Danielle Tourigny Explorer

The Hancock trailhead is located at the infamous hairpin turn of the Kancamagus Highway in the White Mountains. The trail itself crosses the road and starts at 2000 feet of elevation on the Hancock Notch trail. It remains fairly flat for the first 3 miles of the trail. After 1.8 miles you will hit the first junction with the Cedar Brook Trail where you will take a left. Continue for another 0.7...

Important notes about this hike: REQUIRES A FEE: $6 per adult, $3 per student - they don't collect the fee until you get to the visitor center about a mile in, so don't get caught like I did without cash!Does NOT allow dogs.  Drive towards the Audubon Sanctuary and come to a parking lot just outside the gate. The Base Trail begins just beyond the gate at the trailhead next to a kiosk. The trail...

The hike begins at Timberline Lodge, which sits on Mount Hood at 6,000 feet of elevation. Find the Timberline trail behind the lodge by following any of the maze of trails heading east and you will be on your way! After 1.2 miles, you reach Little Zigzag Canyon where you will descend approximately 1000 feet to reach the bottom before heading straight back up again. This portion of the trail is ...

Park on Sawyer River Road at the Signal Ridge Trailhead. Trail starts out as a mild climb and meanders with the Whiteface Brook. When you arrive at the Carrigain Notch Trail junction, turn left. Enjoy three miles of steep uphill along the mountain's edge. When you reach the the apex of Mt. Carrigain, take your time to enjoy the moment of rest and take in the surrounding wilderness. When you've ...

Begin on East Flagstaff Rd and follow the Safford Brook Trail until you reach the junction with the Appalachian Trail. Turning left or north bound will bring you, shortly to the side trail for the Safford Brook Campsite; turning right (or southbound) on the A.T. will begin the climb to Avery Peak. The trail becomes very steep as it climbs up through boulders, and about halfway to the peak, ther...

Harris Farm is a great place for beginner cross country skiing or to hone in on already developed skills. They provide rentals ($15pp) and the network of trails is several miles long. The trails range from green (easy) to red/black (more difficult). I personally love hanging out on the blue trails that are moderately difficult and have plenty of hills winding through forest and meadows. The ent...

The hike starts across the street from the AMC Highland Center on route 302, which means there is plenty of parking and when you finish there is a fireplace and snacks to warm up with! It starts at the Webster Jackson trailhead and after 1.4 miles breaks off onto the Jackson trail. At that point you could take the Webster trail to create a loop that summits Webster and Jackson, but after the 3 ...

To get to the trailhead, take the 25N, turn right onto High Street and continue along this road until it comes to an end. The Mt Moosiulauke Glencliff Trail takes you through seven miles of forest and mountain scenery. The trail features impressive vistas and eye-catching wildflowers, which might even help you take your mind off the elevation gain. This particular trail is lightly trafficked, m...

To keep the hike as short as possible, the hike can be an out and back at 5.6 miles, but if you wanted to make it a loop that is possible and adds only an additional 2 miles or so. We took the Brook Trail up to the summit (which passes by the alpine lake) and then followed it back down. To hike the loop, continue driving down Byron Rd to the second parking area to take the Loop Trail up. You wo...

This has been one of my favorite winter adventures that I have had in a long time. There were gorgeous views of Somes Sound, we saw three snowy owls and there is a gorgeous  frozen waterfall on the way up to the summit! Because much of the Park Loop Road is closed in winter, we started our hike from a Parking area off of Route 3 (It's the one just north of Upper Hadlock Pond and you have to cr...

Park in the parking area near Bellevue Pond. There are multiple entrances to the reservation (some closer to the reservoir itself than others). I have spent days in there hiking around and never seeing the water and there are days when I just hiked right in to the water and sat and enjoyed it. The trails are perfect for mountain biking as well. I spent so much time here when I lived in Boston b...

The first time I attempted this trail was in mid April, and the slush and mud I encountered was absolutely unbelievable. Snowshoes were useless. Crampons were useless. Boots alone meant dirty, wet, muddy feet. So, I had to bail. But I came back in October and I’m so glad I did because the views of the foliage were amazing! The Old Speck Trail very quickly hits an intersection with the Eyebro...

