Stories

Should secret wildernesses be revealed? Utah's Anasazi artifact hotbed Cedar Mesa begs the question.

Feeling people-shy? Follow Wisconsin's wolves to this lonely section of the Ice Age Trail.

Sniff the rhododendrons and enjoy hiking the Valley Rim Trail in North Carolina's Valley River Mountains.

If overpowering stillness is your thing, try the old-growth forests in Oregon's Bull of the Woods Wilderness.

How to deal with and treat those bloodsucking leeches.

Our guide to spotting wolves on Michigan's Isle Royale.

Follow these tips when hiking in burned country.

In an ancient cycle older than man, the fires that torched the West in summer 2000 are causing a dramatic and stunning rebirth of the once-charred landscape.

Seven places where you can walk through a whole new landscape, plus opportunities to help rebuild charred trails.

Years and even decades after a forest fire, the healed land tells amazing tales about the benefits of flame.

Washington's Elwha Trail is a rain-forest classic: green, primeval, spongy soft, and wonderfully wet.

Hike into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and you'll enjoy Colorado's best summer school.

In Virginia, a miracle occurs and hikers get some new wilderness, thanks to The Priest.

It's the easiest hiking on Earth, and you get to sleep with buffalo, listen to coyotes sing, and bask in quiet so deep you can hear the grasslands growing. Welcome to the prairie.

Everything you need to know about hiking in the high country, from talus hopping to finding the right gear to dealing with wind and glaciers.

You won't find Utah's 725-mile rogue route on any map. But thanks to two passionate Utah hikers, you'll soon be able to search it out with your boots.

In Point Reyes National Seashore, you'll find peace and quiet in the heart of California's earthquake zone.

If you're a backpacking purist, Tennessee's new Cumberland Trail was made for you.

Albuquerque's backyard wilderness lets hikers perform a disappearing trick.

There's a fascinating world of fur and claws underfoot. Here's how to tell who's down there.

Easily said and done, when you have a constant reminder at bedtime.

Meet Jamie and Joe, who need help with everything from planning to packing to eating well. Enter our team of experts, with a few simple tricks designed to turn them-and you!-into well-oiled backpacking machines.

Lines at backcountry outhouses. Hikers competing for tent sites. Is there any solitude left in New Hampshire's White Mountains? Lots of it, if you know where to go.

Sometimes, despite all the commitments and obligations, you know what you have to do.

You'd better like your own company, because that's all you'll have in Oregon's Badlands Wilderness Study Area.

Arizona's Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness is so incredible, you'll want to tell the whole world.

If you're a fan of waterfalls, then Arkansas's Richland Creek Wilderness is your dream trip.

A 5,200-year-old artifact provides insight into early man's walking habits.

When venturing into country "untrammeled by man," we can thank Marshall's unlimited efforts to preserve it.

You may have the Ozarks' wildlife-rich Ridge Runner Trail to yourself, but that doesn't mean you're alone.

The little-known Ouachita Trail ranked third among the long trails for solitude.

Take along your plant guidebooks for this flora-filled treasure.

Forgot your toothbrush? You can still practice good hygiene.

The challenge of Vermont's Long Trail will cure what ails you.

The condors know all about Chumash Wilderness, but luckily, the masses in Los Angeles don't.

A whale of a Minnesota trail beside a Great Lake.

Cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, ancient pottery -- Utah's Grand Gulch is thick with history.

It's the longest stretch of virgin coastline left in the Lower 48. But that's just one of many reasons to hike it.

Mind-bending views, close-up wildlife encounters.

If any long trail is likely to induce a headache, it's the Colorado Trail.

This magnificent trail travels through three California parks while showcasing the natural wonders Muir worked to preserve.

The famed peaks of the Appalachian chain entice some 2,500 people to attempt the thru-hike each year.

Carved limestone cliffs add even more to love on Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail.

A good pile of animal scat speaks volumes about your backwoods neighbors, if you know what to look for.

In the 1800s, cowboys didn't think much of the Grand Canyon's Parashant National Monument. Luckily, times and attitudes have changed.

The best trips are littered with mistakes, frustration, and, if a river called the "Little Misery" runs through it, boot-sucking mud.

For Deep South scenery, try Alabama's Conecuh Trail, where the gopher frogs and armadillos outnumber the people.

The best way to honor a wilderness-minded senator is to hike the Jackson Wilderness.

What's good for elk is good for backpackers on Michigan's High Country Pathway.

New research suggests that bear bells don't work, and colorful tents and clothing may attract bruins.

The greatest backpacking parks in the United States, chosen for their scenery.

Glacier National Park possesses scenery that'll suck the breath out of your lungs, quiet so intense you'll wonder if your ears still work, and enough wildlife to make a zookeeper drool with envy.

When leaves turn the colors on a painter's palette, head to the Adirondack's High Peaks Wilderness.

When summer ends, crowd-free hiking begins in Colorado's Indian Peaks.

If land has a personality, then Vermont's 270-mile Long Trail is one moody, unpredictable way to hike through New England.

When you have park visitors asking such questions as, "The animals aren't really wild, are they?" you have a recipe for disaster.

Where the words "wild" and "life" take on new meaning

The French-Canadian trappers are long gone, but the grizzlies and waterfalls remain in this alpine nirvana.

If you think the last truly wild, unexplored land is in Canada or Alaska, you haven't been to Wyoming's Absaroka range.

History is carved in stone in this wild and scenic southern river corridor in North Carolina and Georgia.

Is the legendary jackalope the most endangered species in the Lower 48 or just an old cowboy tale that refuses to die?

Out of mistakes, miscues, and unexpected turns in the trail, we find the perfect trip.

Washington's gentle "forgotten mountains" -- The Kettle River Range -- are ignored by those in a hurry to reach the Cascades.

Its bite is more than painful -- it could be deadly.

Sure, you can summit Mt. Rainier, but the real treasure isn't on top. It's the Wonderland Trail down below.

Follow Jesse James's footprints to a land of shady valleys and cool, clear lakes.

Even when you're trapped in the nation's most crowded metropolis, backwoods relief is only a short hike down a Long Path.

In a strange way, music and wilderness go hand in hand.

Some people head to Wyoming to summit the Tetons. But outdoor legend Paul Petzoldt had a better idea: Create a route for foot travelers along the spine of the great range.

Chambers Lakes are too cold for swimming, but a great place to watch 'bergs drift by.

Rare stands of virgin hardwood and creekside camping beckon sunburned hikers.

Are you antsy? Need to get away? Try New York's Tongue Range.

Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest is just what the hiker ordered.

Montana and Wyoming's incredibly wild and beautiful Absaroka needs your help.

Here's what little we've learned about the mysterious Jackalope.

On the hoof, antlers and horns are a regal sight. Once discarded, they speak volumes about the former owner.

Horns or antlers?

A quick guide to antler spotting in the wild.

Mountain vistas: the ups and downs of a mountain-biking/hiking paradise.

A high point offering a year-round getaway for lovers of southern wildlife, lush forests, and redeye bass.