Getting to the Apostle Islands ice caves in Wisconsin requires a multi-mile trek over the frozen surface of Lake Superior. This week, a handful of lucky visitors got the chance to see them.

Under a new federal policy, hikers will be prohibited from venturing south of the PCT's southern terminus monument, the trail's main organization said this week.

A solo hiker is in the hospital after two other hikers found her unconscious near a popular waterfall earlier this week.

After receiving a call about an overdue hiker on Colorado’s Quandary Peak, rescuers flew a drone up the peak to lend him an essential piece of gear.

If passed, the Bay Area Ridge Trail would join the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Ice Age Trail, and eight more hikes in the federally-protected system.

Internet donors raised nearly £5,000 for Wasdale Mountain Rescue after the team pleaded online for the hikers it had rescued to settle their hotel tab.

We answer readers' top questions about the NPS's new rules for visitors.

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.

Search teams assisted two separate groups of lost hikers out of Yankee Doodle Canyon in one day, including two showing signs of hypothermia.

What3Words gives users a three-word code they can pass to emergency services to help locate them, but some SAR teams still discourage its use.

The Eagle Creek Trail, along with other hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, suffered extreme damage in last month's storms.

A bipartisan proposal would provide just over $3 billion to the NPS this year, dodging the White House’s proposed 37 percent reduction to the agency's budget.

The encounter is the state’s first fatal cougar incident since at least 1999.

After receiving a call about a trio of struggling hikers on Mt. Monadnock, rescuers found two people who had fallen into a brook—one of them intoxicated—and one who was trying to help.

Some are dark. Some are thought-provoking. Some are just bizarre. These are the most-read hiking news stories Backpacker published this year.

When Phoenix firefighters realized they wouldn't be able to reach a trapped hiker until the morning, they used a drone to drop supplies on the mountaintop where he was stuck—a first for the department.

Although authorities haven't formally identified the deceased, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office said that the clothing on the body appears to match what they believe 21-year-old hiker Joseph Brambila was wearing when he disappeared.

In a court filing, the Center for Biological Diversity says the government broke the law when it put the pictures of the president and George Washington on the 2026 park passes.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy's annual survey found hikers' tally of bear encounters rose by 75 percent, while the eastern seaboard remained the biggest source of AT thru-hikers.

Austin Dirks was on a 20-mile section hike of the Hayduke Trail when he stepped in what looked like normal desert sand. A few minutes later, he says, he was stuck up to his knees and struggling to get out.

The incident is the fourth confirmed case of rabies in the state's southwest this year.

In the two decades, since her murder, police have never identified a suspect in the death of Louise Chaput. Now, they're hoping members of the New Hampshire hiking community could help to change that.

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials are opening the new Palo Pinto Mountains State Park on New Years day to a select few guests.

The 32-year-old man told his children that the 9-mile trek was the ‘trip of a lifetime’ before ascending into foul weather.

International visitors will pay significantly more to visit some popular national parks next year, while annual passes rise to $250 for non-US residents.

Authorities said conservation officers were still looking for the animal and urged local residents to avoid the area where the attack occurred.

Amidst an active search for missing hiker and law professor Charles Hosch, law enforcement is requesting that hikers steer clear of Blood Mountain.

Madison "Peg Leg" Blagden battled injury and weather to become the first woman to complete a border-to-border Calendar Year Triple Crown.

U.S. attorney says people caught with cannabis in national parks and other federal lands will once again face "rigorous" prosecution after DOJ rescinds policy of ignoring low-level offenses.

We break down the federal government's closure of Monument 102, the official southern end of the Arizona Trail.

When firefighters reached the victim, they found he had been punctured by a 4-inch-wide, 15-foot-long tree branch.

Just weeks after a hiker slipped and fell to their death on Mount Whitney, a pair of incidents led to three rescues on the peak this month.

Two weeks after a hiker reported an abandoned tent with supplies and car keys inside on the northwest side of Mount Madison, authorities are still trying to determine what happened to the gear's owner.

The Arizona Trail Association says it expects the terminus's closure, which its executive director called "nothing less than desecration," to be permanent.

Between layoffs, funding cuts, and a government shutdown, it's harder than ever to be a national park ranger. Outside Articles Editor Fred Dreier talked to us about what he learned from investigating the national parks' current crisis.

The man told rescuers that he had been on the trail since the previous day.

A least 13 people have been killed and more than 100 people have been attacked by bears in Japan since April.

After ascending the 14,505-foot peak, one hiker slipped and fell down the 99 Switchbacks.

Many hikers overpack water, a bad habit that translates to pounds of unnecessary weight. Experts explain how much you really need.

After walking for 293 days, Troy “Punisher” Croxdale touched the southern border of the Continental Divide Trail—his third long trail since the year began.

