The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: June twenty-eighth, sampling ten of America's best walks.

As noted yesterday, nothing soothes the soul or lifts the spirits quite like a plesant stroll. The U.S. has no shortage of superb day hikes. From east to west, here are ten regional favorites.

The Recreation Path in Stowe, Vermont follows the Little River for five miles, winding among stately trees and fields of wildflowers. The Cliff Walk from Easton to Bailey Beaches in Newport, Rhode Island offers four miles of salt air, wild shore and grand summer cottages.

Old growth trees and glacial ponds are the backdrop for the 20-mile Cranberry Lake Wild Forest Trail in Adirondack State Park New York. The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine, but the three-mile Lewis Falls Loop in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park combines great scenery and easy access. Once a railroad line, southwest Pennsylvania's Great Allegheny Passage boasts more than 120 miles of largely level hiking along laurel-lined river valleys.

Paseo del Rio in San Antonio, Texas is a classic urban river walk, while Colorado's Ute Mountain Tribal Park Trail meanders for three miles through pristine canyons. One can walk from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. The stretch across Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California provides a great sample.

Sol Duc Falls Trail in Olympic National Park in Washington is a one mile microbyte of a forest primeval. And finally, Crater Rim Trail through Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park puts walkers in touch with nature's awesome power.

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