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This Backpacker-tested tent, sleeping bag, pad, and backpack is everything a new hiker needs to hit the trail—and right now it's a steal.

Check out Sienna Fry's author page.

Capitol Peak is widely considered the most serious of Colorado’s highest peaks and has been the site of numerous fatal incidents over the years.

The equipment I didn't know I needed saved my long hike.

Officials have reminded the public that summer conditions can quickly become dangerously cold and windy atop the 6,288-foot peak

The plan to sell millions of acres of Forest Service and BLM land just encountered a major hurdle. The plan's author says he still wants to auction off some areas.

A 10-person crew of imprisoned trail workers and firefighters helped evacuate a person with a broken ankle from a rugged trail in Oregon. He's at least the second stricken hiker they've helped.

Millions of campers and hikers around the U.S. are using recreation.gov to book their next vacation—and by the time they’re done dealing with its confusing navigation, broken interface, and inflated fees, most will need one.

The Orukayak Beach Explorer bundle comes with everything paddlers need for casual overnight adventures, and folds up small enough to check on a plane.

Learn to use bark, leaves, and other features to tell common types of trees apart on your next hike.

Courmayeur is more than an epic alpine base camp in the Italian Alps. It’s an ode to mountain culture.

The latest iteration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could make a continuous hike more difficult for PCT and CDT thru-hikers if it passes.

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Junction 55 is a trail-tested, reliable ultralight pack, and right now you can snatch it for under retail.

Parent of a tiny trailblazer? These short yet stunning national park trails are perfect for families with kids—including infants.

Hike out of your cabin at one of these new and upgraded nature retreats.

Sharing a cramped sleeping space with a dozen stinky hikers can be a challenge. Here's how to make it more pleasant for everyone.

I backpacked a segment of New Mexico’s in-the-works Rio Grande Trail. Here’s what it was like.

These three hikers achieved their long-trail dreams later in life. Here's how you can, too.

Where's the most memorable place you've ever gone to the bathroom outdoors? From a spider-filled jungle to a mountaintop throne, here's what two Backpacker editors had to say.

Backpacker Editor-in-Chief Adam Roy and former Editor Jon Dorn shared their wildest animal encounters onstage at Outside Festival. From a harrowing mountain lion encounter in Saguaro National Park to a bathroom break interrupted by a bruin, here's what they said.

A new, free service from the USGS hopes to keep Grand Canyon hikers safe by sending essential safety alerts to their satellite devices.

We tried every dehydrated dinner to find the ones you'll actually look forward to eating.

Hike Cathedral Rock Trail in Sedona for epic views and steep scrambles. Learn what to bring, which route to take, and how to navigate the shuttle system.

Climb coastal summits, rock-hop rugged coastline, and explore historic carriage roads in the oldest national park east of the Mississippi.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate added a mandate to the budget bill to sell enormous swaths of public land managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management

They’re multi-use—and lighter than even the latest high-tech seats.

Parts of Arizona are expecting dangerous heat conditions this week, with Phantom Ranch forecast to experience highs of 114 degrees.

Baxter State Park officials believe Esther Keiderling, one of two hikers found dead near the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in early June, likely slipped and slid into a boulder field in snowy conditions.

A pair of hikers were on the phone with SAR when lightning struck them on the summit of Torreys Peak, critically injuring one and kicked off what rescuers believe may be the highest helicopter evacuation in Colorado history.

My dad carried me (kicking and screaming, mostly) up Mt. Washington at age four. It was just the intro I needed for a lifetime of high adventure.

Is it OK to dig a cathole with your spork? Should we all start hiking barefoot? Is bug spray a scam? Watch Backpacker's editors react to your wildest hiking takes.

The best way to stay safe around bears? Give them their space. Here's what hikers need to know about avoiding conflict with our big, furry neighbors.

This neurotropic virus attacks the central nervous system and eventually kills its host. Are bears immune?

Rangers located the bodies of the two hikers in a remote backcountry campsite over the weekend. The cause of death is currently unknown.

The National Park Service says reopenings of closed campgrounds this summer will add around 500 additional sites for visitors.

While the Trump administration has largely been mum on which monuments it would revoke, a government memo suggests Sáttítla Highlands and Chuckwalla could lose their protections.

Couldn't make Outside Fest? Check out our recap here.

Even after preparing and training for months, I made mistakes. Here's what I'll do differently on my next Mt. Whitney summit.

A single-person, ultralight tent, a packable hammock, and a backpack ready for backpacking with the kids: These are the on-sale gifts that Backpacker's Dad-in-Chief is coveting this year.

From half-mile jaunts to long backcountry routes, these hikes are a quick way to get to know Utah’s largest national park.

Bears are some of the biggest, strongest animals on earth, capable of tearing off car doors and, rarely, people's limbs. So why do we instinctively find them cuddly?

