One of the biggest fears held by many outdoor enthusiasts when they have kids of their own: What if they hate nature?

Steven Rinella is the host of the popular Netflix show MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast and the author of several books on the hunting and outdoor lifestyles. He says that was the thought that haunted him when he found out he was expecting his first child.

“I had been raised in, and maintained, a very close relationship with the natural world,” says Rinella, who was born in rural Michigan. “And I was honestly kind of stressed out about how I would deliver that same thing to my own kids.”

What he wanted, he says, was for his little ones to have “radical engagement”—which he defines as “a very hands-on relationship”—with nature. Twelve years and three city-born kids later, Rinella is so confident that he’s cracked the code on raising outdoor kids that he’s written a book about it. Outdoor Kids in an Inside World, out this month, aims to help parents create a path to the outdoors for children who might not otherwise get there.

“I knew that it wasn’t going to come naturally,” says Rinella of his own kids, “and that it would take deliberate effort to do that.”

But Rinella says that he also believed in the work of E. O. Wilson, the two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning “father of biodiversity” who popularized the notion that we are all born with an innate desire��to connect with other life forms. Rinella’s role, as he saw it, was to simply provide the environment��for those connections to happen. And that realization changed everything.

Once exposed to nature—near and far from their home—all three of his kids found ways to connect with it on a personal level. It’s not unusual for them to discover the artistic possibilities of a chunk of ochre found on a mountaintop, or to spend hours turning over rocks just to see what might be lurking underneath, he says. “Here I was, thinking that we had to do all these very planned-out activities that require travel, but in the end just putting them��in that environment just to engage with other life forms set them up for a lifetime of those kind of explorations.”

Ready to encourage your kids to engage with the outdoors? Here’s��Rinella’s advice on how to do it.

Be open to all opportunities to interact with nature: “We did and still do backyard campouts,” says Rinella, noting that just because you live in a city doesn’t mean you can’t be outdoorsy.

“My first two kids were born in New York City, but there is a lot of exploration to be done just learning the natural history of the things around you. The tree-lined side streets of Brooklyn are predominantly sycamore trees, right? Why is that?” Exploring your neighborhood with curiosity can lead to a dandelion-leaf salad or an afternoon spent talking about street pigeons. “It doesn’t matter to me where you are,” says Rinella. “The sun’s still doing its arc across the sky so there are still plenty of ways to look and see that we’re in this breathing, functioning, fecund world.”

Be dogged in your commitment to being an outdoor family: With all the things competing for your kids’ attention (school, sports, naps, and screen time among them), you’ll have to be ruthless in your commitment to getting outdoors. Scheduled time outside can help, but flexibility will take you further, says Rinella. “You need to really declare that that’s the thing that’s important to you, and you’re going to make it happen. And then you need to be really adaptable, and pretty elastic in how you find those outdoor opportunities, especially for really young kids.” Doing so can allow them to discover new activities like tying knots or hooking fish themselves. Rinella even lets his kids set dry sticks on fire to paint the sky with smoke—an activity that requires him to let go of some of his parental impulses.

Help kids view themselves as part of nature: “Teach your kids to begin to view themselves as an organism that lives in an ecosystem,” says Rinella. “They’re not living outside of nature. They’re not other than nature. They live in this place. It’s a functioning environment, and they’re a player in it.”

Use tech as a tool to support your outdoor exploration: While Rinella’s kids don’t have their own phones, they are regularly exposed to technology and screens. Rinella is OK with that, as long as it’s constructive. “If we’re exploring an idea, or getting into something, we will often go and consult YouTube,” he says. Although he encourages limiting exposure, but he does lean into opportunities to augment his kids’ understanding. “I don’t find technology incompatible with nature. It can be quite complementary, if used wisely, and with some level of restraint.”

Make choices in everyday life that strengthen your family’s connection to the outdoors: The Rinella family’s commitment to the outdoors goes inside with them too. Everything from the books they read to the food they eat aims to foster those connections. That kind of constant exposure breeds familiarity, says Rinella. “One of the things I’m proud of as a parent is that my kids have a very realistic understanding of nature and the natural world. It’s not cruel, it’s not dignified,” he says. “Whatever they do in life, wherever they go, even if they go and live in a large metropolis, they’ll go there with the background that I’ve given them by exposing them to the rugged and muddy and sometimes bloody natural world around them.”

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This summer has been a scorcher. According to a major released earlier this month, the planet’s temperatures have reached record highs, and the extreme heat that this summer will only become more common in the future. The heat has had devastating effects on people of all ages, but the smallest among us are especially vulnerable.

But simply keeping your kids inside isn’t the answer, says Dr. Samuel Schimelpfenig, a pediatrician in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with a specialty in sports medicine for kids and adolescents. “We are healthier physically and mentally if we’re outside in nature,” he says. “If we keep kids inside, we don’t have to worry about heat illness quite so much, but the downside is they’re not being physically active and they’re probably spending too much time on a screen.”

If your kid is going to be playing in the heat, here’s what you need to know:

Kids can get heat stroke more quickly than adults��

While on most days the body does a great job of regulating its own temperature (thanks to a region of the brain called the hypothalamus gland), extreme heat can overwhelm that function, disrupting the normal process that results in the evaporation of sweat from the skin. That overheating can lead to heatstroke, which usually includes at least one of three telltale signs: unconsciousness, fever, and a lack of sweat, Schimelpfenig says.

