5 Of The Best Hiking Trails In America For Wheelchair Users, According To Reviews

Whether you love seeking out the most beautiful natural views, keeping detailed records of every bird and flower you see, or just working up a sweat on the trails, there are plenty of reasons to set out on a hike. Fortunately, many of the most beautiful trails for hikers to explore have been adapted to make them more accessible to visitors with disabilities, so more people can experience everything a hiking trip in nature has to offer.

It should be noted that, like any other hiker, wheelchair users have varying levels of stamina and hiking ability. Gear, from the most basic manual wheelchairs to specially designed all-terrain chairs, will also play a part in what kind of terrain a hiker can enjoy. For the purposes of this article, we attempted to choose exciting hiking trails that would be accessible to the majority of wheelchair users, sticking to wider trails which are generally labeled as accessible, have level or gentle grades, and firm smooth terrain — but more challenging routes are possible for some wheelchair users.

Yosemite National Park is a fantastic choice for any hiker looking to experience California's natural beauty. If you want to experience the sights from the comfort of your vehicle, that's certainly possible. In fact, many of the park's most iconic views like, Half Dome, and Yosemite Falls are visible from the road, and you may be able to get driving access for some trails like Happy Isles and Mirror Lake with a handicap placard. However, if you're looking to get out on the trails your best bet may be the Yosemite Valley Floor Trail. This quiet route through the park can take more than 3 hours to complete, so come prepared for an adventure.

This trail has extremely high ratings across platforms, with hikers assigning it an average of 4.5 to 4.8 stars on AllTrails and Google Reviews. Not only is this a paved path, there are actually two trails along this route. The one on the right is specifically designed to be wheelchair accessible (though you might be able to manage the left trail as well, there is only one brief section with a steeper grade). Along this trail, you'll see the landscapes that make Yosemite one of the most popular national parks in the United States, including the staggering sheer granite cliff El Capitan.

Thanks to its incredible natural beauty, Glacier National Park is known as The Crown of the Continent. From thick forests to wildflower meadows, this Montana national park is a place that is truly wild. That doesn't mean there isn't any way to see it without scrambling up a cliffside, however. The easiest way to get around the park is probably the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which takes you thousands of feet up to see incredible views of the landscape below. Although, one of the most unique sites in the park is the Trail of the Cedars Nature trail, and it is also accessible for many wheelchair users.

This boardwalk is short, only taking about 20 minutes to complete, but hikers on AllTrails have still rated it an impressive 4.7 stars. The trail takes hikers on a lush route through the forest of impressive Western red cedar trees, many of which are 100-feet tall and more than 4-feet wide. Along the way, you'll see a view of the Avalanche Gorge from above and hear the rushing of waterfalls.

Yellowstone National Park is certainly famous for its wildlife, from wolves to herds of buffalo, but it's the vibrant hot springs and erupting geysers that make this beautiful place iconic. While there is a lot of undeveloped wilderness in the park, it is also set up to accommodate visitors of all kinds at its biggest attractions. In fact, the interactive Yellowstone park map on the official NPS App even has a filter to allow wheelchair users to see which trails are wheelchair accessible. The park's most famous feature, Old Faithful, is among those sights that are fully accessible.

As well as many accessible shops and restaurants, this area of the park has boardwalks that lead to many of the most incredible sites, including Old Faithful. The Old Faithful Geyser Loop is a wooden boardwalk, with railings, that is about 10-feet across with a gentle grade, so visitors should have no issue accessing the geyser in their wheelchairs — though the dense crowds at this popular site can prove frustrating for those with or without mobility issues. The trail is a must-visit for hikers of all kinds from around the world, so it's no surprise that it has extremely positive reviews. Its average score on AllTrails is 4.4 stars, with many reviewers noting that their scores would've been higher, but the boardwalk was crowded during their visit.

Utah's Zion National Park may be famous for the scenic-yet-dangerous Angels Landing hike, but there are plenty of incredible trails in the park to explore without risking your life. A fantastic place to start is the Pa'rus Trail, an hour-long journey through wooded areas, boasting pretty river views and meadows that sometimes erupt with wildflowers. This is a paved trail that is between 8-10 feet wide and usually fairly flat, though the area beyond the campground has a 10% grade that may not be appropriate for wheelchair users. However, the majority of this trail is ideal for an easy journey through Zion, with views of snow-capped red mountains and brilliant blue skies above.

Reviewers on Google Reviews and AllTrails rated this hike between 4.5-4.7 stars, with a few complaining about the presence of cyclists, who also enjoy the smooth trail. This trail can be extremely hot in the summertime, so make sure to plan ahead and bring plenty of water with you. If you want to avoid the midday sun, some have noted that this is a particularly beautiful place to watch the sunset.

Florida's Everglades National Park is definitely one of the most iconic national parks on the East Coast, and it has plenty of hiking trails for visitors to explore its unique landscape. It features several short, paved trails or boardwalks which are perfect for most wheelchair users, but if you love hiking for the chance to spot wildlife, there is no better trail to hike than Anhinga Trail. As noted by the National Park Service, in the winter months, you're likely to see many wading birds, turtles, and of course, the Everglades' beloved alligators.

This is among the most popular trails in Everglades National Park, and reviewers on TripAdvisor, AllTrails, and Yelp have rated it an average of between 4.5 and 4.8 stars. Best of all, this route is partially paved and partially boardwalk, almost completely flat, and considered fully accessible for wheelchair users. This short trail would only take around 15 minutes to hike if you didn't stop to look out at the landscape, but chances are you will spend far longer birdwatching, taking in the views of the prairie, and maybe even taking in a sunrise over the water.

Our search for the best trails for wheelchair users began with reading reviews from wheelchair users on their blogs, social media, articles, and guides, including the Disabled Hikers community. There is an extremely wide range of what trails may be usable by wheelchair users with different experience levels, stamina, and equipment, so we limited our trail selections to those with level or gentle inclines, wide paths, and smooth terrain like pavement or hard packed soil in hopes of recommending those trails which are appropriate for the widest range of hikers possible.

We narrowed down this exceedingly long list by only choosing one trail from any given state and prioritizing routes that would provide very different types of experiences (for instance, a short wooden boardwalk to an incredible overlook and a long winding road through the woods). Finally, we reviewed trails based on reviews from hikers on review sites like AllTrails, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google Reviews and selected the top five, because we believe that once the barrier of accessibility is accounted for, a good trail is a good trail.