Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Invite the outdoors to movie night. This list features some of our favorite movies, from a documentary showcasing the beauty of a thru-hike on the John Muir Trail to a riveting true-crime-by-way-of-hiking film, as well as a few so-bad-they’re-good pulp masterpieces. We’ve also included 7 free-with-ads films, so you can enjoy some cinema and spend nothing but your precious time. Pick your favorite, and start popping that popcorn.
When you make a purchase through our site, we may earn a commission.
Stream for Free
You don’t need a subscription to watch these movies, which are all available on ad-supported streaming services
Happy People
How is it possible that the residents of one of the most inhospitable places on Earth also happen to be the happiest? This Siberian documentary (directed by Werner Herzog) is a quiet stunner. Watch on Tubi
Grizzly Man
Werner Herzog goes a lot darker in this documentary, which depicts the life and death of grizzly bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. This powerful documentary is as gut-wrenching as it is beautiful. Stream on Tubi
Mile Mile and a Half
Five friends hike the John Muir Trail and capture the stunning landscape of the High Sierra. Gift it to any aspiring thru-hiker. Watch on Tubi
180° South
If this modern-day retracing of Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard’s iconic 1968 journey through Patagonia doesn’t inspire you, you may be dead inside. Watch on Pluto TV
Touching the Void
This bracing adaptation of Joe Simpson’s memoir is arguably the greatest mountaineering movie of all time. Watch on Tubi
Never Cry Wolf
A young biologist investigates whether wolves are really as bad as they’re made out to be in this adaptation of Farley Mowat’s landmark (and highly fictionalized) memoir. Watch on Vudu
Lawrence of Arabia
“Sweeping” hardly does justice to this epic film about the life of T.E. Lawrence. It’s probably the best desert film of all time (and certainly the longest). Watch on Tubi
Stream With a Subscription
Already subscribe to these streaming services? You can watch these great movies at no additional cost. (Some are available to rent, too.)
They Called Him Mostly Harmless
When a hiker found an emaciated body in a tent in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve in 2018, both law enforcement and cybersleuths tried to use the little evidence available to put a name to the loner that fellow Appalachian Trail hikers knew only as Mostly Harmless. This documentary is at its best when it turns its lens on the internet true crime community and the obsessions and longings that make it turn.
Society of the Snow
The harrowing story of a Uruguayan rugby team’s crash in the Andes and subsequent fight for survival gets a brand-new big screen treatment in this adaptation of Uruguayan journalist Pablo Vierci’s book of the same name.
Highline
A group of backpackers tackle Utah’s Uinta Highline Trail while delving into their own struggles with PTSD, addiction, and family issues. (Outside+ member? You can watch it for free now.) Watch on Outside Watch
The Ritual
We watched this horror flick right before a backpacking trip—don’t make our same mistake. Five college buddies reunite for a hiking trip in Sweden, but something in the forest is watching them. Stream on Netflix
Vertical Limit
Preposterous in almost every way, this mountaineering action flick makes Cliffhanger look highbrow by comparison, but still works fine as pure popcorn entertainment. Stream on AMC+
The Edge
Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins battle a predatory grizzly—and each other—in this pulpy drama. Stream on Cinemax
The Call of the Wild
Harrison Ford leans fully into his grizzled side in this 2020 adaptation of Jack London’s best-loved novel. Watch on Disney+
Free Solo
This palm-sweating documentary, which documents Alex Honnold’s ropeless climb of El Capitan, isn’t just a record of one of history’s great athletic feats, it’s a triumph of on-location filmmaking that sent its crew up the side of America’s largest cliff. Stream on Disney+
Comfort Theory
The Te Araroa trail in New Zealand draws beauty-seeking hikers from all the world—but tackling it with no prior backpacking experience? That’s a tall order, and exactly what four former desk jockeys do in this short film. Watch on Outside Watch
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
How are these for unlikely hiking buddies? Two dogs and a cat (voiced by Michael J. Fox, Don Ameche, and Sally Field, no less) cross the Sierra Nevadas in search of their departed owners. Whether you grew up with the original or this remake, their journey is sure to bring back childhood memories. Stream on Disney+
Into the Wild
This handsomely directed adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s classic bestseller features a star-making turn from Emile Hirsch and a haunting score by Eddie Vedder. Watch on Paramount+
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
Nirmal “Nims” Purja became a household name when he climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in 7 months. See how he did it in this documentary. Watch on Netflix
Cast Away
WILLLLLSSSONNNNNNN! Watch on Apple TV
K2: The Ultimate High
A dramatized account of two friends’ near-disastrous ascent of the world’s second-tallest peak. Stream on Hoopla (free with a library card)
Fall
“This is the dumbest movie I’ve seen in a very long time,” our reviewer wrote. Kind of like Vertical Limit (see below for that masterpiece) but with a rusty radio tower instead of K2. Watch on Hulu with Starz
Leave No Trace
No, it isn’t a documentary about environmentally-friendly camping. This drama, about an Iraq War veteran and his daughter who live in an Oregon park until an incident forces them to emerge into society, became a critical darling after its premiere at Sundance in 2018. Stream on Starz
Available to Rent
While you’ll need to spend money to watch these films, some of them are more than worth the 3 or 4 bucks. Some of them.
Wild
Cheryl Strayed’s memoir of self-discovery on the Pacific Crest Trail was an instant best-seller, and Reese Witherspoon brings it to life on the big screen. Rent on Amazon
Alive
Before there was Society of the Snow, there was Alive. This chronicle of the 1972 Andes flight disaster is still a classic of survival cinema. Rent on Amazon
127 Hours
In arguably his best role ever, James Franco stars in this gruesome, gripping adaptation of Aron Ralston’s survival memoir. Rent on Amazon
The Grey
The Grey recycles all the same lazy, old tropes about wolves being ferocious, man-eating predators. But as B-movie popcorn entertainment? We’ll take it. Rent on Amazon
A River Runs Through It
Spectacular Montana scenery and a young Brad Pitt provide eye candy galore. Rent on Amazon
Chasing Ice
See glaciers melt before your eyes as James Balog travels to Iceland and beyond in order to document the Earth’s changing landscape. Rent from YouTube
Cliffhanger
“If you’re looking for Qualen, try about 4,000 feet south of here. He’ll be the one wearing the helicopter.” Rent on Amazon
March of the Penguins
Admit it: These little guys melted your heart. Also, Morgan Freeman should narrate everything ever. Rent on Amazon
The River Wild
Meryl Streep and David Strathairn are terrorized by a villainous Kevin Bacon during a rapids trip down Idaho’s Salmon River. Rent on Amazon
The Great Outdoors
Dan Aykroyd and John Candy go family camping with disastrous, hilarious results. Rent on Amazon
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Famous for Alfonso Bedoya’s (often-misquoted) “I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!” line, Bogie’s gold prospecting classic is a sly and insightful examination of human greed. Rent on Amazon
From 2023