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.
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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.
Like the backcountry in the summer? You'll love it in the winter. Take your first steps into the world of backcountry skiing the safe and fun way with this advice from Backpacker.
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.
Get to know the winter safety gear you need in your pack.
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.
This volcano hike was supposed to be once-in-a-lifetime. But the struggle almost outweighed the reward.
Some of the wildest terrain in the East—loaded with rocky summits, waterfalls, and alpine ponds—is only a couple hour drive from Boston.
A new study estimates that the waste from Europe's 87 million canines is roughly equivalent to the continent’s industrial agriculture and car traffic. That's bad news for hikers—and the natural areas where they hike.
The Mile-High City is surrounded by some of the best hiking in the country. Here are the best trails to get out into it.
Outdoor brands are finally starting to see that building clothing and gear in plus sizes is a boon for the bottom line.
There's more than gators and beaches here: Florida has one of the best all-season thru-hikes around.
When campfires are allowed, it's important to know how to light them—and how to put them out.
Cap off a day on the trail with a soak in a steamy mineral pool. We found the best from Alaska to North Carolina.
The Stanley Full Kitchen Basecamp Cookset has everything you need to whip up an in-camp feast.
Don't blame the selfie sticks: Tourists have been making poor choices in our wild spaces since long before smartphones.
Training the calves can reap huge benefits for knee and ankle health. These three calf exercises will help keep your lower body injury-free.
Amber Kohnhorst was hundreds of miles from her nearest friend when she fell down a cliff and broke her back.
TV and YouTube survival stars Gregory Ovens and Zachary Fowler are on the hook for allegedly hunting, fishing, and illegally lighting fires in Banff.
Don’t leave this indispensable gear at home.