All Content

Cottage brands, the backbone of the ultralight community, are more popular than ever.

Learn what you need to stay fueled and happy for every trip with performance nutrition advice from our expert personal trainer.

Stay protected in deserts, soggy forests, and everything in between.

Nine meals were sampled. Only one was crowned king.

There's a whole wilderness of green valleys, rocky mountaintops, and hidden waterfalls ready to explore in West Virginia's Dolly Sods. Here are our favorite ways to enjoy it.

For many bears, winter means hibernate or die. Here's what they do to survive. Plus: how climate change puts newborn cubs in danger.

Over a 30-mile hike through the High Sierra, a father and son reflect on belonging in the wilderness.

Just how much pack weight can one hiker cut? Our editor performs a far-out experiment in minimalism.

Aventon’s Sinch Ebike changes the game for car campers, with a compact design that folds up in seconds and a robust 40-mile average range

True tales from the front lines—and behind the scenes—of America's national parks.

A trio of cozy cold-weather tops highlights this month's batch of gear.

These dehydrated meals, energy bars, and drinks will help you power through long miles in the backcountry.

Master the art of layering to keep comfy all winter.

From hot cocoa to hot soup to hot toddies, carry a little warmth with you using these 5 winter-ready vessels.

Craving backcountry snow adventures? First, use this primer to learn how to identify and avoid slide-prone terrain. Then decide if you need an avalanche safety course to maximize your winter fun.

Check out BACKPACKER Editors & Contributors's author page.

Drop pack weight while staying comfortable and protected with these shelters.

Rainforest, volcanic summits, and lush bamboo groves; this island has everything a hiker could want.

Michigan’s idyllic national park promises rocky shorelines, aromatic pine forests, beautiful lighthouses, and more moose than humans.

Lake Tahoe's roundest bear won't face euthanasia after DNA evidence demonstrates that at least three bears were responsible for a recent spate of break-ins.

From Mt. Rainier to Half Dome, many of the U.S.’s biggest wilderness destinations run their permit lotteries in March. Here’s what you need to know about snagging one.

Growing numbers of hikers, bikers, and skiers are leaving Colorado SAR teams strapped. One new study offers some radical ideas

These hiking mistakes are as common as can be—but there's no excuse for making them.

Go further, ride better, and have more fun by using science to optimize your cold-weather fueling strategy.

Heading into the backcountry often means skiing crummy snow. Charge through the chunder without breaking a sweat.

Which one of these highly-reviewed backpacking boots is for you?

A sewing kit, high-tech hydration, and a folding saw never leave her rucksack.

Find the best of Maine's unbeatable seashore on these hikes through Acadia National Park.

Long-lasting Covid symptoms can affect your hiking performance at high elevations. Here's how to prepare.

These models have you covered no matter the terrain or mission length.

Everything you need for your first backcountry tour, including finding the best gear, assembling your dream team, and finding your focus.

Plus: the best winter kit for your canine.

We take a deep dive into a popular avalanche safety device.

Combine the best of touring and resort skiing on the runs of these abandoned ski areas.

All you need is a pair of dumbbells to prepare your quads, glutes, hamstrings, back, shoulders, and core for ski touring this winter.

Why go high? Because going down is so much fun.

Looking to make the jump from the lift line to the skin track? Go shopping with our gear editor.

Staying away from resort crowds this winter? The backcountry can offer solitude, a wilderness experience, and the satisfaction of earning your turns. These gear picks will help you make the most of lung-busting uphills and whoop-worthy descents.

Take it easy in these 15 accessible, mellow areas for some of the best backcountry skiing in the Lower 48.

A bear in Lake Tahoe has grown enormous on a steady diet of human food. Now, with euthanasia on the horizon, locals are trying to save him.

Stop dreaming, start hiking: From desert treks to waterfalls to heroic alpine ridges, we've picked the best hikes for every month.

While the summer crowds hibernate, you can cure your cabin fever. Here are the 9 best national park hikes to do during the fourth season.

Hit up one of these 7 hikes for a late-season color show.

Whether it’s big elevation changes, big miles, or big moves, these 23 routes prove that the best hikes are often the hardest. There’s a world of adventure out there—if you’re strong enough to seize it.

Get on a high ledge, a crumbly cliff, or a knife-edge ridge and your body will recognize the feeling before your brain catches on.

Stay cool: These 20 backcountry tarns, lakes, ponds, and other assorted bodies of water are perfect year-round, but come into their own as temperatures heat up.

Embrace the exposure when you take your summer adventures to the crest of the high country.

No one likes hiking in a crowd. Get all of the scenery and less of the lines with these alternatives to the big parks.

Catch the best of the early season show on these routes across the U.S.

Beat the heat by hitting these desert trails early in the year.

Marvel at tall trees, flooded forest, and rare birds at one of the nation’s lesser-known destinations.

In a final statement, investigators said that the new information supported their initial conclusions about the family's cause of death.

At a crossroads in her personal life, writer Maggie Slepian decided to go on a thru-hike. But as it turns out, your problems will follow you no matter how many hundreds of miles you go.

Need a break from the world? Sit back and catch the aurora borealis live from Churchill, Manitoba.

Staying safe in the backcountry doesn't have to weigh you down.

It’s February, which means you’d better start reserving campsites for August now. We have a few tips for you.

“The world and how it interacts with me changed the day I came out as trans”

The "Ten Essentials"—ten items supposedly necessary for a safe hike—are a widely-accepted dogma in backpacking. But new research adds to the narrative.

Pennsylvania’s Glen Onoko Falls has been the site of more than a dozen fatal accidents, the latest this Sunday.

The 9.5-mile Bright Angel Trail drops from the rim of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River through some of the continent's most iconic terrain.

Authorities are searching for the person responsible for killing one dog and sickening three with ibuprofen-laced meat.

Get the deepest backcountry rest of your life with these mattresses.

Citing Utah's record on public lands, dozens of outdoor brands released a statement today protesting Outdoor Retailer's potential move to Salt Lake City.

What happens when you feed 2,000 actual hikers' trail names into a neural network? We'll let you see for yourself.

These jackets will keep you dry and focused on your winter adventures.

Whether you want to hike 25 miles in a day or simply focus on the scenery and not your sore legs, getting fit before you hit the trail will improve your every step. We asked the pros how to get healthy—and stay that way.

All calories are not created equal. Learn the right way to fuel your big-mile ambitions.

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.

To reach the best places in the backcountry, you have to rely on your own two feet.

Oxygen feeds your muscles. Manage your heart rate and breathing and you can hike (almost) forever.

Recruit your arms to overcome terrain challenges or just give the legs a break.

The muscles of your torso and back work hard to carry the load comfortably mile after mile.

Investigators reportedly believe a set of human remains found this week may belong to missing hiker Bill Ewasko.

Court tosses Trump-era rule change that removed animals’ federal protections.

It's a well-known waypoint for thru-hikers—and if local government gets its way, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area may be on its way to becoming something more.

Whether you have a day or a week, these hikes will bring you to some of the best of this iconic national park.

Protein helps your body maintain muscle mass, prevents next-day soreness, and sustains energy. Pack it in with these filling, recovery-boosting recipes.