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

Still settling for those tasteless supermarket white button mushrooms? Expand your palate with these ’shrooms found in the U.S.

Bigfoot seems to pop up in a lot of places, but he sure is elusive when it comes to having his photo taken.

Get to know your rainbows from your double rainbows from your moonbows.

Winter is the perfect time to learn how to track animals. Get started with these tips.

They were nearly America's national bird. This November, celebrate the humble turkey in its natural habitat.

Clear nights in the backcountry offer prime views of the heavens. Catch the best show with these stargazing tips.

Periodical cicada hatches like this year’s are an underrated wildlife experience. See the swarm up close—and maybe eat a few of them—on these hikes.

Become a trail botanist. Learn to identify ten of our country's most common wildflowers

Cryptobiotic soil is essential to arid ecosystems. Here’s how to protect it.

Seek out splashes of color amid pale winter landscapes with these five cold-loving birds.

Reap the bounty of nature’s pantry by learning to identify and responsibly harvest wild edibles on the trail or in your neighborhood.

Chow down on these edible plants, all found across the U.S. Briana Wiles, author of Mountain States Foraging and owner of Rooted Apothecary, and Kat Mackinnon, RH (AHG), Botany Program Director at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism, give you the goods.

Birding adds a new dimension to every hike.

Nothing quite says "warm weather" like wild snake orgies. Here's everything you never wanted to know about trailside tangles of slithering serpents.

How much do you really know about the creatures that you're sharing the wilderness with?

Get the whole family excited about the outdoors by spotting newborn animals in the wild.

Humans aren't the only species making moves this month. Hike these five trails to see wildlife trying to get a little action.

Find home anywhere, one leaf at a time.

Want to know what kind of wildlife has been hiking on your favorite trail? The answer is right in front of you. Learn to recognize animal tracks, and you'll be able to see for yourself.

Don't let a run-in with this pesky plant ruin your summer hiking plans. Learn how to treat poison ivy exposure and avoid it altogether, and brush up on the science behind the backcountry's least-loved vine.

These five animals are looking for love this month. Hit the trail to watch them go wild.

Mountain lions are notoriously elusive. Can our scout successfully stalk the king of stalkers?

Footage uncovered after half a century.

The bear wandered through Bozeman High School Wednesday

Twenty-pound Jules chased two bears from a California home.

Get in touch with your inner hunter-gatherer and have the best backcountry dinner that's entirely from nature. It's the ultimate survival test.

Get ready for adorable: These are the 10 cutest animals in the national parks, according to our scientific rankings. You know you can’t resist.

It might not be Yellowstone, but the Inland Northwest provides plenty of opportunities to view some of the continent’s most majestic wildlife.

Forage away, but whatever you do, don't ingest any of these killer plants.

Bucket lists aren't just about views. Make a point to hear these 4 amazing animal sounds in the wild.

Forage wild berries and then use this guide to prepare killer backcountry meals.

Animals are on the move in fall. Here's how to spot them on our next outing.

<p class="sub_header">You sent us your best flower shots from Switzerland to California. Here are the ones that really blew us away.</p>

A charging grizzly comes too close for this reader's comfort.

Itsy bitsy? Sure, but spiders loom large in hiker phobias. They shouldn't: Only a few subspecies of the black widow and brown recluse can inflict enough damage to cut short a hike. Here's what you need to know about North America's most venomous spiders, from how to avoid them to treating their bites.

Pick up these book titles from BACKPACKER Magazine and be prepared for your next outdoor adventure.

These bear canisters have been making bears sad since 1982.

Take that grizzly print hope with you with this fool-proof technique.

The Gray Whale swims thousands of miles to mate- and you were complaining about picking up the dinner bill.

The smart, social, and friendly mountain gorillas take the heavyweight title.

Another dead Denali wolf. A battle for the soul of wild Alaska. Our reporter visits America's most iconic wilderness for the inside story of a park under siege.

When senior editor Tracy Ross investigated Denali's wolf controversy, she expected to see a dead wolf--but not a skinned one. Go behind the scenes with video filmed in the field and an interview with Ross on the experience.

Author Tracy Ross discusses her feature story "Dogs of War" devoted to the debate raging in Alaska over the famed Toklat wolf pack.

How we rate risk, using a highly scientific formula

Which is the bigger backcountry threat, grizzlies or flash floods? Find out what should scare you&ndash;and how to survive it&ndash;with BACKPACKER's Terror Index.

Use this step-by-step guide to beat 7 common backcountry fears. Plus, ideal hikes for overcoming&ndash;or avoiding&ndash;the source of your scare.

These dozen creatures are threatened by global warming.

Scientists say Nebraska's wild prairies could become the Western Hemisphere's largest sandbox in as few as 30 years.

Last fall, we showed you the many ways that climate change is altering the wild places we love. Now, a look at what BACKPACKER is doing to reduce the magazine's impact.

Learn how you can help combat climate change by researching everything from Alaska's Bering Glacier to tracking pumas in Argentina through citizen scientist programs

Learn your black bears from your brown bears then figure out how to keep them away from your camp.

Hiker Gerald Holzer recounts a 2005 grizzly attack in Yellowstone.

America's preeminent bear tracker backpacks Idaho's most remote wilderness looking for signs of the lost grizzlies of the Bitterroots--and winds up staring at the great bruin's future.

Some species look alike, but guess wrong and you could have a harmful mistake on your hands.

When the trout are thick and the ethics resolved, catch-and-eat is the tasty way to go.

Follow four-legged trail blazers down paths you'll never find on a map.