Trips

Check out the world's hottest hydrothermal fumarole, Glacier's grizzlies, and a venus flytryp in North Carolina.

Trek through a trio of wilderness playgrounds on shape-shifting mountains of sand.

With these top day, weekend, and week-long hikes, you'll see more than your fair share of Yosemite's wonders.

Yosemite Valley may be popular–rightfully so–but it still holds secrets. Hike this long-forgotten trail on the North Rim, and you'll have the granite icons to yourself.

Three generations of American mountaineering royalty discuss their sport, their fears, and their new mission: design great gear.

Does your kid want to be an ice climber? How about a thru-hiker, or paddler? These cities have just what you need.

Which towns offer the ideal mix of accessible trails, inspiring teachers, and great recreational resources? We worked with The Outdoor Foundation to identify America's top 25 places to beat nature deficit disorder.

From Boulder to Juneau to Bozeman, see which cities made the cut for the best place to raise an outdoor kid, and why.

Time to cool down. Hike to these refreshing swimming holes and settle right into summer.

Fly the Rockies with our 3D video, then download the GPS track to do the route yourself.

Pick the gear I can carry on a trip to determine how low one man can go.

Hike across forested hills to gape at ocean vistas just one hour north of San Francisco.

Get national park scenery without the crowds on an alpine overnight with lakeside camping.

Disappear into the largest–and probably the wettest–wilderness east of the Mississippi.

Undeterred by injuries that would cripple most men, a Colorado hiker nears the halfway point in a pioneering attempt to thru-hike the true crest of the Continental Divide.

Discover the world's oldest tree, America's biggest cavern, and Florida's largest herd of wild horses on these three treks.

See glowing plankton, mushrooms, and bugs on these brilliant adventures.

Check out Katie Herrel's author page.

Ed Viesturs, Peter Whittaker, Dave Hahn, and young guns Seth Waterfall and Melissa Arnot are joining forces to create a new line of gear and attack Mount Everest.

First, check out our tips for healthy hiking on steep terrain in the May 2009 issue then, put them to the test on one of our favorite high-angle trails from California to North Carolina.

Veteran Grand Canyon photographer and explorer Elias Butler did double duty on his visit to Royal Arch by capturing the beauty on video and in photographs.

Undeterred by injuries that would cripple most men, a Colorado hiker nears the halfway point in a pioneering attempt to thru-hike the true crest of the Continental Divide. In this extended online interview, Dunmire talks about his gear essentials, near misses, and the challenges that lay ahead as he continues to trace North America's spine.

After tackling Mt. McKinley, Sibusiso Vilane & writer Steve Howe foraged in Talkeetna, hitchhiked the Alaskan highways, and met a grizzly in Denali.

From kayaking with whales in Vancouver to climbing cliffs in France and canyoning in New Zealand, these adventure hot-spots have it all.

Explore secret Africa on an alpine wildlife safari.

See sheer-sided fjords, calving glaciers, and the northern hemisphere's largest ice sheet.

Experience the magic of the remote Himalaya.

Lose yourself in Europe's last great wilderness.

Explore a hiker's fantasy island on Tasmania's rough-and-wild long trail.

See the Andes the way Cortez did–totally wild.

Discover the best of Kiwi wilderness–north and south–with these two hikes.

Score classic Alps scenery, adventure, and hut culture without the classic crowds.

Spain's little-known Valencia region beckons the mountain-minded adventurer with dramatic topography, sun-drenched hiking and biking, and sumptuous end-of-day feasts.

It takes a certain kind of trail to earn such a lofty title. But our top 10 deliver unrivaled scenery, challenge, local culture, and most of all–fun.

Circumnavigate Europe's most iconic peak.

Walk the World's Highest Trail.

In this interview the founder of adventure travel dishes on his favorite wild places, oddest encounters, and the world's next great trekking destinations.

As prosperity spreads across China, so does a passion for the outdoors. But can millions of new trekkers save Asia's vast wilderness from the march of development? Welcome to the world's next hiking frontier. PLUS, check out China's Top Treks.

