Haunted Hiking Trails
Bloody Lane Trail, MD
This 1.5-mile trail in Antietam National Battlefield was one of the deadliest Civil War battles in 1862. Which explains, visitors report seeing ghostly soldiers both day and night. Many soldiers are buried around Burnside’s Bridge, and phenomena include witnessing balls of blue light, hearing drumming, gunfire and battlefield songs and smelling gunpowder.
Chilnualna Falls Trail, California
Yosemite National Park is home to some of the country’s most beautiful (and deadly) hiking paths. The Mist Trail is more popular for its two gushing waterfalls, but the Chilnualna Falls Trail is more haunted (and boasts three waterfalls). The difficult 8.4-mile loop passes Grouse Lake, where, according to Awahnechee tribal legend, the cries of a young boy who drowned in the lake can still be heard, and anyone who jumps into the lake looking for the boy will also drown.
Transept Trail, Utah
The three-mile Transept Trail in the Grand Canyon’s North Rim is one of the best-known haunted paths, since stories of the Wailing Woman are well documented by hikers. She’s often seen at night wearing a white dress with blue flowers, bemoaning, according to local tales, her husband and son who died in a hiking accident.
Iron Goat Trail, Washington
The Iron Goat Trail in Stevens Pass in the Cascades was the site of one of the worst railroad accidents in U.S. history. In 1910 an avalanche knocked two trains off the tracks while they were snowed in at the Wellington depot, killing almost 100 people. After the accident the Great Northern Railroad abandoned the tracks and built new routes and tunnels. The abandoned tunnels and snow sheds still exist on the trail, and hikers share tales of hearing voices, screams and sounds around the crash site of Tye Creek in the (now ghost town) of Wellington. However, hikers aren’t allowed on the trail at night, and under no circumstances should anyone enter the tunnels, which are all in danger of collapse—if they haven’t already.
Warm Springs Canyon Road, California
This death seeking 16-mile hike in Death Valley National Park is not for the faint of heart, and not just because of extremely hot temperatures and abandoned homes along the route. Don’t let the pleasant-sounding name fool you, Warm Springs Canyon Road leads to Barker Ranch—the former hideout of the infamous Manson Family.
Charles Manson and his followers lived at the ranch for a period of time in the late ‘60s while on the run following the tragic Los Angeles murders of Sharon Tate and six others.
Manson and company was eventually captured at Barker, where he supposedly killed more people, although the bodies have never been found. A fire destroyed Barker Ranch in 2009, so now only the shell remains. Hikers who are brave enough are allowed to camp on the grounds, and some reported hearing screams, the feeling of being watched and smelling decomposing bodies.
Sources: TravelChannel.com
