Beaches, Bears, and Redwoods: the Ultimate Guide to California’s Lost Coast Trail
The 53-mile Lost Coast Trail heads through some of California's last pristine beaches.
Got the itch to go hiking? Whether it’s prepping for the trip of a lifetime or finding local hikes, these picks from the editors of Backpacker will help you get out more. Find day hikes, multi-day trips, and more.
The 53-mile Lost Coast Trail heads through some of California's last pristine beaches.
This 7.2-mile round-trip hike to the Dutch Doctor lean-to in Harriman State Park takes you right into the wilderness, only an hour outside NYC.
Grand Staircase-Escalante’s Little Death Hollow takes you into one of the most remote corners of Utah.
Share your solitude with wolves and beavers in Wisconsin's Porcupine Lake Wilderness.
Ditch the crowds but keep the views at Boundary Lake in California's Emigrant Wilderness.
A short hike in the Adirondacks leads to a classic 1900s Great Camp and a smaller, but no less beautiful tent camp.
Head off the beaten—or any—path on one of the Adirondacks more obscure slide paths.
Escape the city at this wild respite just a stone’s throw from downtown Chicago
Hopping Pawnee Pass might be the secret to escaping the Indian Peaks’ crowds.
Find seasonal solitude close to home on this ideal backpack for winter beginners in New Hampshire's White Mountains.
See everything from low desert to high peaks on this 30-mile stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Amid the vast plains and prairies of Kansas, find an unexpected expanse of rugged geological formations well worth visiting.
Follow BP Field Scout Korey Peterson's two-day route through the Dakota Badlands.
Meditations on a special place in the desert southwest.
Find alpine bliss halfway through this snowshoe beneath an active volcano in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
The climb up this legendary peak's volcanically shifting landscape is never quite the same, no matter how many times you do it.
Coyote Gulch Trail, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, UT
In the winter, the mountains and ridges of Tennessee transform.
Winter on the Appalachian Trail is blessedly crowd-free. Enjoy it on this classic day hike.
Destinations Editor Kristin Smith loves this shoulder-season overnight on East Bank Ross Lake Trail in Washington's North Cascades National Park.
Ride the train or the bus all the way to the trailhead on these short adventures.
Nature and Old West history meet.
Get to know the northwestern rainforest—and its salamanders—on this overnight route.
Hike to one of these nine fire lookouts for unbeatable views and a unique backcountry experience.
See the coast the way it was meant to be seen.
An insider's guide to San Rafael Swell, UT
Soaring bluffs and views to match make this an adventure worth going on.
Spend a weekend on the water on this circumnavigation of a lonely island in Lake Superior.
Pitch camp next to an alpine lake, rocky peaks, and a WWII plane wreck in Idaho’s Salmon River Mountains.
Start your fall off in spectacular fashion.
Pack a summer of views into one weekend.
Find refuge from high summer temps temps on these chill dayhikes.
Late summer means the high country has finally melted out—and as the snow leaves, the blooms move in. Check out one of these seven hikes for colorful meadows just below the peaks.
Discover true quiet in this uncrowded forest.
These beer-and-trail pairings are refreshing from the first step to the last sip.
Visit a world of water on this three-day trek through the hills.
Basecamper Brent Umphlett, his brother, and 4 days of alpine lakes deep in the Montana wilderness.
Combine the best of car camping (spacious tents, comfy chairs, frosty margaritas!) and the best of backpacking (deep solitude, outrageous scenery, swimming holes!) with these 16 accessible hideaways.
Hike wilderness trails in the middle of the Corn Belt.
Kauai’s Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park is a hiker’s haven, with cliffs plunging to the Pacific and waterfalls hidden in narrow valleys. The 11-mile Kalalau Trail, the area’s only thoroughfare, is by reservation only. Here’s how to do it best.
Rest your feet by a backcountry oasis on one of these nine hikes.
Good conditions and better timing make this Washington spot a gorgeous place for photographs.
This rugged Michigan landscape is better than any treasure.
Long days and big views make this a trip you'll never forget.
See the wilder side of the Sunshine State.
Plan your trip to the alpine as the snow melts out from meadows and ridgelines
Ohio's northwest hides a treasure trove of rare plants and animals. See it on this overnight trip.
In the Los Padres National Forest, some of America's most impressive mammals roam alongside you.
The craggy spines of the west Appalachians provide some of the most spectacular views in the range.
Spy animals and one beautiful dawn by carefully timing your hike along the Grandview Rim Trail.
Take off for one of these forested hikes to find some respite from the summer heat beneath the trees.
Escape the headlines—and the rest of the population—at one of these seven sites.
Discover forgotten worlds on these three fossil-rich dayhikes.
Just half an hour north of Austin, a constellation of parks clings to the edge of a chain of clear blue lakes. At night, turn your eyes from the Hill Country’s quiet forests to the dark skies above for a stellar show. You’re far from the city now.
Routefinding in Canyonlands National Park can be a challenge, but the rewards are always worth it.
Spot some bruins and sample the goods at these Bearpacker Magazine-approved destinations.
Follow the trail of 19th-century robbers in Arizona.
This collection of bright white sandstone spires isn't officially part of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument anymore, but it's as spectacular as ever.
It looks like Mars, but this scenery is all Earth.
Everyone knows that the southwest is arch country. But one of the best examples is in the Kentucky woods.
You deserve this: Find a private slice of paradise in this hammock-camping hotspot.
Do winter camping the luxe way with a wood-stove-heated hut in Michigan.
When most other long trail systems are in hibernation, Florida’s premier path is coming into prime time. Stretching over 1,000 miles from the cypress forests of the Everglades to the sandy Gulf Coast beaches of Pensacola, the Florida Trail runs the gamut of the Sunshine State’s diverse natural landscapes. Hit the highlights on one of these three sections.
Giant gypsum dunes and winter temperatures in the sixties are only some of the draws for this preserve.
This is your year. Start planning one of these life-list hikes and create memories that will last a lifetime.
Grab a site in the dunes and go camping with the palm trees and the sea turtles.
Hike to total relaxation in Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
Strap on your snowshoes and step into one of these unexpected winter destinations.
Hike a rhododendron forest on this 19.1-mile loop.
It's water, water everywhere in this green forest.
For these 12 hikers, local trails so inspired them that they made it their mission to open the outdoors to everyone, one mile at a time. Now let them fire you up with picks so close you can’t say no.
See unique rock formations and fall asleep to a cascading river on this 3-day trip.
When the apples fall, the cider flows. Reward yourself with fresh brews near these three hikes.
Pisgah National Forest blankets the southern Appalachians, and at the heart of all that greenery there’s a backwoods gem—a forest within a forest. The 18,479-acre Shining Rock Wilderness protects an East Coast paradise of waterfalls, mountaintop views, and remote trails.
The climbs on the Black Forest Trail are serious—but then again, so is the scenery.
Find quiet eastern forests and expansive vistas on this two-day, 21.8-mile trek through the Pemigewasset Wilderness.
With its mixed hardwood forests, the east coast has some of the country's best fall leaves. See them before they're gone on these six hikes.
Forest meets prairie meets river in this northern haven.
The Ironwood Forest is a true redemption story. Home to arroyos, plains, foothills, and mountains, the monument’s coarse and well-aerated soil allows roots to dig deep. The result: The world’s densest stands of ironwoods, low-growing shrubby trees that enrich the earth, enable the Ironwood Forest’s species diversity, and burst with purple-pink flowers in late spring.
Search for buried treasure on one of these gem-studded dayhikes, where gathering rocks is legal.