Easy Fall Hikes

Maine

Camden Hills State Park In under an hour, you can take the 1.2-mile Nature Trail from Camden's sailboat-filled harbor to the top of nearby Mount Battie for a glorious view of Penobscot Bay's pine-dotted islands. Then follow the five-mile side route from Mount Battie up Maiden Cliff, which rises 800 feet from the shore of Megunticook Lake. 280 Belfast Rd., Camden; 207/236-3109; maine.gov.

Massachusetts

Mount Greylock State Reservation Take the Cheshire Harbor Trail—3.3 miles of beech and birch trees and old-growth forests of red spruce—up to the summit of 3,491-foot Mount Greylock. The reward: a 70-mile panoramic view of five states. 30 Rockwell Rd., Adams; 413/499-4262; mass.gov.

New Brunswick, Canada

Fundy Trail Parkway Along the 10-mile Fundy Trail Parkway are countless footpaths, observation decks, and stairways leading down to the surf. You can walk on the ocean floor when the Bay of Fundy's tides—the world's highest— recede 40 feet from the shore. Rte. 111, St. Martins; 866/386-3987; fundytrailparkway.com.

New York

Watkins Glen State Park The park's main trail weaves along a leafy 200-foot gorge and has stone bridges dating to the 1930's that cross behind waterfalls—including the 20-foot Cavern Cascade. Rte. 14, Watkins Glen; 607/535-4511; nysparks.state.ny.us.

—Darrell Hartman