Christian Coxen

For a quick weekend trip from Newport, RI, Macedonia Brook State Park had a lot to offer for its size. In three or four hours, with lunch, you can hike the 6.4 mile ridge trail and get some fresh air without having to hike on too busy of trails. The elevation gain is only around 700 ft, however, the trail rises and falls regularly from ridge to gully, changing the feel of the air and foliage mo...

This is a multi-day backpacking loop in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire (located in the the White Mountains). Leave the car at the Lafayette Place Campground, (about 1700' elevation), then head up 1.4mi to Lonesome Lake. If you start hiking in the evening, as the sun is setting, you can stop here to set up hammocks a couple hundred feet off the trail, and hunker in for the night. In...