Stories

Traverse Guadalupe Mountains National Park to the state's airiest perch.

Discover a slice of rare Eastern wild country in West Virginia, where Canadian taiga meets Southern forests.

Avoid the crowds in Maine's Acadia National Park by skipping getting a jump on the season and hiking the park in the Spring. Stephen King country never looked so good.

Want to hike where the most predators exist? Pack your courage and follow these directions.

Want to boost your backcountry karma? Here are three places to hike–and give back.

Think the Dakotas are just endless prairie? Get ready for climbing, backpacking, and biking of the highest order.

Looking to catch baby animals taking their first step? You can't go wrong with these picks.

Here's longtime ranger Jim Wheeler's plan for an eye-popping adventure among the ancients.

There's a science to why we love waterfalls: When water crashes earthward, it releases negatively charged ions that--you can't make this stuff up--some researchers think can reduce anxiety. Spring is when cascades' spigots open full bore, so head off on these three beguiling treks for a dose of nature's backcountry Rx.

Invent your own hike, and go where no one (well, almost no one) has gone before.

Badlands, peaks, wildflowers: Catch the best of the California desert with this trio of hikes.

The most exotic hike in the United States is smack in the middle of the country: Welcome to Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Associate editor Shannon Davis's photo diary of his hiking and paddling trip to Santa Cruz Island.

For these three fitness gurus staying fit is a job requirement.

In honor of Earth Day, we bring you the first industry-wide survey on which gear manufacturers are positively impacting the environment, plus much more.

Check out Dimity McDowell, Illustrations by Supercorn's author page.

Check out Dimity McDowell, Illustrations by Supercorn's author page.

Check out Dimity McDowell, Illustrations by Supercorn's author page.

Everyone loves national parks - but are they being loved to death? Join a star-studded roundtable to explore the fate of this embattled American institution.

Many people think exploring this 91,440-acre desert park is all about dodging the tall, spiny cacti that earned the place its name. But Southern Arizona Hiking Club guide Steve Singkofer knows better. His favorite 20.3-mile route - including a 4,500-foot climb - reaches overlooks of Tucson and far beyond.

Glaciers sculpt mountains, dredge valleys, and remain an unending source of fascination for hikers.

When Utahans really wants to disappear, they head to the magnificent canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante.

Visitors to Montana's Glacier National Park can visit on the cheap or pay an arm and a leg -- but each way has its unique charms.

When you're trekking into a backcountry bowl, avalanches are almost always a threat. Learn how to protect yourself when the worst happens.

When a scramble turns to a nightmare learn how to help yourself.

The Lower 48's most glaciated region is losing its ice at an astonishing rate.

A big-picture biologist unearths threats to songbirds, salamanders, and a peak-loving furball.

More potent poison ivy is on the way, plus fast-growing weeds that will change the face of Eastern forests.

Pine beetles are felling more trees than wildfires and the timber industry combined.

As the earth warms, here's how higher temps will affect our forests.

Find these hard-to-spot beauties on your next journey

A for and against look at heli-hiking

Stay sanitary, and for your travel companion's sake, pack what's on this list.

On the trail and in camp, beat the cold with these tips.

Beat the itchy stuff with creams or homeopathic measures.

Here are the seven guidelines to Leave No Trace

The trail-staple GORP gets a face lift with these reader-submitted recipes

A successful hike often starts with a bit of research.

Hit the wilderness in search of beasts big and small.

Welcome to Yosemite, iconic American landscape, hikers' paradise, and all-you-can-eat home of the wiliest bruins on earth.

The wooly bear caterpillar, wild leek, and yew have "magical" qualities, but live in your backyard.

Museum curator Glenn Crosby tracks down Ansel Adams' famous shot

Spot lizards, wrens, and javelinas in the desert Southwest with these tips.

Try this black diamond, three-day kayak trip that navigates Lake Superior's piney islands.

Take a winter hike to the steaming pools of Melanie Hot Springs in Gila Wilderness, New Mexico.

By foot, kayak, or on top of a Boulder, North Georgia has plenty of outside activities.

Hike, paddle, or ride in America's favorite steel town.

Idaho's capital offers hiking, kayaking, and climbing close to downtown

Try this 30-mile lollipop loop that is almost entirely above 9,000 feet.

A rarely-attempted traverse reveals the Navajo Nation's vast red-rock wilderness.

These hares love the snow and cold and they're designed to use the elements to their advantage

Looking to get more than scenic views out of your hikes? The U.S. Forest Service's Passport in Time program turns trekkers into weekend archaeologists.

Head to Hawaii for three of the tallest

If you've always dreamed of descending into the center of the earth, try one of these creekbed hikes.

Traverse the Yukon Territory's Tombstone Range, sea kayak Baja, trek Torres del Paine, Patagnoia–all in 2008. Plus, monthly adventures closer to home.

Try a stunning new hike–or two thrilling classics–in the Colorado Rockies' top spot for big backpacking adventures.

Keen on birds, peak bagging, or wildflowers? Here's how to join hikers who share your passions.

Rangers despise him. The law is after him. Yet in chopping down trees in an overgrown national park, Bob Garrison has become a hero to some hikers.

Inside Idaho's Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, humans and wolves learn to co-exist.

Trek into the wilderness but sleep in comfort with these hut treks

Check out Katie Herrel's author page.

A hiker's guide to fighting climate change

Hike this trail to find peace, stress relief and a tonic to cure your daily routine.

The best overall weekend hike you'll find on the CDT.

Explore six new routes through the most rugged, scenic, and wildife-rich mountains in the Lower 48.

Hiking, climbing, and fishing in this New South boomtown.

Get ready to feel puny--and profoundly grateful--on three hikes through ancient forests.

Pick your poison with three epic adventures in Yellowstone: camping, canoeing, and ski touring

Drought is giving Glen Canyon--and those who love it--a second chance. Here are four spectacular reasons why we should protect this Southwest wilderness by making it America's next national park.

Write your own ticket to new adventures with these 10 territory-expanding skills.

Our scribe-turned-pizzaman labors in the land of granite and pulls back the curtain on the seasonal-employment fantasy.

Link two classic Southern rivers on a trek along the newly completed Benton MacKaye Trail in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Live life on the edge as your dayhike three vertiginous ridges in Arizona, Vermont, and Colorado.

Scratch the picturesque postcard surface of Big Sur...and there's far more than you imagined, including hot springs and high-rise trails.

16 wild ways to find backcountry solitude and big-time scenery. All this, and you can bring the ice chest, too.

Climate change isn't just melting glaciers--it's messing with wildlife everywhere

Classic hike-in spots in Wyoming, South Carolina, and Oregon let you ditch the trail mix for pan-fried fish.

Relax after a long day of hiking at scenic hot soaks in Idaho, Arizona, and Colorado

Hit the high point and move on to the other attractions this park offers.

Lay low like Jesse James at this high point.