North America
ArchiveThis year's Killer Value also happens to be one of the most versatile snowshoes.
Our Gear of the Year winner excels in any kind of snow conditions.
Tips to find the perfect pair for running, hiking, or mountaineering.
A retro—and well-priced—model that works well for casual winter outings.
Our favorite women’s specific recreational snowshoe.
Turns out you can get there from here
Where do you end up when you want a community with incredible access to the outdoors, affordable homes, and solid jobs? Some very surprising places. Introducing the top 25 towns in America for cycling, paddling, running, surfing, skiing, andbecause you might want everythingall of the above.
Looking for a domestic weekend escape with international flair? Pack a bag and head for Miami. The city has a rep for beaches, beautiful people, and wild nightlife, but that’s not all it has. Presenting the top five adventures in Miami. The Party Circuit: Like I said, there’s…
We'll be rafting the Grand Canyon in August and the gear list includes a full rain suit. Any recommendations? Steve Charleston, SC
I seek wisdom from the experienced Gear Guy on winter clothing layering. I will be hiking up Mt. Washington in January and I am hoping I can beseech your advice on finding the best layering combination (starting with base-layer clothing suggestions to mid-layer clothing suggestion and finally the outer shell layer suggestion). Thank you, exulted Gear Guy! -Nathan St. Louis, MO
In an era of massive oil spills and increasing energy demands, why does river conservation still matter? Because free-flowing water is fun. Because it's good for the national chutzpah. And because, as these four comeback stories illustrate, saving rivers is more profitable than exploiting them.
My parents were reasonably earthy, but I’m convinced my passion for the outdoors came from Manito-wish, a Wisconsin summer camp that, like any real camp, includes a true wilderness trip. If you’re at all concerned that your child is becoming a thin-skinned lily-dipper, consider booting your beloved into the wildwith…
In the range wars of the 21st century, the cattle rustler runs Ponzi schemes and the lawman drives an SUV. STEVEN RINELLA joins the new posse.
From fresh, tropical milkshakes to buffalo steaks the size of your head, we dug up the best chow near America’s national parks.
Im going on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills in upstate New York this summer and need a pair of pants for the trip. Something light and breathable, yet tough for abrasion resistance on scrambles. I would also like a bit of water resistance, and a quick dry time if they do get wet. Lastly, I would like something that can pack small if I decide to also carry a pair of shorts with me.SamWoodstock, NY
Im working in Southeast Alaska (Juneau) again for the summer as a deckhand on a whale-watching tour boat. The rain jackets they gave us last year werent all that great, and I want to bring something that offers a little more protection. I work 8 to 16 hours at a time, sometimes it's raining the whole time. I like being able to move, but weight isnt that big an issue. As a younger student I am also budget-conscious. What do you recommend?JosephAustin, TX
After moving from Boulder, Colorado, to New York City, our boy was in desperate need of a new fitness plan. Then he discovered boxingwhich worked great, until it came time to start getting hit.
Enough with the beer jokescurling's quickly gaining on classic Olympic sports like skiing.
Short-track speed-skating gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno hasn’t changed his facial hair or bandanna in two Olympics. Help us give him a winning makeover. You can follow Ohno in Vancouver on Twitter.
The team at Serac ϳԹ Films brings you the best student videos from the 2009 Teva Games.
What type of apparel would you wear for backpacking to keep your burly legs warm in the Georgia and Tennessee mountains from November to March? Jason Calhoun, GA
Healthy. That's the word we kept coming back to. And we don't mean a fit or skinny population; we're talking about a city's cultural vibrancy, economic well-being, and overall quality of life. Presenting our picks for the 10 best cities in America, from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Plus: Our 10 favorite small towns.
I'm going on a two-week backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon this summer, and I was wondering what kind of fabrics I would want to stick with as far as shorts and shirts go. The last thing I want is to be uncomfortable. Are there any fabrics that I should completely avoid? What would you recommend? Kristen Grant Park, IL
A handful of forward-thinking cities turn eyesores into urban oases.
Yukon Quest champion Sebastian Schnuelle talks about eating vacuum-packed McNuggets, cooking for canines, and taking on Lance Mackey.
Best For Canoodling
First I heard seals. Then coyotes. Then I opened my eyes to a full-frontal view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Such is life at Cavallo Point, a 46-building resort on a renovated army base in the Golden Gate National Parks that opened last July. The first hotel to start up…
Ah, Mexico. Land of hot sand, cheap beer, and a foolproof cure for seasonal affective disorder: endless adventure.
Out on the far edge of the Alaska frontier, a man can hide his sins. Robert Allen Hale—a.k.a. Papa Pilgrim—bought a homestead outside the remote town of McCarthy where he imprisoned his family and conned the world with tales of a simpler life. But for the 15 children living the nightmare, the only choice was escape.
They may not have solved the mystery of his disappearance. They may not have been there when the wreckage was finally found. But goshdarnit, these Canadian adventure racers might just have invented a new sport in the process: extreme jogging for good.
Everest is shrinkingin status, at least. In the past few years, companies like Nepal Helicopter have been ferrying passengers to Base Camp, allowing well-heeled "climbers" to skip the slog up to 17,600 feet. Cheating? Perhaps. But there are times when a shortcut is worth a little shame. Consider these La-Z-Boy adventures.