Little kids—and their smaller bodies—are more at risk than adults. “They absorb heat from the environment much quicker than we do,” explains Schimelpfenig. It’s the difference between cooking a single chicken breast or roasting an entire turkey. The bigger turkey will likely need three or four hours in the oven, while a chicken breast might be done in less than 30 minutes. This may be especially true for young athletes��with certain disabilities or medical diagnoses that might make them more susceptible to heat conditions, along with those taking certain that increase heat sensitivity.

It’s important to catch the signs early

Parents, coaches, and caregivers should learn to recognize and treat milder heat illness symptoms quickly. Something as simple as bringing a child inside, offering them a cold drink, and having them rest can make a difference. Missing the early signs could result in something much more dangerous. “There are kids that end up in the emergency room dehydrated and needing IV fluids,” says Schimelpfenig.

Here’s what to look for:

• Dipping energy levels: Was your kid running around like normal and then��becoming increasingly lethargic?
• Trouble breathing: Are they breathing harder than usual? Is their face flushed?
• Excessive sweating or lack of sweat: Older kids may start sweating profusely. Younger kids (toddlers and preschoolers) may not be sweating at all.
• Aches: Are they complaining of a headache, nausea, or dizziness?

Severe signs of heat illness often take those symptoms towards their extreme. If a kid has thrown up or passed out or is showing signs of mental confusion, seek medical attention immediately.

Have a plan for cooling off before going outside

After a��disrupted year of activity, kids may be out of shape or out of practice when it comes to handling heat.��“If you’re working hard, you’re also generating heat internally in an environment that is hot,” says Schimelpfenig. “You can’t really work out in a sauna for very long before you’re just too hot and exhausted to do it.”��

To maintain body temperature and keep kids happy,��plan extra water breaks, provide shade (parents might bring along small tents or umbrellas on outdoor excursions), and remember to remove your child’s bike helmet while resting—it’s one more way for the body’s heat to escape. Other ways to cool off include eating a chilled snack (bonus points for snacks that have lots of hydration, like chilled fruit), jumping in a sprinkler or visiting a splash pad (though Schimpelfenig is clear that water cools you better in��your body rather than on��it), or planning your activities for cooler times of day (early morning is better than high noon).

Teaching kids to regularly assess how their body feels can empower them to ask for help if they feel an onset of heat illness symptoms. Parents can also consider gear that helps kids help themselves: light colored, breathable clothing; moisture-wicking athletic wear; personal water bottles;��and snack options that include electrolytes.

Sometimes the right call is to stay inside��

Finally, it’s important to stomp out the myth that canceling some activities due to heat is a failure. High heat indexes are often the reason esteemed athletes have to change their plans, says Schimelpfenig. In fact, recently at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the gold medal women’s soccer match was , while the women’s marathon was moved up an hour to . In those instances, indoor activities��may be the better option.

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Ask your kids whether they’d like to go to the local park or the Grand Canyon, and they may be hard-pressed to choose. While adults are often drawn to the awe-inspiring vistas of big-name natural attractions, kids are usually less concerned with the size of the space than with the fun opportunities that await.

That’s especially convenient this summer, as newly vaccinated nature seekers are hitting the road and well-known destinations are seeing longer lines for everything from parking spots��to picnic tables.

The opportunity to avoid the crowds—and the disappointment that comes from not being able to secure a reservation at a long-dreamed-of site—is enticing families to explore outdoor spaces close to home, says Jessica Carrillo-Alatorre, executive director of the nonprofit . With more than 300 branches throughout North America, the group helps families get together for local outdoor activities. Events include “toddler waddles” (following the lead and speed of your two-year-old), play sessions in city parks, urban stroller walks that might start or end at a neighborhood coffee shop, and more traditional kid-led hikes on trails through wooded spaces. Anyone can start or join a , using an online calendar to post the outings they’re proposing and invite others to join.

After a year spent in isolation, the benefits of small outdoor excursions like these are great. A found that access to green space and spending time in nature during the pandemic were “associated with increased levels of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness, and decreased levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness.”

That doesn’t surprise Carrillo-Alatorre, who says families simply need help finding their way out the door. “Just 15 minutes outside improves mood, boosts creativity, and provides physical benefits,” she says. “I think every family deserves to know that Mother Nature is right there, willing to lend her support.”

These tips will help your whole family find fun new ways to explore natural spaces close to home.

Bring Your Own ���ϳԹ���

Sometimes just getting outside with a new baby is an adventure in itself, but if you have��older kids, having an adventure in your back pocket will help when their energy starts to wane. Use a visit to a local park or trail as an opportunity to gather sticks for a�� or research spots before you head out. On the Hike It Baby site, you can find and other activities to start at home (like ) and then enjoy outdoors.

Carrillo-Alatorre notes that adding music and storytelling can make a regular walk more entertaining. For example, she suggests going on a “bear hunt”: hide some stuffed bears along the trail, teach your kids the song from the popular Kiboomers YouTube channel, then take them out to find bears on a hike.

Take the Inside Out

Many activities that keep your kids’ attention indoors can be done outside, says Carrillo-Alatorre: “It’s just about thinking outside the box a little bit.”

Consider dinner alfresco: turning a weeknight meal makes it fun. “My kids love being in charge of packing family snacks, and we let them choose things from the pantry, counting out portions and items to ensure each family member gets a share,” she says. “They are so proud to offer and help distribute them on the trail.”

Cutting foods into fun shapes or selecting a theme like “bugs” add to the enjoyment, she says. (Make ants on a log, using raisins and peanut butter on a celery stick, or caterpillars, with grapes on a bamboo skewer.) Ditto for nature-based on park picnic tables.

