Adventure Travel

Read these tips to make your kids more comfortable on the trail.

Tips for overcoming jetlag, gathering beta, and getting your summit gear to foreign peaks in one piece.

Always looking for a way to go farther and faster? Get ready with these tips to take your hiking to the next level.

Learn these skills for trips that involve more than just hiking.

You don't have to travel across the world to get off the map. British Columbia's Haida Gwaii boasts uncharted coastline, seaside hot springs, and more sea lions, whales, and bears than you can count.

Norway's Jotunheimen National Park bristles with glacier-clad peaks amid northern Europe's highest mountains, but a five-star hut system makes it a place you can bring your kids. And mom.

Go high and wild in Europe's other Alps.

Dine lavishly in the homeland of huts.

Score iconic Kiwi scenery without lining up.

Explore the best of Yoho National Park.

Climb to a view over all of the Dolomites.

Carry a small pack, eat like a king, and get the best sleep of your life on the world's top11 hut treks.

Trek to the Peruvian high spot where the planet's most powerful river is born.

Norway's Jotunheimen National Park bristles with glacier-clad peaks amid northern Europe's highest mountains, but a five-star hut system makes it a place you can bring your kids. And mom.

Beachside trek meets pub crawl meets castle tour on Europe's newest long trail, the 870-mile Wales Coast Path, officially opened last May. Want to be among the first to hike it all--or its highlights? We sent our scout to find the best sections before the guidebook even hit the shelves. He returned with beta on two 100-mile routes that each fit neatly in a week's vacation, plus a few surprising lessons about backpacking in King Arthur's homeland.

Pass waterfalls, cross empty peaks, and visit monster-size trees.

For BACKPACKER'S Fall/Winter Gear Guide 2012, Kristin tested tons of gear. Here are a few of her special favorites.

A bomber traction device that's durable and versatile.

Ultralight, oblong, zippered sacks to help you keep all your traveling gear organized.

A lightweight, rolling duffel bag with plenty of compartments to keep you organized.

A perfect pack for the world traveler.

You won't get far in the backcountry without pushing through challenging conditions and terrain. But perseverance can be your worst enemy, and turning around the only way to succeed. Mark Jenkins explores the fine line between daring and doom.

When Karl Bushby set out to hike 36,000 miles across four continents, he vowed he would only return to his native England on foot. Which could be a real problem if he ever wants to get there.

Trek among giraffes, rhinos, lions, and elephants in one of the world's premier wildlife parks.

BACKPACKER editors start training for the 160-mile Grand-to-Grand Ultra, the first backpacking stage race in North America.

This culture activist is bringing diversity to the outdoors.

Well, maybe 105. But who's counting? Contributing editor John Harlin defies conventional wisdom with a 1,400-mile circumnavigation of this mountainous kingdom.

Don't miss these affordable services, local haunts, and cultural highlights recommended by adventure-travel experts. Plus, bargaining 101.

Our bags logged thousands of miles–through airports and atop donkeys–and we came back with these top picks, from gigantic rollers and impervious duffels to laptop carriers and packable organizers.

This spacious shoulder bag holds a surprising 45L of goods.

This cargo hauler is outfitted with a surprising number of organizational features.

If you're mixing business with adventure travel, this is the bag for you.

This stable roller bag handles curbs and rough terrain with ease.

These ultralight storage sacks, made from water-resistant and strong Ultra-Sil fabric help you stay super organized.

Going far and going big, hauling monster loads? This is your bag.

From Nepal to New Zealand, we have stories and tips to help you plan the perfect 'life list' backpacking trek abroad.

Sea kayaking unlocks a new world of solitude and scenery.

Kick it up a notch with these quick fixes.

Discover a higher world.

Create a story-driven video that engages you on the trail and offers a fresh perspective on trip memories.

Tired of the same old weekend loops? Looking to create memories your grandkids will talk about? In this how-and-where guide, we serve up 15 extraordinary escapes that will shatter your expectations of "normal." From adventure moviemaking to canyoneering, we'll take you places you've never been—but will long to visit again soon.

Hiker heaven, redefined, is a month-long hike/paddle/camp in Adventureland.

Follow serpentine barrens and stair-steep tracks to a rugged volcanic sea coast.

Paddle and portage fish-filled waters past wild cascades to the greatest of lakes.

Discover solitude on the Swiss border with this highlights tour of John Harlin's favorite trips—rope not required.

See the Himalayan giants—and cross three passes more than 17,000 feet high—on this off-the-radar route through the Khumbu region

Check out Katie Herrel's author page.

Hug pebbly beaches and cliffs along Superior shores.

Escape time as you glide through an endless chain of connected lakes.

Hit four technical summits in the birthplace of North American mountaineering.

Link two gorgeous cabins by scrambling through craggy alpine country.

Routefind across precipitous ridges to an ice-filled lake.

Empty of people, that is. Because the 3,000 miles of wilderness that stretch from Newfoundland's fjordlike coastal cliffs to British Columbia's rainforest and skyscraping peaks are brimming with every type of mountain, water, and wildlife adventure a card-carrying backpacker could want—crowds not included. Our Rocky Mountain Field Editor spent two months exploring places we've never covered to assemble our most extensive guide to Canadian backcountry yet.

Forget immunizations, visas, phrase books, and 12-hour flights. For an epic international adventure, just head north. Canada's cred? The world's longest coastline, 10 major mountain chains, more lakes than any other country, and five Alaskas worth of world-class wilderness.We've scouted eight challenging trips in four provinces, all easy to reach and close enough to major American cities that you won't blow your budget just getting there. Or going back for more.

More than 150 of you entered our contest to become a BACKPACKER field scout. Meet the winners.

Find caribou, moose, and bald eagles on a hut-to-hut trek in an undiscovered park.

Think there's nothing wild left in the Lower 48? Don't tell the grizzlies on this traverse of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Watch your step on Utah' Highline Trail. The nonstop views and rampant wildlife are distractingly spectacular. Plus: Gaze away on 9 more elevated hikes.

Think you're a tough guy (or gal)? Take our five-week challenge and enter our video contest for a chance to prove it.

If you plan to hit more than one national park in a year, consider this national parks pass.

Going the distance? Use these tips to ease big-mile trips.

BACKPACKER editor Jonathan Dorn's photos and memories of a six-day desert adventure race in Abu Dhabi

Follow the editors as they test gear on Norway's Folgefonna Glacier.

Traverse a Glacier: On Norway's west coast, ancient ice scapes offer an otherworldly adventure.

Rise from the desert floor to an airy, see-all perch.

Sherpa's big year also includes an limited edition Suunto watch to benefit his foundation.

Tackle Vancouver Island’s wild coast.

BACKPACKER's Life List: The International Edition is a free guide to the 20 best international hikes ever written about in the pages of Backpacker.

The best hikes near Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The best hikes near Columbus, OH.

The best hikes near Austin, TX.

The best hikes near Milwaukee.

The best hikes near Chicago.

The best local hikes near St. Louis.

The best hikes near Dallas, TX.

The best hikes near Roanoke, VA.

The best hikes near Asheville, NC.

The best hikes near Atlanta, GA.

The best hikes near Richmond, VA.

The best hikes near Charlotte, NC.