Stories

California's second largest park has an impressive trail system.

Roads end in Arizona with tall tales, natural gardens, cacti forests, and shoe scorpions.

Cool your feet and warm your brow in this Arizona desert wilderness.

Alaska's premier area for fish and wildlife.

In the shadow of magnificent Mt. Shasta lies a relic of ancient times.

A precious backcountry jewel amid the hardwood forests.

A big Midwestern sandpile turned into an otherworldly escape by pounding surf and forests.

Waterfalls and swimming holes aplenty.

Follow the Appalachian Trail to new heights in the rugged New England high country.

All trails lead to the top in this lake-lover's paradise.

A slice of Utah canyon in the heart of Dixie.

Olympic National Park is pristine and isolated -- rare commodities these days.

Hike from Kentucky to Tennessee along an inland peninsula.

Lose yourself in the past on part of the Buckeye, America's longest loop trail.

Just beyond the neon and greenbacks of Vegas lies a priceless wilderness gem.

Old, haunted New York mountains, thick with legend.

Hike up and down oak- and hickory-covered ridgetops, or explore underground.

A bit of nerve opens up the stunning canyonlands made famous by Wile E. Coyote.

Majestic peaks rise in all directions in Washington's Boulder River Wilderness -- elegant, jagged, draped in snow.

Gorgeous gorge: Where the arches outnumber the footprints.

A rugged land of sweet-smelling wildflowers, bald mountains, and stone Indians.

Take a lazy cruise through exotic scenery, where monkeys swing and eagles soar.

Raft or hike this desert paradise's secretive canyons -- but don't pass up the hot springs.

Too small to get much attention and a pain in the neck to reach: The perfect Wisconsin escape.

A hiker's oasis in the hills and valleys of the Midwest.

Near-complete isolation just a few miles from Virginia Beach.

Where you can look down on soaring eagles and feel the power of the Missouri River.

A water-lover's Wisconsin wonderland with forests, prairies, and the occasional eagle.

Check out William Oglesby's author page.

Not your laid-back summer holiday -- canoeing and hiking galore.

Sunny beaches, cool forests, and a birder's paradise along the shores of Lake Michigan.

It's amazing what nature can do with pasture a decade after the cows go home.

The current carries you through the Great Plains, where buffalo, elk -- and snapping turtles -- roam.

Exploring hills and "hollers" in the Land of Lincoln.

Where the shadows on the sandstone offer lessons from the past and there's not a soul to be found.

Wooded trails, tea-colored waters -- and the Jersey Devil.

Hike or climb this pristine pink-granite wonderland just outside Austin.

If you're a fan of eskers, moraines, kettles, and kames, Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine State Forest is the right place for you.

Western prairie meets eastern forest in the land of healing waters.

A pristine prairie river winds through a sea of corn and beans in the shadow of Chicago.

Trade your flip-flops for hiking boots and explore a seaside trail.

There's more to the Louisiana's deep South than swamps and Cajun food.

Hike up and down oak- and hickory-covered ridgetops, or explore underground.

Tucked away in a New England corner is an old-growth paradise.

Once an impassable, swampy "ghost river," now a paddler's dream.

Where you'll share the mountain with curious goats and mysteries of the past.

Watch for ghosts among the mushroom-shaped rocks in this weird, lovely landscape.

Hike with sea turtles, watch the dolphins play, and share the beach with ghost crabs.

Heavy forests and the roar of whitewater wait in this section of the Appalachian Mountains.

Not much company along this stretch of Deep South blackwater -- and that's just fine.

Classic eastern mountain scenery along West Virginia's skyline pathway.

A peaceful rest stop in the shadow of the nation's largest city.

Frozen fire shaped by cataclysmic forces and the footsteps of the ancient ones.

In Big Cypress' land of exotic plants and lurking alligators, swamps aren't such bad places after all.

Connecticut's South Taconic Mountains have bald peaks, deep, forested gorges, and trees as old as the Mayflower.

Tiny Gibson Lake will take you out of Denver in a hurry with its big-wilderness feel and smirking brook trout.

Ishi Wilderness trails run through stream-carved canyons, past stunning vistas, back to gold rush days.

Hiking and backpacking at its finest, through pastoral grasslands and forests of pine and fur.

Behind the forbidding name lies California's glacier-polished playground.

You're as likely to bump into Sasquatch as another human.

Where does the aurora borealis come from?

Only have a short time to tackle the Pacific Northwest Trail? Our guide will give you the best the PNT has to offer.

Forthwith, interesting tidbits about Great Smoky's largest forest dwellers.

Mills Canyon is a hidden treasure where you can bushwhack through history.

In the Wind Rivers range, you can hike for days without seeing another soul, which is why it brings a pair of brothers back again and again.

In a region known for soggy times, Juniper Dunes is a warm sandbox where you can dry out.

With the click of a shutter, Ansel Adams captured the beauty and soul of wild places and showed us that in nature, there is magic.

California: Journey through a desert to bear witness to some of the loveliest wildflowers you'll ever see.

No color in nature comes close to matching the heart-stirring golden aspen found in the Rockies in autumn.

Maine's seal pups are usually born in May, making early summer an ideal time to witness the youngsters learning to swim and fish.

Arizona: Every year millions of ladybugs head to Arizona and coat trees, rocks, and brush like a layer of living paint.

Encountering a rattlesnake is a splendid moment in time, a cherished wilderness event--at least that's the view of Arizona researchers trying to change public perception of all things fanged.

The majestic San Juan Mountain range is often called America's Switzerland. -- and the wildflowers match.

Pennsylvania: You'll get wet and you may even stand in line behind a black bear or two.

Wisconsin: Explore 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland shoreline where strings of cliffs and caves are bejeweled in ice.

You can spend days exploring the Dry River Valley forest without seeing another soul, even if it sounds like you're being chased by a well-armed militia.

Observe the uncanny resemblance between the good doctor's famous Truffula Trees and a field of fuzz-topped flowers 5 miles up Long Canyon.

When hiking on Virginia's high, exposed heath balds in late summer, leave gorp and other snacks at home.

You'll emerge from a forested hallway into a wilderness playroom, and there before you will be skidmarks in the snow.

A chaotic chorus of loon calls penetrate the darkness, the warbling sounds echoing off the wooded hills around the New Hampshire lake.