And if your kids are glued to screens, Carrillo-Alatorre suggests a compromise: the app helps users identify plants and animals they see on their outings by using the camera on a smartphone or tablet. Your kids can take pictures of bugs, leaves, and rocks in the neighborhood, then use the app’s database, run in partnership with the California Academy of Science and National Geographic, to help them put names to their finds. They’ll earn badges, and the information they add to the database will inform other kids (or grown-ups) who may be wondering how many snails, ash trees, or other natural finds are in the neighborhood as well.��Common Sense Media also offers to choose from that will enhance playing�� outside, depending on the age and interest of your child.

Turn Community Spaces into Playgrounds

Now that stay-at-home restrictions are easing, connecting with neighbors can be a great way to raise kids’ spirits. Hike It Baby created a program called with those kinds of interactions in mind. Hike It Baby ambassadors can ask to borrow a collection of signs with playful instructions (“Hop like a grasshopper” or “Pretend you’re an owl”) and invite the neighborhood out to enjoy them. All signs have instructions in both English and Spanish and suggest a mix of physical activities (which include modifications for those who might not be able to hop or jump as easily) and I-Spy-like visual prompts for taking in your surroundings.

If there’s no Wander Walk in the neighborhood, your kids can create something similar. Get out the sidewalk chalk, or cardboard and poster paints, and create fitness circuits on your block. Use an animal theme (crawl like a bear, hop like a frog) or make��a yoga-themed hopscotch to give kids an opportunity to test out their tree pose and sun salutation.

But don’t feel like you have to plan every minute, Carrillo-Alatorre cautions. “Unstructured and risky play in nature are undervalued,” she says. “We live with so many planned activities and rules that having time to just be and explore outside is so beneficial for our young children. Kids who have time to have free-imagination play��also have learning and cognitive developmental benefits.”

The post Your Kids Can Have Epic Outdoor ���ϳԹ���s in Your Neighborhood appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

It’s no secret that the outdoors isn’t always welcoming. For those who fall outside of the white, male, able-bodied, outdoor-enthusiast spectrum, feeling at home in wild places can��be hard.�����ϳԹ��� spoke to��adventurers and activists who are pushing for a more inclusive industry, and��their stories offer insight and advice on��how we can create outdoor spaces that make��room for everyone.

Kai Lightner, Climbing for Change

How He’s Helping: Last summer, after the pandemic put Lightner’s��hectic schedule on pause, the 21-year-old professional rock climber��watched the national reckoning over racial justice and realized that he had an opportunity to make a difference in the sport he dedicated his life to. By August, he’d launched , an organization that provides role models and funding assistance to young climbers.

What He Wants to See: Lightner’s goal is for people of color to be represented in all parts of the climbing and outdoor industries. To achieve that, he says, we need to rethink what a climber looks like. “The biggest issue isn’t just funding and access—it’s perception. I want to be able to plaster the message everywhere that Black people can excel in as many spaces as we want.”

Jaylyn Gough, Native Women’s Wilderness

How She’s Helping: aims to elevate Indig­enous perspectives in the outdoor industry. “I was really frustrated with the lack of conversation happening about original territories and Native people,” Gough says. “We were the originals. Who knows the land better than us? Yet we’re not at the table.” So she built a table of her own, creating an Instagram account—which now has 55,000 followers—to share the stories of Indigenous people in outdoor spaces. She’s also established a community of ambassadors across the United States to help organize Native-led outdoor activities.

What She Wants to See: Gough hopes that the growing appreciation of the outdoors as Native land will translate into justice for Native Americans, particularly around the often overlooked issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women. “We need to honor these lives and these voices,” says Gough.

Elyse Rylander, Out There ���ϳԹ���s

How She’s Helping: During her undergrad studies at the University of Wisconsin, Rylander got tired of being the only queer woman in outdoor circles. So a year after graduating, in 2013, she started the nonprofit to ensure that others didn’t experience the same thing. In 2015, her organization began leading LGBTQ+ backpacking and climbing trips in the Pacific Northwest, and it has since expanded to consult on queer-­specific outdoor programs nationwide.

What She Wants to See: The industry needs to acknowledge intersectionality across race, gender, class, and other identities, Rylander says. “I’m constantly struck by this when I work with kids. We’ve got trans kids of color coming from North Carolina now, and that experience is gonna look very different than the white cisgender kids who came from an affluent family in Minneapolis,” she says. “It requires more nuance and intentionality when you start to layer together marginalization.”

Nailah Blades Wylie, Color ���ϳԹ���

How She’s Helping: Active��women of color often face a triple threat when considering an outdoor adventure: the intimidation of a new activity or sport, the possibility of negative encounters because of their race, and the safety concerns of being a woman in a new environment. Nailah Blades Wylie founded to reduce those obstacles through a series of wellness and adventure for women of color in places like Moab, Utah. “I started it for the community that I needed but couldn’t��find,” she says. “Our mission with Color ���ϳԹ��� is really to help women of color tap into their unapologetic joy through outdoor adventure.”

What She Wants to See: She wants to make sure that diversity and inclusivity��are things that “brands are committing��to for the long haul. It’s something that I want to see completely ingrained in all of the brands, the entire community, and the culture.”

Haroon Mota, Muslim Hikers

How He’s Helping: Mota discovered his love for the outdoors as a teenager, but it was years before he saw other people of color on hikes. He remembers the shock he felt when he first encountered several Muslim women on the trail, dressed in hijabs and walking for charity. “It triggered something for me,” he says. He now devotes himself to helping Muslim people—who he says often stand out because of their clothing or facial hair—find joy in the outdoors. Thanks to his Instagram account (he also launched and ), underrepresented outdoor enthusiasts can connect globally.

