long-distance hikes
Travel trends for 2021:
More travelers are now looking for deeper connections to both themselves and the destinations they visit, and they are often finding solace on long-distance multiday hikes.
Slow travel doesn’t get slower – or more rewarding – than this. Here are some of the best multiday routes.
The classic long-distance hikes
These perennially popular long-distance hikes are well-known favourites, but it’s still easy enough to lose yourself somewhere in the thousands of miles of trail.
Triple Crown, USA
The three hikes that make up the Triple Crown – the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail – clock in at more than 2100 miles (3500km) each.
They offer an up-close look at little-visited stretches of the United States.
Bibbulmun Track, Australia
Named after this area’s indigenous people, these 620 miles (1000km) in Western Australia make up the Bibbulmun Track, the state’s longest hiking trail.
It winds through native bush that’s home to many of the country’s quirky endemic species, including quokkas and towering eucalypt forests of karri and tingle trees.
New long-distance routes
To usher in a fresh generation of walkers, brand new long-distance routes are being waymarked around the world and are promoted as bucket-list-worthy must-dos.
Paparoa Track, New Zealand
The first new Great Walk added to New Zealand’s collection in 25 years, the 34-mile-long (55km) Paparoa Track zigzags through once inaccessible terrain on the South Island’s wild west coast.
Coast Paths, UK
The dramatic Wales Coast Path, the first footpath in the world to follow a country’s entire coastline, may soon have its crown stolen by its neighbour.
The England Coast Path is expected to be the world’s longest signposted coastal path when it fully opens in 2021.