US South - Best Hiking

1. The Appalachian Trail. The best of the best of the best, with honors. The AT needs no introduction; it's simply the premier hiking trail in America. Pick a spot--any spot--and start walking. It begins with a cruel joke in Georgia (you have to hike seven uphill miles just to get to the official start at Springer Mountain) and runs 2,160 miles to Maine's Mount Katahdin. For more information, call 304-535-6331.

2. Sheltowee Trace National Recreational Trail, Kentucky and Tennessee. All but 10 of this trail's 268 miles wind through Kentucky, mostly in Daniel Boone National Forest. Along the route, you'll pass Cumberland Falls and Red River Gorge and tromp through Natural Bridge State Park. Some sections are open to motorized traffic, others to horses and bikes, but all in all, a hiker's trail. For more information, call 606-745-3100.

3. The Virginia Creeper Trail, Virginia. More than just a rail-to-trail conversion, this 33.4-mile route has come full circle from an American Indian footpath to a mountain railroad and back again. Today, the 100 bridges and trestles, combined with tough terrain and incomparable scenery, make it a hotspot for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians. For more information, call Jefferson National Forest at 540-265-5100.

4. Bartram National Recreational Trail, Georgia. Think Appalachian Trail without the crowds. To get your first taste, try the 38-mile segment south from the North Carolina border. You'll top Rabun Bald at 4,700 feet and find plenty of good fishing in the Chattooga River along the way. For more information, call the Tallulah Ranger District at 706-782-3320.

5. North Fork Mountain Trail, West Virginia. The Monongahela National Forest provides about a million acres of hiking opportunity, but this is the gem, a rugged 24-mile weekend ramble with fabulous vistas and very little traffic. And if you have the strength to extend it by another two miles, you'll receive quite an additional payoff: views from the top of the Seneca Rocks crag, a famed outcropping that attracts climbers from around the world. For more information, call 304-799-6213.