Public Lands
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Shaun White has been the face of snowboarding for two decades. So what’s he doing in retirement?
At Boyce Bouldering Park, you don’t need a pricey membership or an exhaustive gear list to send—all it takes is grit and a pair of sneakers
The North Dakota governor has promoted outdoor recreation in his state. Opponents worry about his connection to the oil and gas industry.
The state has a bounty of BLM land with ample outdoor recreation opportunities. But if the state’s attorney general has his way, Utah would wrest back control of millions of those acres.
Petting bison, cooking food in geysers. Ride along with our writer on a wild trip to our nation’s most iconic national park at the height of tourist season to see all the bad behavior.
A reader and their partner recently squared off over the $10 cancellation fees on campground reservations
San Gabriel Mountains and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monuments in California will now include land sacred to local Indigenous people, increase equitable outdoor access in Los Angeles, and protect habitat for endangered species
From supported campgrounds to dispersed areas with stellar stargazing, we found the best places to sleep outside in the Rocky Mountains
A new Public Lands Rule will mandate a focus on landscape health, conservation, and recreation
ϳԹ's ethics columnist faces a dilemma in his own life
Throughout the lower 48, recreational bush pilots are using their nimble planes and social media influence to spread the word about bold frontiers in flight: touching down on remote federal lands, flocking to little-used runways in designated wilderness, and drag racing one another for pure sport. Their capstone event each season, the High Sierra Fly-In, never fails to deliver hair-raising thrills.
To celebrate National Public Lands Day on September 23, the secretary of the interior reminds readers why protecting public lands is so important
Over eight million acres of public lands are gridlocked by private property. When a group of hunters jumped from one plot of federal land to another, they ignited a debate around just how much a landowner can control.
As extreme temperatures blaze across the nation, parks are taking extra measures to keep visitors safe
When a court struck down the public’s right to wild camp in Dartmoor National Park in January, hikers lost the only place in England where they could dispersed camp without getting the owner’s permission first. Now, an appeals court has given it back to them.
It’s becoming harder to find a slice of nature all to yourself. But there are plenty of secluded sweet spots around the country if you know where to look. From national monuments and lakeshores to forests and scenic waterways, here are some stunning, uncrowded wildlands that are definitely worth exploring.
We talked to one of America’s best young writers about race and culture. The subject was an essay that helped fundamentally change our understanding of the challenges that historically marginalized people face in the outdoors.
No commands, rules, or directives here. Just a gentle nudge towards something truly lovely.
A recent survey of employee satisfaction returned abysmal scores for the NPS
And what about charging people to climb that mountain? ϳԹ’s ethics guru weighs in.
President Carter added protections to more than 157 million acres of public land and created 39 total national park units
We’re witnessing a monumental shift in federal land management
Three figures are working to initiate change in public-lands leadership after four years of decline and mismanagement under the previous administration
With increasing decriminalization efforts underway, here’s what it would take to legalize weed on public lands
Sorry for sending the crowds your way, but sharing special places in the outdoors is my job, and if it’s done right, it’s for the greater good
These places get our vote as the most important to protect
The Dick’s Sporting Goods spinoff is expanding fast
To control mass tourism, the National Park Service is working on solutions, like its reservation system. We tourists need to do our part, too. Here’s how.
Western national parks like Yellowstone, Zion, and Joshua Tree are among our most iconic, but it’s the journeys road-tripping in between them that provide the greatest opportunities for adventure. From Montana to Southern California, here’s how to make the most of this itinerary and avoid the crowds.
You don’t need a reservation to pitch a tent at these free and dispersed camping areas on public land, from empty beaches to lush forests to hot springs. Go, enjoy, and pledge to leave the place in better shape than you found it.
“In short, FICOR will make the outdoors more accessible, equitable, and positive to more Americans.”
Acadia, in Maine, woos visitors with hikes that overlook the Atlantic Ocean, bike rides along historic carriage roads, and some awesome lobster rolls
On June 21, the BLM, U.S. Forest Service, and Five Tribes of the Intertribal Coalition signed a cooperative management agreement for Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument. It marks a shift in our history at a time when we’ve never needed to collaborate more.
We’re for an official mandate: make this the season of long weekends. To help you out, we found the most fun new summer adventures.
Almost 9.5 million acres in 13 western states are permanently inaccessible to the general public because they're surrounded by private land. BLM director Tracy Stone-Manning wants to keep chipping away at them, acre by acre.