What He Wants to See: More Muslim men and women who feel comfortable and welcome in the outdoors. He hopes that as participation grows, people’s attitudes both inside and outside the Islamic community will shift. “I am a British Muslim of Indian origin,” Mota says. “Very rarely would I see someone looking like me in the outdoors. I want to inspire change.”

Earl Hunter, Black Folks Camp Too

How He’s Helping: In 2017, Hunter went on a camping trip with his seven-year-old son across the U.S. and parts of Canada. During their three months of travels, they encountered just one other Black family. He thought, How am I going to change this narrative? His solution: , created to help outdoor brands market and reach out to the Black community, to displace the anxieties he knows many Black people have around the history of exclusion and violence in the outdoors. “My end goal is to remove fear, add knowledge, and invite more Black folks to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle,” Hunter says.

What He Wants to See: Hunter’s company has designed ,��a simple campfire logo��on a patch or sticker that signifies��the wearer is welcoming to individuals of all backgrounds. He hopes outdoor companies and individual campers will widely adopt the symbol and start displaying it on their gear. “When you wear this patch, it says that you treat everyone everywhere equally.”

Syren Nagakyrie, ­Disabled Hikers

How They’re Helping: In an industry centered on able-bodied��participation, pushes for autonomy and representation for the disability community. “Our focus is on expanding the conversation beyond adaptive sports and wheelchair accessibility. That has dominated the outdoor disability space, and it excludes the vast majority of disabled folks,” says Nagakyrie. The group has created a series of trail guides and a rating system to help disabled hikers anticipate what they’ll encounter before venturing out.

What They Want to See: “We’re committed to building disabled leadership in the outdoors,” says Nagakyrie. “For so long, it has been nondisabled folks providing services for disabled people in the outdoors. We’re perfectly capable of working with each other to get our needs met.” Nagakyrie hopes that nondisabled explorers will rethink their biases toward disabled people in wild spaces.

Rhonda Harper, Black Girls Surf

How She’s Helping: offers girls of color professional training to become competitive surfers. Harper, its founder, trains with young women, including Senegalese Olympic hopeful Khadija “Khadjou” Sambe, both at Harper’s home base in San Jose, California, and in South Africa and Senegal. “There’s a lack of opportunity and access for people of color in general and women in particular,” she says. But that’s changing: in many cases, the athletes Harper works with are the first in their country to surf competitively.

What She Wants to See: Last summer, Harper organized a worldwide paddle-out after the murder of George Floyd. Surfers of all colors responded, raising awareness and demonstrating solidarity. Brands reached out as well and sent pro surfers, including seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore, to participate—a kind of buy-in Harper believes is important, even if it’s not something companies are used to doing. “There’s no way you can make change by keeping people comfortable in the place that they’re in,” she says.

Jessica Carrillo Alatorre, Hike It Baby

How She’s Helping: Getting outside can be tough when you have an infant or a toddler. ’s free gatherings across North America offer a supportive community for parents and their kids to hit the trails. “One of our big principles is that we leave no family behind,” says executive director Jessica Carrillo Alatorre. “Everybody stops if somebody needs to nurse or change a diaper or get a snack out for their toddler.” Because trail ratings are almost always geared toward adults, Hike It Baby created a trail guide, vetted by families, that describes what hikers can expect if they have little ones coming along.

What She Wants to See: Carrillo Alatorre hopes for less focus on expensive gear and high-octane excursions, and more encouragement for urban walking and bite-size options. “We’re in this together, and we’re here to help each other. I think the world needs more of that,” she says.

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Wild children are rare these days. As a kid, I wore my house key around my neck, played tag in the park near my school, and knew enough to get home before my mother came looking for me. Trees were climbed, mud puddles were claimed, and forts were made from trash bags and stray sticks. We were Peter Pan Lost Boys (and Girls), Bridge to Terabithia explorers, and Lord of the Flies��rulers��in��training all at once.

My children’s upbringing has been��far different. Send them outside without a plan and you might hear from a nervous neighbor who saw them wandering or, worse, have them return moments later saying they’re bored. That changes when kids are in the wilderness. Go camping in a forest and their curiosity comes back. Imagination takes over and adrenaline-fueled possibilities of adventure (“What was that sound!”) are enough to set off giggles and shrieks with every critter that crawls past the tent.

That dichotomy—adventurous on vacation and timid at home—is what makes the��book��, written by��James Beard–nominated chef Sarah Glover,��so intriguing. The family cookbook is as much a glimpse into a more relaxed Australian parenting culture��as it is a simple guide to tasty camp meals��that go beyond hot dogs and boiled corn.��Think fire-roasted fruit, flaky scones, and lobster rollovers on sea-salted rolls. “It’s��not limited to ‘You have to go in the wild and catch it for yourself,’” Glover says. “You can still go to the markets and pick the stuff up. It’s about the adventure wherever you are.”

While Wild Child’s more than 50 recipes can be easily adapted for your stove, the bright photos are bound to tempt families into campfire��culinary concoctions. They feature incredibly stylish kids roaming in nature, free from the shackles of meddling parents, and happily cooking everything from bananas to fish��over��open flames.

“I hope that parents are inspired��and their imagination is sparked to be creative as a family,” says Glover, who specifically designed the recipes for little hands. “I just wanted to think like a kid and say, ‘OK, how can children start to see nature as not only a tree to climb in but a branch to use to cook with?’”

