is part of the Olympic Rainforest, so it can be wet and foggy. This is absolutely part of the beauty, but dress accordingly.

How to Get There ✈️🚂🚗⛴️

From Seattle, it’s about a five-hour drive, one way. Oh, and yeah, this is America again, so there are no public transit options — except for that ferry across Puget Sound.

5. Various Walks Around Lake Como, Italy

Unlike many famous destinations, Lake Como is exactly as beautiful as advertised. But along with its beauty, it’s known for the many charming towns and villages that line its shores — places like Como, Bellagio, and Laglio, where George Clooney has his villa.

What some folks don’t know is that most of these towns and villages are connected by a network of often-ancient trails and paved pathways that make for some absolutely unforgettable hikes and walks.

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Why You Should Walk and Hike There ✅

✅ The views and the history! These days, Lake Como’s towns are (mostly) connected by roads and sometimes trains, but hundreds of years ago, these pathways were often the only ways to get between the villages (other than by boat). It’s almost impossible not to be transported back in time.

✅ Here are three of our favorite walks and hikes:

• Passeggiata dei Poeti, or the Poets Walk, starts in the town of Como and ends seven kilometers later in the hilltop village of Brunate — also accessible via funicular. The trail is fairly steep, but it’s marked with famous quotes from poets to inspire you as you climb. Bonus: From Brunate, you can keep hiking all the way to the town of Torno back down along the lake.

• Via Verde, or the Green Way, is mostly cobblestone and much easier to walk — almost five kilometers along Lake Como's western shore, connecting the villages of Moltrasio, Carate Urio, and Laglio.

• Sentiero del Viandante, or the Wayfarer’s Trail, stretches 45 kilometers along the northern part of the lake, but don’t let the length discourage you — it can be done in legs. We did the Varenna Walk to Castello di Vezio section, and the first half was some of the most beautiful scenery we’d ever seen.

  
  💡Bonus Tip: In Varenna, don’t miss Orrido di Bellano, a spectacular — and spectacularly narrow! — canyon that you explore on suspended walkways.

What’s Not So Great ❌

❌ Lake Como can be expensive and is growing increasingly crowded in its summer high season.

How to Get There ✈️🚂🚗⛴️

Como is easily reached by frequent trains from Milan, and all of these hikes are accessible via ferry runs on the lake.

6. Sawtooth Mountain Hikes in Skagway, Alaska

Skagway, in the upper part of Southeast Alaska, was once the gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush, which is the setting for Jack London’s most famous novels.

Fun fact: By the time the news of this particular gold rush reached America’s newspapers in the “Lower 48,” most of the gold had already been claimed. Of the 100,000 prospectors estimated to have traveled here, only a few hundred got rich.

But there is still “gold” in them thar hills — in the form of some spectacular hikes that are easily accessible from literally right outside the small town of Skagway.

Why You Should Hike There ✅

✅ Well, the incredible beauty of the Sawtooth Mountains, which rise almost straight up from Chilikoot Inlet. But the best part of these hikes is that they’re incredibly accessible from any Alaskan cruise that stops in Skagway. Skip the White Pass & Yukon Route (tourist) Railway, which is fine but insanely overpriced at an astounding $245 USD per person, and do one of these hikes instead!

✅ Look, some of these hikes are really steep. That’s the whole point! And the steeper the hike, the better the resulting view — duh. But the Yakutania Point Trail is fairly moderate, and it gives good harbor views. In order of difficulty, you can also do the Lower Dewey Lake Trail and the more challenging Lower and Upper Reid Falls hike. If you’re on a cruise, only a handful of passengers will ever want to hike, and virtually all of those will go no farther than the Lower Dewey Lake Trail.

What’s Not So Great ❌

❌ This is bear country! We even saw scat. But at least they’re black bears, not the far more dangerous brown bears.

How to Get There ✈️🚂🚗⛴️

From the cruise ship dock, head toward town — and turn right.

7. Jungle and Canyon Hikes in Northern Thailand

Thailand is rightfully famous for its gorgeous beaches and delicious food.

But guess what? We found some amazing hikes there as well — in the mountains, no less. In fact, the Thai Highlands of northern Thailand are considered the foothills of the Himalayas.

Why You Should Visit ✅

✅ The jungle beauty, of course — especially the “cloud forests,” which are jungles so high up that they’re virtually always bathed in mist and fog. But the experience will also make a soothing contrast to the sunny beach destinations farther south or the busy bustle of Bangkok.

✅ We especially loved Doi Inthanon — Thailand’s tallest mountain at 2565 meters (or 8,415 feet), which is located in Doi Inthanon National Park. Most of the trails require hiring a local guide, which we were very happy to do. He showed us waterfalls, vast swaths of terraced rice fields, and his own small Thai village.

✅ In the far north of Thailand, we also hiked the Pai Canyon near the town of Pai. The canyon was created by erosion in the soft red sandstone, but it’s not the canyon per se that makes this area famous; it’s the parts that didn’t erode away, creating a series of upraised narrow trails that you hike if you dare.

What’s Not So Great ❌

❌ Honestly, not much. Just don’t do those Pai Canyon trails when it rains.

How to Get There ✈️🚂🚗⛴️

These destinations are all easily accessible from Chiang Mai as part of the Mae Hong Son Loop; it also includes Highway 1095, a famously scenic road with an incredible 762 hairpin curves. Rent a car if you dare, but we recommend hiring a driver.

See also…

That Time I Learned We're All on Different Paths (Even When We're on the Same Path)

That Time We Were in a Cabin in Alaska Surrounded by Grizzly Bears

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Message Michael Jensen

Michael Jensen is a novelist and editor. For a newsletter with more of my photos, visit me at www.MichaelJensen.com.

Brent Hartinger is a screenwriter and author. Check out my new newsletter about my books and movies at BrentHartinger.com.