AARP Hearing Center
Hiking is an activity for all ages. It gets you out of the gym and into nature. Just walk — at whatever pace you want. Hiking is also about exploration, which keeps the mind active, too. On a good hike, you navigate shifting terrain while enjoying the theater of the natural world. Bring along a bird guide, spend time identifying wildflowers, or pick up a history lesson as you trek.
Here are some favorites among older hikers.
Easy

Fairy Falls Trail
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
4.5 miles out and back
Yellowstone’s backcountry is not only easy to manage but also rewarding for those seeking a wilderness experience. The relatively flat Fairy Falls Trail takes hikers to a picture-perfect view of 200-foot falls, with water cascading off a volcanic cliff. Be on the lookout for wildlife, from bison to beavers, and carry bear spray just in case.

Easier option: Start from the same trailhead and hike the roughly half-mile Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail, which leads to a stunning view of the Midway Geyser Basin.
Skyspace Loop
Red Butte Recreation Area, Green Mountain Falls, Colorado
1.5-mile loop

Take a ramble on the ridge overlooking the bucolic town of Green Mountain Falls, located in a deep valley on the sides of the Pikes Peak massif. On the Pittman and Keigwin Cutoff trails, you’ll climb through ponderosa pine, gambel oak and yucca, with pygmy nuthatch birds chirping in the branches. The highlight is a stop in the Green Mountain Falls Skyspace, built by famed light artist James Turrell. One of more than 80 Turrell “Skyspaces” in the world, the stone building set in the wooded hillside has a retractable roof; shows at sunrise and sunset create an experience that melds natural and artificial light for a meditative experience in the midst of a hike.
Easier option: You can simply hike the roughly half-mile to the Skyspace and back from town. Be advised that the terrain can be steep.