National Park Slideshows
See scores of stunning images from the Grand Canyon, Denali, Yosemite, and more.
Stories
Spend your life on the trail, and one thing’s for sure: You’ll come away with plenty of hiking stories. From survival stories to personal essays to stories to adventure tales from the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail, this is where you’ll find backpacker’s favorite yarns.
Reader Photos: Reflections
Check out Katie Herrel's author page.
Best of the National Parks
Check out Katie Herrel's author page.
Ask A Bear: Why Did You Steal My Empty Pack?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Reader Photos: Wildlife-2
If it bleats, chirps, or roars, our readers have captured it.
Reader Photos: Wildlife
If it bleats, chirps, or roars, our readers have captured it.
Ask A Bear: Will Music Attract A Bear?
Got a burning ursine question? Ask our resident bruin expert in our new weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Scare a Marauding Bear
Got a burning ursine question? Ask our resident bruin expert in our 'Ask A Bear' column.
Ask A Bear: Do Bears Really Like Toothpaste
Got a burning ursine question? Ask our resident bruin expert in our new weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Can Boat Horns Scare Bears?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Can Mothballs Keep Away Bears
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Will Camp Fire/Cigar Smoke Keep Away A Bear
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Run Away From A Bear?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear Christmas Present
Usually, our bear answers burning ursine questions, but this week he's dropping off a holiday gift.
Ask A Bear: How Should I Handle MaMa Black Bear With Cubs?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Can Bears Get Drunk
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Ditch the Deodorant In Bear Country?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: How Long Do Food Smells Stick to My Tent?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Mountain Biking In Bear Country?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask a Bear: Will Backcountry Sex Attract a Bear?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our 'Ask A Bear' column.
Ask A Bear: Followed By A Dangerous Bear?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Will Dryer Sheets Attract a Bear?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Soap-Eating Bear?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in out weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Will Pet Hair Attract a Bear
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Is It Ok To Cook In An RV In Bear Country?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Will My Farts Attract a Bear?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Charging Bear Caught on FIlm
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Storing Food Above Treeline?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Why is Black Bear and Grizzly Bear Behavior so Different?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Will Cider Vinegar Attract a Bear
Check out BEAR's author page.
Ask A Bear: Bear Steals, Destroys Car for PB&J Sandwich
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Will you Eat me In Rocky Mountain NP?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Do Ultrasonic Noises Repel You?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Do Bear Bells Really Work
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Which Park Has The Most Bear Attacks
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Never Look a Bear in the Eyes?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our 'Ask A Bear' column.
Ask A Bear: Break a Stick to Scare Away Bears?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Do I Need to Bear-Bag Unopened Freeze-Dried Foods?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: More Active During a Full Moon
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Will a Flashlight Make You Mad?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: Why Did You Destroy my Van?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask a Bear: Bear Canisters in Winter?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our 'Ask A Bear' column.
Ask a Bear: Are you a Picky Eater? (Video)
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Ask A Bear: What Color Are Your Eyes At Night?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
2011 Be A Mapper Contest Official Rules
Check out Katie Herrel's author page.
Ask A Bear: Scared By Flashing Lights?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
VOTE: Reader Photo Contest Finalists
You choose! Look through the slideshow and at the end cast your vote to help decide which one will be the winner for BACKPACKER's September 2011 issue.
The Birth of the Rockies
A new theory might solve the mystery of how these mountains formed.
Get Higher: Best Firetower Hikes
For sheltered scenery high above the trees, there's no better place than a fire tower. Try one of these editor-approved hikes to backcountry rooms with a view.
Ask A Bear: Stay Away From My Honey!
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Local Hikes: Mountain West
Hike Denver's lost wilderness, a twofer of peaks in Idaho, lava tubes in New Mexico, Zion's sneak route, and Bozeman's trout-filled lake.
Ask A Bear: Will My iPod Keep You Away?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Hike. Pray. Protest.
Does God love camping? A new church movement foot-soldiered by wilderness-loving young people could transform the way conservative Christians perceive and protect the environment. We hit the trail with the new green evangelicals.
Lighten Up: Lose Weight Hiking
Make one simple resolution–to hike more in 2011–and we guarantee you'll lose that spare tire around the middle. Here's the proof, the plan, and the inspiration.
Right Place, Perfect Time
See Yosemite's river of ice, witness there-and-gone meteor showers in Hawaii, and mark your calendar for eight more fleeting natural wonders.
Right Place, Perfect Time: An Oasis in California's Desert Peaks
Peakbag in the White Mountains—without lugging in water.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Olympic’s Spring Waterfalls
Hike through a wild water park in Enchanted Valley.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Aurora Borealis
Notch the best northern lights show in the Lower 48.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Frazil Ice
Witness a river of slush flow through Yosemite Valley.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Geminid Meteor Shower
See shooting stars from a five-star backcountry observatory.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Best River Paddle
Hit Idaho's Owyhee River just right, and you get one of the West's best paddles to yourself.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Monarch Butterfly Migration
See these colorful flutters fuel up for the long flight to Mexico.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Showiest Fall Colors
Hit the leaf jackpot on these classic footpaths.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Golden Eagle Gathering
Soar with the world's largest migration.
Right Place, Perfect Time: Brightest Wildflower Bloom
Wait for El Nino and cruise through mesmerizing fields of seldom-seen desert blossoms.
Local Hikes: Southeast
Ascend Rocky Top in Tennessee; spot herons and Pelicans in a Florida bayou.
Local Hikes: Midwest
Discover east Texas's longleaf pine forest; see the Boundary Waters on foot.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Wind River Range, WY
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Gila Wilderness, NM
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: John Muir Wilderness, CA
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, MT
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Dark Canyon Wilderness, UT
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness, WA
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: White Cloud Mountains, ID
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Eagle Cap Wilderness, OR
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Linville Gorge Wilderness, NC
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets: Eagles Nest Wilderness, CO
Check out Michael Lanza's author page.
America's Best-Kept Secrets
The only thing better than enjoying the life-list scenery in the country's premier national parks? Getting that same scenery, minus the crowds. Find it in these 10 backcountry hotspots, along with no-hassle permits, choice campsites aplenty, and solitude to match the world-class terrain.
Local Hikes: West
See California dunes, Nevada red-rock canyons, Alaska's deep forest, quiet Oregon Coast, and Washington's Cascade lakes.
Ask A Bear: Can I Survive On Your Diet?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'