Travel

The Best Hiking Summits for Viewing Multiple States or Countries

Black Rock Mountain State Park and Cowee Overlook

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Maybe you’ve already tackled the eight most challenging hiking trails in America and planned a trip abroad—more than once—based on a call to a mountain. Now what? Boost your hiking résumé with these trails that pack in sublime views of multiple states or countries from the top. Whether you’re looking to knock off a hike in a far-flung locale (Tanzania, anyone?) or a path close to home, we’ve got something for you.

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Sky Top Tower at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY

You can choose Sky Top Path (bring Dad along!), the slightly more strenuous hike along Sky Top Road, or an hour-long rock scramble on the Labyrinth. Whichever you pick, you’ll be treated to views of Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont from the apex. At the Hudson Valley’s iconic Mohonk Mountain House resort, you can see the Sky Top Tower from all over the property, a not-so-subtle reminder to lace your damn sneakers and head up already.

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Guardsman's Pass in Park City, UT

Okay, Utah, you’ve won us over with your grandeur once again. If you don’t feel like breaking a sweat, this breathtaking backcountry drive shows off the sweeping landscapes of Wyoming and Utah. Or, walk along a trail and pack a picnic for Mirror Lake and enjoy the fresh air for an hour or eight million. At popular resort destination Montage Deer Valley you can also scope out Wyoming from the property’s Grand Lawn. Another great option? Take a yoga class at the summit where you can savor The Uintah, the longest mountain range in the United States, that’s formed along a West-East direction and can be seen in the distance.

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Zumbrun Overlook in Allegany County, MD

On the Great Eastern Trail in Western Maryland’s Green Ridge State Forest prepare to be wowed by the landscapes of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. This well-loved overlook is named after previous forest manager, Francis Champ Zumbrun, who worked at Green Ridge State Forest from 1978 to 2009. Dig biking? The trail behind the overlook is a 12.5-mile circuit mountain bike trail. And if the Great Eastern Trail isn’t a household name yet, stay tuned: A project of the Great Eastern Trail Association, planners hope that the Great Eastern Trail will one day rival the Appalachian Trail, when the path is fully expanded from Florida to New York.

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Black Rock Mountain State Park and Cowee Overlook

A summit country music songs are made of with pierce-your-heart views of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Tucked into Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the hike offers visitors four hiking trails ripe with wildflowers, streams, small waterfalls, and lush forests. Stay a couple of days: There’s plenty of room for tent campers with walk-in sites for extra privacy.

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Talcott Mountain State Park in Simsbury, CT

Marvel at the terra firma of The Nutmeg State, as you also view New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock on the horizon to the north (almost 80 miles away), the Berkshires to the west, and parts of the Long Island Sound. Beyond these mountaintop panoramas, there’s also the 165-foot Heublein Tower at the apex, which was formerly a summer home of a prominent Hartford family who hosted the likes of Dwight D. Elsenhower and Ronald Reagan.

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Boundary Peak, NV

Soak up scenes of both Nevada and California from Nevada’s tallest mountain. After you’ve trekked the 13,140 feet to the top, you’ll be glad the rest of your vacation is devoted to craft brews and relaxation—hint, hint. On the ascent, take in the ancient grove of Bristlecones, about a mile from the saddle (if you need the hiking terminology refresher, that’s the curved depression between two higher points of ground) where wild horses and deer roam.

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High Falls Trail and Middle Falls Trail in Grand Portage State Park in Minnesota

These trails run along the Pigeon River which forms the border between Minnesota and Canada. Throughout the trails, visitors can make out Canada, and on clear days at the park’s highest point, a short spur off of the Middle Falls trail, you can see Isle Royale National Park in Michigan on Lake Superior. Our favorite route? High Falls, a half-mile hike that’s wheelchair-and-stroller-accessible and overlooks Minnesota’s highest waterfall. At times, a rainbow appears over Pigeon River. Time your trip to Grand Portage appropriately and you may even catch the Northern Lights to boot.

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Hubbard Park/Castle Craig in Meriden, CT

A beautiful cobblestone tower awaits after hiking the White Trail, crossing over a pedestrian bridge, and climbing the—at times steep and rocky—route to East Peak. When you walk to the top of Castle Craig, a 32-foot-tall stone wall, you can see several New England Mountain ranges, which look particularly dazzling with autumn leaves doing their thing. From the crest, take note of the Meriden area to the south, the Berkshire Mountains to the north, and on crystal-clear days, Long Island.

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The Zugspitze, Germany

On the border of Austria and Germany (for your base, try popular ski town of Garmisch Partenkirchen Bavaria) lies Germany’s highest mountain, The Zugspitze. The Reintal Valley route is the preferred choice of Charles Breitbart, of travel guide site TripTins.com, since it’s the more doable option for hikers who don’t have via ferrata gear and crampons handy. “The trail actually starts in the Partnach Gorge, where you will pass by a stunning river that cuts its way through the valley. The trail then continues following this glacier river, up through valleys, and even crossing some snowfall before making the final climb,” says Breitbart. At the summit, you can see Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

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Beech Mountain in the Emerald Outback in Beech Mountain, NC

When you make it to the top, feast on unspoiled vistas of North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. If you’ve got kiddos in your group or are looking to give your calves a break, there’s also the option to take the scenic chairlift up the 5,506 feet. Either way, go in the fall when the foliage is otherworldly.

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Camel's Hump in Huntington, VT

When you reach the mountain’s pinnacle at 4,083 feet, marvel at the cross-country views of Canada, along with views of New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire (people have reported being able to see New Hampshire’s famed peak, Mount Washington). To get there, expect some sweat on your brow: Many of the steep, rocky trails leading up to Camel’s Hump range from moderate to difficult and traverse through dense forest before snaking above the treeline near the top. About .4 miles from the summit off of the Alpine Trail are wing and undercarriage remains of a World War II B-24 Liberator bomber that crashed in 1944, tragically killing nine crewmen.

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Kala Patthar, Nepal

“Kala Patthar is situated just south of Everest Base Camp (EBC) in Nepal, and is the only peak from which hikers can get a clear view of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest (8,848m/29,029 feet),” says Mark Whitman of Mountain IQ and author of Mount Kilimanjaro: Trekkers Guide to the Summit. “Most adventurers hike to Kala Patthar as part of their trek to Everest Base Camp, a 12-day round trip journey that provides the most extraordinary views of the Himalayas. Kala Patthar sits just adjacent to Gorak Shep, the final inhabited Nepalese village before EBC.” Plan on the hike to the summit of Kala Patthar to take around two hours from Gorak Shep—and to be well worth it for the jaw-dropping panoramic views.

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Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Whitman is also a fan of this grueling 19,341-foot hike to the highest mountain in Africa. “The summit push starts in the early hours of the morning with most hikers reaching the top of Uhuru Peak in time to witness an incredible sunrise over Tanzania to the South and Kenya to the North,” he says.

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