If you only had a single day to do an unforgettable hike, where would you go?
That’s not an easy question and is very subjective depending on what you prefer. A perfect hiking day for me is a mountain summit hike with stunning panoramic views. It has challenging ascents, and some technical scrambling mixed with beautiful trails to soak up the views. The pictures are stunning but they are never as good as the real thing. They are the hikes which you savour and tell people about once you’ve returned!
This list covers mountain day hikes in the Alps, Canadian Rockies and Himalayas all done in a day. Each hike has its unique character and has a memorable reason to be on this list. No matter the plan, remember you can’t control the weather so make sure you bring the right gear using the Hiking Kit List. There are some trekking days which are as good as any of the best day hikes on this list but they need multiple days to reach the start. For simplicity, Trekking days won’t be fully included and instead will be detailed in dedicated blog posts later.
This list will be updated as I discover more interesting day hikes to do so stay tuned for more!
Disclaimer: I am a fast-paced hiker who enjoys steep climbs and quick descents. So the Garmin hiking stats may not be representative for everyone as I hike at a 20mins/km pace on average. Please bear this in mind when looking at the total time.
1. Hörnlihütte, Zermatt, Switzerland
Key Stats
Distance – 16.5km
Ascent – 1812m
Descent – 855m
Moving Time – 3h58m
Max Altitude – 3306m
Route Type – Out and Half Back
Starting Point – Zermatt
End Point – Schwarzsee
Weather Conditions – 20°C, High Cloud and Sunny, some breeze
The Matterhorn is arguably the most iconic mountain in the world. It attracts tourists from all over and a small percentage have ambitions to climb to the summit. Hörnlihütte is the mountain refuge on the Swiss side just below the start of the climb. While 150 climbers stay overnight, many day hikers travel to the hut to get close to the Matterhorn and enjoy refreshments and stunning views.
When researching Zermatt, I soon discovered this hike on AllTrails and it ticked all the boxes for ideal day hikes. The hike was on my birthday and it was as close to perfect as I’ve experienced. Before Zermatt, No.2 was firmly the best day hike I had done but the crown has been exchanged. The original plan was to hike down the Glaciers Trail from Trockener Steg station to Schwarzsee, up to Hörnlihütte then descend to Zermatt. But with not much ascending and a little uninspiring Glacier Trail, we changed the plan in the morning thankfully. We started in Zermatt town and decided to hike up past Furi up to Schwarzsee then onto Hörnlihütte. Most people take the cable car straight to Schwarzsee where the hike is around 3 hours to the hut.
The hike had great alpine hiking weather of around 20°C and the clouds lifted in the early afternoon to unveil the beautiful landscapes. The start of the hike was along the river then through little chalet hamlets while steadily climbing. Then Roisin (Girlfriend) and I hiked through the forests before arriving at the alpine meadows. By the time we arrived at Schwarzsee, we had already climbed 1200m to see the fresh hikers straight off the cable car. Another 600m of higher altitude ascending on rocky and steep terrain awaited us.
After hours of peace, we hiked along the crowded trails and saw the diversity of hikers, groups and climbers all heading to the hut. My favourite part was the stairs, ropes and steep rocky sections on the final push. The Hörnlihütte terrace was packed so we continued above to get a closer view of the Matterhorn and found a lunch spot. Our descent to Schwarzsee was rapid and we headed down in around an hour to the cable car. This hike broke my personal record for the most amount of climbing in a day with 1812m! I would highly recommend heading up to Hörnlihütte as the top views across the Matterhorn are truly breathtaking.
2. Panorama Ridge & Garibaldi Lake, Whistler, Canada
Key Stats
Distance – 31.5km
Ascent – 1653m
Descent – 1648m
Moving Time – 6h47m
Max Altitude – 2112m
Route Type – Out and Back
Start/End Point – Rubble Creek
Weather Conditions – 15°C, Mostly Cloudy, Sunny spells, Windy on Ridge
Before talking about the best day hike from Canada, some planning is needed. To get to the trailhead, you will need a free Garibaldi Provincial Parks reservation which can be tricky to get as many people try to get them once available. We tried to get a reservation 2 days before but they were taken in minutes after 7 am so we were pretty disheartened that our dream trip hike was gone. It’s worth noting that if there are no passes left, it’s best to keep checking back as we managed to get a pass the day before! For reference, Day-use vehicle passes are required daily from mid-June to Early September, and on weekends and holidays only until mid-October. For more info on how to book, visit BC Parks. Before getting to the Rubble Creek Car Park, you need to show the Reservation QR code to get through.
