The 14 Most Extreme Places in America
From remote lakes to forests of giant trees, it doesn't get bigger, further, wetter, or taller than these spots.
Your dream backpacking trips are waiting for you. Find and explore new hiking trails and backpacking routes across the country with advice, adventure travel stories, topo maps, photography, and more from the experts at Backpacker.
Your dream backpacking trips are waiting for you. Find and explore new hiking trails and backpacking routes across the country with advice, adventure travel stories, topo maps, photography, and more from the experts at Backpacker.
From remote lakes to forests of giant trees, it doesn't get bigger, further, wetter, or taller than these spots.
Biologists confirm that new northern California pack traces back to the first wolf spotted in the state since 1924.
The Outdoor Retailer trade shows will move to Colorado starting in January 2018.
Construction on the 3.7-mile trail between Townsend and Groton could start as early as this fall.
About 70 endangered rabbits were killed when the Wenatchee-area fire burned a state breeding facility.
WBEZ investigates otter sightings in and around the downtown Chicago River.
Winchester's Rick Marks is tackling the last 600 miles of the AT to raise money to fight his degenerative disease.
One of the victims is thought to be a hiker missing since April.
Travelers can now use a local trail to get to campgrounds, parks, and attractions.
Three Prescott National Forest sites back in business this week.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
So what's your excuse?
An unidentified body found at Olympic National Park is thought to be a hiker who vanished last April.
Could mysterious hoots at Humboldt Redwoods State Park belong to the elusive Sasquatch?
Rescuers were unable to find a skier who plunged through a snow bridge into Pebble Creek.
Camp Sugar Pine closes its doors amid concerns about camper safety.
A few weeks into this hundred day summer road-trip and I didn’t need to read far into people’s expressions upon meeting me: it was time for a rinse.
Cigarettes, cigars, pot, and e-cigs would be verboten under proposed legislation.
Catalina Sea Ranch offers sustainably raised mussels starting in mid-July.
Rescue swimmers medevaced a 17-year-old who fell while hiking last weekend.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Tom Stienstra won three awards from the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
Try your luck at these lesser-known California campgrounds tonight.
Crews responded after a hiker fell from a Carbonado-area trail.
Plans for a new South Shore golf course would likely replace a community dog park.
Residents concerned that planned golf development in South Shore would edge out a natural area on the site.
Some locals want protections lifted on Giant Sequoia National Monument.
The state's recreation industry brings in $28 billion per year.
The first mosquitos of the year to test positive for the disease were trapped last week.
Easy Peakbagging West Virginia’s Tallest Mountain
A West Virginia Playground for More Than Just Climbers
Searchers recovered the man, who had been missing since May, at Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Officer Steven Beare of Littleton disappeared on Mt. Elbrus in mid-June.
Washington's state parks reversed course and will remain open for at least one more day, even without a finalized state budget.
Crews cleared the roads leading to the Calaveras Ranger District sites in time for the Fourth of July.
The 26-year-old woman slipped while attempting to cross Silliman Creek.
The 25-year-old man escaped unhurt after being swept into the South Yuba River.
The Divvy program rolls out four food-themed bikes, a membership discount, and plans to expand.
Skip the crowds and catch the festivities on the trail.
Even the New York Times has noticed how much better backpacking food has gotten lately.
The pass is set to open Thursday, one of the latest openings in decades.
Three fires near Wenatchee have grown to more than 23,000 acres.
The Sunrise and Mowich Lake roads are set to open Friday.
Fire restrictions make fireworks on public lands extra-dangerous this year.
The Goodwin Fire has reached almost 21,000 acres in size since since last Saturday.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page.
The journey isn't over when you reach the summit.
Find the best wildflowers, dayhike, and more that this corner of Montana has to offer.
Shorts, T-shirts, and… Skis?
The eastern gateway to the national park is finally snow-free.
Raging rivers, avalanches, and steep snow slopes challenge thru-hikers.
Researchers find the Divvy bike program isn't reaching effectively reaching minority and low-income residents.
First-time anglers get a deep discount to try their luck in Wisconsin lakes this year.
A moose spotted hanging around Broomfield's FlatIron Crossing mall was darted and returned to the wilderness.
Rapidgrass highlights Idaho Springs, trail running, and gold mining in their latest music video.
Animal-related crashes are on the rise, endangering both wildlife and drivers on Colorado's roads.
Growing visitation and shrinking budgets squeeze state public lands.
Limiting hunting is part of a new plan to manage the growing elk herd in the Lyons-area park.
Lingering snow continues to get unprepared hikers into trouble on the Cascade peak.
The access point into the Glacier Peak Wilderness is finally cleared after three years of wildfire- and mudslide-related closures.
Meet some new furry (and feathered, and scaly) friends on these incredible trails throughout the lower 48.
A new analysis finds sewage and runoff overflow into the urban waterway once every six days.
Environmental improvement projects are paying off, bringing long-absent species back to cleaner waters.
Inside the life of the guy who keeps the bathrooms running in 120-plus temperatures.
Great for summer skiers, not so great for PCT thru-hikers.
Researchers discovered the big cats almost always flee human voices, even when feeding.
The KCET travel series will tackle Marin and Sonoma Counties in its new season.
CA 120 is plowed only to the winter closure gate outside the national park.
Even after a long hike in the Cranberry Wilderness, the scenery is hardly over.
Bernie and Joe Goode hiked from Delaware to California on the American Discovery Trail.
Hikers spotted the unique formation in the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness.
Search & Rescue crews pulled a young man to safety after he slipped and was swept over two waterfalls in the Bass Lake area.