It’ll take some miles to reach these eight remote, high-elevation lakes, but what better way to cap off a strenuous trek than diving into cool, crystal-clear water?
Europe is known for its network of high-alpine huts, where you hike from lodge to lodge and eat dishes like goulash and spaetzle before retiring for the night in plush accommodations and then hiking on to the next hut the following day. But you don’t have to leave the country for a taste of that experience.
“The U.S. is on the verge of embracing what huts are all about,” says Sam Demas, author of the forthcoming guidebook
Hut to Hut USA: The Complete Guide for Hikers, Bikers, and Skiers, which will be published in October. “There’s a big appetite for hut travel in the U.S., and we’re seeing more communities develop new systems.”