As the cold settles in, we’re thinking about those places we know will have sun, blue skies, warm turquoise waters, and amazing adventures all winter long. Start dreaming and maybe scheming. We’ve made it easy for you by choosing the top 10 places to go, along with the best things to do there. See you on the beach.

Hike Coast-to-Coast in Costa Rica

Since Costa Rica became the spokesmodel for ecotourism in the 1990s, its natural treasures—the cloud forests of Monte Verde, the gently active Arenal volcano—have attracted millions of visitors every year. But you can still escape the crowds. a 174-mile trail stretching between the Caribbean and the Pacific, was completed in 2018 and showcases largely untrodden parts of the country, like the coffee-growing region of Tarrazú and the Indigenous territory of Nairi Awari.

Funded by the nonprofit Mar a Mar Association, the 16-stage route spans four provinces and half a dozen or more microclimates; borders protected areas; and passes through remote villages, Native lands, and more than 20 towns that receive little benefit from conventional tourism. Trekkers can eat with locals in their homes and sleep in family-run lodges, campsites, or boutique hotels set on farms with hot springs.

Expect to hike between four and twenty-four miles per stage, cross rivers, and do plenty of up and down—more than 70 percent of the route is hilly, with a peak elevation of upward of 19,000 feet. If you push the pace, you can complete the whole thing in 11 days. But if time permits, allot 16 days so you can tack on experiences like whitewater rafting the Pacuare River or visiting the Pacuare Nature Reserve’s turtle hatchery.

You could technically go it alone, but given the trail’s isolation, a guide is advisable. Five local outfitters, including Urri Trek and Ticos a Pata, operate group and individual trips, and their naturalist guides will school you in the unique flora and fauna, like purple tibouchina flowers, massive guanacaste trees, glasswing butterflies, and broad-billed hummingbirds. —Jen Murphy

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In early June three years ago, waiting in line for a table at Flyers Bar and Grill on a marina in St. Croix, I looked on in amazement as a group of kayakers gathered at the waterfront for a tour. Watching them paddle off into the dusk, I wondered what was so interesting that people would skip dinner in exchange for insect bites and navigating barely visible waters. Bioluminescence was not yet a word in my vocabulary.

I’ve since warmed right up to nighttime sights outdoors, having witnessed the Northern Lights dancing in Iceland or the Milky Way above a remote cabin in New Hampshire. While I had begun experimenting with astrophotography during a 2018 trip to Virgin Islands National Park, these once haphazard sessions have now become a full-fledged hobby.

If my growing fascination with the natural world after sundown has taught me anything, it’s that the night sky offers endless adventure. Our national and state parks and other organizations are working to protect dark skies and host events to engage people of all ages and abilities to see nighttime landscapes, nocturnal critters, and to stargaze and contemplate UFOs.

The park nighttime activities below offer curious minds a chance to explore moonlit paths and bays that glow.

1. Stargazing and UFOs

Trade an evening of Netflix for a chance to gaze at galaxies and be reminded that, like those stars above you, earth is just a tiny dot. The big question is: could it really be the only life-supporting dot?

Learn About the Cosmos—and UFOs—at Joshua Tree National Park, California

There’s a lot to marvel about in Joshua Tree National Park, known for its lunar landscapes and energy vortices. Located in the Morongo Basin, a hotbed for claims of UFO sightings, and a certified International Dark Sky Park site, Joshua Tree regularly attracts stargazers and truth seekers. In fact, it’s the 2013 birthplace of the annual Contact in the Desert Conference, the “Woodstock of UFO conferences,” which draws thousands of attendees.

Though the conference has since moved to Indian Wells, California, you can still seek signs of extraterrestrial life while in Joshua Tree by joining a 90-minute Stargazing and UFO Tour run by ($150) using Gen 3 military-grade night-vision binoculars. This technology delivers an even more captivating stargazing experience than is available to the naked eye, so you can see stars, nebulas, planets, and distant galaxies in a way that far surpasses what was observable even to our ancestors gazing at pitch-black skies a thousand years ago.

Attend a Star Party at Glacier National Park, Montana

Far from the brightness of big cities, Glacier is a go-to destination for visitors who not only want to see the Milky Way but also the elusive northern lights, visible any time of year but especially September through April.��Also an International Dark Sky Park,��Glacier embraces its role as a steward of the night sky.��Events like are held every year to make visitors aware of the ecological and cultural importance of dark skies, offering a chance to gaze at our galaxies through high-powered telescopes while learning about the solar system from park rangers, astronomers, and members of the Big Sky Astronomy Club.

Star parties are held on select summer nights from 10 P.M. until midnight and cost $5 per vehicle (in addition to the park entrance fee). Unable to attend? See the above link for other astronomy programs in the park throughout the year.

2. Bioluminescence

If you don’t believe in magic, you’ve never witnessed the blue-green glow of microorganisms in a dark saltwater bay.

Paddle a See-Through Kayak in the Salt River Bay, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Enjoy one of nature’s most wondrous displays with a glass-bottom kayak tour of one of St. Croix’s bioluminescent bays.��Salt River Bay National Historic Site and Ecological Preserve, which for two millennia served as an entry point for Indigenous people and colonizers, is home to one of just seven full-time bioluminescent bays in the world.�� tour ($55) sets out at dusk and heads about three-quarters of a mile past the mangroves to Salt River Bay, where kayakers paddle around in amazement, watching as the water disturbance triggers a chemical reaction in plankton known as dinoflagellates, which light up beneath them. Children ages eight and up (who must be accompanied by an adult) are welcome to explore these rare ecosystems. No prior kayaking experience is necessary.

Paddle the Magical Waters of Castine Harbor, Maine

Combine time in the quaint seaside town of Castine with an epic evening adventure exploring what local tour operator Castine Kayak ���ϳԹ���s refers to as a “floating planetarium”—a bioluminescent bay located just one hour from Acadia National Park. These waters—located between the Penobscot and Bagaduce waterways—are off the radar for most tourists, and offer an awe-inspiring glow, thanks to the nutrient-rich silt floor of Castine Harbor.

