Alaska
The legendary shooter once said that photographs were "usually looked at, seldom looked into." Take a look into three hikes that inspired some of Ansel Adams greatest photos, and take a few pictures yourself.
Lost? Murdered? When the wilderness swallows people without a trace, who's to say what happened?
Hike these paths before the masses find them.
During a one-month August journey, BACKPACKER undertook multiple crowd-free Alaskan backpacking routes and returned with extensive photos, video, & GPS.
On the Brooks Range's Arctic slop, coal mining and oil and natural gas drilling are threats to half a million caribou, and the Arctic's highest concentration of grizzlies.
Take a fatherless herd boy from poverty-wracked Swaziland, endow him with an indomitable will and a few wealthy friends, give him the lungs of Ed Viesturs, and you have...
Take your pick of mountains, rainforests, deserts, or the ocean–or experience all four zones in a single day–one advantage of living the outdoor dream along the west coast of America.
After tackling Mt. McKinley, Sibusiso Vilane & writer Steve Howe foraged in Talkeetna, hitchhiked the Alaskan highways, and met a grizzly in Denali.
The Alaska Marine Highway is the world's most scenic floating campground.
The white, fluffy, subzero-temperature-loving polar bear takes this title.
Use our comprehensive state-specific pages to find hikes in your home state our a state you're planning on visiting.
Another dead Denali wolf. A battle for the soul of wild Alaska. Our reporter visits America's most iconic wilderness for the inside story of a park under siege.
Forget flying south. Learn the secrets of cold-weather survival from three well-adapted birds.
You guessed, it, you need to head North. Here's where you'll get the best view of the Northern Lights.
Denver teacher Mike Haugen sets a new state summits speed record–fifty state highpoints in less than 50 days!
When senior editor Tracy Ross investigated Denali's wolf controversy, she expected to see a dead wolf--but not a skinned one. Go behind the scenes with video filmed in the field.
Author Tracy Ross discusses her feature story "Dogs of War" devoted to the debate raging in Alaska over the famed Toklat wolf pack.
Paddling, hiking, testing self arrest skills–we cover it all in these 10 epic trips throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
A sudden swim in a glacier-fed river nearly finishes a ranger.
Stunned by the loss of his friends, a stranded climber struggles down one of Alaska's toughest peaks.
Beat your own path through Denali National Park's confounding and little-traveled
Wyoming Hills.
The system was rigged, says a former ranger. Here's how to beat it.
Hike with grizzlies in this remote northern corner of Alaska's greatest park.
America's first national park is a playground for grizzlies, wolves, moose, and hikers (not in that order).
Explore two ecosystems in this hinterland of moss-draped forests, ancient trees, and snowcapped peaks.
Trees, trees are everywhere, but sometimes there isn't a dry twig in sight.
Graze blueberry patches, explore swimming holes, and tag the South's high points on this sultry hike.
Send him out on a work trip. Let wilderness do the rest.
Drop into America's belly on a little-known hike that dips in and out of four different canyons, each blessed with gurgling spring water.
Climb classic Sierra passes, ogle granite monoliths, and camp above treeline in John Muir's second home.
Scramble up class III peaks and cross late summer snowfields on this strenuous but straightforward trip through Montana's big-mountain country.
The ultimate vacation in one of America's iconic parks requires the ultimate hiking plan: classic scenery, no crowds, and secret campsites. Here's how to spend a perfect week in Glacier, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Olympic, Denali, and the Great Smoky Mountains.
From the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains to New England, we've got nine epic ridgewalks just for you.
These weekend float trips have side hikes that rival the paddling for scenery and solitude.
No, not the famously wind-whipped peaks in New Hampshire. Explore some of the country's lesser-known Whites with these accessible spring summits in Arizona, New Mexico, and Alaska.
How can I comparison-shop for a guided trek in Alaska?
The Lower 48's most glaciated region is losing its ice at an astonishing rate.
Alaska is the last frontier, but energy development and climate change promise to change the face of our wildest state in your lifetime. Here's how.
