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.

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

Lay claim to your own California mountain valley and bask in utter solitude.

Porpoises escort you to a rugged island where buffalo really do roam.

Alaska's premier area for fish and wildlife.

Myths and cactus in California: A life-filled land of sand and mountains.

A primordial oasis of rivers, bighorn sheep, and canyons.

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

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

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

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

Hike from Kentucky to Tennessee along an inland peninsula.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gorgeous gorge: Where the arches outnumber the footprints.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A precious backcountry jewel amid the hardwood forests.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Check out William Oglesby's author page.

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

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

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

A slice of Utah canyon in the heart of Dixie.

Waterfalls and swimming holes aplenty.

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

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

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

Old, haunted New York mountains, thick with legend.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Where does the aurora borealis come from?

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

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

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.

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.

The blaze of fall color in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is unequaled.

North Dakota: America's own Serengeti.

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

Figure on 9 days to do the entire 100-mile hike—unless you're slowed drastically by all the blueberries.

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

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

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

In winter, the glasslike menagerie of icicles in the Cumberland Plateau will send a chill down your spine.

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

In Whites Creek Cave you can explore in nature's own cooling system, and observe its grateful inhabitants.