The Misplaced Mine Path Was Named One of many Finest Hikes within the World

There are trails that make you’re employed for views and those who provide the magnificence proper up entrance. The Misplaced Mine Path in Large Bend Nationwide Park is of the latter selection.

Only one mile into the 4.8-mile out-and-back path, you’ll attain a saddle that provides hikes gorgeous views of the Chisos Mountains, together with Casa Grande Peak and Juniper Canyon.

And although there are 80 official trails in Large Bend Nationwide Park that discover all of the distinctive topography of the park from mountains to flatlands, the Misplaced Mine Path is arguably one of many park’s most rewarding hikes. It winds by way of the shade of juniper bushes and piñon pines excessive above the Chihuahuan Desert flooring.

When you ought to all the time carry water with you and train a wholesome quantity of precaution throughout warm-weather hikes in Texas, together with slathering up in sunscreen, the path’s excessive elevation (at about 1,100 ft of elevation) makes it a bit cooler than different choices within the park. The hassle—and sweat—is all value it, although. You will discover a sense of solitude and quiet surprise within the quintessential Large Bend vistas the path provides—and that is what many hikers say leaves essentially the most lasting impression on them.

So, it comes as no shock that this Texas desert hike was named one among AllTrails’ “25 Trails to Discover in 2025.”

Although most individuals are inclined to take this hike on in the course of the day, one AllTrails group member advisable experiencing it in the course of the night time of a full moon. “The switchbacks had been illuminated by the moon and the celebrities, which was unbelievable,” they wrote. 

Large Bend Nationwide Park sits throughout the Higher Large Bend Worldwide Darkish Sky Reserve, which is presently the world’s Darkish Sky Reserve at 9 million acres. Large Bend shares on its web site that the park additionally “has the least gentle air pollution of another nationwide park unit within the decrease 48 states.”

The Misplaced Mine Path takes most hikers between two and three hours to finish. The route is rated as “reasonable” on AllTrails.

Misplaced Mine Path was chosen by AllTrails from greater than 450,000 trails across the globe, which included routes in New Zealand, the Alps, and Costa Rica. Listed here are the highest 15 trails:

1. Peace Path, Phase 28: Contrin Refuge – Fedaia Cross (Trento, Italy)
2. Cerro Pelón (Michoacán, Mexico)
3. Boston’s Freedom Path (Massachusetts, United States)
4. Alice-Toxaway and Edith Lake Loop (Idaho, United States)
5. Hump Ridge Observe (Southland, New Zealand)
6. Slaughter Pen: All American, Seed Tick, Medusa, and Tatamagouche (Arkansas, United States)
7. Nachi Falls – Kumano Nachi Taisha – Daimonzaka (Nachikatsuura, Japan)
8. Smarts Mountain through Appalachian and Ranger Path (New Hampshire, United States)
9. Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval – Pas du Boret – Le Bout du Monde (Haute-Savoie, France)
10. Firefly Path (South Carolina, United States)
11. Misplaced Mine Path (Texas, United States)
12. Hoh River Path to Mineral Creek Falls (Washington, United States
13. Coast to Coast Stroll Phase 1: St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge (Cumbria, England)
14. Medication Root and Fort Path Loop (South Dakota, United States)
15. Katy Path (Missouri, United States)

For the total checklist, go to alltrails.com.