Denali
A former Denali ranger shares her secrets for finding solitude, scoring the most coveted permits, seeing wildlife, beating the weather, and more. Follow her from-the-field advice for the ultimate trip in America's wildest park.
Ten trails. Ten unmatched miles each. Get maximum bang for each boot step on hikes that our most-traveled contributors call their all-time favorites.
We've picked the top 10 miles of North America's 10 most memorable hikes. Find your way to wilderness nirvana with these map and planning guides.
Go ahead, look again. And again. These images are worth a third, fourth, and then a tenth gaze.
Denali isn’t just for experts. These guinea pigs will prove it. Probably.
See scores of stunning images from the Grand Canyon, Denali, Yosemite, and more.
Explore Denali's top dayhikes, photo ops, and epic wildlife treks.
We've covered 245,591 miles of trails in our 37-year history. Here are our 20 all-time favorite trips, plus—shocking!—20 routes we never covered.
Pick your pilgrimage through the backcountry Holy Land: Mt Eielson Loop or Kesugi Ridge.
Explore pure wilderness on this two-day circuit in the Alaska Range.
What makes a backpacker a backpacker? It's not the garage full of gear or piles of guidebooks--it's the experiences, from thru-hiking a long trail to pushing your personal envelope to inspiring a child's love of wilderness. Here we present BACKPACKER's new Life List: 10 experiences to add to your tick-listnow--and the key skills you need to nail them.
Coming face to face with the biggest predator in North America might just alter your worldview.
Catch the best views in the nation's marquee parks from the comfort of your computer. Prepare to drool...now.
Plan your perfect Alaskan trip–from a budget-friendly weekend to an entry-level expedition–with field reports from Steve Howe.
Crashing waterfalls, hidden lakes, and a choice Denali view highlight the 2010 Northwest Readers' Choice hikes.
See this deciduous pine turn electric-yellow.
Find primo lakeside camping on a rainforest-to-alpine loop.
Want guaranteed peace and quiet? Hike to two of the Lower 48's most remote alpine lakes.
Climb the Northwest's tallest nontechnical volcano.
This classic alpine loop belongs on every backpacker's tick list.
Enjoy unparalleled views from one of the country's finest skyline trails.
The all-time best. That's what every hiker wants on a national park trek, and that's what you'll get if you tackle one of these 25 trips.
Zero in on your perfect hike, from thrilling slots to soak-awhile hot springs.
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.
Catch these highlights from
The National Parks: America's Best Idea, then download maps to hike to them yourself.
On the eve of his much-anticipated documentary, Ken Burns discusses the heroes and history of America's most precious wildlands–and the new challenges they face now.
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...
After tackling Mt. McKinley, Sibusiso Vilane & writer Steve Howe foraged in Talkeetna, hitchhiked the Alaskan highways, and met a grizzly in Denali.
Find hikes in National Parks and regional parks with our comprehensive guides.
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.
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 and an interview with Ross on the experience.
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.
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.
This question fuels the debate regarding how to help the aging national park system improve.
3-D hike videos, complete trip planner pdfs, our interactive ParkFinder tool, and more.
With the cold driving away crowds, National Parks are a delight to visit in winter. Here's our top picks.
Our map team has been hard at work plotting the coolest hikes. Check out May's selections here.
Retracing the route to people's accidents can help us prevent our own. These 10 trips lead you to the exact locations of disasters from Denali to the Grand Canyon.
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.
We surveyed more than 40 scientists, conservationists, and professional adventurers, then ranked the 15 parks that are most in peril from climate change.
Write your own ticket to new adventures with these 10 territory-expanding skills.
Experience the nighttime sky from 20,320 feet up majestic Mt. McKinley -- but first read our guide to the trip.
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.
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.
Where the words "wild" and "life" take on new meaning
More than ever, these empty parks offer medicine for the soul.
