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Juan Melli blazing a section of the Appalachian Trail

About Take a Hike

I’m Juan Melli, a hiker, backpacker, and fine art photographer based in Hoboken. Friends used to ask me where to hike, so I started Take a Hike to share the trails I know best, with the practical details that make a good day out easier: where to park, which way to go, and what makes each hike worth the trip.

I serve on the board of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and help maintain a section of the Appalachian Trail. I’m president of Team Wilderness, a nonprofit that takes urban youth into the wilderness to build teamwork, leadership, and character. Farther from home, I’ve backpacked the John Muir Trail and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Most of the photographs on this site are mine. You can see more of my landscape, urban, and wildlife work, and bring a print home, at juanmelli.com.

See my photographyShop prints