It all felt second nature to Glover, who grew up with seven siblings near the Tasmania bushlands and now splits her time between New York and Australia. Gordon Ramsay and Martha Stewart blurbed the book, and the recipes have influences of both—part hardcore chef, part perfect plating.

While Glover isn’t a parent herself, she knew she wanted to create��a cookbook that, like her first book,��, celebrates the unshackled lifestyle she grew up with. But while Wild��was focused on making connections with the people who provide our food, Wild Child focuses more on allowing children to approach and make food that is fun, fresh, and delicious. “It is just about kids getting outside and embracing outdoors and their primal instinct, to get their hands dirty,” she says. “I hope that parents and their kids have fun together.”

We picked two of our favorite recipes from Wild Child to try out on your next campfire.

Fire Fruit

Serves four

Ingredients:

4 small pineapples
1⁄2 cup maple syrup, plus more for drizzling
2 cups coconut yogurt
4 limes

Directions:

Light your fire and let it burn down for about one hour, or until you obtain a medium heat.��Slice the pineapples in half. Place the pineapples, cut��side up, in the coals of the fire, and drizzle the maple syrup in the center. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the flesh is soft and the maple syrup is bubbling. Carefully remove the pineapples from the coals with tongs��and top with the coconut yogurt. Squeeze some lime juice over the fruit, drizzle with a little extra maple syrup, and serve.

Bamboo Fish

Serves four

Ingredients for the turmeric dressing:

1⁄2-inch piece fresh turmeric, unpeeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1⁄2 cup champagne vinegar
1 cup grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the fish:

4 bamboo shoots (at least two feet long)
4 small whole��fish, such as snapper or flathead, cleaned and gutted but not scaled
1 large handful fresh lemon leaves or fresh herbs
Butcher’s string or garden wire

Directions:

For the turmeric dressing, finely grate the turmeric and garlic (use a Microplane��if you have one) into a small bowl. Add the vinegar, and whisk until combined. Stir in the oil and let stand at room temperature for a few hours before serving.

Light your fire and let it burn down for about an��hour, or until you obtain a medium heat. Using a piece of wood or a knife, carefully whittle the tip of each bamboo shoot��so it resembles��a spear. Then spear each fish with a��shoot through the mouth and��up out of��the tail, pushing the fish��down��the bamboo until the mouth is��about 12 inches from the shoot’s base. Stuff each fish with lemon leaves or herbs, then tie each fish with butcher’s string or garden wire��so it doesn’t slide around��the bamboo shoot.

Stick the bamboo spears into the ground about eight inches away from the fire��and in the direction of the wind. Make sure the spears��don’t bend over into the fire or kiss the ground. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the skin starts to tighten and crisp up. Then rotate the fish and cook for another 20 minutes, or until the flesh is cooked, the��skin is crisp, and the eyes are white.

Carefully remove the fish from the bamboo shoots and peel back the skin. Serve with the turmeric dressing.

Recipes taken from , by Sarah Glover, published by Prestel. They have been edited for length and clarity.

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As of Friday, April 2, fully vaccinated adults ��from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to travel without the need for COVID-19 tests and quarantining. But what about their unvaccinated kids?

Experts say that depends.��

Current projections suggest that all American adults who want the vaccination will have it made available to them by early summer. As a result, Jennifer��Nuzzo, senior scholar at the , expects that virus case rates will drop by fall. At that point, she says that traveling with unvaccinated kids on planes will generally be a low-risk activity. Before then, the risk will vary based on each family’s individual circumstances.��

In fact, it’s not the plane travel itself that poses the greatest risk to unvaccinated travelers. Nuzzo says that airplane filters actually do a good job of��. It’s during mealtimes in the air when travelers—especially those who remove their masks—are most at risk. Of greater risk? The interactions that happen before your plane is airborne, including gathering with strangers in airports or stopping to dine in��restaurants, she says.

Mask-wearing, keeping your distance, and washing your hands will likely be recommended for the considerable future, says Nuzzo:��“We’re talking about continuing to layer interventions to make it as low-risk as possible.”��But, experts warn that even when we are taking all the right precautions, low risk and no risk are two different things. Deciding if your family should travel will remain a highly individual decision dependent on your children’s��underlying conditions, Nuzzo adds.��

“It’s not zero risk,” says Amber D’Souza, an epidemiology professor at the . “There absolutely are children getting sick. And we’re concerned about some of the long term health consequences as well.”

Data from the past year has that children and teenagers can get COVID-19. The difference is that most healthy��kids without underlying conditions who are infected have milder, or no, symptoms.��According to the , children about 13.4 percent of patients and 0.19 percent of all COVID-19 deaths. And studies show that the risk to kids age 5 to 17 is����than those older. Babies under the age of one even less so.

Recent comments made by C.D.C. director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, in which she that vaccinated people can’t transmit the virus, received some .��On April 2, the agency�� its position to say that while fully vaccinated people are “less likely to have asymptomatic infection and potentially less likely to transmit” COVID-19, further investigation is required.��

In terms of when we can expect less risk traveling with children, those��who are 16 and older are expected to be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine shortly, and the about the success of its clinical trials on children between 12 to 15 suggests that that age group might become qualified by the start of the school year in fall. Pfizer’s testing of�� and will start on ages 2 to 5 shortly. Moderna is expected to release its results from a study on 12- to 17-year-olds sometime this summer, and that testing has started for children aged 6 months to 11 years.��If results of vaccine testing a high-level of virus antibodies, the final approval stages could be swift. “Delaying��vacations until a little bit later in the summer might also allow some of those adolescents to be vaccinated,” says D’Souza.

