Bob Downing –

You can access Shenandoah National Park's Hawksbill Mountain via three short hikes: 1.7, 2.1 or 2.9 miles. The mountain is made of Cacoctin greenstone.

Shenandoah National Park offers stellar ridge-top vistas of high, rocky places

May 12, 2019 at 3:56 a.m.

SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. - The ridge-top Skyline Drive offers lots of panoramic views. The curvy 105-mile drive from Front Royal on the north to Waynesboro in the south offers...

Indiana’s Mount Baldy still moving but at a slower rate

August 23, 2019 at 10:46 a.m.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — Mount Baldy is still moving, but its movement has been slowed. Mount Baldy features high hills of wild, wind-swept sand, topped by grasses, shrubs and small...

Indiana’s Mount Baldy still moving but at a slower rate

May 9, 2019 at 9:21 p.m.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — Mount Baldy is still moving, but its movement has been slowed. Mount Baldy features high hills of wild, wind-swept sand, topped by grasses, shrubs and small...

Pretty Germany Valley lies just west of the North Fork Mountain Trail near Judy Gap, West Virginia.

West Virginia’s North Fork Mountain is iconic, dry and home to rare plants and long views

May 12, 2019 at 3:55 a.m.

JUDY GAP, W.Va. - North Fork Mountain is special. It ranks right up there with other iconic West Virginia landmarks: Blackwater Falls, Dolly Sods, New River Gorge and Gauley River....

The Grand Canyon's North Rim is covered with pine forests. The two canyon rims are 10 miles apart by air but 215 miles and five hours apart by road.

A pretty plateau trail on Grand Canyon’s wilder North Rim

May 12, 2019 at 3:53 a.m.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. - Most trails in this colorful and iconic national park are tough up-and-down trails. You hike down into the canyon and then hike back up...

The views from West Virginia's North Fork Mountain are pretty impressive. You are hiking at elevations from 1,300 to 3,800 feet along a ridge in eastern West Virginia. The trail is 23.8 miles long.

Seneca Rocks is a West Virginia landmark with rich climbing history

May 12, 2019 at 3:53 a.m.

SENECA ROCKS, W.Va. - It is hard to miss Seneca Rocks. It is a giant slab of bare white sandstone with sheer cliffs, towering 900 feet above the surrounding valley...

A small pond greets hikers to the Augusta-Anne Olsen State Nature Preserve near Wakeman, Ohio.

Ohio’s Olsen Preserve showcases wildflowers, cliffs along Vermilion River

May 12, 2019 at 3:50 a.m.

WAKEMAN, Ohio - The late Gussie Olsen would be proud. Her 83-acre gift to the state of Ohio has grown into a 132-acre state nature preserve that features multi-hued bluffs...

The Pitons dominate the skyline along the southwestern coast of St. Lucia in the West Indies. The volcanic peaks rise 2,618 and 2,438 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. They appear on T-shirts and postcards.

Twin peaks define southwest coast of West Indies’ St. Lucia

May 12, 2019 at 3:47 a.m.

SOUFRIERE, ST. LUCIA, West Indies - The Pitons dominate the southwest coast of St. Lucia. The twin volcanic spires are the iconic image of St. Lucia, the green hulking peaks...

Hikers can ascend and descend the towering sand dunes on the flanks of Mount Baldy in northern Indiana.

Climb Mount Baldy at Indiana Dunes

May 12, 2019 at 3:46 a.m.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. - Mount Baldy is still moving, but its movement has been slowed. Mount Baldy features high hills of wild, windswept sand, topped by grasses, shrubs and small...

The Regent's Canal in London is home to narrowboats, house boats that can only be 14 feet 6 inches wide. The boats pictured are anchored near the Islington Tunnel.

Regent’s Canal offers picturesque views of London’s north side

May 12, 2019 at 3:42 a.m.

LONDON - The Regent's Canal towpath is a tough trail. It is narrow, crowded, bumpy with cobblestones in places, and bicyclists often end up in the canal. There are narrow...

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