Maine
Your region's go-now guide: Visit a new hikers' hostel connected to 50 miles of trail in Maine's Bigelow Mountains, see the rare Oconee bell in South Carolina's Jocassee Gorges area, explore the world's longest mapped cave system near Louisville, and more.
Explore a new shelter system with old-school wild.
Our favorite high-risk, high-reward adventures in North America.
Our trail scouts' top local hikes
Your region's go-now guide.
Hike to life-list hot spots without waiting in life-list lines. These under-the-radar trails deliver everything but the crowds.
Jump-start your hiking season on these spring-ready trips from around the country.
Park your tent in one of these 10 spots, and you'll be happy in the morning. Guaranteed.
More than 150 of you entered our contest to become a BACKPACKER field scout. Meet the winners.
Tackle the Northeast's most remote wilds for bears, moose, and berries.
The region's top map contributor—with 20 years of experience in the area—dishes tips for beating the crowds on her all-time favorite hikes.
Ski (or snowshoe) hut-to-hut in the East's wildest preserve.
Cross the northeast's wildest moose country beneath fall's fiery canopy.
Go ahead, look again. And again. These images are worth a third, fourth, and then a tenth gaze.
Head out on one of these trails in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Can you ever really have too much of a good thing? Once you've seen the biggest tree, largest glacier, and deepest canyon, nothing else compares.
Watch your step on Utah' Highline Trail. The nonstop views and rampant wildlife are distractingly spectacular. Plus: Gaze away on 9 more elevated hikes.
Paddle to Maryland's Assateague Island; pack an ice axe for the Presidentials.
The undisputed local experts—you—chose the top parks, trails, campsites, and weekend getaways from Alaska to Alabama.
Your favorite Northeast hikes—from dayhikes to weekenders to multiday trips.
Your favorite parks, weekend getaways, peak ascents, campsites, and more in the Northeast.
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.
Thru-hike America's most revered long trail: the Appalachian Trail.
Take the guesswork out of weekend hike planning; download these new trips in Baxter State Park, the Bitterroot Wilderness, and the Trinity Alps.
The best hikes near Portland, ME.
The best hikes, as recommended by the best hiking clubs in the Northeast.
Reach great granite heights on Katahdin's next-door neighbor.
The last lonely stretch of the AT beckons from the mountains of western Maine.
Hike across a state, gain the country's best foliage view, and top alpine balds. (Click linked trips for GPS waypoints, photos, and more.)
Our army of reader-reader scouts mapped 59 local hikes from South Carolina to Northern California. See their favorites, then learn how to download tracklogs and waypoints.
Hike to an historic fire tower and camp beside secluded ponds.
A state high point, killer foliage, and a hike loaded with waterfalls
22 falls in a one day. Need we say more?
Bag New York's high point and two other big peaks.
Hike to a crowd-free view of the ocean.
Ogle fiery color in the Green Mountains.
Explore the Appalachian Trail's wildest stretch.
Scramble to the Catskills' highest peaks.
Think you know all there is to know about these famous peaks? Get an insider's guide right here.
Sharing is for kindergarten. Take one of these 30 hikes and you can have the wilderness all to yourself.
Lose yourself in a private paradise the crowds have overlooked.
The thread to this Down East trail? Vacation homes. Passing through roughly 10 miles of private land that has yet to be protected, wilderness designation could neutralize the looming threat.
Does your kid want to be an ice climber? How about a thru-hiker, or paddler? These cities have just what you need.
Which towns offer the ideal mix of accessible trails, inspiring teachers, and great recreational resources? We worked with The Outdoor Foundation to identify America's top 25 places to beat nature deficit disorder.
From Boulder to Juneau to Bozeman, see which cities made the cut for the best place to raise an outdoor kid, and why.
Home to the White Mountains, the Appalachian Trail, and easily reachable urban trail networks like Boston's Emerald Necklace, this densely-populated region is small in size but big on recreational potential.
Pack snowshoes for these nine epic treks to snowy solitude in the Pacific Northwest, Rockies, and Northeast.
You guessed, it, you need to head North. Here's where you'll get the best view of the Northern Lights.
Witness glittering underground gems, skate across frozen ponds, and wander amid towering walls of ice. Just don't try to lick anything.
Maine's newly minted Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail tracks the famous naturalist's 1800s expeditions. Good news: It's still wild.
Fall camping season seems to go on forever with these fair-weather weekend trips.
Wind power offers clean energy–but how much will hikers compromise to get it?
We've got a selection of cozy shelters and trail-side restaurants from Washington to Maine. Check out these hikes in the Rockies, the Northeast, and the Northwest.
The Ice Age left its mark from Acadia to Yosemite. Here's scenic evidence.
From the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains to New England, we've got nine epic ridgewalks just for you.
Finding total Southwest solitude
Exploring a high, wild corner of the North Cascades
Floating a liquid maze in the Northeast's lake-riddled forests
Rambling a granite redoubt
Ready to dial up the adventure meter? Try out your digital skills–and go places most people can't–on these life-list journeys.
Avoid the crowds in Maine's Acadia National Park by skipping getting a jump on the season and hiking the park in the Spring. Stephen King country never looked so good.
Looking to catch baby animals taking their first step? You can't go wrong with these picks.
Hit the wilderness in search of beasts big and small.
16 wild ways to find backcountry solitude and big-time scenery. All this, and you can bring the ice chest, too.
Push yourself on any of these challenging hikes
Jump off into the North Woods' best wilderness
Come to Acadia and you'll earn your lobster.
The short but stunning Mahoosuc Range has major-league attractions, like the toughest mile on the Appalachian Trail and conditions that discourage the faint of heart.
Our comprehensive guide to the best backpacking you can find in Maine.
Thanks to the Cutler Coast Public Reserve, Maine's rocky, wild coastline is now open to backpackers who like solitude as much as scenery.
The famed peaks of the Appalachian chain entice some 2,500 people to attempt the thru-hike each year.
Follow the Appalachian Trail to new heights in the rugged New England high country.
A chaotic chorus of loon calls penetrate the darkness, the warbling sounds echoing off the wooded hills around the New Hampshire lake.
Figure on 9 days to do the entire 100-mile hike—unless you're slowed drastically by all the blueberries.
Maine's seal pups are usually born in May, making early summer an ideal time to witness the youngsters learning to swim and fish.
Even if you don't see a moose, you'll hear the bulls' low grunts echoing off the hillside.
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.
Who needs Everest when you can have these eight summits, all hikeable, all close to home, no sherpas or yaks required.
Get above treeline in Maine's wild Saddleback Range.
For some, reaching Maine's Mt. Katahdin is the end of a life-altering 2,100-mile pilgrimage. For others it's a lark. We captured the extremes, and a little bit of everything in between, one day atop Maine's "greatest mountain."
