Stories

These apps help you navigate through weather, identify plants, and navigate.

In the past, route-planning involved browsing guidebooks, consulting rangers, and convincing locals to give up their secret places. Today, that information lives on the internet; you just have to know how to find it.

Snake through swamplands in Congaree NP, see fireworks atop Vermont's highpoint, catch a firefly light show in the Smokies, and grab nine more early summer trips.

Hike the border country in Big Bend NP, bring your kite on an Illinois hike, see bison duel in Wind Cave NP, and go on nine more adventures.

Trek past eight lakes in Lassen Volcanic NP's high country, check out the newest national park. hike the Wonderland Trail in Rainier NP like a pro, and more.

Maps, waypoints, and turn-by-turn directions for the eight hikes featured in Hidden Montana (July/August 2013).

Your region's go now guide: See synchronous fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hike through a Civil War battlefield, witness a July 4th celebration on a Vermont peak, and more.

Get magnificent coastal views in Maine, snag a few fish in West Virginia's Otter Creek Wilderness, spot sunning alligators in the Florida panhandle, and more.

Hike the border country in Big Bend NP, bring your kite on an Illinois hike, see bison duel in Wind Cave NP, and go on nine more adventures.

Hear various bird songs during Ohio's bird breading season, cool off in clear swimming home in a hidden Oklahoman gem, and more.

Your region's go now guide: Trek past eight lakes in Lassen Volcanic NP's high country, check out the newest national park, hike the Wonderland Trail in Rainier NP like a pro, and more.

Experience the varying habitat in California's Lobo Canyon Trail, get a high-vantage view of the Colorado River in Arizona, hike former mining roads, and more!

With 1,584 square miles of soaring peaks, alpine tundra, and yes, glaciers, this mountain mecca belongs on every hiker's life list. We rounded up five of our scouts' top treks in the Many Glacier region—so when you get there, you'll shoot straight to the park's best terrain.

Sample the best of our crown-jewel lands on these superlative trips.

Travel rugged, red-rock backcountry in Canyonlands National Park the easy way—by boat.

Bag eight peaks on the way to New York's high point.

Enjoy panoramic views on an exposed, granite ridgewalk.

Tackle 40 miles of an island ridge above Lake Superior.

Take this park's best tour.

Hike the length of an ancient fossilized reef.

Catch an eye-full of the volcanic Superstition Mountains just 45 minutes from Phoenix.

Bag six of the state's loftiest peaks in a single, stout day on the Long Trail.

Breathe in the views and grandness of the Sierras without the crowds of the John Muir Trail.

Cross the top of Glacier National Park.

Soak up the alpine solitude in the "Swiss Alps of Nevada".

Tick of Washington's alpine gems the fast-and-light way.

Gorge on views that don't quit on a high stretch of the Appalachian Trail.

Choose your own adventure on this rocky mountain routefinding test piece.

Ever wished the view never stopped? It doesn't on these mountain-straddling routes. Here's how to conquer the skyline.

Paddle an Outer Banks island, hit a new trail in Tennessee, stargaze in Pennsylvania, and grab nine more adventures.

Sample a section of Missouri's Ozark Trail, harvest Minnesotan morels, see endangered sea turtles in coastal Texas, and more.

Get your waterfall fix in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge, find solitude in Wyoming, check out a new Denver-area state park, and tag more spring hikes.

Three authors write about the moments that changed their impressions of the backcountry forever.

We've gathered top skills for new backpackers and a dozen unforgettable—yet beginner-friendly—trails. What they say is true: You'll never forget your first time.

Three trails teeming with wildlife

Three beautiful water-side hikes

Three hikes with spectacular views

Three hikes with scenic wildflower vistas

Push yourself on a self-supported, 167-mile race through the Southwest. The blisters will go away; the accomplishment will stay with you forever.

Your region's go-now guide: Take in Pennsylvania's nighttime skies in the Cherry Springs State Park, ascend the 2,625-foot Mt. Moosalamoo in Vermont, enjoy the new 38-mile section of the Cumberland Trail in Tennessee, and more.

Let our field scouts' beta fuel your next adventure from the wildlife-rich Sky Meadows State Park Loop, to thickets of mountain laurel in Georgia, and more.

Minutes from Salt Lake City, The Wasatch Front is a gold mine for adventure. The 2.1-million-acre area includes 22 peaks above 11,000 feet and with at least 300 feet of prominence, houses 78 bikeable miles on 11 different bike trails, and boasts an average of 226 sunny days annually.