You may have seen pics or vids of Panorama Ridge online but they do not do it justice! We were unsure of the weather on our hike as we spent 2 hours in low clouds. By the time we reached the Ridge, the clouds broke for some spectacular views. Roisin and I left Whistler at 7:00am as we were unsure of how busy the car park would be. We drove the 25 mins to Rubble Creek Trailhead and there were plenty of spaces but it was filling up quickly so make sure to get there early. Our Garmin GPS took 5 mins to locate, and then off we went up the trail following the AllTrails route.
The first 9km up to Garibaldi Lake is a steady gradient which we did in around 90 mins. It’s mainly through forest and along switchbacks with few views of peaks yet. To Garibaldi Lake, it is a 900m climb and there is a campsite next to the shoreline where you will see campers descending the other way. We beat most of the crowds so were one of the first hikers up to Garibaldi Lake by 9:30am and were in awe of the vast lake in front of us. We then continued to Taylor Meadows at around 10am after many photographs and a pit stop. It was a steep section before the lovely alpine meadows with the famous Black Tusk looming above.
We started to meet hikers who had gone straight up towards Pano Ridge instead of to Garibaldi whereas we chose the lake first as we were unsure of injuries and weather then continued higher. We saw Marmots on the path as the day brightened and we began our final ascent. This was tough going on steep loose scree in places along the ridge. It took us around 30 mins to climb the last few hundred metres in elevation just in time for the clouds to break. We noticed the mix of prepared hikers and tourists in sandals and no water struggling up to the summit in search of their perfect photos. This ridge to the main summit is exposed and we cooled off quickly with wind chill so it’s worth bringing layers.
We made it to the top of the Panorama Ridge and were rewarded with a view that lived up to its namesake! You can see the surrounding peaks, glaciers, the whole lake below, Black Tusk behind and further into the distance. The summit is popular so we stopped for lunch on the crest a little further on the other side. After many photos, we descended the steep trail and then powered back along the meadows and into the forest overtaking many groups which had ventured to Garibaldi. Once we returned to the car park we had completed over 31 km in a day with almost 1650m of climbing so we were pretty shattered but extremely happy with the day hike.
3. Mount St. Piran & Plain of 6 Glaciers, Banff, Canada
Key Stats
Distance – 23.55km
Ascent – 1279m
Descent – 1284m
Moving Time – 4h56m
Max Altitude – 2639m
Route Type – Loop
Start/End Point – Lake Louise
Weather Conditions – 25°C, Hot and Sunny, No wind
When people think of the Canadian Rockies they tend to think of Moraine Lake or Lake Louise. They are iconic and extremely photographed for a reason. The tricky thing in the summer season is to get a parking at Lake Louise or the hot tickets for the shuttle buses. Roisin and I originally booked the Moraine Lake ticket (by accident) on the drive from Banff to Jasper along the Icefields Parkway Highway. This meant we could not do the planned day hike of Sentinel Pass via Larch Valley which was also restricted with minimum groups of 4 required due to bear activity (We will return for this one). Instead, we had a pretty special back-up hike planned of climbing Mount St. Piran from Lake Louise.
We didn’t have a Shuttle reservation so decided to drive at night and go watch the sunrise on Lake Louise. We left Banff around 4am and arrived 40mins later after a dark highway drive. There is a large car park on a first come first served basis which we would recommend if you couldn’t get a reservation and don’t want to pay for a Tour. The sunrise over the lake and mountains was stunning at around 6 am and one of my most memorable memories of Canada. Afterwards, we had some breakfast back in the warm car and got ready to hike around 8 am. We went around the lake before climbing through the trees up to Mirror Lake which reflects the Big Beehive. Then we continued up to Lake Agnes where most of the crowds went up to the teahouse for refreshments and it was packed by 10am.
