A reader posed this question:
Q My wife and I are planning to take a hiking vacation next summer. We're looking for a place with a wide variety of scenic day hikes. Ideally, we'd be able to get there on a reasonably priced flight from Minneapolis. What are our best options?
Answer: Earlier this year, Star Tribune writer and avid hiker Chris Riemenschneider recommended uncrowded national parks with breathtaking scenery in "Wide Open Spaces." (Read it online at startribune.com by searching for "Sequoia-Kings Canyon.") Among his recommendations are Sequoia-Kings Canyon and North Cascades, both of which fit your needs. Fly to Seattle for North Cascades (the park is a three-hour drive away) and to San Francisco or Los Angeles for Sequoia-Kings Canyon (both require a drive of four or more hours).
I've hiked a variety of spots on the East Coast and am partial to the Appalachian Mountains. As an older, more worn-down mountain range, it isn't as dramatic as the Rockies or Sierras, but the hikes are terrific. Head to the hills from any of the Washington, D.C.-area airports, or from Burlington, Vt., or Portland, Maine, and you won't be disappointed.
Yosemite National Park also jumps to mind. You should go sometime in your life but, as Riemenschneider pointed out in his piece, summertime brings a trail-clogging crush of hikers. Glacier is another hiker's paradise, but the flight to Kalispell or Great Falls, Mont., won't be cheap.