Enjoy the wildlife of Mississippi, search for Morels in Minnesota, view the nesting turtles on Texas' Padre Island, and more.

Take in the birder's paradise around Vern Wolf Lake in Wisconsin, cleanse yourself in the mist of a 15 foot waterfall in Arkansas, marvel at a 320-million-year-old sandstone formation in Ohio, and more.

Test your bravery with these scrambly hikes that take you to airy heights and rewarding views. Don't forget to watch your step.

Your region's go-now guide: get your heart rate up by climbing 1,500 feet in 2.4 miles in Santa Barbara, visit the newest state park in Colorado, enjoy the solitude of the Wyoming Range, and more.

From a panoramic hike above Sin City and Lake Mead to a slot canyon adventure in Utah, our scouts provide trail beta.

Satisfy your sweet tooth in style with these backcountry desserts.

Keep it simple and delicious with Fudge-In-a-Bag.

Relive your childhood with the classic throwback Earth Worm Pudding.

Combine something old and something new with this twist on the classic smore.

Enjoy a healthier dessert with this play on peaches and cream.

Indulge the child inside with this twig look-alike dessert.

Get sugar and spice and everything nice with the Backpacker's Rice Pudding.

Homemade is always better definitely rings true for these make-ahead Niagara Trail Bars.

Take on the tropical with this fruity Upside-Down Cake.

Go rich with this on-the-trail cheesecake.

Who says the original is always better? Enjoy this donut-inspired crumble on the go.

Come prepared with these make-ahead Blueberry Nian-Gao Rice Cakes.

Indulge yourself with the chocolatey goodness of these Fabulous Fry Brownies.

Make your friends green with envy at this tasty mint dessert.

Check out Katie Herrel's author page.

Bears in the lower 48 have rebounded from decades of declining populations and shrinking habitat. Also improving: your chance of seeing a bruin in the wild. By Ted Alvarez

Tromp through a Florida cypress swamp, find solitude on a Catskills peak, look for rare Carolina blooms, plus 9 more.

Snag a dozen great winter trips, including a texas Hill Country overnight, a Lake Superior snowshoe, and a hike to Apostle islands ice caves.

Soak in a New Mexico hot spring, spot wintering bighorn sheep in the Winds, hike to a lost California oasis, and more.

In celebration of our readers, we have designed a second tour (in addition to our popular Get Out More Tour) that will launch in 2013, the GEAR and GO TOUR.

Your region's go-now guide: Visit a new hikers' hostel connected to 50 miles of trail in Maine's Bigelow Mountains, see the rare Oconee bell in South Carolina's Jocassee Gorges area, explore the world's longest mapped cave system near Louisville, and more.

What off season? Bundle up and reap the benefits of colder weather in these snowy playgrounds.

Our trail scouts' top local hikes, including fire tower views in New Jersey, a New York waterfall, and more.

The Granite State's crown jewel is an epicenter for alpine adventure, from peakbagging to ridgewalking to hut camping. Where to start? In the heart of the Whites, with beta from our map team. Trek across windswept plateaus, tag a handful of the range's 48 peaks above 4,000 feet, and get a taste of high-altitude tundra.

Your region's go-now guide: Explore ice caves on Wisconsin's Apostle Islands, overnight in peace in northern Missouri, and more.

Follow the footsteps of Wild West outlaws in Oklahoma, marvel at Gooseberry Fall's frozen cascades, search out arrowheads at Hot Springs National Park, and more.

Your region's go-now spring guide: Scramble to Salado Indian cliff dwellings in Arizona, spot bighorn sheep in Wyoming, and more.

Our trail scouts' top local hikes: ancient Oregon volcanoes, a Nevada slot canyon, a hidden California oasis, and more.

See the world's best sky show from your private backcountry cabin.

Find solitude high above Los Angeles.

Camp lake-side in Arkansas, summit 800-foot Nebraska bluffs, see Wisconsin's best foliage (alone), and dayhike near Dallas. Plus: 8 more autumn hikes.

Kentucky's Land Between The Lakes, see a South Carolina swamp (without the bugs), hike through four states in one huge day, and more.

Make a late-season hike to an aspen-dense Colorado mesa, spot bears in the Beartooths, explore gypsum dunes, and discover more fall must-hikes.