Glacier
Live longer, take the North Circle Route. Glacier's highcountry views and crisp alpine air are rumored to add years to a backpacker's being.
Lost? Murdered? When the wilderness swallows people without a trace, who's to say what happened?
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.
Check out the world's hottest hydrothermal fumarole, Glacier's grizzlies, and a venus flytryp in North Carolina.
You know that the big-name parks draw big-time crowds. But each of those outdoor icons has a lesser-known replacement that offers some of the same classic features and epic scenery–and you get it all to yourself.
Discover the best hike in every state, as voted by BACKPACKER readers. Plus: your essential gear, most desirable tentmate, worst-ever adventure movie, and our picks for the best reader-submitted photos.
Fatten griz for winter
Traverse the wildest part of the lower 48's last great grizzly hideaway.
Coastal views, mountains, and fjords await on the Long Range Traverse in Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park.
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.
The Ice Age left its mark from Acadia to Yosemite. Here's scenic evidence.
3-D hike videos, complete trip planner pdfs, our interactive ParkFinder tool, and more.
Glaciers sculpt mountains, dredge valleys, and remain an unending source of fascination for hikers.
Visitors to Montana's Glacier National Park can visit on the cheap or pay an arm and a leg -- but each way has its unique charms.
Our map team has been hard at work plotting the coolest hikes. Check out May's selections here.
On August 25, 2005, Johan Otter and his 18-year-old daughter, Jenna, hiked right into the worst nightmare of any Glacier National Park backpacker: a 300-pound mother grizzly protecting two cubs. Here, in his own words, the 45-year-old physical therapist from Escondido, CA, shares the incredible story of their life-and-death struggle.
Global warming is drying up Glacier National Park's rivers of ice. Learn how scientists are trying to prevent the Glacier demise from happening at other outdoor attractions.
Explore six new routes through the most rugged, scenic, and wildife-rich mountains in the Lower 48.
Write your own ticket to new adventures with these 10 territory-expanding skills.
16 wild ways to find backcountry solitude and big-time scenery. All this, and you can bring the ice chest, too.
The ultimate continental divide and a legendary mountaineering traverse
Memorable panoramas of Glacier National Park's high peaks
Paddle blue inlets too new for any topo.
The most-studied glacier in the park lets you see global warming in action.
Get more Glacier hiking ideas in our online exclusive
The Cascade scenery on this hike can only be compared to those of the Alps.
The ultimate guide to greenhouse adventure, featuring 8 surprising new trips, acres of virgin terrain, and a peek at the future of North American wilderness.
3 hidden hikes in our readers' favorite backpacking park
Some of the most classic glacier scenery is offered to all visitors of this national park.
Can anyone really know what lurks in the heart of a grizzly? In the wilds of Russia's Kamchatka peninsula, Charlie Russell believes he is beginning to find out.
Want a ceremony that reflects your passion for the outdoors? Here's everything you need to know to pull off a wilderness wedding.
Our comprehensive guide to the best backpacking you can find in Montana.
Where the words "wild" and "life" take on new meaning
Glacier National Park possesses scenery that'll suck the breath out of your lungs, quiet so intense you'll wonder if your ears still work, and enough wildlife to make a zookeeper drool with envy.
The greatest backpacking parks in the United States, chosen for their scenery.
Bears electrify an already incredible experience at Glacier National Park's Bowman Lake.
