Start Here to Fall in Love with Hiking in the Midwest
An abundance of eskers, mossy rocks, and sunsets over glassy lakes
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard, “There’s nowhere to hike in the Midwest. It’s just flat and boring.” To that, I roll my eyes. Hiking doesn’t require mountains—that would be mountaineering. Hiking is just walking in nature and the Midwest has nature galore!
Much of my leisure time is spent hiking, backpacking, and doing volunteer trailwork in the Upper Midwest. I love the serpentine ridge of an esker1, campsites next to glassy lakes2, and stonework that blends in so beautifully with the landscape that most hikers won’t even realize that a trail crew built it3.
Index of Mossy Rocks is where I share my love of the outdoors and show off the places that make my heart sing.
To get started, check out some of my favorite essays from the archive:
The monthly Postcards from the Moss series highlights the (mostly) Midwestern spots where I recreate, which I recommend if you need inspiration to plan your next hike:
If you don’t live in or visit the Midwest, you can still probably relate to things going sideways on your outdoor adventures. Catch up on the Type 2 Fun series to laugh and grimace along with my stories of thunderstorms, dehydration, and hungry hordes of mosquitos:
Likewise, trying new things is not limited by geographic boundaries. Learn about how I’m stretching my comfort zone in the Adventure Challenge series:
And if you have an outdoorsy conundrum, don’t miss out on my fortnightly advice column, Between a Mossy Rock and a Hard Place:
You can learn more about me on my website or Instagram. If you live in the Chicagoland area and don’t know where to go hiking, check out my 130+ page Google Doc of trails and parks, organized by state and driving time.
Your gallery of photographs by month is incredible! It makes me want to go hike in the Midwest... maybe Kettle Moraine or Isle Royale? Simply gorgeous.