An hour after sundown, visitors can join on a tour ($90) that leaves from the harbor to watch these waters come to life. Children ages ten and older are welcome (and must be accompanied by an adult), and prior kayaking experience is recommended as tidal currents can be strong. For first-timers, the company offers a day-and-night kayak package ($155) from May through mid-October for those who would prefer to learn paddling basics in the daylight.

Note: To protect these fragile ecosystems for future generations, participants are asked to avoid the use of bug spray, deodorant, perfume, or sunscreen out of an abundance of caution, as they often contain harmful chemicals that kill the bioluminescence.

3. Night Hikes

Whether you’re interested in a moonlit stroll or one in the darkness of the new moon, exploring at night affords a different experience of landscape viewss.

Follow the Ram Head Trail in Virgin Islands National Park, St. John

This 2.3-mile out-and-back trail on a peninsula in Virgin Islands National Park covers mostly exposed terrain, with the sound of crashing waves. You’ll have expansive views across sea and sky as you approach the Ram Head, a rocky abutment at the trail terminus, to watch the moonrise over the endless horizon. This hike is self-guided and does not require prior registration, so take extra precautions. The peninsula has some small rocky cliffs, so stay on the trail, bring a headlamp or flashlight, and consider a daytime familiarization hike.

Hike Under the Full Moon in White Sands National Park, New Mexico

This monthly ranger-led hike shows off the �貹����’s famous white sands illuminated under the light of the moon. Hikers cast shadows onto the bright landscape as they follow the 1.3-long, moderately difficult Dune Life Nature Trail loop, an adventure that can last up to two hours round trip. The path is initially flat but then ascends up the steep sand dunes—a boost in difficulty eased by listening to the guide’s tales about the park. Guests must , and ticket sales open up two months before each scheduled hike. Cost is $8 (or $4 for children under 15), not including the park-entry fee.

Hike Under the New Moon in the Valley of Fire, Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park offers monthly guided or self-guided new-moon hikes (see the guided here, although hikes may not be published until about a week ahead, or check on a rotating array of trails. Located an hour northeast of Las Vegas, the �貹����’s red-rock landscapes are obscured at night, but the setting offers a reprieve from the bright lights of the Strip in exchange for a wander under the Milky Way. Hikes start at 6:30 P.M. and distances range from one to two and a half miles. These excursions are family-friendly and open to all ages. A red-light flashlight is suggested to safely navigate the trails without impairing your night vision, and expect to pay a $15 park fee ($10 for Nevada residents).

See Twilight in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

This guided three-hour mountaintop amble through Shenandoah National Park’s Big Meadow sets out at the golden hour and ends under the stars. Watch the colors of sunset erupt across the sky as an expert guide identifies signs of wildlife and points out seasonal plants. Twilight hikes ($25) run from May through August and are scheduled in . Each covers about one mile round trip, with frequent stops for discussions of unique flora and fauna. All ages and abilities are welcome. Preregistration is required, and the fee does not include park admission.

Stay safe on nighttime hikes with Gaia GPS maps for and (recent excursions include Fire Wave and White Domes Loop).

4. Nighttime Nature Tours

Discover creatures that roam the night and other wonders that otherwise lie hidden.

Tour El Yunque Rainforest, Puerto Rico

While many visitors to the island are heading out for dinner and drinks to wrap the day, the nocturnal residents of the El Yunque Rainforest are only just starting up. For the richest wildlife experience here, visit in the evening, as 60 percent of its inhabitants are nocturnal. A guided evening walk with ($55) departs close to sunset and ends just after dark. With expert help, you’ll be able to identify various species of tree frogs, glimpse screech owls, and see scorpions and tarantulas just before they scurry into the shadows. Expect to be out for two and a half hours and cover minimal ground (about three-quarters of a mile out-and-back).

Go Yooperlite Hunting in the��Upper Peninsula, Michigan

What in the world is a Yooperlite, and why should you care?��Two words: glowing rocks.�� Discovered by Erik Rintamaki in 2017, Yooperlites are syenite rocks rich in the fluorescent mineral sodalite, which causes them to glow neon shades of orange and yellow at night when subjected to UV light.��No two rocks are the same. Some are merely speckled with the luminescent mineral, while others display brilliant patterns or emit an all-over radiance.��Rintamaki offers on select dates from July through October along Lake Superior to hunt for Yooperlites, which you otherwise might overlook as eemingly ordinary gray rocks.

Watch Synchronous Fireflies at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina

These magical summertime creatures come in a variety of species, some of which even have the ability to synchronize their flashing patterns. One of the few viewing spots on earth to observe synchronous fireflies is Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the Elkmont area near the Little River and Jakes Creek Trailheads, which are temporarily closed off to ordinary visitation. An annual is held in April for permits for people in 960 cars over eight nights to witness the only American species of synchronous firefly during its brief annual appearance. The lottery costs $1 and allows applicants to select two potential viewing dates. Those people selected are automatically charged $24 and assigned a specific evening to view the fireflies between late May and mid-June.

Search for Scorpions in Maricopa County, Arizona

Scorpions are known as fearsome, venomous creatures to avoid. So it might come as a surprise that various parks around this county, which contains the state capital of Phoenix, hold summertime events where families can go looking for the pincered predators. Sound unsettling? Rest assured that scorpions are far more likely to run from humans than sting them, and that people are unlikely to die from scorpion venom.

To take part in these outings, join rangers at Lost Dutchman State Park, in Apache Junction, or McDowell Mountain Regional Park, in Fountain Hills, on select summer nights ($5).��Bring your own flashlight to illuminate the path, as well as a black light to spot the tiny scorpions scurrying through the dirt (the UV light gives them a fluorescent green glow).��To find an upcoming scorpion hunt, check the Lost Dutchman State Park , or head to the Maricopa County Regional Parks and select the Animals filter on the events calendar.

Author Bio: Always a lover of quiet and fresh evening air, Theresa McKinney (see ) has a growing appreciation for the night sky. In annual trips to Virgin Islands National Park, she has expanded her adventure repertoire from snorkeling and hiking to include late-night astrophotography sessions and pitch-black beach walks. On her second visit to Iceland, she proudly achieved her bucket-list goal of seeing the northern lights.

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Taking an island vacation doesn’t have to mean splurging on some ritzy all-inclusive resort. You can grab your tent and get away from it all for a fraction of the cost year-round. Even better, the winter season on these U.S. islands has a different feel, marked by diminished crowds, an abundance of waterfront space, and a quiet beauty.

