World's Best Hikes: 20 Dream Trails

Our title comes from this nationalgeographic.com post featuring 20 of the top hikes from around the world.

This year we asked 20 outdoor luminaries—from trail runners to CEOs to beloved authors—about the trails they dream about. Here are their picks for the world's best hikes. Ready for adventure?

King's Peak in Utah's High Uinta Mountains makes the list. King's Peak is the tallest mountain in Utah and it takes most people 3-days to hike to the top and back. It is a wonderful trek but I don't think it is Utah's best. I can think of several Utah hikes that could be on the list, that I'd rate above King's.

I know this is subjective; here's my list of Utah's best:

• Zion Narrows (top to bottom)
• Buckskin Gulch
• Grand Gulch
• Unitas Highline Trail
• King's Peak
• Dark Canyon

Again, King's is a great hike. One strike against it, in my book, is its popularity. Every summer countless Boy Scout troops find their way to the top. I would definitely include it on a list of the world's great kid adventures.

NationalGeographic.com has several such lists on its website, and hikes in our area appear on many of them. Here are some samples:

World's Best Hikes: Epic Trails

• Hayduke Trail, Utah and Arizona (Named for Edward Abbey's fictional eco-warrior (introduced in The Monkey Wrench Gang), the Hayduke traverses six stunning national parks of the Colorado Plateau—Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Zion.)

World's Best Hikes: 15 Classic Trails

• Grand Canyon Rim To Rim

Legendary Day Hikes in the National Parks

• Grand Canyon Rim Trail
• Arches National Park Devils Garden Trail to Landscape Arch
• Grand Teton Cascade Canyon Trail to Lake Solitude
• Yellowstone Mt Washburn from Dunraven Pass
• Zion Narrows
• Canyonlands Elephant Hill to Druid Arch