19 Outdoor Adventures for Every Timeline—From One Minute to a Lifetime
Got a free afternoon? Or maybe a sabbatical on the horizon? These adventures fit any timeframe.
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Latest
It’s Half-Tent and Half-Raincoat—and, Shockingly, Pretty Good as Both
First launched 19 years ago, Six Moon Designs' Gatewood Cape is a combo rain cape, pack cover, and floorless shelter that comes in at just 11 ounces. How does it stack up in 2025?
“No Pain, No Gain” Is A Lie. These 6 Fitness Myths Can Hurt Your Hiking
Just because the saying rhymes doesn't mean it's necessarily true (or good for you). It's time to bust these fitness myths.
I Fueled My Winter Hike With This 700-Calorie Protein Shake. It Didn’t Go As Planned.
Our protein-averse editor tries RecPak, a 700-calorie meal replacement shake with 42 grams of protein on a recent hike up Granite Peak in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Incorporate Wellness Into Your Hike With These 24 Luxurious (Yet Rugged) Trails
Wellness can still include hiking rugged trails. The key is that those trails can also include hot springs or lead you to luxury cabins.
Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Face Mining as House Votes to Revoke Protections
If signed into law, a new bill would strip protections from more than 350 square miles of the Boundary Waters's watershed and clear the way for a Chilean mining company to begin extracting copper and nickel.
Listen to Backpacker on Your Hikes, Runs, and Drives to the Trailhead
Backpacker and Outside just launched a text-to-speech feature that makes it easier to stay caught up on the headlines—without spending more time in front of a screen. Here's how to access it.
The Best Winter Sleeping Pads for Frigid Adventures
We tested dozens of pads in an effort to find the very best on the market, ideal for everything from mild winters to the world’s most extreme climates.
Survival Quiz: Could You Outlast a Backpacker Editor in the Wild?
From wild animals to dangerous terrain, the outdoors has its fair share of hazards. Test your survival knowledge against a Backpacker editor and see how you fare.
Hiker Dies On Mt. Whitney Summit Push After Partner Turned Back
The hiker was found dead this week on the “Final 400” section of Mt. Whitney's Mountaineer's Route.
Rejuvenate with These 5 Hot Spring Backpacking Trips
On these trails, you can have complete post-hike relaxation just steps from your campsite.
Wildlife
The Cocaine Bear Trailer Is Wild. The Real Story Is Weirder and Sadder.
Cocaine Bear's first trailer shows a bloodthirsty, intoxicated bruin rampaging through the forest. But how much of the based-on-a-true-story movie is real?
Fitness
The Best Hiking Workouts for Every Fitness Level
Reality check: Hitting the gym is the quickest way to hike farther, easier, faster, and pain-free. Get into a routine—or take yours to the next level—with these smart workouts for three different levels.
The Best Hikes
The Best Hikes in Joshua Tree National Park
Full of rock scrambles, cactus clusters, and desert views for days, Joshua Tree National Park is the southwest at its finest.
Backpacking Skills
Why You Should Use Trekking Poles
Ending too many hikes with sore, wobbly legs? Trekking poles can help you make it that extra mile.
Gear Round-Ups
The Best Hiking and Backpacking Gear of Winter 2026
From blizzard-ready tents to sleeping bags that can handle the coldest nights, this is the gear you can count on this season.
Trail Guides
The Ultimate Guide to Hiking the Zion Narrows
The Narrows at Zion National Park offers an incredible adventure in America's most amazing slot canyons. Here's how to safely explore them.
Survival Skills
How to Remove and Treat Thorns, Splinters, and Other Prick Wounds
Nature can be brutal. Learn how to to deal with wounds from all kinds of thorns, spines, splinters, shards, quills, needles, and anything else that might get under your skin when you’re on the trail.
Classic Destinations
Hike Mauna Kea: The Expert Guide to Hiking Hawaii’s Highest Point
Ready to hike to the highest point in Hawaii? Ascend Mauna Kea's volcanic slopes to a summit high above the clouds. This challenging day hike is among the most spectacular on the planet.
Backpacking Gear
10 Backpacking Gear Tips We Learned the Hard Way
Get the most out of your backpacking equipment with this sage advice.
Long Trails
100 Years Ago, the Appalachian Trail Was One Man’s Dream. Now, It’s Everyone’s.
Benton MacKaye's original proposal for the Appalachian Trail came out 100 years ago. While the trail may have changed, the appeal hasn't.
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Out Alive
Real people who survived the unsurvivable
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Impossible Odds
Two friends, 8,000 trail miles, one year
Featured Story
She Became the First Woman to Complete This 3,600-Mile Thru-Hike—and Brought Thousands Along for the Journey
This September, Jessica "Stitches" Guo finished thru-hiking the Continental Divide and Great Divide Trails in one five-month push, a deep-backcountry journey that saw her spend weeks without seeing a single other person. But with tens of thousands of people following her daily videos, it was a shared experience.
Jessica “Stitches” Guo began her 30th birthday alone, in the woods, walking north towards the Canadian border.
It was the same way she had spent the last few months of her 20s, during which she hiked from the Mexican border through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana along the Continental Divide Trail. This day, however, was different.
At 1:51 p.m. on August 12, Guo reached a clearing in the trees, where stone monuments marked the U.S.-Canada border and the northern terminus of the CDT. She collapsed into tears alongside some concerned tourists. When they learned what she had just done, they applauded and helped her record a video, which would be viewed by more than half a million people on TikTok and Instagram.
For a few minutes, Guo sat, welcoming in her 30s with birthday cake Oreos and taking it all in. Then, she stood and continued into Canada. Her journey was not over. In many ways, she felt as if it were just beginning.
“Up until that point, I was like, ‘There’s a chance that I might not do this.’ I might get there and be too late or I might be too tired, or I might be too bored,” Guo says. “So for me to get there and still be feeling great, I was like, ‘All right, yeah, we can actually start the real hike now.’”
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