I love camping on islands, especially those with empty beaches. In honor of National Camp Day, on November 19, I’ve compiled a list of nine U.S. island destinations that beckon with warm weather and plenty of outdoor adventure.

1. Santa Rosa Campground
Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California

($15) is nestled in a beautiful valley on the northeast side of Santa Rosa Island, the second-largest island in this national park, just 50 miles off the Southern California coast. Book your passage over with (from $55 one-way), which leaves from Ventura Harbor. The ferry will drop you off at the pier, and from there it’s an easy 1.5-mile hike to the campground, which offers potable water and modern bathrooms.

Each of the 15 sites has a wind shelter, which is key this time of year, as gusts can whip through the valley. I’m speaking from experience—you want to pitch your tent behind that shelter. But even a windy night is worth waking up to the sound of the Pacific crashing on the beach below the nearby cliffs, and the sunrises are spectacular—book sites one through four for the best views.

I recommend fishing or diving for your supper from the bay by the pier; although 20 percent of the �貹����’s waters are marine-protected areas, fishing is allowed everywhere else in accordance with state (permits from $9). During my trip here, it was easy to collect overpopulated urchin and spear rockfish.

Hikers can enjoy the island’s many trails, which range from a mile to 28 miles, and keep an eye out for the adorable foxes—I counted 14 when I was there!—one of the �貹����’s 281 endemic species.

2.��Cinnamon Bay Beach and Campground
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park

Kick it in the Caribbean when you bunk at the only in U.S. Virgin Islands National Park. Visitors can choose from a variety of tent sites ($50) or cottages ($285) December through April and pop in to the on-site Rain Tree Café for options like smoothies or food to go. This is a paradise that begs exploration by land and by sea; take to the more than 20 trails in the park, some leading to petroglyphs and an old sugar mill, or rent snorkeling gear at the campground and spend hours swimming the island’s turquoise waters and coral reefs home to some 400 species.

3. Cannabis Farm and Greenhouse Garden
Mountain View, Big Island, Hawaii

Campers on the eastern side of the Big Island can choose between two unique sites at this forest —next to the cannabis grove or within the greenhouse deck ($45 for two people per night). Enjoy hot outdoor showers, but expect to pay for electricity.

The host offers one-hour cannabis tours ($50 for two people), surf lessons ($75), and customizable island tours. Or head off on your own to explore the nearby Wao Kele o Puna rainforest, sacred home of the goddess Pele as well as native habitat to the endangered apapane and akohekohe birds. The hot spot of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is also just ten miles away.

4. A Gulf Coast Island Retreat
Gibsonton, Florida

Now’s your chance to cosplay Robinson Crusoe: an with four campsites is available to rent in the middle of the Alafia River, about a 20-minute drive south of Tampa (from $65). Designed with elevated wooden platforms for your tent, an outhouse, a fire pit, and a picnic table, you pack in the essentials (including water) and pack out all your trash.

Although the island host offers shuttle service for a fee, renting one of his kayaks or canoes for the quarter-mile crossing is your best bet: you can paddle to area mangroves, catching sight of dolphins and stingrays; request a river tour; or, for a night out, tie your boat up at the across the water.

5. Stafford Beach Campground
Cumberland Island National Lakeshore, Georgia

Only 300 visitors a day are allowed on Cumberland Island, a barrier island more than twice the size of Manhattan. ($12) has ten sites and offers necessities like flush toilets, fire rings, potable water, and (cold) showers. A 45-minute from the town of St. Marys will drop you off at the pier. From there, you’ll take a 3.5-mile trail to the campground, part of a 50-plus-mile island-wide network.

Or bring your bike and cruise around with your binocs—there’s plenty of wildlife to see, including wild horses, loggerhead turtles, and alligators. Saltwater fishermen can look to hook species like catfish and crocker. Historical relics also remain an attraction; tour Dungeness Ruins, a former mansion occupied by the British in the War of 1812, and Plum Orchard, once the winter home of the Carnegie family, built at the turn of the 20th century.

6. A Private Horse Farm
Saint Helena Island, South Carolina

This 70-acre , set on the property of Camelot Farms Equestrian Center, is a working farm once part of the Coffin Point Plantation. Its five sites ($15) rest between two ponds below a grove of oak trees, potable water is available from a spigot, and campfires and pets are permitted. (There are no bathrooms.)

with the farm ($100), or head three miles down the road to (from $5), the filming location for Forrest Gump’s Vietnam War scenes, where birders can check oystercatchers and yellow-rumped warblers off their list this time of year, hikers can enjoy more than nine miles of trails, and anglers can rent a rod and reel and try their luck at the end of a renovated pier or along the shore.

7. Bird Island Basin Campground
Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

Bird Island Basin’s steady wind and warm shallows qualify it as one of the best windsurfing spots in the country. You can pitch your tent at one of the first-come, first-served sites ($8, plus a $25 vehicle entrance fee) along Laguna Madre and then make the easy two-minute walk to for a windsurfing class (from $70) or to rent kayaking or paddleboarding gear.

If you’re there for the birds—plenty are, as it’s located on the Central Flyway—winter sees thousands migrating through the area, and the double-crested cormorant and snowy egret. Aficionados might tack on ’ six-to-eight-hour birding tour ($600 for up to four people). Come prepared with food and firewood, as the nearest stores are 12 miles away.

8. Rainforest Camping
Utuado, Puerto Rico

Leave the mainland behind for this ($30) in the mountains 90 minutes southwest of San Juan. Ask the host for a map of the property when you arrive and hit the trails in search of waterfalls. Amenities include an outdoor shower, a bathroom with hot water, fire pits, and potable water. There’s also a on the property ($59), and breakfast and dinner can be ordered for an additional fee.

Up for an eco-adventure? Host-led tours include hiking, exploring subterranean rivers, caving and more. Or venture into the town of Utuado for rappelling, river caving, and horseback riding on a coffee farm,��or to visit the pictographs and stone monoliths of Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park,��an ancestral site of the native Taínos.

