Stories

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

The ungodly wailing that sometimes drifts through the dark woods is only an animal.

Have your camera ready near dusk, when sunlight warms the landscape with intense color.

Combine a full harvest moon with a remote island trail for the greatest show on Earth.

Even if you don't see a moose, you'll hear the bulls' low grunts echoing off the hillside.

Montana: The Pryor Mountains harbor the nation's last free-roaming wild mustangs, not to mention wilderness that is as wild as the horses.

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.

Life in the high desert in autumn is sweeter and more irresistible than any place on Earth.

Enjoy Vermont's autumn colors while you can -- they disappear all too quickly, and the Green Mountains recover their namesake hue in the spring.

Pine Mountain and Wilson Ridge command high-country vistas stretching across rock-strewn meadows.

The lunarlike landscape and dark skies of this preserve make White Sands one of the best places for star watching.

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

"October is the month for painted leaves," Thoreau mused. He could have been talking about Kentucky's Red River Gorge.

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

As autumn closes in on the larches, the green bleeds out of their needles, leaving a towering spire of gold.

Eyeball to beak with impressively taloned hawks in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest.

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

Arkansas Buffalo National River features challenging trails and a river-laced wilderness.

hen it comes to sheer ability to alter a landscape and shock the human senses, you can't beat the May blooms of a mountain laurel thicket.

Consider trying to spot a red-cockaded wood-pecker in Florida's Big Cypress Preserve a form of treasure hunting.

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.

More than 200 preserves, parks, and other protected wildlands lie within 40 miles of San Francisco, exceeding Yosemite National Park in size, biodiversity, and visitation.

If you think west Texas is nothing but tumbleweeds and cattle, you haven't walked 62 miles across one of the world's most famous geological formations.

Besides being home to a mythical reptile, Colorado's Lizard Head Wilderness is the site of some great hiking.

Okay, so the weather stinks and so does the hiking. Change both by heading down the road to where the sun shines and the trail beckons.

The little-known Cheaha Wilderness Area is the gateway to Alabama's largest trail system.

When the footpath is named the Backpack Trail, you know what to do.

Steens looks like your average mountain, but hike up high and you'll find a hidden paradise.

Trail goers can experience a whole new world by hiking Virginia's newly renovated Lion's Tale Trail.

Protester celebrates victory in a two-year battle to save a giant redwood by coming back to earth.

When hiking California's Fish Valley, don't forget to pack your Richter scale.

Let the masses shop till they drop: On Arkansas's Ouachita River the pace is slow and easy.

Like shimmering rainbows in the night, the northern lights electrify the sky with color.

What they've lost in height, the Penokee Mountains make up for in big views and solitude.

In a park full of natural wonder, the route to Maddron Bald hits the high points.

Everyone's heard of the Cascades, but no one seems to know about Tillamook State Forest.

Twelve trails that'll chew you up, spit you out, and have you begging for more.

Gain a raptor's-eye view of the world in Colorado's Eagles Nest Wilderness.

Relax and sniff the azaleas among Missouri's Whispering Pines.

If you think autumn is simply a time to rake leaves, then you need to read our guide to the best of the fall season.

For almost half a century, California's rugged Ishi Wilderness hid "the last wild Indian." Even today, it is a place that can keep a secret.

Don't expect the red-carpet treatment in Arizona's Galiuro Mountains, just wilderness on its own terms.

Once a bumpy stagecoache route, Arkansas's Butterfield Trail now jostles hikers.

As ice-cream makers in Los Angeles once knew, the Cucamonga Wilderness is the essence of cool.

Where artists once found inspiration, the Catskills' Escarpment Trail now challenges hikers.

The William O. Douglas Wilderness is a monument worthy of a great man.

Way up in Nevada's East Humboldt Wilderness, finding solitude and water are sure bets.

Play out your Lawrence of Suburbia fantasies at Indiana Dunes.

Where 100 unknown Sierra miles wait.

If you look beyond the occasional cow, you'll find the BLM has lots of ruggedly beautiful land to offer. No mining, no oil rigs, just lots of solitude.

The ambling Wisconsin River has only one speed: full-out relaxed.

A Thoreauvian classic hike in New Hampshire.

While Sawtooth Lake grabs the limelight, behind the scenes lie crowd-free peace and splendor.

Leave the book in the tent and make a date to chat with some owls and sing with the frogs.

Why choose between breezy peaks and cool streams when you can have both at Big Frog Wilderness?

What have you done lately for the trails and backcountry you use? Join a Volunteer Vacation and save the trails you love.

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

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

Secret scrambles and lakes abound in this northern California wilderness.

Walk among giants in Redwood National Park.

History and landscape meet at Caprock Canyos State Park.

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

Cumberland Island's south shore provides remarkably pristine beaches and mossy forests.

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

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

Hikers often overlook the the quiet meadows, wildflowers, and mountaintops of New Mexico's Latir Wilderness. Their loss is your gain.

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

Get above treeline in Maine's wild Saddleback Range.

A hidden spot in Washington's popular Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

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

Waterfalls and wonder: Both are plentiful in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge.

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

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

Kentucky's Cumberland Falls provide spectacular waterworks, day or night.

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