Romano's Favorite Hiking Haunts No. 3

Ontario

Ontario, you say? The province of Toronto and over 1/3 of Canada's 33 million residents? The province of vast lakes, rivers, and the Great Lakes? A much better paddling than hiking option surely. Yes; but Canada's most populated province also contains hundreds of prime hiking spots. Granted, you won't find any big mountains here. But what you will find is classic Canadian Shield topography-some really rugged landscapes and some huge parks and wilderness areas.

Some of my favorite Ontario destinations so far have been Killarney Provincial Park home of La Cloche mountains, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park on Lake Superior and the Bruce Peninsula National Park, a rugged escarpment that juts into Lake Huron. Next week I'm off again to Ontario for new adventures, among them a little paddling on McCrae Lake, the Georgian Bay Islands National Park, Petroglyphys Provincial Park, Awenda Provincial Park and Sandbanks Provincial Park. I'll be writing about all of these places of course. And if you want to read about some of my previous adventures, check out the Weather Network's Park Report and the July/August issue of Paddler magazine.

(photo- Killarney Provincial Park)

Romano's Favorite Hiking Haunts No. 2

Northwestern Connecticut

The state of my birth, where I spent the first eight years of my life, Connecticut is rife with trails, green spots and wonderful parks and forests. Hard to imagine uh?- Especially when you consider that the Nutmeg State is one of the most densely populated. But if you go beyond Hartford and Bridgeport and New Haven-head to the state's northeast and northwest corners, you'll find some of the prettiest rural countryside anywhere in America. Especially the state's northwest corner. Here the Appalachian Trail winds along the Litchfield Hills and Taconic Range (some of the oldest mountains in North America) and darts in and out of charming villages sporting church spires, inviting commons and inns and some of the most beautiful colonial homes in the country. The peaks aren't high, but the hiking experience is top notch. I recently spent some time hiking with my brother Jeff on the AT and in the Peoples Forest where the Wild and Scenic Farmington River makes a deep cut across rolling verdant hills. Jeff is completing work on his second book, Classic Hikes of New England (Mountaineers Books: spring 2009). You'll find some great Connecticut hikes in that book as well as great hikes in the other New England states, all among my favorite hiking haunts.

(Jeff overlooking Farmington River in Peoples Forest State Park-May 2008)

Romano's Favorite Hiking Haunts No.1

Great Basin National Park

Nevada

No question about it that I live among some of the best hiking terrain in the world. The North Cascades and the San Juan Islands are right in my backyard. The Olympic Peninsula is a short skip (okay a ferry ridge actually) away and big beautiful British Columbia is a mere hour (when there are no border back-ups) away. But despite these great places being some of my favorite places to hit the trail, I have other favorites scattered about North America and the globe. There are some excellent places out there and they all offer different experiences than what I can find here in Washington. So let's begin with some of them, shall we?

Great Basin National Park in nowhere Nevada is a real gem! One of the least visited of the major national parks, you'll find lots of room on the trails here; and old-growth Bristlecone pines and spectacular Great Basin viewing from 13,000-plus feet Wheeler Peak, the second highest summit in the Silver State. You can car camp at 10,000 feet to beat the heat, listen to thunder boom all night in the distance (and occasionally right over you) and stare out at a night sky second to none. Remember not to drink too many beers though while sitting around the campfire, or you'll end up with a headache unsurpassed anywhere-except perhaps from one acquired from being out on the Vegas strip all night!