ϳԹ’s ethics guru ponders what exactly is up for grabs on public lands
Mother Nature’s most bizarre wonders are created by all-real natural effects
The American Southwest hasn’t been this dry in 1,200 years. The region’s water supply—and entire energy infrastructure—is at stake.
Our national parks are overcrowded, especially in summer. One solution is to create more of them. Here are the regions that get our votes.
This cliff-hugging stretch of U.S Highway 550 is dotted with scenic mountain towns filled with hiking trails, brewpubs, and hot springs
It’s not easy being a progressive who works for a middle-of-the-road president. Mark Sundeen sizes up the interior secretary’s first year in office—which has been a disappointment to climate-change activists—and decides she’s most likely to make a mark through a historic reckoning over the U.S. government’s shameful running of Native American boarding schools.
The ‘wiwinu,’ or huckleberry, is a traditional food for the Indigenous Warm Springs tribe of north-central Oregon
Today the Tongass is the last national forest in the United States where old-growth trees are clear-cut
Yes, things are very bad, but there are some glimmers of hope for making meaningful progress
BLM’s first confirmed director in five years talks about access, equity, and the future of public land in the West
Whether you want to explore public or private lands, these maps demonstrate landownership lines for the entire U.S.
Visit 12 of America’s best-loved national parks on this cross-country national-park train loop
Pursue your favorite activities with color-coded trails in Gaia GPS’s U.S. Forest Service roads and trails layer
The past year showed us all that having access to the outdoors is essential for our health and well-being. It also magnified the inequities inherent in that access. For 2021’s Best Towns package, we chose 13 of the country’s most diverse places and evaluated them according to the factors that matter today: sustainability, affordability, and outdoor equity. Here are the cities of tomorrow.
President Biden just restored the national monument’s boundaries. Now it’s time for deeper healing and restorative justice for the region’s Indigenous people.
Meet the companies making rad products and empowering communities
Three days before Indigenous People’s Day, President Biden reversed the largest attack on public lands in recent history
A few years ago, I was a vocal proponent of the outdoor industry incorporating Indigenous land acknowledgments as standard business practice. As it’s become more common, my perspective has evolved.
And what it means for the future of America’s public lands
OBJ got a behind-the-scenes look at the grand opening of Public Lands, the new retail concept from Dick's Sporting goods, in Pennsylvania
Can I cut switchbacks? What about smoking on the trail? And what do I do with all those rocks?
Knowledgeable and friendly rangers aren’t just found in our national parks
Public lands have become more trodden and restrictive, but the pandemic-era craziness might not last
The nonprofit Native Skywatchers has spent more than a decade collecting and preserving Indigenous star knowledge. Now organizations like NASA and the NPS are joining the movement.
Our ethics columnist weighs in on balancing conservation and enjoyment
Deschutes National Forest offers year-round adventure to a wide variety of outdoor enthusiasts
In ‘Camping Grounds,’ Phoebe S.K. Young reminds us that sleeping outdoors is far more than just a recreational hobby
A few choice words on how to not be an A-hole on the trail
In this episode of Straight Talk, Todd Spaletto reveals new details about Public Lands, the new conservation retail concept launching from Dick's Sporting Goods this summer
Dispersed camping is getting less dispersed. Our ethics columnist weighs in on whether you need to share.
Here’s how President Biden plans to address climate change, pollution, and public lands in the greatest detail we’ve seen so far
We need more access to public lands. Reclaiming damaged landscapes like old mines and former nuclear sites can be a powerful part of the answer.
A shortage of places to camp is hurting the environment and limiting diversity in the outdoors. But there are some innovative solutions on the table.
A wild place—and an American ideal—are heading for destruction. We can stop it now.
Pet adoptions spiked during the pandemic. Now is the time to change outdoor dog culture for the benefit of people, public lands, wildlife, and the dogs themselves.
This is just the kickoff to a ten-year plan to protect more land, water, and wildlife
The more we learn an incomplete fairytale of Indigenous peoples and our history in this country, the more we perpetuate acts of ethnocide, like the ones we’ve seen in recent weeks in southern Utah
Your bucket list should go beyond national parks. This decision tree will help you find lesser known locations with half the crowds.
Our country’s open spaces are a sanity-saving antidote for this writer
The new secretary of the interior shares her plans to listen to historically underrepresented communities and address deferred maintenance projects—plus, what makes a national park her favorite
The upshot of only traveling domestically for the past year? We’ve gotten to know our 615 million acres of federal public lands better than ever. And with new parks and designations on the horizon, there will be even more ways to get off the beaten path for adventure.