After Lake Agnes, I started enjoying the hike more once away from the crowds. A surprise viewpoint was from Little Beehive where we took amazing photos of Lake Louise. To ascend to Mount St. Piran, there is a small path off the Little Beehive track into the trees which will climb up the steep scree slope but it is not clear so it’s worth using GPS to find it. At the summit, you get an amazing 360-degree view of the Canadian Rockies. For the descent, we chose to loop around to the top end of Lake Agnes but we did not know we would be going down a very steep and loose slope. We were very careful to not slip and fall but it was tiring on the legs. We picked a nice spot at the top end of Lake Agnes for lunch with some curious squirrels.
After lunch, we decided to head towards the Plain of 6 Glaciers which was a fun trail skirting along above Lake Louise and gave us an appreciation for the icy blue colour. The path up to the plain of 6 Glaciers was hot and a slog in the 25°C heat but had great views as we ascended the valley. What we did not know was the actual Plain of 6 glaciers was another 20 minutes further up from the teahouse. We hiked up the moraine to the top viewpoint to see the junction of glaciers before the long descent down to Lake Louise. This was a contrast between casual tourists and ourselves after 23 km and 7.5 hours of hiking in the heat. Overall, it was an incredible day’s hiking with a variety of landscapes and fun climbs to the viewpoints.
4. Friesenberghaus – Olpererhütte, Mayrhofen, Austria
Key Stats
Distance – 16.3km
Ascent – 1265m
Descent – 1064m
Moving Time – 3h34m
Max Altitude – 2679m
Route Type – Loop
Start/End Point – Schlegeiss
Weather Conditions – 17°C, Mostly Cloudy, Some wind
When researching Mayrhofen, there was one hike which captured my attention. The image you may have seen on Instagram of the Suspension Bridge with the mountains and reservoir behind it. I found a trail on AllTrails which extended the hike to Frisenberghaus and then persuaded my housemate and fellow backpacker, Shaun, to join me. Logistically, Mayrhofen is 25 km away from Schleissgeis Reservoir and we had no car to drive it. Luckily there was a cheap and regular bus to the trailhead from the town centre. While most Tourists off the bus choose to go directly up the steep trail to Olpererhütte and the Bridge, we took a longer route up to Frisenberghaus before traversing over to Olpererhütte in the afternoon.
The day was looking promising with some clouds and spells of sun which created a moody atmosphere. We saw no other hikers for the first few hours up to Frisenberghaus but it was early June which is before the season properly opens. The trial wound up in a wooded area slowly gaining altitude as we approached a small cabin to refill water and look back over the board decks. The far peaks and parallel valleys seemed never-ending with snow and clouds encompassing them. We climbed up the valley along a stream and over snow patches before reaching Frisenberghaus at 2,477m. After a short break and photos back along to the reservoir we continued onto a short scramble up to Petersköpfl. This stands at 2679m and is a jagged rocky summit covered with Cairns or “Steinmänner”. The views across Großer Möseler, Hochfeiler and Hochferner peaks bordering Italy are outstanding!
We descended to the hut and began a short gruelling climb over rocks and snow to start traversing over. At 2700m elevation, the thinner air made us carefully cross the snow banks without crampons to the first Schlegeisspeircher viewpoint. Then we stopped for lunch and did some photography while it was quiet. However, we didn’t anticipate how busy the suspension bridge would be and had to wait to cross. We enjoyed our 13 km hike across technical terrain before and felt rewarded despite the large crowds. We did a very fast descent with some trail running down to the Reservoir over 3km and bombed past other hikers. It meant we had 30 mins to wait for a bus but there are worse places to be waiting. The best Austrian Alpine hike I have done and would highly recommend Mayrhofen and the Zillertal region for hiking!
