These Are the Busiest Hiking Trails in the U.S.—Plus a New Tool to Help You Avoid the Crowds

A visit to a National Park or local hiking trail can bring peace, tranquility, and thousands of people seeking the same thing. With over 331.9 million people visiting a National Park in 2024, outdoor enthusiasts are hitting the trails more than ever before. 

As an example, the top five most popular trails from 2024 have a common theme in the thousands of reviews posted to the outdoor platform AllTrails: overcrowding and too many people. 

“It’s a beautiful trail but the crowds are out of control,” a visitor recently shared in a one-star review of their experience at Montana’s Avalanche Lake. 

In an effort to help hikers find an outdoor getaway and prevent trail overcrowding, AllTrails recently launched a variety of new features just in time for the busy summer travel season.  

One of the standout features, Community Heatmaps, uses historical data to pinpoint how much traffic a trail has received and provides an easy view for hikers to find the best trail for them. While some people may seek a busier trail for safety and navigational support, others may seek the trail less traveled for a more serene escape. 

The feature could help hikers avoid the top five busiest hiking trails of 2024, which are:

1. Avalanche Lake, Montana
2. Delicate Arch Trail, Utah
3. Devil's Bridge via Mescal Trailhead, Arizona
4. Skyline Loop, Washington
5. Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail, Utah

The new heatmap is a feature available to paid members of the service at the newly launched ‘Peak' level, which has an annual subscription price of $79.99. The new tier also includes the ability to build custom routes, view live trail conditions such as snow or rain, and even an artificial intelligence camera with companion journal that can track everything from mountain vistas to wild plants. 

For travelers not looking to subscribe, the free version of AllTrails, known as Base, is getting significant upgrades as well, including new Points of Interest, which can help spotlight must-see stops along a hiker’s journey. 

“Points of interest help you discover the must-see sights on any trail. We used insights from millions of photographs taken by our members to add over 500,000 popular attractions like waterfalls, mountain peaks, lakes and much more to our platform,” AllTrails Chief Product Officer Ivan Selin shared in a statement to Travel + Leisure. 

On another popular trail, Devil’s Bridge in Arizona, one hiker shared a review of their experience of waiting over 30 minutes to take a picture from a specific overlook. With the new points of interest feature, it may provide more inspiration for outdoor photographers or Instagram creators to find the best spot for a shot.