Palisades State Park
Pink quartzite, a nearly empty campground, and a surprising little corner of eastern South Dakota
Snake Creek Recreation Area
Three quiet nights along what I thought was the Missouri River
Badlands National Park
Three nights at Cedar Pass exploring the geology, fossils, prairie, and complicated history behind the Badlands
Black Hills National Forest
A quiet camp near Sheridan Lake gave us five days inside a landscape of granite spires, cave country, old flume tunnels, and high-country trails
Custer State Park
Granite spires, narrow tunnels, bison, burros, and golden-hour prairie made this one easy to underestimate and hard to forget
Wind Cave National Park
Boxwork, bison, and a breathing cave made this one of the more surprising national parks I’ve visited
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
An extraordinary achievement carved into a landscape with a much older and complicated history
Appalachian Trail | 100 Mile Wilderness & Mt. Katahdin
Approx. Mileage 2,080–2,198 | The Finish
Fort Robinson State Park
A quick stop turned into a deeper look at military history, Native conflict, and the strange buttes rising above Nebraska’s plains
Appalachian Trail | Southern & Central Maine
Approx. Mileage 1,910–2,079 | Maine State Line to Shaw's Hiker Hostel