by besthike editor Rick McCharles
I posted our top 10 hiking towns worldwide based on some quite vague criteria.
top 10 hiking towns in the world
#1) Queenstown, New Zealand
#2) Huaraz, Peru
#3) Namche Bazaar, Nepal
#4) Cortina, Italy
#5) Chamonix, France
#6) Banff and Canmore, Canada
#7) Grindelwald, Switzerland
#8) El Calafate & El Chaltén, Argentina
#9) Zermatt, Switzerland
10) Moab, Utah
I’ve personally hiked out of all 10 of those great towns in recent years. But there might be others just as good … or better.
Of those 10, El Calafate and Moab are the two that might be replaced.
David suggests Sun Valley / Ketchum, Idaho. Mark recommends Springdale, Utah, just outside Zion National Park.
The USA has the best hiking in the world, under represented on our list of top 10 towns.
But what’s a hiking town USA better than Moab?
My first pick is Yosemite Village. Wonderful … but is it really a “town”?
Almost nobody would dispute Banff / Canmore on the list. But I personally prefer Waterton townsite. It’s a true town compared with Yosemite.
In fact, it would be the #1 town on my personal list.
I’ve never hiked the N.E. USA. … What about Lake Placid or Keene, New York?
In Argentina you can make a good argument for Bariloche. You can take a city bus to some of the best hiking in South America.
There must be more good candidates. Leave a comment if you have a suggestion.
That list is not carved in stone. … Yet.
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