9. Kahua Lehua (Hoomaluhia)
Oahu, Hawaii

A campsite within Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden? And just nine miles from the island’s beloved Lanikai Beach and 12 miles from central Honolulu? Yes, please! At Kahua Lehua ($32), you’ll have access to the sprawling 400-acre property, which features plants from major tropical regions around the globe as well as those indigenous to Hawaii.

Birders can request its garden-specific checklist, which includes local species like the Pacific golden plover and black-crowned night heron. Five campsites are available (each can accommodate groups of up to ten) and offer picnic tables and fire circles. The required permit is available for purchase two weeks ahead of time, so be ready to book—this place is popular.

Alexandra Gillespie is a travel writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic,��Scuba Diving, and NPR. She lives in Southern California, where she spends much of her free time shore diving.

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Whether you’re seeking a warm weather escape or a quick Rockies ski trip, there’s a deal for you. Here are the airlines with some of the best fares this Cyber Monday.

JetBlue Airlines��

Sale Ends: December 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET or your local time, depending on which comes earlier.��
Travel Dates: December 10 to February 13, holidays excluded

This winter, JetBlue wants to help get you out of New York and other major cities. Scoop up the $109 flight to Phoenix, Arizona, for a weekend of canyoneering and desert exploration; or spend just $79 to get to the prime surf spots, coastal rock climbing, and jungle treks just outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is seeing a major comeback following Hurricane Maria.��

�ٱ���ٲ���

Sale Ends: December 4 at 11:59 p.m. ET
Travel Dates: Now through March 5, holidays excluded

The airline's sale page has deals on flights from almost every major airport in the country and is easy to navigate, with routes arranged according to region of departure. All the listed prices are for round-trips and guarantee a seat in the Main Cabin, which means certain perks on international flights, including welcome Bellinis and better food. The best discounts include warm escapes like New York to Costa Rica for $392 and Raleigh to the Virgin Islands for $369. Plus some major far-flung steals, like Salt Lake City to Shanghai for $500 and Seattle to Osaka for $744.

��

Southwest

Sale Ends: December 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT
Travel Dates: December 16 to May 20, locations out of the continental U.S. vary, holidays excluded

Jot down promo code SAVE125 for $125 off flights within the U.S. and for fares as low as $39. The best deals in the offer will appeal to fliers looking to cover regional hops for a quick escape, with routes like Honolulu to Maui for $39, Atlanta to Nashville for $49, and Oakland to Lake Tahoe for $59. If you’re based in Florida, there are also good international flight deals from��Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando to Caribbean destinations like Turks and Caicos, Grand Cayman, and the Bahamas��from $79.��

��

Alaska

Sale Ends: December 4 at 11:59 p.m. ET
Travel Dates: January 7 to March 11

Alaska Airlines’ one-way flights can be as cheap as $29 until this Wednesday. The West Coast-focused flight operator��is your best bet to hit popular destinations like San Diego, San Jose and Seattle.

Cathay Pacific

Sale Ends: December 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT��
Travel Dates:��January 1 to May 15

If you’ve longed to fly to Asia��and happen to live around major airports like Seattle-Tacoma, Chicago O’Hare, or Dulles International in Washington, D.C., this Hong Kong-based five-star flight operator has your back. Take Los Angeles as an example: economy class tickets to eight destinations across Cathay Pacifics’ Asia-Pacific network, including��Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong,��and Singapore, start at $539—30 percent off its regular price. Expect up to 70 percent off on premium economy class tickets.

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Jorge Moreno grew up bouncing between the Bronx, Puerto Rico, and Danbury, Connecticut. There were two constants in his childhood: family and basketball. While his mom, grandmother, and uncles were his role models, the center of the community was the local court, where pickup games ran all day.

“We’d show up at the courts with a team and ask, ‘Who’s got next?’ to see if anyone was waiting for the next game,” Moreno says. “You couldn’t force a team to leave. They had to lose or decide to sit the next one out, so we were forced to be patient and stay prepared for the opportunity. That’s a lot like it is in the outdoor industry.”

While Moreno didn’t start backpacking until he was 33, his love of the outdoors started as a kid. He ran trails near his home��and spent summers in Puerto Rico��always playing outside. On his very first backpacking trip, he didn’t think he’d need a tent and sleeping bag, so he didn’t pack them. On his second, he brought too much gear and suffered through a long hike with a heavy pack. Gradually, he picked up skills for these adventures, like how to start a��fire, set��up a tent, layer��for warmth, and fell in love with the activity. Still, he felt something was missing in his outdoor experience: equal opportunities for his community.��

In 2016, Moreno was working at a Patagonia retail store when he met Scott Briscoe, an equity and inclusion leader at the company, who put him in touch with a��Latinx-led��organization called . It was founded by José González in late 2013, with the mission of creating a national community of outdoor leaders. At the time, it was growing quickly but still primarily run by volunteers. National leaders were based in California, but local groups were spread across the country and given autonomy to plan their own adventures, mostly family-oriented day hikes.��

“At that point, I didn’t have the right skills and experience to lead, so I just showed up as a participant,” remembers Moreno. “My first few outings were hiking on Mount Tam and in the Marin Headlands [in the Bay Area], and I was hooked immediately.” He started helping with logistics, hanging out with families who participated, and coordinating events with California State Parks.��For three years,��he’s been volunteering��as an ambassador and regional coordinator, getting families outside on hikes and overnight trips, in addition to working as a����(NOLS) wilderness instructor and account manager, leading trips for inner-city youth. As Moreno took on more responsibilities, the organization grew with him. But its leaders want to make sure that growth continues thoughtfully, positioning the group as an influential difference maker in the outdoor industry.��

Latino Outdoors is currently active in 19 different cities and regions across the country, each with its��own program coordinator. The organization is still small in terms of paid staff, with just two full-time employees and a handful of part-time workers.��Outings like hiking, camping, biking, and kayaking��are organized by��about 90 volunteer coordinators��across the nation, some more active than others. “The beauty of Latinos and Latinas is that they help with everything,” Moreno says. “That’s the culture. Volunteering just means being a part of the community. At the time [I joined Latino Outdoors], there weren’t set roles like in other organizations—everyone shared the voice, led the talks, and did the planning together.”

