Trips

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.

It'll blow you away

A hair-raising hike

Ghost stories always seem scarier beside a flickering campfire. So, dim your headlamp and scoot up closer: our writer-at-large explores the ghoulish beginnings of these age-old tales and shares a few of his all-time favorite blood-curdlers. We dare you to read on.

A gym teacher's speed hike becomes a five-day bushwhack in Olympic National Park.

Read these real-life tales from five survivors who made it out alive, and learn what they did wrong–and right.

Survivors of the Bataan death march overcame one of history's most grueling walks. What kept them on their feet? and could you do the same? every year, more than 4,000 people hike through the New Mexico desert to find out.

Check off the most remote miles in California's Range of Light.

Is he a pilgrim, a victim, or a thief? The Appalachian Trail provides a path and refuge to all sorts of seekers. Few are as baffling as the man they called Saved.

Follow these guidelines to keep your gear dry, secure, and well balanced in a canoe or kayak.

Your partner can't go on. Should you stay–or go for help?

Here's how to avoid hypothermia.

As conservationists and energy developers fight over Wyoming's Red Desert, one thing is certain: There's no time like the present to hike through its unreal geography.

Coastal views, mountains, and fjords await on the Long Range Traverse in Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park.

Wildflowers, bugs, and other nature photographs shot by our map correspondent on the AT © Jeff Chow

We've got your Appalachian Trail packing list dialed. Here, take stock of what you'll need to thru-hike the trail. Just print it out and get packing.

The system was rigged, says a former ranger. Here's how to beat it.

Hike with grizzlies in this remote northern corner of Alaska's greatest park.

America's first national park is a playground for grizzlies, wolves, moose, and hikers (not in that order).

Explore two ecosystems in this hinterland of moss-draped forests, ancient trees, and snowcapped peaks.

Trees, trees are everywhere, but sometimes there isn't a dry twig in sight.

Graze blueberry patches, explore swimming holes, and tag the South's high points on this sultry hike.

Send him out on a work trip. Let wilderness do the rest.

Drop into America's belly on a little-known hike that dips in and out of four different canyons, each blessed with gurgling spring water.

First John Francis stopped riding in cars. Then he stopped talking. More than three decades, two continent-spanning hikes, and countless trail miles later, he's still following his remarkable path of protest–only now he's not alone.

Climb classic Sierra passes, ogle granite monoliths, and camp above treeline in John Muir's second home.

Scramble up class III peaks and cross late summer snowfields on this strenuous but straightforward trip through Montana's big-mountain country.

Check out Marc Peruzzi's author page.

The ultimate vacation in one of America's iconic parks requires the ultimate hiking plan: classic scenery, no crowds, and secret campsites. Here's how to spend a perfect week in Glacier, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Olympic, Denali, and the Great Smoky Mountains.

To discover the best-kept secrets in Utah's Grand Gulch, you need to start at the bottom.

The Ice Age left its mark from Acadia to Yosemite. Here's scenic evidence.

Follow Dan Koeppel and photographer Michael Darter as they jump a magic bus in L.A. and camp in Angeles National Forest. You may never drive again.

In "Destination Nowhere" (September 2008), Mark Jenkins explores the most remote wilderness location in the continental United States–a top-secret spot in Yellowstone. See his trip photos and read an interview with Jenkins where he discusses the assignment.

After reading Dan Koeppel's latest urban hiking adventure "Don't Pay at the Pump" (September 2008), we guarantee you'll want to crank "Magic Bus" and ditch the car on your next trip to the trailhead. We can help. Our map team has assembled more than 25 hikes you can access via public transportation. Plus, check out more of Michael Darter's photos and read Koeppel's 2004 feature, "I Climbed Los Angeles," to learn about his slightly insane 19-mile L.A. staircase route.

Plan your perfect week in the Tetons right here.

Hikers learn to leave (absolutely) no trace on high-traffic peaks and trails.

On your mark, get set ... hike. Inside a 5,600-mile footrace on the country's hardest trail.

Hike this burly wonder to find out what inspired the Appalachian and Long Trail's founders.

3-D hike videos, complete trip planner pdfs, our interactive ParkFinder tool, and more.

We sent 209 readers out to GPS the Continental Divide Trail, the biggest, baddest long-distance path of them all. They brought back the makings of the first authoritative map of this American classic. These are their stories–and their favorite sections.

With the right preparation–and a little help from a half-dozen friends, two exotic techno-gadgets, and one very sweaty hypoxic chamber–can a sea-level-dwelling rookie climb the highest peak in Colorado?

On this burly, 210-mile traverse, which crosses 33 passes and barely touches established trails, you can find Alaska-sized scenery, complete solitude, and just enough risk to keep things interesting.