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Best Riverside Hikes in United States

We track 814 routes that match this search in United States. They average 10.1 km and 263 m (863 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 231 km.

That is 9 percent of the 9,390 routes we map in United States. They are shorter than the local average, 10.1 km against 14.0 km, which is what makes this a practical shortlist for a half day.

River routes keep the gradient friendly and the navigation simple, with moving water alongside for most of the way. The mix is broad: 351 are rated easy and 164 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day.

Trails

View of the south summit of Mount Jefferson, Nevada from the northwest
Expert

ADT - Nevada - S - Seg 5

Nevada · United States

Distance
62.5 km
/ 38.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,619 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Mushrooms spring from the ground in the Berkeley hills following a series of storms that drenched the Bay.
Expert

ADT - California - T - Seg 8

California · United States

Distance
77.4 km
/ 48.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,020 m
Typical duration
19 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Ouray, Colorado from Box Canyon
Hard

Oak Creek Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
10.4 km
/ 6.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,105 m
Typical duration
3 hr 49 min
  • River
  • Mountain
The pack didn't stay on her all the way down. It never does.
Expert

Santa Ana River Trail

California · United States

Distance
61.1 km
/ 38.0 mi
Elevation gain
823 m
Typical duration
15 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Snow Covered Mountains Along Colorado's "Million Dollar Highway," US Route 550.
Hard

Bear Creek Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
10.7 km
/ 6.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,604 m
Typical duration
4 hr 38 min
  • River
  • Mountain
View south along Interstate 83 (Jones Falls Expressway) just north of Old Pimlico Road in Pikesville, Baltimore County, Maryland
Easy

Orange Trail

Maryland · United States

Distance
0.8 km
/ 0.5 mi
Elevation gain
25 m
Typical duration
12 min
  • Waterfall
  • River
  • Mountain
Red Chanterelle ( Cantharellus cinnabarinus )
Expert

Cedar Creek Trail

Missouri · United States

Distance
53.4 km
/ 33.2 mi
Elevation gain
550 m
Typical duration
13 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
RMNP 2011-09-24
Hard

Tonahutu Creek Trail

Colorado · United States

Distance
21.8 km
/ 13.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,210 m
Typical duration
6 hr 34 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Round Hill Brook, Webb Mountain Park, Paugussett Trail, Monroe, CT.
Hard

Paugussett Trail

Connecticut · United States

Distance
20.9 km
/ 13.0 mi
Elevation gain
508 m
Typical duration
5 hr 17 min
  • River
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
extirpated in 2005
Hard

Aptos Creek Fire Road

California · United States

Distance
21.8 km
/ 13.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,016 m
Typical duration
6 hr 16 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Benjamin Franklin Henley House
Expert

Buffalo River Trail

Arkansas · United States

Distance
67.1 km
/ 41.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,443 m
Typical duration
17 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Jericho Blue-Blazed Trail. Ruins of Bridge at end of Sheffield Street, Waterbury. Trailhead for Hancock Brook Trail.
Moderate

Hancock Brook Trail

Connecticut · United States

Distance
4.2 km
/ 2.6 mi
Elevation gain
212 m
Typical duration
1 hr 11 min
  • River
  • Waymarked route
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 65.
Moderate

Arroyo Seco Trail

California · United States

Distance
7.5 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
222 m
Typical duration
1 hr 54 min
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Desert
Slender wheatgrass is common right along the JMT from montane parkland into the subalpine and occasionally alpine. Lengths of lemmas awns and degree of secund arrangement of spikelets are variously developed throughout these elevation zones
Moderate

Rock Creek Lake Trail

California · United States

Distance
5.4 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
291 m
Typical duration
1 hr 33 min
  • Lake
  • River
  • Mountain
Campfire scar on Abies concolor , Pinus benthamiana , Pinus lambertiana , etc., forest floor. Viewpoint location: Snow Creek Trail, Yosemite National Park Viewpoint elevation: 2100 meter (6880 ft) View direction: N/A Location source: Casio
Hard

Snow Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
14.8 km
/ 9.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,436 m
Typical duration
5 hr 14 min
  • River
  • Mountain
View of the Thunder River trail. North Kaibab Ranger District. 10-24-13. P1040030. Photo by Dyan Bone. Credit the U.S. Forest Service, Southwestern Region, Kaibab National Forest.
Hard

Thunder River Trail

Arizona · United States

Distance
19.5 km
/ 12.1 mi
Elevation gain
343 m
Typical duration
4 hr 43 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Giant blazing star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) against rocks. At 2,869 m (9,413 ft) along Pine Creek Trail under Brownstone Mine, John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada mountains, California.
Hard

