Stories

Foul-weather backcountry days have an allure all their own.

Hike from a high-end resort to a remote alpine lake in the Rockies.

Hike from St. Mary Lake to McDonald Lake through some of the Lower 48's best bear country.

Backpack a knee-trembling route through an active geothermal zone.

Late last December, Emily Ford, 28, of Duluth, Minnesota, took her first steps on Wisconsin’s 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail with a borrowed sled dog named Diggins. “I was laid off from my job as head gardener at the Glensheen Mansion, and I took full advantage,” she says. Ten weeks later, she became the first woman and second person ever to thru-hike the IAT in winter.

With information about “secret” trails and campsites all over the internet, finding a balance between conserving the wilderness and welcoming people to it has never been more important—or more challenging.

In one of America’s least visited national parks, I find my authentic self.

Hiking is for everyone, not just the kind of people you're used to seeing in magazines. See the trail from a different perspective with these 8 fantastic Instagram creators.

Even when you're stuck indoors, you can get a taste of the wild with one of these video feeds. Pick your favorite and embrace the chillout.

There's nothing quite like kicking back at camp with a good book. These eight are light both literally and figuratively, making for perfect campfire companions.

In the 1970s, crews finished carving a tribute to the Confederacy into Stone Mountain. Fifty years later, it's time to scrape it off.

Hiking is for everyone—but as Kara Richardson Whitely, a.k.a. Mama Kubwa, discovered, not everyone has gotten the memo.

Trees are remarkable. Wow your hiking partners with these fun facts.

A pilgrim seeking peace and purpose on Spain’s famed Camino de Santiago finds much more.

A footbridge on this San Diego Trail would prevent more hikers from befalling a similar fate, and honor their son.

Nature is wild. Wow your hiking partners with these fun facts.

Researchers tracking bears resettling in the southeast watch and learn their habits to help humans adjust to their new neighbors.

As a small-town newspaper reporter, I’ve had a front-row seat to what happens when people’s and bears’ paths cross.

There are hundreds of thousands of black bears in America, and we know precious little about what they do with their time. The researchers of the #BearsEyeView project are trying to change that.

Georgia’s most infamous bruin—and the true-crime saga around him—is getting the Hollywood treatment in a new Elizabeth Banks-produced film. But the real tale is almost too wild to believe.