William O'Brien State Park
Wooded trails, an empty lake, and four nights along the St. Croix River.
Sakatah Lake State Park
Wooded camping, miles on the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail, and an abrupt return to humidity
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