Latino Outdoors��now supports its large network of volunteers by providing��programming, advice, and logistics, while still letting local coordinators make many of their own decisions. Ambassadors support the organizers by mobilizing families, guiding��hikes, sharing on social media, and attracting��new members. Together they��hosted 115 outings for 2,000 people in 2018. This year, they’re on pace to surpass that by roughly 30 percent.��

In the three years that Moreno’s been involved with Latino Outdoors, the organization has more than doubled in popularity and spread to a dozen new regions. Moreno attributes this to how easy it is to get involved. “Most of the outdoor industry likes to say that newcomers need formal training on how to go camping, but it’s not true. You’re forced to think you need a certificate or a fancy sleeping bag to go outside. Latino families have been doing this for a long time—and Latino Outdoors helps show them that.”

, the executive director of Latino Outdoors, worked abroad for 12 years��with community-development and environmental organizations.��He returned to the U.S. in 2018, hoping to share his experience in the outdoors with his community. “I came back naively thinking I was the only Latino who had had a real outdoor experience and quickly discovered that was far from the truth. Many Latinos were hiking, climbing, trail running, and backpacking,” he says. The primary goal of Latino Outdoors, he says, hasn’t changed in years: the organization wants to help foster those��connections.

In an age��when many outdoor brands and organizations are pushing toward��extremes—encouraging customers and members to climb bigger mountains, run ultramarathons, and bike and ski steeper lines—Latino Outdoors is going in the opposite direction. “We’re focused on our core efforts, and I can’t say enough how important that is for us,” says Villa. It��prioritizes inclusion and��getting more Latinx people��outdoors, whatever that means for different people. “We want to make sure the entire community knows they have access,” he��says.��“The mainstream narrative of the outdoors is people with individualistic pursuits, and that’s where we are different. Latino Outdoors is family oriented.”

While the organization��leads some larger and longer trips, it��mostly stays local. It��believes that a local park can have the same impact as a better-known national park, especially��if the whole family can come along. Ideally, at a Latino Outdoors event, you’re not just dropping your kids off for the day—the entire family participates in a shared experience and builds on that together.

In addition to getting Latinx people into parks, Latino Outdoors has begun to elevate its��voice��in the larger outdoor conversation, leveraging its social-media reach to shine a spotlight on its volunteers and the Latinx��outdoor community. Villa doesn’t shy away from the fact that the Latinx��community is among the most underrepresented voices in the larger outdoor conversation. The group is��taking steps to change that, using Latino Outdoors as a way to groom new leaders in the industry.

“Our hope is to help volunteers use the organization as a springboard for future work with outdoor and government organizations, providing professional development and growth,” says Villa. Latino Outdoors already has examples of this progression, with past volunteers moving on to positions with NOLS, the , and��,��among others. The organization gets a lot of requests for collaboration, primarily from conservation organizations looking for help with trail maintenance, removing invasive species, and policy advocacy. But organizers want families to decide for themselves how they want to get involved in conservation, especially since so many of them are new to the outdoors.��

, Latino Outdoors’ outings program director and operations manager, first volunteered as an ambassador in 2016. With a degree in recreation administration, she’s now leading this national network of coordinators and volunteers. “People traditionally excluded from the outdoors are often asked to buy into conservation before they’ve built a personal relationship with the outdoors,” explains Rodriguez. “We believe that stewardship should come naturally, at its own time. We offer healing and empowerment programming and address the wounds that come from being excluded, from entering a space not representative of your identity��and from being part of a demographic that’s been historically mistreated.”

Their next big step is expanding its��small core team, spreading out responsibilities with two or three additional full-time staff. This likely means expanding part-time roles and paying stipends to volunteer coordinators, compensating them for their dedication to the organization as it has grown over the last few years. Rodriguez��and Villa both noted that the biggest limiting factor right now is time—they both work long hours and often can’t��get everything done that they would like.����

While the organization hopes to keep growing, Villa��emphasized that that doesn’t mean significant changes to the mission of Latino Outdoors. “The priority will continue to be the outings program, getting more people outside and letting them decide for themselves how they want to engage with nature, without being overly prescriptive.”

The question for all of us in the outdoor industry is: Who’s got next? Moreno’s answer is straightforward: “There’s a wave of people in the industry excited for an opportunity to participate. These aren’t just Latinos. They are people from all over with amazing ideas. We’re not going to just push someone out. We’re going to show up every day, ready to play the game, look for the opening, and accept the challenge when it comes.”

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It’s been a hell of a last couple of years. We’ve seen devastating natural disasters domestically, with raging wildfires up and down California and flooding in the Midwest, in addition to tragedies overseas as well, from hurricanes in the Caribbean to deadly earthquakes in Indonesia and Mexico. In many of these places, hotels and historic sights are back up and running, yet visitors have been slow to return. Which is just one of the many reasons why you should go now.

Santa Rosa, California

The Tubbs Fire, which swept Sonoma County in October 2017, burned more than 5,600 buildings, many in the wine-country town of Santa Rosa, which is still in the process of rebuilding. Don’t let that stop you from going, though, as��there’s plenty of adventure to be had and good options open for business.��Sections of trails in 5,200-acre —a haven for mountain bikers and trail runners—reopened in April. After your ride, stop into the , where beer lovers wait hours once a year for pints of the cult favorite Pliny the Elder. The wine-tasting room was demolished in the fire, but��a new space is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

The mid-century-style (from $178) housed refugees displaced by the fire and now has an on-site bike-repair shop and a bicycle sommelier for all your wine and cycling needs. Or check out (from $259), which reopened in nearby Glen Ellen in August 2018 following��a ten-month renovation that updated several damaged cottages.

Mexico City

The 7.1-magnitude Puebla earthquake hit Mexico City in September 2018��and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and damage��to thousands of buildings and monuments. However, reconstruction has been steady ever since, and the city is now prime for visitors.��The third-highest peak in Mexico, the 17,170-foot Iztaccíhuatl��volcano, is just two hours from the city— leads guided trips there and takes care of transportation and lodging.��

The is opening a new property in Mexico City this year, or you can check into the����(from $175), a hip boutique hotel in an artsy corner of the country’s capital. This funky, high-elevation destination (7,382 feet above sea level) has must-see��art museums, like the Museo Frida Kahlo and the��Tamayo Museum. There’s also a thriving food scene, with some of the best street tacos on the planet.��

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Hurricanes Irma and Maria nailed the Caribbean in the fall of 2017, causing far-reaching destruction and fatalities. The island of Puerto Rico is on its way back to its��former self. Take a surf lesson, go snorkeling off a catamaran, or kayak at night in a bioluminescent bay, where the tiny organisms have returned brighter��than before. Crews in are still doing debris removal and repairing power lines, but select hiking trails, waterfalls, and observation areas have reopened after the hurricane.