When it comes to taking your kids abroad prior to being vaccinated, Nuzzo warns that that adds another layer of unpredictability. “Internationally, it’s a lot harder to calculate, because you don’t know what other countries’ epidemics or travel restrictions are going to be like.” Currently, everyone over the age of two who��hasn’t been vaccinated still has to be tested within three days prior to flights back to the U.S. “What if one of your kids becomes infected while on vacation and tests positive? Be prepared for this and check if your resort will offer free or discounted stays if you have to remain quarantined there for additional days,” says Nadeen White, and pediatrician in Atlanta.

“After a year of this, we’re all really excited to travel again,” says D’Souza. “But we want to do it in a way that minimizes risk. It shouldn’t be a vacation like your pre-pandemic vacations.” Experts suggest taking direct flights if you’re going to fly, continuing��to wear masks in public,��and opting for��domestic��trips that offer outdoor activities like hiking, biking, and camping, which remain among the safest activities when it comes to limiting COVID-19 transmission.��

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Opportunities to be transported around the world through the pages of a good read have been a balm for adventure seekers. And with so many great releases this year, we had some trouble narrowing down our list.��So we asked eight authors whose own books recently took us to incredible places to recommend some of their favorites. These titles��will sate you until it’s safe to travel again.

‘R�dz��첹�ɲ���’ by Diane Cardwell

According To: Bonnie Tsui, author of four books, including�� and��.

Bonnie Tsui, who examines the��draw humans have to water in her most recent��book,��Why We Swim, returns to a similar��theme in her recommended pick. In ,��Diane��Cardwell’s focus is on staying above water—literally and figuratively—as she navigates a “failed marriage” and fevered career. “This book is all about starting over��and finding the thing—surfing!—that transforms that life into something hopeful and new,”��Tsui��says.��Through a physically challenging endeavor, Cardwell helps readers understand how she has weathered the storm and offers hope to others trying to do the same.����

Why We Need This Now: In a year when the pandemic has added a layer of difficulty onto all of our lives, Rockaway��serves as a guidepost to survival and exploration in our own backyards. “Diane Cardwell’s experience of figuring out how to surf while living in New York City is a great read in a time when we are all desperately seeking newness closer to home. It also has a healthy dose of joy and altered perspective,” Tsui adds.

‘Leave Only Footprints’ by Conor Knighton

According To:��Mark Adams, author of four books, including and .

“Every human on earth is going to need a long vacation next year, which, if rosy vaccine forecasts come true, could be the greatest road-trip summer in decades. In this charming survey of dozens of national parks, Conor Knighton self-medicates a broken heart by soaking up the wonders of America’s greatest outdoor hits,” explains Mark Adams, whose prolific travel writing career has included journeys that led him to��search for��the lost city of Atlantis and��follow in��the footsteps of explorer Hiram Bingham III in the mountains of Peru.��

Why We Need This Now: For Adams, offers a worthy distraction from the exhausting news cycle we’ve been faced with this year. “Knighton��will have you thinking about better uses for your pent-up energy. Like pitching a tent.”

‘I Hold a Wolf by the Ears: Stories’ by Laura Van Den Berg

According To: Morgan Jerkins, author of three books, including ��and .

One of Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2020, Laura Van Den Berg’s�� of female-focused horror stories may not seem like a travel narrative at first (unlike the writer’s��previous novel, ) but Morgan Jerkins says the author’s deft portrayal of Florida is just one example of how it is. “Florida is a character itself in the book. Van Den Berg deftly details the heat and nature��as well as the people. It’s very distinct, and I’d put her in the group of young esteemed writers like Alissa Nutting and T Kira Madden��who are carving out Florida as a necessary place in the literary canon,” Jerkins says.

Why We Need This Now: According to Jerkins, Van Den Berg’s ability to explore complex female emotion and transport readers to each destination offers readers a timely salve. “I think this is the perfect book about travel in 2020 because the author sets stories in different locations, both domestic and international, and the way in which she explores fear might be the sense of understanding we need in such an unprecedented time.”

‘Wanderland: A Search for Magic in the Landscape’��by Jini Reddy

According To: Gina Rae La Cerva, author of .

In Jini Reddy’s memoir , the London-based Canadian writer takes a magical journey through her adopted home’s natural landscapes to cope with��feeling like an outsider. “Sometimes the best adventures happen in our backyards,’ Gina Rae La Cerva says.��“Reddy follows her heart and a good dose of serendipity to explore Britain’s natural wonders. This book is a celebration of the joys of roaming and discovering who we are when we come face to face with nature’s mysteries.”

Why We Need This Now: La Cerva, whose own book is a world-spanning search of what foraging means to different cultures, understands how important connecting to nature is for our well-being. “For many people, the lockdown has made escaping into the wilderness more challenging. Reddy shows us that even the most mundane landscapes contain their own wild magic. I also love that this book is about a woman of color exploring her connection to nature, including the role of her Hindu upbringing in that relationship and her own feeling of otherness.”

‘Underland: A Deep Time Journey’��by Robert Macfarlane

According To: Tom Zoellner, author of eight nonfiction books, including and .

“Less a physical adventure than a startling intellectual journey, invites us to become conscious of a base fact of our everyday existence: the ground we stand on conceals unseen chthonic layers,” says Tom Zoellner about Robert Macfarlane’s latest offering into underground spaces, which range from historic remnants, like nuclear waste burial chambers in Finland and the Paris Catacombs, to places that take us beyond easy��accessibility, like Norway’s sea caves.��“Macfarlane is like John Wesley Powell without the suntan, taking us on a psychological spelunking odyssey,”��Zoellner��adds.��

Why We Need This Now: As the world has seemingly shrunk during the pandemic, the idea of exploring our subterranean offerings gives a whole new meaning to appreciating our backyards. “Macfarlane gives us reasons to look deeper into pedestrian landscapes—not just the picturesque ones—and the language we use to make sense of them,”��Zoellner��says.

