Stories

The best way to see all Olympic has to offer is on the grand Valley Loop.

It's not complete, but North Carolina's Mountains To Sea trail rivals Inman's journey in "Cold Mountain."

A hike up New Hampshire's Carter Dome has it all -- mountains, forests, water, views, solitude, and even a little challenge.

Texas' Big Slough is as wet as the Big Bend is dry.

These quiet summits feature the best views of New York's high Adirondacks.

The colorful walls of Palo Duro Canyon will delight hikers with masterpiece washes of color.

Never heard of Utah's George Washington Hayduke Route, have you? That's because it's brand new.

Highest, biggest, wildest: Colorado's Weminuche Wilderness is a land of superlatives.

Great Basin's Mt. Moriah is a big mountain of solitude.

History and landscape meet at Caprock Canyos State Park.

Get above treeline in Maine's wild Saddleback Range.

Escape from the urban at Wisconsin's Governor Knowles State Forest.

Wilderness worthy enough to inspire any classical landscape painter.

Think Iowa is nothing but flat? You haven't visited the Yellow River State Forest.

Can you find solitude in Sequoia National Park? You can if you go off trail.

Get spectacular Appalachian Trail mountain views without much effort on the Riga Plateau.

Lake Superior's best coast lies on Wisconsin's Apostle Islands.

Crowd-free, rocky mountain highs -- you'll find this and more in Colorado's South San Juan Wilderness.

High, cool peaks rise over 7,000 feet above the desert flats in New Mexico's White Mountain Wilderness.

Great Smoky's Gregory Bald features an amazing crown of wild azaleas.

Luckily, Aldo Leopold's prediction about Mt. Baldy didn't come true -- these Arizona forests are just as verdant as always.

Break the long Michigan winter with a lengthy hike on Michigan's Riding and Hiking Trail.

Hickory Creek Wilderness in the Allegheny National Forest remains a great hiking destination all year -- even in winter.

Check out Ted Stedman's author page.

Bears electrify an already incredible experience at Glacier National Park's Bowman Lake.

James Peak is a gem just 50 miles west of Denver.

History and nature intertwine when you hike South Dakota's stunning Black Hills.

Burnt Rock Mountain provides great views along Vermont's Long Trail.

Go through the looking glass in Utah's canyon country.

In New Mexico's Pecos Wilderness, it's just you and the bighorn sheep looking down on the world.

You won't get a nosebleed on the Knobstone Trail, but you will get a taste of Hoosier high country.

To understand what goes on beneath the sea, find a rocky shoreline and explore away

Three Bay Area hikes that'll quickly make winter a distant memory

Extend the hiking season at these three destinations, all perfect for winter newbies.

The Tordrillo Mountains are so rugged, you'd swear you're the first human to set foot there.

Wrangell-St. Elias National park is known for its jaw-dropping scenery, but there's just as much beauty at your feet.

In Alaska's Tongass, the ancient trees have something to say...if you're willing to listen.

An Ohio trail that reclaimed land from the ore era.

You don't need a canoe to reach some of the Everglades' best beachfront campsites.

In the fortress-like Mazatzal Wilderness, you can barricade yourself in solitude.

When the White Mountains' hot spots get too hot, there's always the Pilot Range.

For some, reaching Maine's Mt. Katahdin is the end of a life-altering 2,100-mile pilgrimage. For others it's a lark. We captured the extremes, and a little bit of everything in between, one day atop Maine's "greatest mountain."

The Ouachita Mountains sheltered outlaws and gave John Wayne something to crow about. But it's not until you hike the 223-mile Ouachita Trail that you realize this country is the stuff of legend.

Think slickrock in July and your throat clenches, your skin shrivels, and parched bones rattle in your subconscious. But in winter, the snow sends the tourists and dry desert demons packing, and the frosted wonderland is all yours.

Drop off the lip of Linville Gorge into a world of rock escarpments, deep forests, and whitewater.

Deseret Peak Wilderness has everything the popular Wasatch Range does, except the crowds.

Hiking through Oregon's Jefferson Park puts you in the heart of what was once some pretty hot country.

Panoramic ridge-hiking through New England.

There are plenty of Bambi's brethren along the Quehanna Trail-if you know where to look.

Thank the Ice Age for the challenging hiking and incredible views you'll find in the Blue Hills.

Redwood Meadow's massive trees and wild countryside have changed little since Muir passed through 100 years ago.

Hike like a conquistador through Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Sometimes you have to go where the guidebooks haven't been, but watch your step.

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River Trail is a 100-mile-long backpacker's dream that comes complete with muscle-soothing waters and the occasional glass of wine with your four-course dinner.

They paw, prance, bang heads, and curl lips. The rut is on, and there's no better time to observe the wild kingdom.

Theodore Roosevelt ventured into the North Dakota Badlands an East Coast city Boy. After the land got through with him, he had the fortitude to run a nation and the insight to preserve more wildlands than anyone in history.

We love watching wildlife, but follow these tips to stay safe.

Tune up your senses and turn off the lights for a wild walk on the dark side.

Birds and deer are your only companions on this stretch of the Allegheny Trail.

Baldface Range's icy swimming holes and heights will get any hiker worked up.

Forget what CNN and Your Daily News say about Yosemite's crowds and crime and traffic. the "treasure of the Sierra" is still a golden place for backpackers to escape.

You'll find North Cascades beauty minus the rain in Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness.

Keep your cool on Nevada's Mt. Charleston Loop Trail.

The Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park is a place of reckoning and, given its trackless nature, a place of choices. To a young man who came of age here, it offers perspective on paths not taken.

The 76-mile Foothills Trail takes in all of the Blue Ridge's scenic wonders.

Two trails, same river, two different worlds.

A small taste of Washington's mighty mountain.

A roadless wonder in California's Los Padres Wilderness.

Head south to find the quiet side of the King.

There's elbow room to spare in this lofty hiker's haven.

If the beauty of the Colorado Sangres doesn't leave you breathless, the altitude will.

Washington's rocky, log-strewn shore is no place for beach bums.

A high country stunner that defines Colorado wilderness.

The best wildlife stronghold in California.

Great lake views in Minnesota's land of moose and wolves.

All the park is a stage for nature's steamy performance in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Hiking Wisconsin's glacier-carved trail will set you back 12,000 years.

Nine hikes as big as the hearts of their namesake wilderness visionaries.

Wondrous lava formations in the Sierra's granite kingdom.

The trails are lonely and the trout are always biting in this Inyo National Forest hideaway.