Best Hikes Ever: Grand Island Loop, MI
Hike along bluffs and fern forests in total solitude on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Stories
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.
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.
Best Hikes Ever: Zion Narrows, UT
Sluice through towering walls of sandstone in Utah's Zion National Park.
Best Hikes Ever: Mt. Cabot Loop, NH
Bag a little-known triple crown in New England's northern woods.
Best Hikes Ever: Prairie Trail, ND
Weave around grassy meadows and mirror lakes.
Best Hikes Ever: Turkey Trail, KS
Snag views of swaying prairie grass stretching to the horizon.
Best Hikes Ever: Burr Oak State Park, OH
Traverse rolling hills to star-gazing meadows.
Best Hikes Ever: The Needles Traverse, CO
Forge your own route through the Rockies' most rugged corner.
Best Hikes Ever: Denali, AK
Pick your pilgrimage through the backcountry Holy Land: Mt Eielson Loop or Kesugi Ridge.
Best Hikes Ever: Elk Trail, PA
Track through dense forests ringing with bugling.
Best Hikes Ever: Balsam Cap and Friday Mountain, NY
Brave thick forest to reach rugged twin summits.
Best Hikes Ever: Sandpiper Trail, SC
Emerge from crane-crossed coastal grasslands to pristine beaches.
Best Hikes Ever: Escalante Route, AZ
Plumb the wild depths of the Big Ditch.
Best Hikes Ever: Teton Crest Trail, WY
Traverse the nation's most photogenic range on the Teton Crest Trail.
Reader Leader Contest Winner!
After sifting through scores of submissions, we've chosen a reader who will be an official BACKPACKER field scout.
Prof. Hike: Don't Get Caught in the Dark
How to avoid an unplanned night hike and what to do if it happens anyway
The Peak: Mt. Marcy, Adirondacks, NY
Take the scenic--and sporting--route to New York's highest summit.
Natural Wonders: Hells Canyon, Bighorn Sheep, and Longleaf Pines
See North America's deepest river gorge, the west's most violent mating Display, and the Southeast's last longleaf pines.
Natural Wonders: Longleaf Pines, GA
Walk beneath trees that predate the Revolutionary War.
Natural Wonders: Sparring Bighorn Sheep
Witness bighorn rams' skull-bashing attempts to win a date.
Natural Wonders: Hells Canyon, OR/ID
Hike into North America's deepest river gorge--a canyon that could hold five stacked Sears Towers.
Top 3 Rainy Season Hikes: Neshannock Creek, PA
Cast a fly to land lunker brown trout.
Top 3 Rainy Season Hikes: Emerald Pools, UT
Explore Gushing, Rain-fed waterfalls.
Top 3 Rainy Season Hikes: Mill Creek, CA
Rains summon salmon and slugs.
Top 3: Rainy Season Hikes
Make the best of fall storms on trails that improve with soggy weather.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: The Press Traverse, WA
Cross the Olympic Range on a forgotten explorers' path.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: Middle Fork Trail, NM
Trek along–and in–the Gila River.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: Foothills Trail, SC
See bears, gorges, and waterfalls on this 77-mile South Carolina hike.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: Resurrection Pass Trail, AK
This 39-mile Alaska hike offers big scenery without a bush plane.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: Knobstone Trail, IN
Climb high (really!) in the Midwest.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: Greenstone Ridge, MN
Traverse a seldom-hiked national park.
High Sierra Trail, Ca: 50-Mile Thru-Hikes
Go straight to the top in the Range of Light.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: Toiyabe Crest Trail, NV
Cross Nevada's loftiest range in 6-7 days.
50-Mile Thru-Hikes: Loyalsock Trail, Pennsylvania
A 59-mile "long trail" through Pennsylvania.
October 2010 Table of Contents
Check out Katie Herrel's author page.
Local Hikes: Knoxville, TN
The best hikes near Knoxville, TN.
Local Hikes: Spokane, WA
The best hikes near Spokane.
Local Hikes: Portland, OR
The best hikes near Portland.
Local Hikes: Anchorage, AK
The best hikes near Anchorage.
Local Hikes: Boise, ID
The best hikes near Boise.
Local Hikes: Portland, ME
The best hikes near Portland, ME.
Local Hikes: Rochester, NY
The best hikes near Rochester.
Local Hikes: Burlington, VT
The best hikes near Burlington.
Local Hikes: Philadelphia, PA
The best hikes near Philly.