5. Gornergrat Riffelsee, Zermatt, Switzerland
Key Stats
Distance – 12.4km
Ascent – 1568m
Descent – 72m
Moving Time – 3h14m
Max Altitude – 3142m
Route Type – One Way
Start Point – Zermatt
End Point- Gornergrat
Weather Conditions – 22°C, Little Cloud, Sunny and Warm
The last day of hiking in Zermatt was incredible in many ways and could have been higher up this list but for one reason…. The Gornergrat Railway. The views are undeniably incredible with some of the best views of the Matterhorn you will see. Riffelsee, with its lake reflections, is iconic but at the cost of huge crowds with little hiking etiquette. That is usually the case with a train to transport people to high altitudes and easy paths to wander along which is great in giving people easy access to the mountains. Just be prepared for large groups and less peace and quiet than some would prefer.
The hike (AllTrails) started in Zermatt from the AirBnB and walked past the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car station to start our ascent. The start was pleasant along roads up towards Furi even if plenty of electric taxis passed on the road. Roisin and I turned left up a steep forest trail zigzagging up fast which was a little killer. The day was heating up and the sun was getting warm as we made our way to Riffelalp Resort for a quick break. The next section was my favourite after a gravel track we entered the meadows. We got lovely floral pictures of the Matterhorn and had a quiet trail before a few groups of hikers descended from the middle station.
We arrived at Riffelberg, which has a Gornergrat station, and the difference in crowds was immediate. The views across to Schwarzsee and the Matterhorn were clear with blue skies above so the business made sense. We chose a lower path to Riffelsee which did not take the 1h10 advertised, more like 30 mins for us (warning fast hikers). Briethorn and Klein Matterhorn were looking imposing too as we hiked under Riffelhorn (a climber’s dream training ground – we will be back!). We stopped at the 1st smaller lake to grab pics of the reflections before continuing up to the larger higher lake; this tactic worked well and meant less waiting for a prime spot.
After a lunch spot over Riffelsee, we continued up through the Alpine Garden and walked away from the crowds along to the left of the railway and up the last push to the summit. The top of Gornergrat was as hectic as expected as we weaved our way through the crowds to the observation deck to complete the hike. It wasn’t our longest hike but with 1568m climbing was steeper than others in Zermatt and harder with the mid 20 degrees heat. One surprise was no card machines working at the ticket office and they were asking for over 200 euros cash which we did not have. After hiking all the way up from Zermatt and giving up on the rude officer, we managed to get onto the train thanks to a useful assistant to enjoy the train down and a much-needed sit-down.
Honourable Mention – Poon Hill, Annapurna, Nepal
Key Stats
Distance – 6km
Ascent – 355m
Descent – 339m
Moving Time – 0h50m
Max Altitude – 3210m
Route Type – Out and Back
Start / End Point – Ghorepani
Weather Conditions – 10°C, Clear and crisp, no cloud or wind
This day of the Annapurna Circuit was one of my favourites mainly because of the sunrise hike to Poon Hill. It can’t be put in the same category as Day Hikes because the total time was under 3 hours. But I have not had a better mountain range panorama including two 8000meter mountains (Annapurna and Dhaulagiri). The hike only takes most people 1 hour but starts before 5am to guarantee a good spot. From Ghorepani, it is a well-sign-posted stepped trail with over 350m climbing in 3km. As you will be hiking at night time, it’s recommended to bring a head torch to see the path.
My guide, Dawa, and I were literally the first people to the top of Poon Hill after overtaking around 10 people on the climb. We arrived before dawn and claimed the perfect spot on the Tower to watch the sun rise creating a beautiful sky and then the sunlight touched the mountain summits. We were at Poon Hill for a couple of hours to make the most of it and by the time we left, it was very busy! There’s a small shack that serves Masala tea which we enjoyed with the epic view then did a fast trail descent back to Ghorepani. I will always remember this Himalayan sunrise and highly recommend getting up early if you’re doing Annapurna Circuit or Base Camp treks.
Where next?
I’m fortunate enough to have done many Day Hikes in different countries and continents so far with plans for many more over the coming years. This post was originally a Top 10 Best Day Hikes post but has been split into 2 posts with the next 6-10 day hikes coming soon!
What’s your favourite day hike? I would love to hear what they are in the comments below and find some inspiration for my next hiking adventures!