Park in the Jamaica Pond parking area. You can go either direction on this loop trail, which is highly trafficked and dog-friendly. Keep a lookout for (and a respectful distance from) the wildlife that live here. The loop around Jamaica Pond itself is 1.5 miles. The best part about running in this area is that it links up to so many other running trails. It is a part of the Emerald Necklace whi...

After turning on Mountain Rd, look for East Pinnacle Condominiums. The trailhead is about 0.1miles after that on the right between the telephone poles marked 49 and 50. There is a dirt parking lot to pull into.  Now on to the hike! This hike begins by heading straight uphill immediately, and you gain about 1,300ft of elevation in about 1.5miles. The signs say that it is a mile up, but my GPS tr...

Park in the lot off of Arborway to access the trail. This place is gorgeous year round. The winter offers a quiet solitude, fall boasts bright colors, spring is the most beautiful as the flowers start to burst and cherry blossoms take over, and summer is overwhelmingly green. There are dozens of spots around the arboretum where you can just nestle under some trees and have a private picnic or m...

Find the trailhead by turning left at the Brownville junction and then turning left onto Katahdin Ironworks Rd. This is a well maintained dirt road (had no trouble getting down it with a Corolla). There is a checkpoint where you need to pay a day use fee. When I went summer 2018 it was $9 per person for Maine residents and $14 per person for out-of-staters. It seems steep, but I promise on a ni...

The interpretive trail offers several different vantage points of the falls, and they are all equally beautiful. It was pouring rain while we were there, but it didn't stop me from running around for almost 45 minutes taking pictures and enjoying the views because these falls are so beautiful. There is a daytime picnic area near the water that is nice, and there is also an option for overnight ...

When we saw that the weather in Acadia was going to be mid 40's and sunny in March, we decided we had to go. However, when you go in March there are a lot of different things about Acadia National Park that are helpful to know.First of all, it is recommended that you camp at Blackwoods Campground if you are planning on camping. The road into the campground is closed though, so plan on backpacki...

The trail itself has a gradual incline over the course of the 1.15 miles to get to the top. There are a few steeper sections near the top, but completely manageable even for a beginner. There is another trailhead off of route 4, which would lead to a longer hike, around 4 miles. When coming from Bald Mountain Rd, the intersection with the trail on route 4 is the only intersection you will come ...

The hike begins as a flat path through dense forest. About 1.5 miles in, the trail steepens to go almost straight down. There are several manmade steps to make it a bit easier. Near the bottom you walk through the river a bit until turning a corner to see the gorgeous, cascading falls on your left. We happened to have the entire place to ourselves which made an already magical place even better...

Hopewell Rocks (otherwise known as the flowerpot rocks) are in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. Not only does the Bay of Fundy boast the highest tides in the world, but the 40-70 ft rock formations formed by the tide are incredibly unique. At low tide, you can walk on the sea floor that is four stories under water at high tide. High tide has its own benefits because you can kayak around the roc...

With a total elevation gain of 1000 feet in one mile to the top, the entire hike is uphill. The whole hike is within tree line until the very top, but there is a beautiful stream to hike next to for at least half. At the top, the view opens up to the Maiden's Cliff, and the view is spectacular. The one mile back is not difficult, but if you hike it in winter, it can get pretty icy, so be carefu...

To find the trail head, drive out of Bar Harbor down Route 3. There are no signs for the trailhead or for parking, so as soon as you pass Tarn Lake on the right, you can pull off and park on the side of the road. Elevation on the ladder trail starts immediately and doesn't let up until you reach the summit, which is the downside of summiting a 1200ft mountain in one mile. The trail is 90% rock...

Our hike began at the Basin, which is a clearly marked exit directly off 93. If you are coming from the Northbound side, walk under the bridge beneath 93 to get to the beginning of the trail. We enjoyed the Basin for a while before hiking 1.0 mile to the Cascade Brook Trail where we took a right. We took that trail for a 0.5 mile, and then took a left to meet up with the Kinsman Pond Trail for ...