Keep out the wind, rain, and cold with our favorite shells of the season

Our testers found load haulers for every trip and hiker. Pick yours and enjoy the spoils.

This year's top gadgets are designed to keep you safe and comfortable on the trail while staying out of your way.

Find the perfect shelter to match the perfect location.

Treat your feet with these trail runners and mid-cuts.

For five months, we crisscrossed continents, climates, and comfort zones to put the newest outdoor products to the test. Presenting the 12 winners of this year’s Editors’ Choice Awards.

Sleep well in the backcountry with these down and synthetic models.

All the best accessories for your campsite.

Hike, splash, paddle and stargaze your way to warm-weather bliss on these trips.

Some hikers grouse that blazing the CDT will ruin it—but that’s exactly the problem with doing nothing.

You don’t need us to sell you on this park’s glacier-gouged peaks, kaleidoscopic wildflower displays, and A-list megafauna. But secret trails and tips? We got those.

Score bird’s-eye views over valleys and mountains on these four treks to summit lookouts that can be done in a day.

After a decade of detours, the loop around Mt. Hood is complete and better than ever.

At these dark-sky destinations, the stars are out of this world.

From swimming holes to wild berries, it’s prime time for hikers. Tick off these 44 trips and experiences to make the most of the season.

They don’t call it Elephant Hill for nothing. Tackle a rugged, 11-mile day hike with some of East Africa’s most iconic fauna (if you’re lucky) and support clean water projects in the Kenyan mountains.

Can two hikers keep their feet happy while splashing through creeks for days?

Even with no agenda, a spontaneous day trip serves up many rewards

This backpacking staple can do more than make sandwiches.

Follow these guidelines so you don't have to cut your trip short.

Tomatoes: tasty food, lousy fireworks.

Cook and imbibe better by learning how to shop, transport, and use your spirits, wine, and beer.

Leave the freeze-dried meals at home and treat yourself to a gourmet trail meal with our most popular recipes.

The best backpacking game is the one you don't have to carry.

For J.P. Rose, 34, and Christina Fialho, 35, an idyllic dayhike in the Caribbean in 2017 turned into a nightmare.

Follow these guidelines so you don't have to cut your trip short.

When a boulder snaps his leg on a California mountain, Gregg Hein finds himself in a fight for his life.

What if you were bitten by a venomous snake far from help? For Scott Vuncannon, an encounter with a rattler in the North Carolina backcountry was the beginning of a struggle for survival.

Your chances of being attacked by a bear are around one in two million. Todd Orr was mauled by one twice in a single day. Listen to his story in the latest episode of our podcast.

A fatal accident is the beginning of a six-day-long wilderness ordeal in the second episode of BACKPACKER's Out Alive podcast.

For George Brown, 68, a morning trail run in August 2018 became more than 40 hours stranded in Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness with a broken leg.

The wilderness is full of dangers. BACKPACKER's new podcast tells the stories of the people who survived them.