Stay at the (from $229) or the (from $415), which first opened in 1949 and where the original piña��colada is said to have been made, reopened in May of this year after a $150 million��renovation.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

When the��Kilauea volcano��erupted in May 2018, it closed down Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and affected travelers heading to that part of the Big Island, but the park is getting��. The majestic��Kilaeua Iki Trail is mostly open, and its switchbacks were recently repaired after an earthquake loosened large boulders��that impeded the path.��Don’t miss a stroll on the black-sand shores��of��, which reopened in December��with a new access road (lava flow covered the former one).

The (from $235), a unique lodge with campsites located within the park boundary, reopened in October.

Ellicott City, Maryland

Imagine a town getting hit by a��thousand-year flood, then, two years later, it happens again. That’s what occurred in Ellicott City, which was pounded by a heavy-duty rainstorm and subsequent flash flooding that soaked its Main Street in 2016. A similarly intense storm hit again in May 2018. The town has dealt with millions of dollars in damages and lost tourism revenue. But now��it’s ready for visitors again: its��welcome center reopened in August 2018. Make a day trip to 16,043-acre , where you can kayak the Patapsco River, hike over a swinging bridge, or mountain-bike more than��100 miles of well-maintained trails. The park is nicknamed Moab East��for a reason: mountain bikers from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore love this place.

(from $131) experienced flooding in both storms and housed people during the crisis but is now restored.

��

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Did��you know that 52 percent of American workers��? Maybe we’re not using all that PTO because we tend to think of vacations as grand��endeavors that are often too expensive to be worth it. And sure, a tropical-island getaway sounds pricey and hard to pull off, but what if we said��you could stay in a low-key, off-the-radar beach town for less than $100 a night? And we’re not talking about bunk beds in backpackers’ hostels. These are sweet accommodations��where you can swim in the ocean, hike a volcano, and read a book in a hammock. Don’t wait. It’s time to actually use those vacation days.

Lanzarote, Spain

On Lanzarote, in Spain’s Canary Islands, you can cycle scenic roadways, hike the craters of Timanfaya National Park, windsurf, and kiteboard. The island has plenty of upscale hotels, or you can find affordable, low-fuss guesthouses and bungalows. At the family-owned�� (from $97), you’ll have views of inland vineyards and volcanic peaks from your cottage or yurt. There are also yoga classes, surf lessons, and bike rentals, or stay put and enjoy the saltwater pool and home-cooked breakfasts.

Saint��Lucia, Caribbean

People don’t typically look to the Caribbean for budget-friendly destinations. But you can do Saint��Lucia, in the Lesser Antilles, on the cheap if you know where to look. Lounge on the volcanic island’s golden sands, paint yourself in mud at��, and ride eight miles of rainforest singletrack at��. At��, cottages start at just $90 a night during the low season if you stay for a week. Tag along on one of the guided hikes to the top of 2,619-foot Gros Piton, one of the Caribbean’s most iconic peaks, then stretch out in the yoga barn or on the estate’s secluded beaches. ��

Pahoa, Hawaii

This laid-back town on the Big Island is back up and running after the 2018 volcanic eruption of Kilauea, but tourism has been slow to return. Which means you can score empty beaches and good deals on lodging. The��, which closed during the eruption due to its location within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, is now fully operational, and you can stay in a refurbished camper cabin for $80 a night or rent camping gear and a tent site for $55 a night. Want to be closer to the ocean? Book��this�� (from $61), which is��walking distance to a black-sand beach near Pahoa.

Koh Mak, Thailand

Many of Thailand’s bustling southern islands are filled with full-moon partiers and tour busses. Not Koh Mak, a small, six-square-mile isle in the Gulf of Thailand��that’s reached by a one-hour speedboat ride from Trat, on the mainland. The place feels untouched, friendly, and blissfully peaceful. Sleep in a bungalow on the beach for $37 a night at��, and watch the most stunning sunset of your life from your porch or the on-site and aptly named Sunset Bar. From there, rent bikes to pedal village to village, snorkel through turquoise waters, or take a Thai cooking class.

Anna Maria Island, Florida

Slow, old-fashioned charm permeates this seven-mile-long barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, just an hour south of Tampa. You’ll get about by bicycle, sea kayak, or the free island trolley, and beach time is the main activity here.��Gear-rental company�� will deliver cruiser bikes, paddleboards, and kayaks to��your vacation rental, but there’s also sailing and fishing charters. Most of the island’s hotels are on the pricier side, but you can find an�� just a block and a half from the ocean��with a shared pool for $99.

Isla Holbox, Mexico

Separated from the mainland by a sandbar and shallow lagoon that’s part of the Yum Balam Nature Reserve, Isla Holbox is only accessible by airplane or ferry, meaning there’s little in the way of development. There are, however, small fishing villages filled with colorful homes and one of the of the planet’s largest concentrations of whale sharks just offshore. Snorkel the reef��Cabo Catoche, fish for sea trout, and swim with sharks while you’re there.�� (from $86) has a pool, garden, and rooms ten��minutes from the beach.

Culebra, Puerto Rico

Culebra, 18 miles east of Puerto Rico’s mainland, was hit hard by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The island��is still recovering, but most of the guesthouses and��restaurants are back open, and the beaches are as pristine as ever. Don’t expect Wi-Fi or hotel chains here—this is a tranquil, low-tech escape.��,��a mile from the beach, has rooms from $80 and will outfit you with��chairs and towels. Be sure to hike a mile to Carlos Rosario Beach and snorkel the amazing the coral.

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Cold weather has barely arrived, and we’re already dreaming of our next beach vacation. But the cost of a trip to the coast doesn’t sound so welcoming. What if you could score oceanfront lodging along stellar, lesser-known beaches at a fraction of the cost of those overpriced, overcrowded resorts? Now we’re talking.