‘Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon��Through North America’s Stolen Land’��by Noé Alvarez

According To: Maggie Shipstead, author of three books, including and the forthcoming (May��2021).

A quest for connection—to the land and his ancestors—is at the heart of the running journey that Noé Alvarez takes readers on over the course of . “The route [that Alvarez ran] was designed to pass through as many tribal lands as possible, and he found himself running alone on gravel roads or simple trails crossing through mountains, rainforest, punishing desert, volcanic moonscape, and sometimes urban centers, contemplating the relationship between Native peoples and the land taken from them,” explains��Maggie Shipstead, whose own travelogue, set for release next May, also examines the connections forged on a journey across time (Prohibition through modern day) and place (America, New Zealand, and England).��

Why We Need This Now: “Alvarez is the child of Mexican migrants who endured decades of back-breaking labor [in Yakima, Washington] to make ends meet, and he weaves his parents’��stories into his account of the run, as well as those of the other [Indigenous] runners, many of whom have led crushingly difficult lives. For a lot of us, 2020 has been a year of grappling with the cruelties of the American system while also trying to make sense of mass suffering, and Alvarez’s memoir—deeply personal and moving in its rawness—does both,”��Shipstead��says.

‘The New Wilderness’��by Diane Cook��

According To: Rahawa Haile, author of the forthcoming ��(2022).

In her memoir about the Appalachian Trail,��set for release in 2021, Rahawa Haile shares her experience of finding herself anew in wild frontiers. Diane Cook’s does the same for its female protagonists who are fighting for their survival. “The New Wilderness is a speculative novel involving a group of people who seek refuge in the last remaining wilderness when the air in the city is deemed too toxic for children,” explains Haile about the buzzy dystopian debut. “It’s an exhilarating and immersive work, centered on a mother and daughter, that deftly jumps between the physical and interpersonal challenges faced by those who have left everything behind for a chance at struggling anew.”��

Why We Need This Now: The book’s focus on the necessity of working with our neighbors—even those with whom we don’t share a similar life experience—to preserve the planet is timely. According to Haile, “This book is perfect for anyone who spent 2020 cooped up at home due to the pandemic while nursing a healthy anxiety about the climate crisis. If you wish to lose yourself in a story about the natural world set in the long-term consequences of unchecked extractive industries, this is your novel.”

‘Eat the Buddha’��by Barbara Demick

According��To: Monisha Rajesh, author of .

A trip to North Korea introduced Monisha Rajesh to��Barbara��Demick’s Nothing to Envy, which she describes as “a gripping examination of the so-called hermit kingdom through the voices of six defectors.” In , Demick uses that same ability to turn out a “fair and measured narrative” to Tibet. “This time, she’s pieced together stories told by Tibetans from Ngaba County in China to shed light on the struggles that have taken place since China occupied Tibet [in 1950],” Rajesh explains. “Tracing and tracking down hundreds of eyewitnesses to events between 1958 to present day, she has conducted exhaustive interviews that allow her to recreate everything from the smell of burning villages and the screams of tortured grandparents to softer moments of salty yak butter glistening in tea.” Rajesh, who also visited Tibet by train for her own book, appreciated Demick’s even-handed approach. “We see the raw untouched land pre-invasion and witness the destruction of the natural surroundings as time goes on.”

Why We Need This Now: “Demick presents a nuanced take, explaining that many Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, were initially open to Chinese assistance when it came to improving the lives of Tibetans, but not to the point that their culture and religion should be eroded,” says Rajesh about current-day . “This book is a very relevant read that��sheds light on the way in which minorities are perceived and treated by the Chinese government and the reasons behind [their persecution],”��Rajesh adds.

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Never underestimate the lure of an escape, especially in trying times. Road trips are on the rise. Local travel is more popular than ever. And bucket-list planning is once again in full swing.

Ready for the travel resurgence are a new class of guidebooks geared toward��travelers hungry for more meaningful trips in the future. While��such publications��celebrate destinations, they also shine the light on��subjects like politics, history, culture, and race,��making readers��the informed people we should be when we visit.

From a��city guidebook publisher branching out to national parks to a new Kevin Costner–narrated app��featuring��forgotten stories of��the West, these five releases are taking the act of travel into a whole new age.

The Deep Thinker: Wildsam National-Parks Series

The idea: Why base an entire guide on one viewpoint when you can have up to 20 different perspectives covering everything from overlooked history to land rights? From the publisher of these cult-favorite city and road-trip guides comes this ($20 each). “I wanted a book that felt like the magic of a place,” says founder and editor-in-chief Taylor Bruce. To do that, he sought to replace the “dry, exhaustive, and disposable” guidebooks with something that feels more in tune with the holistic nature of how people experience these popular American destinations.

The difference: The series reimagines the genre with compact and beautifully bound titles that will delight slow-travel fans. Essential details and logistics are shared up front, but interviews and stories turn each��book from an information delivery system to an intriguing read. Expect insights from locals who know the parks well and highlight their complexities.

The Grand Canyon edition, which came out��in July, includes interviews with people impacted by the landscape: environmentalist Jack Pongyesva speaks to how tourism has often meant exclusion for the area’s��Hopi,��landscape painter shares how living 16 miles from the South Rim for more than 30 years shaped his work,��and cultural astronomer chronicles his experiences studying the impact of constellations on Native culture. Essays and poems help establish an intimate sense of place.