Stand on the roof of Africa.

Marvel at Middle Earth on this 33-mile, four-day Milford Track.

Brave the Old World's newest and wildest long-distance route.

Bound for one of the globe's most exotic locales? Thrive in any environment with these tips.

Verse yourself in proper cultural etiquette to avoid being just another rude tourist (hint: keep your hands to yourself).

Tackle everything from jet lag to malaria (and those pesky mosquitoes) with our guide to staying healthy abroad.

Hike locals-only trails in Europe's other Alps. This 500-mile track combines rugged hiking by day with luxe living by night

We've traveled to 10 countries and uncovered the best adventures you never knew existed.

Trek across the roof of the Andes, mix in some trail riding–on bike and horseback–and climb a 19,000-foot volcano.

Hike to South America's acropolis.

See azure seas from rocky peaks.

Traverse the unknown end of the Alps–by trail, canyon, and cliff face–on this demanding journey in and around Triglav National Park.

The Sarawak Chamber at Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysia has over 186 miles of caves.

Think the Empire State Building is tall? Try this waterfall on for size.

The white, fluffy, subzero-temperature-loving polar bear is the world's largest ursine.

You better stand back if this Sicilian island volcano starts to spurt.

From jaguars to river dolphins, Amazonian animals are diverse.

There is a reason the native's call it Sagarmatha, meaning "head of the sky."

Trekker-friendly glacier is largest in the Alps.

If your going to Chile's Atacama Desert, don't forget the sunscreen.

Trek through the earth's wildest mountain range.

Nepal's Annapurna Circuit doesn’t offer lavish huts, extreme solitude, or sumptuous cuisine. So why is it still number one? Let us count the reasons.

Hike, paddle, and swim narrow canyons before running class IV rapids on an inflatable boogie board.

Walk, bike, and raft between a string of glaciated peaks; then ladder-climb 2,500 feet up a sheer rock face.

Join the Backpacker Editors on a rip-roaring tour of Wales for the 2009 Editors' Choice Awards. Hit the mountains and the coast and learn what it takes to be an Editors' Choice Award winner.

Check out Backpacker Editors's author page.

From Maine to Glacier National Park to the top of Rainier, our readers get out and take great photos.

Find hikes in National Parks and regional parks with our comprehensive guides.

Use our comprehensive state-specific pages to find hikes in your home state our a state you're planning on visiting.

Use our comprehensive city-specific pages to find hikes near your hometown or in a city you're planning to visit.

Follow editor Shannon Davis and his wife Emily as they trek the first half of the legendary Annapurna Circuit for their honeymoon.

Backpacker.com editor Anthony Cerretani leaves the trail behind to sail the western Scottish isles in this video and photo feature.

Discover the best hike in every state, as voted by BACKPACKER readers. Plus: your essential gear, most desirable tentmate, worst-ever adventure movie, and our picks for the best reader-submitted photos.

Associate editor Shannon Davis tells us more about the highs and lows of his honeymoon trek (featured in March 2009's "The Perfect Circle") on the sky-scraping Annapurna Circuit in Nepal.

In Colorado, wilderness hut managers recruit hikers to track an elusive wildcat.

Pack snowshoes for these nine epic treks to snowy solitude in the Pacific Northwest, Rockies, and Northeast.

Denver teacher Mike Haugen sets a new state summits speed record–fifty state highpoints in less than 50 days!

Join our editors for their annual testing trip on the rocky, misty coast of Wales in this gallery. (Steve Howe)

Paddle out to Ontario's Slate Islands where canoe and caribou are a plenty in this video of these majestic animals and marvel at a slideshow of close-up images.

Fall camping season seems to go on forever with these fair-weather weekend trips.

Scout for gold–and desert views–amid this Texas park's spray of late-fall foliage.

Paddling, hiking, testing self-arrest skills–we cover it all in these 10 epic trips throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.