Local Hikes: Manchester, NH
The best hikes near Manchester.
Local Hikes: Boston, MA
The best hikes near Boston.
Local Hikes: Pittsburgh, PA
The best hikes near Pittsburgh.
Local Hikes: Albany, NY
The best hikes near Albany.
Local Hikes: New York City, NY
The best hikes near New York, as selected by the Big Apple's best hiking clubs.
The Best Hikes Near You
Clear the schedule for next Saturday (and the rest of the year). We partnered with regional hiking clubs in 50 cities to bring you the country's top 121 local trails.
The Peak: Triple Divide Peak, Glacier NP
In Glacier National Park, summit a mountain that feeds three oceans.
Natural Wonders: Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
Watch 10,000 birds take wing daily.
Natural Wonders: Pando Aspen Colony, UT
Meander through a sprawling forest of clones.
Natural Wonders: Giant Aspens, Devil's Tower, and Hawk Heaven
Visit the world's largest aspen colony, the Plains' highest skyscraper, and a raptor super-flyaway.
VIDEOS: Winter Test Fest
Video footage & backcountry skills tips from Backpacker's winter ski testing in Norway & Colorado.
Ice Age Trail
Hike a landscape carved by glaciers more than 10,000 years ago.
Tahoe Rim Trail: Above it All
On a thru-hike of the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail, two brothers get some perspective - on America's largest alpine lake, and each other.
Photo Gallery: Hut Keepers of New Hampshire's White Mountains
Head to the White Mountains and meet the AMC hut keepers in this photo gallery. (Photos by Anne Skidmore)
Top 3 Trailhead Pub Hikes: Buttermilk Falls SP, NY
Explore waterfall-filled Gorges with fossils preserved in the shale walls.
Top 3 Trailhead Pub Hikes: The Barr Trail, CO
Climb a fourteener for a view across the continental divide.
Top 3 Trailhead Pub Hikes: Deschutes River Trail, OR
Hike streamside near pacific northwest greenery and caribbean-blue eddies.
Natural Wonders: The Southeast's Living-Dead Plant
See ferns that play dead, then dramatically come back to life.
Natural Wonders: Florida's Sea Turtle Capital
Witness the birthing of a species that shared the seas with dinosaurs.
Natural Wonders: America's Deepest Lake
Gaze into a 2,000-foot-deep tub of snowmelt.
The Peak: Mt. Mitchell
Enjoy solitude and fixed-rope scrambling on the East's highest mountain.
New Life List: See a Grizzly
Coming face to face with the biggest predator in North America might just alter your worldview.
New Life List: Bag a Remote Peak
Stand alone atop Washington's Glacier Peak--a summit that others rarely see, let alone climb.
New Life List: Traverse a Mountain Range
Walking a high ridge with countless views and no people is the stuff of dreams. Make it real in Olympic National Park's Bailey Range.
New Life List: Tackle a Monster Dayhike in the Grand Canyon
See a week's worth of scenery in 24 hours, and redefine your idea of what's possible.
New Life List: Shoot a Wall-Worthy Photo
The only thing equal to a life-list trip? An image that brings it back to life.
Family Paddling Adventure on the Green River
World-class scenery, luxe camping, and easy paddling await your family on the Green River in Canyonlands. Your kids will remember this forever.
New Life List: Climb a Via Ferrata
Get a taste of the vertical alpine world--no experience required.
New Life List: Thru-Hike the JMT
A lifetime of weekend trips is like trying to live on appetizers. Get real sustenance with a two-week trek through the best of the Sierras on California's John Muir Trail.
20 Full Moon Hikes
Get out this weekend to explore open meadows and ridgelines at night.
John Muir Trail, Cherokee National Forest, TN
Contemplate the south's wild side on the trail that launched America's greatest wilderness champion.
Secret Hikes: Yellowstone National Park
What crowds? Lose yourself in the Lamar Valley on this weeklong hike.
Secret Hikes: Glacier National Park
Score wildlife sightings daily, choice views hourly--and at least one juicy burger--on this weeklong circuit.
Secret Hikes: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Explore a granite wonderland, cross two little-used passes, and score High Sierra solitude on this point-to-point hike.
Secret Hikes: Zion National Park
Pack an extra memory card for what is, mile-for-mile, the most photogenic hike in the Southwest.
Secret Hikes: North Cascades National Park
Dive into the heart of the Lower 48's wildest park.
Secret Hikes: Badlands
Ever dreamed of exploring another planet? Hike here.