Follow an uncommon adventurer who creatively maps the country’s most wild and wondrous locations, traveling off-road in a 2025 Toyota 4Runner

Search and rescue teams recently conducted 13 helicopter rescues over a seven-day span. A SAR leader blames the uptick on a detour to a vital hiking route.

A stretch of the PCT north of Stehekin is once again open for day use, the National Park Service said, but overnight stays will continue to be prohibited as police continue their search for accused triple murderer Travis Decker.

The MSR Thru-Hiker Mesh House 1 is one of the lightest solutions for keeping out bugs, no-see-ums, and water seepage from the ground.

Hike the Lost Coast Trail safely with this complete guide to permits, tides, gear, and a three-day itinerary through coastal wilderness.

Montaña de Oro is one of California’s biggest state parks, but it receives a fraction of Yosemite National Park’s visitation.

Bear spray is built to stop a charging 1,000-pound griz. So what happens when a backpacker accidentally takes a spritz of it in the face? We asked three unlucky hikers to share their experiences.

When Alexa Tubbs met Matt Leef on the CDT, he was brewing beer in a soda bottle. Now, the two own Open Space Brewing, a hub for hikers and beer-lovers.

Conservation corps members are increasingly important to fixing America’s trails. Thanks to federal funding cuts, their jobs are now in jeopardy.

Aaron Blaise is one of the animators behind your favorite Disney films. His latest solo short, "Snow Bear," is a story about loss and isolation—and a plea for the Arctic and its denizens in the age of climate change.

For Bear Month, we teamed up with the Tooth and Claw Podcast to bring you this story of daring determination in the face of a grizzly attack.

Learn the history of bear spray and how it "shuts off" bears' ability to perceive the world around them in this interview with bear biologist and podcast host Wes Larson.

Long, sunny days, aimless ambles, the thrill of discovering somewhere new: These hikes pack in our favorite things about the warmer months.

For the first time since floods closed it five years ago, the full length of the Chilkoot Trail, which crosses 33 miles from Alaska to British Columbia, is open to hikers. But a closure at the border could stop backpackers from doing the whole thing.

Thirteen testers hiked, scrambled, and power-napped to find the very best pants and shorts for hiking and backpacking.

From sculpted desert rock formations to high peaks to the mossy rainforest of the Oregon coast, these three long-trail segments are a treasure trove of gorgeous views—and you can do each of them in a day.

Every hiker has a summit that they can't stop thinking about. In honor of National Trails Day, the Backpacker editors are sharing ours.

Keep your blade polished and primed for cutting anything from sausage to twigs with this beginner-friendly maintenance guide.

It’s cheap, lightweight, and performs adequately in wind. Can it edge out the competition?

An astonishing 43 percent of Backpacker's readers say they would eat a human being if it were the only way to survive in a wilderness situation. Get a few tips on how to do it right in this classic Backpacker video.

After finding two dozen unattended campfires and three human-caused wildfires in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest and Comanche and Cimarron National Grasslands, Forest Service officials are urging campers to extinguish their fires thoroughly.

Kelli Morris was hiking on an unmaintained trail in Alaska when a boulder the weight of a Harley-Davidson pinned him facedown in a creek for three hours.

No deterrent has as good of a record in grizzly country as bear spray. But if you're counting on it to save your life, you need to know how to use it—and most hikers don't.

New York state authorities received a report that a hiker had died in the Adirondacks’ High Peaks. When a ranger showed up, he found one very alive hiker—and his two friends, who were allegedly tripping on psilocybin and having an extremely bad time.

Never-blister socks, a perfect trail tee, and more: This is the gear that Backpacker's editors loved this month.

You’re on the priority list. You just might come after their tent.

Check out Emma Veidt's author page.

In a park like this, there's a lot of competition for the 'best trail' title. These are the best hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Finding love on the trail isn’t easy. Here are 19 lines that probably won’t make it any easier.

Sometimes you travel without a rental car, and sometimes trailhead parking lots fill up quick. Whatever the reason, you can access these trails via local public transit.

Authorities are investigating after several people came down with symptoms of norovirus, the highly-contagious, sanitizer-resistant stomach bug that's sickened hikers on the Triple Crown in recent years.

Trail runners, a budget bag, and a high-end tent: These are the deals we’re excited about.

Memorial Day deals? More like Memorial Day steals. Stock up on tents, packs, and more with these Backpacker-approved discounts.

It's time for a showdown as Jeff Larson, co-host of Tooth and Claw podcast, ranks the world's bear species. Which ones are just OK, and which is his number-one, all-time favorite animal?

The Kammok Sunda 2.0 can pitch as a 2-person tent or a backpacking hammock, and REI members can grab it now for nearly 60% off.

Outdoor advocates celebrated the removal of a budgetary measure that would have sold off federal land across Utah and Nevada, even as they expressed concern about other elements that expanded drilling and mining near national parks.