Pine Creek Pass Trail

California · United States

Distance
12.0 km
/ 7.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,259 m
Typical duration
4 hr 23 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Salt Springs Reservoir is a reservoir in the eastern portions of Amador County and Calaveras County of California in the Sierra Nevada about 30 miles (48 km) east-northeast of Jackson. The reservoir is in the El Dorado National Forest at an
Hard

East Carson River Trail

California · United States

Distance
27.9 km
/ 17.3 mi
Elevation gain
288 m
Typical duration
6 hr 38 min
  • River
  • Mountain
A common forb along the JMT in dry understory and rendered conspicuous because of the broad strap-shaped fruits or pods and broadly winged seeds.
Hard

Fish Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
31.1 km
/ 19.3 mi
Elevation gain
618 m
Typical duration
7 hr 54 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Red Slate Mountain , Sierra Nevada , California . Image taken from Lake Mildred.
Hard

Convict Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
10.3 km
/ 6.4 mi
Elevation gain
969 m
Typical duration
3 hr 36 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Hanford; Irrigation Ditch, near Hanford, Cal.
Moderate

Golden Trout Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
14.7 km
/ 9.1 mi
Elevation gain
32 m
Typical duration
3 hr 6 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Easy

Cloudy Pass Trail

Washington · United States

Distance
3.1 km
/ 2.0 mi
Elevation gain
69 m
Typical duration
46 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • River
On route to Little Five Lakes, Sequoia National Park, California
Moderate

Big Arroyo Trail

California · United States

Distance
14.2 km
/ 8.8 mi
Elevation gain
111 m
Typical duration
3 hr 7 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Geranium carolinianum, taken at the Kentucky River Palisades, Mercer County, KY, May 21 2016.
Moderate

Palisades Loop

Kentucky · United States

Distance
0.5 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
31 m
Typical duration
8 min
  • Waterfall
  • River
  • Long-distance path
Mt Ritter and Banner Peak seen past Summit Lake, at Agnew Pass. In Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California.
Moderate

Rush Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
14.6 km
/ 9.1 mi
Elevation gain
202 m
Typical duration
3 hr 21 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Swordlake vista
Hard

Highland Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
29.1 km
/ 18.1 mi
Elevation gain
562 m
Typical duration
7 hr 19 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Explorer's gentian (Gentiana calycosa), closeup of 3 buds, 2 flowers, and broad, opposite leaves. Along John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail north of the junction to Ediza Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, USA.
Hard

Shadow Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
13.1 km
/ 8.2 mi
Elevation gain
769 m
Typical duration
3 hr 53 min
  • River
  • Mountain
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 53.
Moderate

Timber Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
8.5 km
/ 5.3 mi
Elevation gain
646 m
Typical duration
2 hr 45 min
  • River
  • Mountain
A pond in the northern portion of the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley, Massachusetts.
Hard

West Groton Tour

Massachusetts · United States

Distance
23.3 km
/ 14.5 mi
Elevation gain
213 m
Typical duration
5 hr 26 min
  • Lake
  • River
  • Forest
Visalia-Porterville, CA, CA, USA
Hard

Trout Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
13.3 km
/ 8.2 mi
Elevation gain
630 m
Typical duration
3 hr 43 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Expert

Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail

Pennsylvania · United States

Distance
121 km
/ 74.9 mi
Elevation gain
2,653 m
Typical duration
32 hr
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
Hackelia mundula , pink stickseed, in Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Fresno County, California.
Moderate

Bubbs Creek Trail

California · United States

Distance
16.9 km
/ 10.5 mi
Elevation gain
122 m
Typical duration
3 hr 45 min
  • River
  • Mountain

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
ADT - Nevada - S - Seg 5Nevada62.5 km1,619 m16 hrExpertJuly to September
ADT - California - T - Seg 8California77.4 km1,020 m19 hrExpertApril to October
Oak Creek TrailColorado10.4 km1,105 m3 hr 49 minHardJuly to September
ADT - Illinois (South) - J - Seg 2Illinois231 km1,295 m56 hrExpertApril to October
Santa Ana River TrailCalifornia61.1 km823 m15 hrExpertJuly to September
Bear Creek TrailColorado10.7 km1,604 m4 hr 38 minHardJuly to September
Orange TrailMaryland0.8 km25 m12 minEasyApril to October
Cedar Creek TrailMissouri53.4 km550 m13 hrExpertApril to October
Tonahutu Creek TrailColorado21.8 km1,210 m6 hr 34 minHardJuly to September
Meadow Creek National Recreation TrailIdaho41.9 km567 m10 hrExpertJune to October

If you only have time for one, start with ADT - Nevada - S - Seg 5, ADT - California - T - Seg 8, Oak Creek Trail. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

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