Travel & Experiences

Top 10 hikes in the West

You could spend days wandering this quiet finger of land north of San Francisco that tapers to Drakes Head Bay and its famous lighthouse. Start at the point's west side and spend a day hiking the Bear Valley Trail to the incomparable Arch Rock overlook for wide-screen views of spectacularly carved coastline and the mighty Pacific. Info: (415) 464-5100, http://www.nps.gov/pore

You could spend days wandering this quiet finger of land north of San Francisco that tapers to Drakes Head Bay and its famous lighthouse. Start at the point’s west side and spend a day hiking the Bear Valley Trail to the incomparable Arch Rock overlook for wide-screen views of spectacularly carved coastline and the mighty Pacific. Info: (415) 464-5100, http://www.nps.gov/pore  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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See those glossy outdoors photos on your desktop calendar? It’s time to get into the picture. These hikes take you there, from red rocks to rain forests, from cliff dwellings to vernal pools. Complete all of them and you complete a picture of the West — so don’t forget your camera.

-- Mary Forgione, Special to the Los Angeles Times

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Ecola State Park, Northern Oregon

Distance: 1,034 miles one-way.

With a few manmade exceptions, this coastal haven of sitkas, spruce and ferns doesn’t look much different from the way it did when Lewis and Clark passed through. Take the three-mile Clatsop Loop Trail to heights of 800 feet above the ocean to follow in their footsteps. Add a few extra miles along the coast for views of endless cliff-to-sea beaches and the landmark Haystack Rock in nearby Cannon Beach. Info: (800) 551-6949, www.oregonstateparks.org/park_188.php

-- Mary Forgione  (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

Bandelier National Monument

Ancestral Pueblo dwellings built high into walls of soft volcanic rock called tuff line a mile-long trail in the park.   (Al Cabral / Associated Press)

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