Vidasoul

Baja California Sur, Mexico

At , a sleek hotel 22 miles from Los Cabos International Airport, rooms with access to a private beach on the Gulf of California start at $129. You’ll want a rental car with sturdy tires to navigate the final stretch of dirt road, but once you’re there, Punta Perfecta, one of the top surf breaks on Baja’s East Cape, is a short walk from the hotel. At Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, just to the north, you can dive or snorkel a 20,000-year-old living reef that’s home to whale sharks, groupers, and sea turtles. The hotel rents surfboards and hosts live music on the beach every weekend.

Hale Kai Hawaii

Hilo, Hawaii

On Hawaii’s Big Island, scoring hotel and condo-style lodging right on the water will usually cost you hundreds of dollars a night. Instead, opt for one of four private guest rooms overlooking the ocean at the bed and breakfast (from $175 per night). Your room comes with a homemade breakfast of coconut-macadamia pancakes and pineapple scones, and you can watch the humpback whale migration from your poolside lounger. Surfing at Honoli’i Beach is minutes away, and the charming beachside town of Hilo is two miles down the road.

Little Hut

Koh Phayam, Thailand

Finding the right place to stay is the best way to offset the cost of a vacation to Southeast Asia. Koh Phayam, a lesser-known island a quick flight from Bangkok in Thailand’s Ranong Province, doesn’t see nearly the same tourist traffic as the country’s more popular southern islands. So if you want empty beaches, low-key surfing, and little in the way of development, this is your spot. Stay at (from $26), a no-frills resort of 15 bamboo bungalows with rain-shower bathrooms a short walk from the mellow surf break and pristine beach at Aow Yai. The place has a bar and restaurant, outdoor barbecue to cook up your own feasts, and Wi-Fi so you can stay connected.

Phoenix All Suites

Gulf Shores, Alabama

Located along the white-sand beaches on the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama’s Gulf Shores is a classic destination beach town—but without the pricey rates. The condo-style hotel rooms at are right on the beach and start at just $100 a night. From there, you can kayak or paddleboard the calm waters of several back bays and lakes, fish for flounder and redfish, or head to for three miles of beaches and more than 28 miles of multiuse trails. Don’t miss the shaka shrimp and live music at the legendary .

Serafina Beach Hotel

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, which nailed the island nation in September 2017, but most businesses are back up and running, and tourists are welcome. Plus, flights into San Juan are still cheap as a way to lure back visitors. The (from $224) opened in March 2018 right on the Atlantic Ocean and offers pop-up yoga classes, an infinity pool, and an in-house seafood restaurant. The staff will help you book catamaran cruises, kayak trips through bioluminescent Mosquito Bay, and guided tours into El Yunque rainforest.

Alpine Chalets

Otter Rock, Oregon

Nobody goes to coastal Oregon is search of warm water. But if you’re after beauty and solace, Otter Rock delivers. is a collection of oceanfront A-frames on a bluff above rugged Beverly Beach (from $49). A private trail leads from your porch straight to the sand. To the north, has tide pools to explore and good views of migrating whales. Don’t miss the Dungeness crab mac and cheese at in the town of Newport, eight miles south.

Sunset Beach Motel

Raiatea, French Polynesia

Flights to French Polynesia will always be expensive, but you don’t have to empty your savings account for a trip to Tahiti. , in a 22-acre coconut grove on the banks of a lagoon, has tent camping and 22 waterfront bungalows with full kitchens that start at $114 a night. The guesthouse loans out kayaks and snorkeling gear for free and can arrange for sailing charters and guided hikes up the sacred Mount Temehani. The property’s owner, Moana, has great local tips and will pick you up from the airport at no charge.

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Every April, great storytellers in adventure film descend Carbondale, Colorado, for . The festival is always intimate, with just over 900 in seating capacity, but it felt even more so this year as attendees remembered climber Hayden Kennedy, son of 5Point founder Julie Kennedy and husband Michael. The 27-year-old died in October.��In the��trailer��for this year’s event, Michael narrated��a letter to his son about the pair’s passion for public lands and wild landscapes, which shaped this year’s��theme, “Our Stories, Our Lands.”

Here are a few of our favorite films from the festival.

‘Climbing Out of Disaster’

After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico was in a state of disrepair. Streets were flooded, trees were hanging on power lines, and families were fleeing to higher ground. For climber and native Puerto Rican Bryan Huffman, the event presented an opportunity to give back to his community and put his climbing skills to good use by cutting down trees, climbing up buildings, and making rescues. Climbing Out of Disaster also highlights some of Puerto Rico’s budding climbing potential—the territory has great deep water soloing and more sport climbing routes are developed every year.

‘Shots From Above’

Chris Dahl-Bredine is a landscape photographer based out of Colorado and northern New Mexico. He uses an experimental trike aircraft to capture aerial photography of the landscapes near his��home. This film, from Renan Ozturk and Chris Burkard, gives a behind-the-scenes look at Dahl-Bredine’s unconventional photography style and the stunning images he creates.

‘Walls Are Meant For Climbing’

A short animated film from Drew Christie, Walls Are Meant for Climbing hands the microphone over to Alex Honnold to relive his free solo of El Cap in 2017. In classic Honnold fashion, the whole thing is quite understated. “People ask about risk or calculations for risk,” he says. “With something like free soloing, it feels very elemental. It’s almost like, ‘Oh my gosh, you could actually die,’ and you’re like, ‘Well, yeah, of course.’” Leave it to Honnold to put it so bluntly.

‘It’s All Yours’

Aligning with this year’s theme surrounding public lands, Chad Jackson and Jon Klackzeiwcz's film It’s All Yours features athletes reflecting on their experiences in national forests. Well-known adventurers like Conrad Anker, Camille Egdorf, Travis Rice, and Jimmy Chin have developed careers that benefit from the preservation of these lands. Klackzeiwcz and Jackson give the athletes airtime to talk about this connection, and also show them out in their element, of course.��

‘Cabin Jams’

To make Cabin Jams, backcountry athlete and director Leah Evans got four Revelstoke musicians to assemble in a hut deep in the British Columbia backcountry. At 7,000 feet, they were inspired to write and record the song “Think I'll Stay.” The crew flew all the way to Carbondale to perform their song in front of the audience during the festival. “When you walk or ski a piece of ground, you start to notice things about it,” Evans told ���ϳԹ���. “You learn the names of the mountains, the way the sun rises and sets, the plants and animals, and maybe if you tune in enough, the song exists.”

