| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS |
The Last Bus
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.
Perfect 10: North America's 10 Most Memorable Hikes
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.
Perfect 10: Free PDF Trip Planning Guides
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.
National Parks: View Finder
Go ahead, look again. And again. These images are worth a third, fourth, and then a tenth gaze.
National Parks: Denali
Denali isn’t just for experts. These guinea pigs will prove it. Probably.
National Park Slideshows
See scores of stunning images from the Grand Canyon, Denali, Yosemite, and more.
Our Backyard: Denali National Park
Explore Denali's top dayhikes, photo ops, and epic wildlife treks.
Best. Hikes. Ever.
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.
Best Hikes Ever: Denali, AK
Pick your pilgrimage through the backcountry Holy Land: Mt Eielson Loop or Kesugi Ridge.
Rip & Go: Mt. Eielson Loop
Explore pure wilderness on this two-day circuit in the Alaska Range.
Life's Short, Hike More!
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.
New Life List: See a Grizzly
Coming face to face with the biggest predator in North America might just alter your worldview.
National Parks Hall of Fame: Photo Galleries
Catch the best views in the nation's marquee parks from the comfort of your computer. Prepare to drool...now.
The Big Easy: Backpack Alaska
Plan your perfect Alaskan trip–from a budget-friendly weekend to an entry-level expedition–with field reports from Steve Howe.
Special Report: Alaska's Toklat Wolf Pack in Crisis
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.
Northwest Readers' Choice Trips
Crashing waterfalls, hidden lakes, and a choice Denali view highlight the 2010 Northwest Readers' Choice hikes.
Readers' Choice Northwest: Golden Larches - Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA
See this deciduous pine turn electric-yellow.
Readers' Choice Northwest: Wahtum Lake, OR
Find primo lakeside camping on a rainforest-to-alpine loop.
Readers' Choice Northwest: Hannegan Peak and Copper Ridge - North Cascades NP, WA
Enjoy unparalleled views from one of the country's finest skyline trails.
Top 3 Ansel Adams Hikes and Reader Photos
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.
National Parks Hall of Fame
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.
Watch It, Hike It: An Episode-by-Episode Guide to The National Parks: America's Best Idea by Ken Burns
Catch these highlights from The National Parks: America's Best Idea, then download maps to hike to them yourself.
National Parks Confidential: Q & A with Filmmaker Ken Burns
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.
The Unlikeliest Mountaineer
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...
National Parks Hall of Fame: Park Finder
Zero in on your perfect hike, from thrilling slots to soak-awhile hot springs.
The Unlikeliest Mountaineer: Online Slideshow & Exclusive Post-Climb Blogs
After tackling Mt. McKinley, Sibusiso Vilane & writer Steve Howe foraged in Talkeetna, hitchhiked the Alaskan highways, and met a grizzly in Denali.
Dogs of War
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.
Find Hikes and Trips in National Parks and Regional Parks
Find hikes in National Parks and regional parks with our comprehensive guides.
Ten Epic Hikes
Paddling, hiking, testing self arrest skills–we cover it all in these 10 epic trips throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Alaskan Labyrinth: Bushwacking in Denali
Beat your own path through Denali National Park's confounding and little-traveled Wyoming Hills.
The Alaska Wolf Debate: Q&A with Tracy Ross
Author Tracy Ross discusses her feature story "Dogs of War" devoted to the debate raging in Alaska over the famed Toklat wolf pack.
National Parks Lifelist
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.
Headfirst Down the McKinley
A sudden swim in a glacier-fed river nearly finishes a ranger.
Denali National Park
Hike with grizzlies in this remote northern corner of Alaska's greatest park.
Yellowstone National Park
America's first national park is a playground for grizzlies, wolves, moose, and hikers (not in that order).
Olympic National Park
Explore two ecosystems in this hinterland of moss-draped forests, ancient trees, and snowcapped peaks.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Graze blueberry patches, explore swimming holes, and tag the South's high points on this sultry hike.
Grand Canyon National Park
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.
Yosemite National Park
Climb classic Sierra passes, ogle granite monoliths, and camp above treeline in John Muir's second home.
Glacier National Park
Scramble up class III peaks and cross late summer snowfields on this strenuous but straightforward trip through Montana's big-mountain country.
National Parks Lifelist: Intro
How Your Kid Can Save a Park
Send him out on a work trip. Let wilderness do the rest.
How to Light a Campfire in the Smokies
Trees, trees are everywhere, but sometimes there isn't a dry twig in sight.
Is Inadequate Funding the Main Problem Facing the National Park System?
This question fuels the debate regarding how to help the aging national park system improve.
National Park Vacation Planners: 3D Videos and Downloadable Beta
3-D hike videos, complete trip planner pdfs, our interactive ParkFinder tool, and more.
How to Score Denali's Choicest Permits
The system was rigged, says a former ranger. Here's how to beat it.
Time 2 Go: National Parks In Winter
With the cold driving away crowds, National Parks are a delight to visit in winter. Here's our top picks.
May Close-to-Home Hikes
Our map team has been hard at work plotting the coolest hikes. Check out May's selections here.
How to Stay Safe in the Wilderness
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.
What Will Alaska's Future Look Like?
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.
National Parks Report Card
We surveyed more than 40 scientists, conservationists, and professional adventurers, then ranked the 15 parks that are most in peril from climate change.
Essential National Park Skills: The Ultimate Park Pass
Write your own ticket to new adventures with these 10 territory-expanding skills.
The Works: Climb Mt. McKinley
Experience the nighttime sky from 20,320 feet up majestic Mt. McKinley -- but first read our guide to the trip.
Alaska Made Easy
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.
Climbing Alaska's 'Great One': Denali National Park
Do you have what it takes to climb Alaska's Denali? Find out with our mountaineer's guide.
Climbing Denali: The West Buttress Route
Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska
McKinley: Backpack Around "The Big One"
Let rivers and ridgelines be your compass as you hike in the shadow of Alaska's Mt. McKinley.
Best Backpacking In Alaska
Our comprehensive guide to the best backpacking you can find in Alaska.
National Parks: Best Wildlife
Where the words "wild" and "life" take on new meaning
National Parks: Best Solitude
More than ever, these empty parks offer medicine for the soul.