Can't skip town this weekend? No problem
Meet José, emblem of New York City's wildlife renaissanceand the Big Apple's newest Casanova
A peek under the living roof of San Francisco's newly rebuilt, half–billion–dollar monument to nature
It's about time: Look sharp—and get the job done—with a watch for any occasion
Summer in northern Vermont: long days, long trails, and not a single leaf peeper. Here's how to do it right.
Your town got you down? We’ve got your escape plan. These 20 stars of America’s 21st-century Renaissance are riding a wave of civic reinvention and fresh ideas.
Presenting our foolproof recipes for the perfect long, hot weekend: six classic road-trip itineraries, the country's best pit stops, and a lot of Willie Nelson. Just pick your route and roll.
Your answers to our questions about the ultimate dream town.
The polls are closed and we’re off to the All Good festival this weekend to test our gear (and maybe have a little fun while we’re at it). The winners of the gear poll are:TENT: Big Agnes Pine Island 4SLEEPING BAG: REI Travel Sack…
The craziest way to spread the gospel about North Dakota's enormous, untapped wind power? Kite-ski the bastard.
Leave San Francisco behind on a three-day, 30-mile trek that starts just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge
Their fathers were titans. Their family defined conservation in the West. Now, with two Senate seats up for grabs, cousins Mark and Tom Udall have the chance to bring green leadership to Washington when it's needed most. Can the boys man up the way their dads did a generation ago?
The Super Bowl is without fail the most anticlimactic sporting event of the year. If you have tickets to the 2008 game, this February 3 in Glendale, Arizona, raise the stakes by arriving a week or two early. Park yourself 15 miles from the University of Phoenix Stadium at Sanctuary…
On January 17, Hollywood hotshots and thousands of movie fans will invade the Wasatch Front for 11 days of movies and partying at the Sundance Film Festival. Get your cinematic thrills, then ditch the glitz and experience the real star: Park City’s adventure playground.
On a cosmic night of baseball Randy Wayne White joins the armada in San Francisco's McCovey Cove to fish for Barry Bond's record-breaking home-run ball
Escape from New York (and nine other big cities) with these 40 fast adventures
Resort towns no more—move here before the masses do.
Try summiting one of Southeast Alaska’s 16,000-foot peaks and you’ll run into a few potholesliterally. Thousands of pits (or moulins), up to 300 feet deep, scar 3.2 million glaciated acres of WrangellSt. Elias National Park and Preserve, and more and more visitors are trading in a summit bid to rappel…
Colorado River guide Michael Ghiglieri publishes irresistible books about the weird, wicked things that kill people in national parks. With a bestselling Grand Canyon necrology behind him and a new one on Yosemite coming out this spring, he talks to KEVIN FEDARKO about accidents, suicides, and murdersand why forensic gawking can actually
Are you in love with your home? We’re scouring the country to find the best places to live, work, and play for our annual Best Towns issue, and we want you to contribute. Tell us why we should pack up and move to your place by emailing us at…
Finding uncrowded bliss from Olympic to Acadia
Theres something sublime about a dip in a natural swimming hole, be it a lazy oxbow in a cool river, a hillside nook fed by a subterranean hot-spring, or a limestone bowl bored out by a 40-foot waterfall. The swimming hole is the perfect outdoor experience,” says Pancho Doll, author…
It’s not like we needed another reason to love Moab. But we’ve got one: Utah’s red-rock mecca for adventure sports is pursuing one of the most ambitious green-energy policies of any town in the West. The movement is led by mayor and 35-year resident Dave Sakrison, 61, who was elected…
Forget après ski. Three January film festivals are redefining post-powder entertainment. Head to Park City, Utah, or Nevada City, California, for the winters coolest mountain town film festivals, where you can play outside by day and catch top film premieres by night.
A California forest ranger meets his fate in the forest.
The Bermuda Triangle isn't the only place you might witness the unexplained.
When he landed a rare permit to hunt bison deep in the Alaskan wilderness, our fearless forager thought he'd be living out a childhood dream. Wild buffalo, hungry grizzlies, nearly fatal hypothermiawhat more could a grown man ask for?
Untold riches may lie hidden in Arizona.
A fateful trek into nature's tangled labyrinth
There's only one best ski town for nighttime fun, and it's Aspen
In the mother of all canyons, a big-picture adventure below the rim
Red-hot lava, scary pelagics, and heavenly creatures all come out after dark on Hawaii's Big Island
Chasing tall legends for his new book, Blood and Thunder, Hampton Sides takes a wild ride deep into one of the most sacred spots on earthArizona's Canyon de Chelly
Getting There: Canyon de Chelly is located in Chinle, Arizona, a four drive from Albuquerque or six hours from Phoenix. Canyon de Chelly National Monument is open year-round, though the winters are cold and tours run less often. Where to Stay: Campsites within the monument are free and…
ϳԹ editor at large Hampton Sides has a gift for homing in on some of the most intense and violent moments in history. Winner of the 2002 PEN USA Award for non-fiction, he wrote about Bataan Death March survivors in his first book, the bestselling Ghost Soldiers (adapted into the…
Ten go-now getaways that are short on hassle but long on adventureno passport required
Wanna live where the action is? The goal: Trails out the back door, a serious Saturday-morning peloton, whitewater just up the road, and neighbors eager to join in. Our source: The best adventure athletes in America, who tell us where they live and why. The result: 20 places where locals work, train, and play hard. Start packing now.
Think life in America's favorite outdoor mecca would be dreamy? Careful what you wish for.