Strava ranks five California trails and five trails in other states among America’s ten most popular hikes

California trails occupied five of the ten spots on Strava’s list of America’s most popular hikes for the period from April 30, 2025, to May 2026, nypost.com reported. The fitness platform released the ranking in a June 11 news release. The Mist/Muir Intersection Down trail inside Yosemite National Park ranked first.

The route features an elevation change of nearly 500 feet and offers views of waterfalls along the Merced River. Half Dome trail in the same park placed second. Nearly 60,000 Strava users were tracked on the 14-to-16-mile round-trip route, which includes 4,800 feet of elevation gain and takes an average of 10 to 12 hours to complete.

Half Dome rises nearly 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley and reaches 8,800 feet above sea level, Yosemite National Park officials said. Three additional California trails appeared in the top ten. Mission Peak–Stanford Gate trail in Fremont ranked eighth.

Cowles Mountain Descent trail in San Diego and the Down We Go! Trail in Los Angeles also made the list. The remaining five trails were located outside California. They include Arches Entrance Road Climb in Arches National Park, Utah; Dream Lake to Bear Lake – Downhill trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; Angel base down to river trail in Zion National Park, Utah; Devil’s Bridge Ascent in Coconino National Forest, Arizona; and Diamond Head Hike to first tunnel in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Strava stated that California is continuing to define U.S. hiking culture.