Grafton Loop, Maine
Summit nine peaks and graze on trailside blueberries in Maine.
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.
Summit nine peaks and graze on trailside blueberries in Maine.
Circle the Rockies on this high-alpine route.
Score Swiss-Alps scenery without the trans-Atlantic flight.
Take an up-and-down tour of Ontario's lake district.
23 places to hike now.
Let you mind go free while you wander along a pretty lake on the uncomplicated Seven Oaks Preserve Trail.
Climb Browns Mountain, hike a narrated battlefield trail, watch a reenacted revolutionary war encampment, see war muskets—Kings Mountain has it all!
Earth is the first and best architect. See Ma Nature’s oeuvre of natural arches on these dayhikes.
Why visit iconic Glacier Point with the rest of the tourists when you can ski there—and have it all to yourself?
Machu Picchu + mountains = Peru's most gorgeous alpine route.
Solitude lovers, rejoice: Peru's Choquequirao Trek offers all the Incan wonders of Machu Picchu with none of the crowds.
Winter 2015 in the Inland Northwest has been disappointing for many ski and snowshoe enthusiasts.
Perfect in the winter, this desert hike snakes through ancient and colorful canyons to the hidden Arizona Hot Springs.
Take a stroll through wide-open Palouse prairie on this loop in Rose Creek Nature Preserve south of Spokane, Washington.
Visit Corn Creek, one of Nevada's best birding sites and a desert oasis.
Choose your own adventure in this trailless, dune-covered wilderness.
Wander through three-season wildflowers on this overnight.
Follow Panther Creek through nature's zoo on General Andrew Jackson's Red Ground Trail and the Florida Trail.
Low elevation and an arid climate guarantee year-round access to this secluded riverine gem in the Nez Perce.
Explore wild Louisiana on this Ozark-like overnight tour.
Avoid winter a little longer on this fall hike through an Appalachian region.
Find easy-access powder stashes on this beginner-friendly backcountry ski trip to the Nokhu Hut.
Check out the Calico Tanks Trail in Red Rock Canyon and you'll be face-to-face with interesting geology, cultural history, and diverse life.
Our expert's top tips for hiking Big Bend National Park in spring
Start on the 1,000 Steps Trail and then continue up Jacks Mountain to Shorb's Summit for a grand vista.
These loops set the gold standard for circular hikes. Yes, they’re popular, but with very, very good reason.
Deep in the wilds of Northern British Columbia's Spatsizi Wilderness Provincial Park, our scout proves there’s no joy like misery.
Look for bighorn sheep browsing in the cliffs above the North Fork Asotin Creek Trail south of Spokane, Washington.
Charge up the most famous peak outside Charlotte for views of the surrounding forests via the Crowders Trail.
Wander through a secluded forest on this east loop in the Reedy Creek Preserve outside Charlotte, North Carolina.
What happens when you put four of the world's most talented skiers in lightsuits and deposit them on Alaskan spines at night? Now we know. Stoke = high.
New Zealand’s Ivory Lake Hut is a true gem. All you have to do is get there.
Colorado's Mt. of the Holy Cross gets our nod as the best 14,000-foot peak.
Three backcountry ruins cool enough to make Indiana Jones reach for his boots. But remember: Look, don’t touch.
Get this on your life list: It's the #1 trail our readers think every hiker should do.
Someday the Manaslu Loop will be just as famous as the Annapurna Circuit. Hike it now.
Take a hikers-only route to one of the world's best archeological sites.
In this special section we look at one man's quest to hike all 439 wilderness areas, some great hikes, and the future of American wilderness.
A handful of our favorite hikes brought to you by the Wilderness Act.
The only way to truly appreciate America's vast, diverse wilderness? Hike it all.
Steve Brumbach's top 5-star rated hikes in America
Pack your paddle for a watery tour through the wild heart of cajun country
This two day hiking adventure around Pharaoh Lake will awaken your senses and revive your spirit.
Lose yourself in the Lower 48's wildest park.
This hiking and camping trip is filled with water falls that gush over into a valley 200 feet below and a 2,000 foot sentinal panoramic view.
Hiking in Texas? It's true! Go see for yourself as the sun dances through the 100-foot-tall pines in the woods of the Davy Crockett National Forest.
It’s a zoo out there. Snag close-ups of bears, birds, and elk on these late-summer dayhikes.
Our expert reveals his top dayhikes, overnights, and tricks for your best trip ever.
It’s prime time to visit Patagonia’s brand new park—before anyone else even knows it’s there.
This hike will tempt you to pack a parachute as sandstone peaks reach 1,500 feet above Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area's valley floor.
The forbidden fruit of Arizona, Coconino's Agassiz will mesmerize and tempt you.
Trace the seam between land and sea on Vancouver Island.
The Steel River Circle Route in Ontario, Canada, promises to be steep and rocky.
The Appalachian Trail in Maine will take your breath away, both as you climb 3,662 feet to the summit and then your 360-degree view.
Try your luck at finding solid ground—in order to see a Technicolor sunset and flocks of cormorants.
This desert gem is an explorer’s heaven.
Visit Craters of the Moon to see this lava-tubed wonder under an azure sky.
Hiking this 8,007-foot peak will bring you peace and solitude, as well as breathtaking views.
Navigate your own route through grizzly terrain in Elias National Park, all to access seldom-seen panoramas of the 16,000-foot Wrangell Mountains.
Who says you have to work hard for the best scenery? New Zealand’s great walks deliver life-list terrain with perks for beginners and experts alike.
Cross the northeast’s wildest moose country beneath fall’s fiery canopy.
Tag Mount Whitney, the Lower 48's highest peak, during this 42-mile trek into Sequoia National Park where there's more acreage of wilderness than you'll know what to do with.
In this 86-mile section, hike through Kings Canyon National Park into a series of JMT favorites.
Climb through a rejuvenating burn zone and a cinder cone-strewn hillside at the front end of this 32-mile stretch on the JMT
Exploring the world’s most dynamic landscape puts you face to face with the raw forces that formed the planet.
See this Ice Age highlight reel and camp above kettle lakes.
Venture to this impressive cascade surrounded by jagged granite peaks.
Mountain adventures and cold beer go together like fresh-caught trout and lemon. Find a dayhike/pint pairing near you—cheers!
Tour the best of the Appalachians on this easy two-nighter.
Get the story behind the Plover River Segment, Ice Age Trail, Wisconsin—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind the Appalachian Trail in Bear Mountain State Park, New York—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind the High Peaks–Balconies Caves Loop, Pinnacles National Park, California—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind the Lake Oesa-Opabin Lake Loop, Yoho National Park, British Columbia—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind Boone Fork Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind the Krogerata, Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind Mt. Islip Loop, Angeles National Forest, California—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind the Kendall Katwalk, Pacific Crest Trail, Washington—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind Angels Landing, Zion National Park, Utah—and how to see it yourself.
Get the story behind the Edmands Tour, Presidential Range, White Mountains, New Hampshire—and how to see it yourself.
Tips from our expert on exploring New England’s biggest alpine zone.