A report from the Adirondacks is leading some researchers to surmise that hikers’ gear is likely a leading cause of microplastic contamination in at least some wild water sources.

New restrictions in the New Mexico National Defense Area require hikers to get a permit to access the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail—and seems to ban most non-U.S. citizens from it entirely. Here's what we know.

The Washington State Animal Response Team dispatched to the Goat Rocks Wilderness after another crew had to airlift a dog’s owner out without her.

Fred Ramsdell was in the Wyoming backcountry when the Nobel Prize committee made its announcement.

A black bear attacked and killed a camper in the state's second fatal bear attack since early September.

A hiker was just rescued from a Colorado peak after blowing a simple rescue whistle. The lesson? Satellite messengers are great, but low-tech tools have their place in a safety kit, too.

The first 1.1 miles of the CDT are now only available to US citizens who apply for permission to enter the National Defense Area.

The Conservation Fund announced this week that it had purchased 480 acres of formerly private land on Mount Bross—including a key portion of one of Colorado's most popular high-alpine trails.

Garmire finished the trail in just over 45 days, raising $29,000 for the Trevor Project in the process.

The giant salamanders make their homes and lay their eggs under rocks.

Pennsylvania's 501 and Eckville shelters have amenities like solar showers and on-site caretakers and provide a crucial stopping point for hikers on the AT—but they're scheduled for demolition next year.

A 29-year-old solo hiker suffered "significant but non-life-threatening" wounds after the attack on the Turbid Lake Trail.

Self-rescuing can be a good idea—just make sure the SAR team looking for you knows you're doing it.

North Carolina's Mount Mitchell State Park had been closed since Hurricane Helene wrecked part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Baxter State Park officials are asking for the public's help identifying the person or people who defaced the sign at the Appalachian Trail's northern terminus.

In two separate incidents in Arizona and Colorado, police say that three individuals walking dogs assaulted or threatened other hikers after getting into disputes over their pets.

Visitation to the park jumped 7 percent over the same period last year, while rescues rose 40 percent.

The 501 “pizza” shelter and Eckville shelter are expected to be demolished between 2026 and 2027 due to an NPS policy that targets “nonconforming infrastructure.” Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club is mounting a last-ditch campaign to stop it.

A group of hikers had to call for help in New York's Catskills after taking shrooms and losing both themselves and their car keys in the mountains.

Joro spiders’ large size and enormous webs have spurred public concern since the invasive species arrived in the United States in 2013. While they’re harmless to people, they may pose a threat to their new ecosystem.

A herd of cattle reportedly trampled an 85-year-old man as he hiked with his wife and dog.

The AT was rugged and sparsely traveled when Espy hiked it in 1951.

Prosecutors in Colorado claim that a state park ranger searched for information about abdominal anatomy and injury payouts online before stabbing himself and trying to pass it off as an attack.

More than half of people in the U.S. recreated outdoors in 2024 according to a new report from the Outdoor Industry Association, with Black and Hispanic participants driving the biggest gains.

The ultrarunner completed the 272-mile trail in 3 days, 18 hours, and 29 minutes, breaking the overall supported FKT by more than 2 and a half hours.

Feeding bears can lead to aggression and dangerous encounters between them and humans—and the National Park Service caught visitors in the Smokies doing in three times in one week

A canyoneer spent some 48 hours nestled in a dark, wet cave behind a raging waterfall before rescuers managed to hoist him out.

Officials believe at least 200 people may have been exposed to rabies while visiting a hotel in Grand Teton National Park.

The pups were rescued off of Mount Princeton after hiking up with their owner.

A hiker in Tennessee passed away late last week after suffering a snakebite a half-mile into a local trail.

Colorado's highest peaks saw an estimated 265,000 hiker-days in 2024, far short of the pandemic-era record, but a gain over 2023.

The province’s premier ordered restrictions on non-essential activities in wooded areas amidst Canada's second-worst fire season on record.

Hikers in the U.S. rarely have to worry about paying for the cost of their own rescue. But that isn't true everywhere—and in some cases, the bill can be very, very big.

The discovery of an abandoned camp full of garbage, food, and ditched gear led Badlands to dispatch first responders and issue a stern message.

A high tide at Point Reyes trapped two 18-year-old hikers on a beach with no way to retreat.

Italy's mountains have seen an increased number of deaths this summer as hot weather drives hikers towards higher altitudes.

28-year-old Andrew James McGann was arrested and charged with killing Cristen Amanda and Clinton David Brink while the couple was hiking with their daughters at Devil's Den State Park.

CDT hikers have reported disconcerting run-ins with “Cottonmouth” for years.

Two separate parties had to spend the night on Katahdin's Knife Edge before rescuers could reach them.