Must have:��Pair the national-parks guides with Wildsam’s .

The Modern Remake: ‘The��ABC Travel Green Book’

The idea: Between the 1930s and 1960s, Victor Hugo Green’s The Negro Traveler’s Green Book offered African Americans safe routes through places where racist ideas and Jim Crow laws held sway. This , released in August, takes it a step further with the goal of connecting��African diaspora travelers to Black communities, businesses, and more around the world ($25 for the paperback; $10 for the��e-book).

The difference:��This comprehensive guidebook by , president of the , provides extensive listings for everything from Black-owned hotels to Black . Expect to find annotations of personal or reported insights, like how Lewis felt as one of few Black visitors she encountered on a trip to��Iceland, and tips, such as where to get your hair braided in South Korea. From sharing information about��Afro-Ecuadorians communities in South America to Black expat groups in Amsterdam, the book also offers a path to��connection and fills a gap for an often overlooked segment of travelers.

“It’s connecting us back to our roots,” explains Lewis. Unlike guidebooks centered around a��white explorer experience, The ABC Travel Green Book takes a different approach. “The Spanish and French weren’t the only people exploring the earth. Africans were, too, and this book helps us celebrate that, in places people wouldn’t normally think Black people are.”

Next up:��Lewis is working on an app, set to launch next year,��that will��make it even easier to take the information with you as you get back out there.

The Intuitive Storyteller: HearHere

The idea: Inspired by the joy that cofounder and former North Face president Bill Werlin had as a child traveling through Colorado while his grandfather narrated along the way, this GPS-generated shares stories��related to where you are at any given moment. Your phone’s navigational system��and a tailored list of interests combine to bring the forgotten��accounts��of the places you’re driving through to you as you go (from $7 for a weeklong subscription).

The difference:��Unlike audio guides that solely focus on location, these��narratives about people and popular culture will likely attract travelers who weren’t guidebook purchasers in the past. “Where a guidebook will help you learn about the place that you are visiting, HearHere is all about exploring��the history and land you’re traveling through,” explains Woody Sears, its cofounder and CEO. “Think of HearHere as bringing to life the historical markers you pass every day on the highway.” The��audio guides��launched in August with entries��for three states (California, Oregon, and Washington)��but more than 10,000 tales,��covering all 50 states, are planned for release by summer 2021.

Simply prioritize your favorite topics from a list of predefined interests (including history, sports, colorful characters, and natural wonders) in the app before heading out on your road trip. Every time you arrive��in a destination with a story that��matches your preferences, you’ll get a notification on your phone. From former basketball legend Phil Jackson narrating the history of the Beartooth Highway as you make your way into Yellowstone National Park to a profile on��groundbreaking Danish photographer Benedicte Wrensted and the Shoshone people she photographed in Idaho, the stories are both entertaining and informative.

Fun fact: Actor Kevin Costner is an investor and narrates some of the entries.

The Community Connector: CrushGlobal’s Road-Trip Guides

The idea: Unlike a typical guidebook that offers recommendations by category, this new series of (from $30) presents travelers with a fully outlined, researched, and scheduled route, complete with directions and COVID-19 protocols. It also��highlights Black- and people-of-color-owned businesses��along the way.

The difference: “Guidebooks I’ve read in the past often felt outdated and didn’t speak the language that appeals to me or my travel interests,” says founder��Kristin Braswell. “Travel is not one-size-fits-all, and guidebooks should reflect that.” For Braswell, the confluence of an uptick in road-trip interest this summer and her desire to make domestic travel experiences more inclusive were the driving forces behind these itineraries. “When the demands for more allyship and visibility in both the travel industry and beyond really started to become louder this year, I decided to create a business model that would allow people to support an initiative that helps put revenue into the hands of Black-owned businesses around the country, and to diversify one of the oldest American traditions, the road trip, into a travel experience that is inclusive for all people,” she says.

The by-region series provides intel on everything from where to sleep (usually a choice of two researched options in each location along the route) to what to eat (like the best soul food in Atlanta). Along with taking the guesswork out of trips, the goal is to drive revenue back into the hands of people in the tourism industry, from guides to chefs, who have been impacted by the instability of 2020.

Book it: A is also available.

The Underrepresented Amplifier: Hello Ranger Community

https://youtube.com/watch?v=h8kVA7YrX-8

The idea: Last year, Bradley and Matt Kirouac were the cohosts of the , which documented their journey of becoming full-time RVers who traveled across the country to visit national parks. When that came to an end, due to the pandemic, the couple decided to take their love for national parks in a new direction—well, more like three directions. In May, they launched the ��as a resource created by and for the national-park-loving community, with a focus on underrepresented voices and issues. By mid-June, they’d also launched a reimagined version of their original��podcast. Then, in September, they added a social app that allows users to share stories, photos, and memories and connect with like-minded members.

The difference: What sets the Kirouacs��apart is the diverse nature of their community:��oft-ignored voices get megaphones��on important people and issues, with stories that range from��what it’s like ��to how Black outdoor leaders are . “NPS is to help you #FindYourPark, ours is to help you #FindYourAmbassador,” the site reads. Contributors are those ambassadors, and they represent different areas of expertise, from service topics like and RVing to important subjects like visiting parks with a disability.

Extra reading: As a gay couple, setting off across the country after spending more than a decade in Chicago presented , but��it didn’t take long for the Kirouacs to find a sense of belonging.

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