Some runs are for pace. Others are for the burn, the scramble, and the view you only get after thousands of feet of climbing. Outside Online has rounded up five of the steepest, most rewarding trail routes across the United States — and they read like a bucket list for anyone whose idea of a holiday involves a serious climb.
In Colorado, Longs Peak (14,259 feet) is the marquee challenge: a mix of smooth singletrack and rocky scrambling, with a final mile that's exposed, rocky and genuinely committing. It's a run for people already comfortable with hands-on terrain, not a first alpine outing.
San Diego offers something very different but equally tough: the Five Peak Challenge in Mission Trails Regional Park. Runners link up Cowles Mountain, Pyles Peak, Kwaay Paay and North and South Fortuna for over 4,000 feet of climbing, with sweeping looks at ocean, peaks and valleys along the way. The catch is the arid landscape — bring far more water than you think you need.
On the opposite coast, North Carolina's Art Loeb Trail has earned a reputation as one of the hardest routes in the East. It racks up more than 8,000 feet of climbing through Pisgah National Forest, crossing wildflower ridgelines and grassy balds with big open views. Because it works best as a one-way effort, local shuttle services have popped up to handle the logistics — a rare bit of helpful infrastructure on a wild route.
Out west, the Enchantments traverse in Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness packs granite slabs, alpine lakes, creek crossings and a decent chance of spotting mountain goats into a single point-to-point run. Most people run it west to east, which means hitting Aasgard Pass — a lung-punishing 2,200 feet of climbing in one mile, on a route that gains over 5,000 feet in total. Shuttles are available here too.
The granddaddy of them all is a rim-to-rim-to-rim crossing of the Grand Canyon: down the South Kaibab Trail to the Colorado River, up the North Kaibab Trail, then back the way you came. It stacks up more than 22,000 feet of elevation change, making it arguably the steepest big-adventure run in the country — and one you should only attempt fully fit and well equipped.
For travellers, the appeal is obvious. Each of these routes doubles as a reason to plan a trip: a Colorado high-country week, a San Diego sun-and-summits break, a Blue Ridge Mountains escape, a Seattle-based adventure, or the ultimate Arizona endurance holiday. None are casual, so build training time into the trip and treat the run as the centrepiece of the holiday rather than an add-on.
