My 5 Favorite Summer Hikes (And Why Beehive Basin Just Made the List)

I’ve always been a list person. Favorite ski runs. Best mountain towns. Most memorable meals. Top powder days. My brain is constantly sorting experiences into categories, trying to make sense of my journey (both the geographical one and the personal one). Without my journals, travel notes and photos, important memories and life lessons blur together. That’s how this list of my five favorite summer hikes started.

Once the girls were older and my hikes became more adventurous, the list really started to take shape. National parks only fueled the obsession. Now, every time I finish a trail, I ask myself the same question: Does this one belong on the list? That’s exactly what happened after hiking Beehive Basin. It was time for an official update.

• Mount Batur, Bali (2003)

• Tegernseer Hütte, Bavaria Germany (2021)

• Fairyland Loop, Bryce National Park, Utah (2025)

• Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Maine (2026)

• Beehive Basin, Big Sky, Montana (2026)

I have to give credit to the teams at Visit Big Sky and Boyne Resorts for introducing me to the newest addition to this list. When I told them I wanted to spend one morning hiking, they suggested Beehive Basin. The description was only two sentences long—mountain lake, wildflowers. That was all I needed to hear.

Beehive Basin stands out for the gentle pace and the constant rewards. For a hiker used to the East Coast, where rocky, root-filled trails require you to spend much of the hike watching your footing before finally being rewarded with a summit view, this single-track trail felt almost manicured.

Unlike many hikes on this list, there’s no park entrance fee or guide required. The trailhead is just ten minutes from Big Sky’s Mountain Village, with free parking (though weekends fill quickly). At roughly 7,500 feet, the trail begins climbing almost immediately, but the switchbacks are gentle enough that my husband and I could keep a brisk pace while carrying on an actual conversation.

Instead of swatting mosquitoes or watching every step, we found ourselves talking about what life might look like as empty nesters. On steeper hikes, all your oxygen goes toward forward progress.

Then there were the flowers. The landscape looked like a George Seurat painting. From a distance, thousands of tiny dots of color blanketed the meadows. Up close, those dots became lupine, mountain harebells, Indian paintbrush, and dozens of other alpine wildflowers.

Fun Fact: Late June is peak wildflower season in Montana. Montana State University botanist Matt Lavin estimates that nearly 300 species grow in Beehive Basin. My favorites were the lupine and delicate mountain harebells. I’ll also admit to making one rookie mistake: I picked a small bouquet to bring back to my hotel. I’ve since learned those flowers become the seeds that keep this alpine ecosystem thriving. Lesson learned: Take only photos, leave only footprints.

At the halfway point, we arrived at the alpine lake. We stopped for our usual trail lunch of nuts and cheese. As we ate, we found ourselves talking about other favorite hikes while trying to stay present and appreciate this one on its own terms.

It wasn’t until I got back to the hotel reviewing photos and journaling that I began mentally reshuffling my list. What ultimately pushed Beehive Basin into my top five wasn’t just the scenery or even the perfect weather. It was the way the landscape unfolded. There was never a stretch where I found myself wishing for the destination.

If Beehive Basin just earned a spot on your hiking list too, here are a few things I’d do differently next time:

Expect a little snow. Even in late June, we encountered lingering snow near the lake after gaining about 1,600 feet of elevation. We had to cross a few snowy sections to stay on the trail. Waterproof hiking shoes (or at least waterproof trail runners) will make those crossings much more comfortable.

Don’t underestimate the sun. One of the things I loved most about this hike was how open it felt. The trade-off? Very little shade. Bring sunscreen, wear a hat, and reapply during the hike—especially at nearly 9,000 feet, where the sun is noticeably more intense.

Carry more water than you think you’ll need. Between the elevation and the dry Montana air, I drank much more than I expected. It’s an easy hike to underestimate because the grade is so pleasant. Read more about acclimating at elevation.

Curious why these four iconic hikes have held their spots for years—and which legendary trail just got bumped? That’s where the story gets personal.