What do Florida's Everglades and Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias have in common? Both face uncertain futures as temperatures rise.
Tour the wildlife menagerie that is southeast Alaska on two kayak trips
The stampede is over--but not the fun--in this trailhead town.
Experience the nighttime sky from 20,320 feet up majestic Mt. McKinley -- but first read our guide to the trip.
The slow boat to Alaska requires duct tape, an elastic itinerary, and a hunger for in-your-face adventure.
Wildlife aplenty at Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary
From paddling Lake Superior to glacier-hopping in Alaska: 6 hair-raising, lung-busting adventures from America's top outfitters
We follow a giant, endangered caribou herd from the Yukon to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Part 6.
Use your backpacking skills at the best surfing, climbing, trail running, and even paragliding spots
Will anyone ever climb the dangerous northwest face of Alaska's Devil's Thumb? Maybe they shouldn't.
We follow a giant, endangered caribou herd from the Yukon to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Part 5.
They kill swiftly and silently. They flit like ghosts through enemy forests. And they will brew you a fine cup of cowboy coffee. Meet America's deadliest hikers as we hump ruck with the Special Forces.
We follow a giant, endangered caribou herd from the Yukon to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Part 4.
Visit this remote section of the Arctic before climate change alters it forever
We follow a giant, endangered caribou herd from the Yukon to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Part 3.
We follow a giant, endangered caribou herd from the Yukon to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Part 2.
Paddle blue inlets too new for any topo.
We follow a giant, endangered caribou herd from the Yukon to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Part 1.
Just minutes from Anchorage lie dozens of world-class hiking and paddling trips. This guide gives you the best, plus gear and travel tips to smooth the way.
Protection one of Alaska and Canada's largest caribou herds is so close, yet so far away.
18 facts you didn't know about Alaska and Canada's Porcupine Caribou herd.
Will he keep up? Karsten Heuer embarks on an audacious 1,200-mile expedition-cum-caribou chase.
How do you plan a route following 123,000 migrating caribou across Canada and Alaska? Try to keep up.
How do you plan an expedition to follow 123,000 migrating caribou across Canada and Alaska? Very carefully.
Do you have what it takes to climb Alaska's Denali? Find out with our mountaineer's guide.
Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Let rivers and ridgelines be your compass as you hike in the shadow of Alaska's Mt. McKinley.
Our comprehensive guide to the best backpacking you can find in Alaska.
Camping with kids can plant a wild seed in them that will grow as they do-but only if you get them Out There.
When bushwacking a trail, go high altitude and stay there.
Distances can appear farther in the tundra.
Just because it's flat and treeless doesn't mean it's easy hiking.
Need someplace to go shoe with your snowshoes? Whet your whistle with one of these great places.
In the 20 years since the passage of the Alaska Lands Act, nothing has changed in many of the state's wild places. And that's reason to celebrate.
Why huff and puff to get to an isolated campsite? Simply grab a paddle, then let the current carry you to a secluded riverside trailhead.
Alaska's premier area for fish and wildlife.
Crossing rivers can be treacherous -- unless you know what you're doing.
Like shimmering rainbows in the night, the northern lights electrify the sky with color.
If you think autumn is simply a time to rake leaves, then you need to read our guide to the best of the fall season.
Missing for more than a month in the Australian Outback, American tourist Robert Bogucki was found alive and amazingly coherent yesterday in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia.
In Alaska's Tongass, the ancient trees have something to say...if you're willing to listen.
The Tordrillo Mountains are so rugged, you'd swear you're the first human to set foot there.
When gently paddling amidst the mini-icebergs that grace Prince William Sound, you ponder one question: why walk?
A once-in-a-lifetime solo hike through Lake Clark National Park, where the midnight sun shines like candlelight on the mountains.
Journey to Alaska's far northern edge, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where the midnight sun shines like candlelight on the mountains.
Wrangell-St. Elias National park is known for its jaw-dropping scenery, but there's just as much beauty at your feet.
In a land with few trails, Alaska's Resurrection Pass stands above them all.