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It was just before midnight on September 19, 2017, in the town of Christiansted, Saint Croix. ���ϳԹ��� the yellow concrete walls of the Caravelle Hotel, Hurricane Maria was hurtling toward shore with Category 5 force. Jon Rose, who had come to the area to implement water-filtration systems in communities already devastated by Hurricane Irma, seemed less alarmed than amused. Since founding his nonprofit, , eight years ago, the 39-year-old had experienced the aftermath of 19 natural disasters, but he’d never been on the ground before one of them struck.

Rose stood outside, in an open stairwell, and held up his iPhone so that he and longtime friend and fellow former pro surfer Ben Bourgeois fit in the frame. Instagram needed a video update. “We’re here,” Rose said, squinting into the wind and chuckling. “Still standing.” He panned the scene. Palm trees heaved in the distance. Heavy rain streaked through the fluorescent light of a streetlamp. In a second video, Rose led the camera into his hotel room, focusing on clumps of ceiling panels that had fallen into the puddles on the floor. “It’s all water,” he said.

The next morning, Rose and Bourgeois, along with Waves for Water’s Haiti director, Fritz Pierre-Louis, stepped outside and into an almost unrecognizable landscape. “It was like a bomb had gone off,” Bourgeois told me. “The island had lost all its green.” The damage was just as severe in Puerto Rico, where Rob McQueen, field operations director and head of the organization’s Caribbean Hurricane Relief Initiative, and his team of three were located. Almost the entire island had lost power, and more than half the population was without clean water.

Rose’s special-ops-inspired response teams began working their contacts: friends in the Caribbean surfing community, Pierre-Louis’s Rotarian connection in Saint Croix, locals willing to ignore emergency curfews to reach isolated areas. McQueen led the overall operation, which initially consisted of just eight people, from Puerto Rico. “We did everything from connecting private-plane and helicopter owners to couriers, to flying in people with water filters,” he told me. “Finding ways to get things from outside normal channels is what we do.”

Within the first 72 hours, nearly all the 500 filters the teams had managed to pack in their checked baggage were being distributed across Saint Croix and Puerto Rico. After three weeks—as the U.S. government came under increasing fire for its ineffective disaster response in Puerto Rico, where 29 percent of the population still lacked potable water—Waves for Water had set up 3,600 filtration systems across seven islands, aiding an estimated 100,000 people. The group had even rented a 50-foot yacht, La Vagabond, to reach Dominica, 250 miles to the southeast of Saint Croix. By October 20, the Caribbean initiative was on pace to be one of Waves for Water’s most successful projects. Through partners and individual donations, it had raised nearly $300,000. Rose credited the organization’s success to its “breed of guerrilla humanitarianism.”

Last November, I met Rose at NeueHouse, a swanky co-working space off Park Avenue in Manhattan. It was just before lunch, and the palatial World War I–era building was bustling with young men and women direct from urban-creative central casting. I found Rose sitting on a window seat in front of his MacBook. One of NeueHouse’s original members is a friend, so Rose gets a discount on membership, which can run as high as $4,000 a month. “I think they like the idea of having a resident humanitarian,” he told me.

I’d met Rose in 2012, when he came to New York to help friends who lived in communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy. His curly dark brown hair, while still full, was now grayer. In the field, Rose always wears a pair of brown leather boots. (“It’s a psychological thing about safety. You don’t have control over anything external, but you have control over your response to it, so I’m going to wear boots.”) Now he wore high-top Vans, black jeans, and a black leather jacket over a gray hoodie. As always, he was eager to talk about Waves for Water, though his glassy blue eyes suggested that he could use some extra sleep.

A lot has happened since Sandy, when Waves for Water was barely two years old. Catastrophic floods in Brazil, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the Nepal earthquake, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti—Rose personally responded to all of them and more. has also grown ever more dire; today nearly one in nine people, some 783 million, are living without access to safe water, while the average American every day.

Such statistics, and Waves for Water’s reputation for coming through with filters and aid in the most extreme conditions, has attracted partnerships with BMW and PayPal, as well as the United Nations and the U.S. military. Rose’s organization now raises an average of $2 million annually—not only to respond to natural disasters, but also to help people in regions where access to clean water is difficult. Rose moves fluidly around the world on a comfortable salary, split 25-75 between Waves for Water and the clothing company Hurley, which pays him as a brand ambassador. The nonprofit has ten full-time employees, including McQueen and Pierre-Louis, who work remotely from locations around the globe, and about 15 part-time employees, though that number can rise depending on funding, partnerships, and unforeseen disasters.

At NeueHouse, Rose’s iPhone wouldn’t stop buzzing with notifications. When he’s in New York, which is rarely for more than ten days at a time, he’s buried under the daily responsibilities of heading up an international nonprofit. There are phone conferences with the organization’s four directors around the world. There are potential partnerships to explore, often involving meetings with corporate suits in sparkling high-rises.

“I’m ready for a break,” Rose said, then clarified: “From a certain aspect of the work.”

Before September 30, 2009, Rose could never have imagined running a global humanitarian-aid organization. That day he was sitting on a boat moored off the city of Padang, Indonesia, just after a surf trip with friends. He was 31. He’d just retired after 13 years as a professional surfer. He and his wife, who he’d been with for eight years, were headed for divorce. Their Laguna Beach, California, condo, which Rose bought at the peak of the real estate bubble, was in foreclosure. As Rose put it, his mind was “a whole world of scrambled eggs.” And then a magnitude-7.6 earthquake hit Padang, reducing much of the city to rubble.

Rose’s father, Jack—a carpenter who started a nonprofit to help communities in Kenya and Uganda build rain-catchment systems—had encouraged his son to give back, and the trip to Indonesia seemed like the perfect opportunity. So Rose had packed ten palm-size ceramic water filters, which he intended to donate to a Balinese community he’d visited in the past. He’d even incorporated his mini-initiative, naming it Waves for Water. In Padang, however, Rose found a Red Cross center in desperate need of clean water for treating wounds, so he volunteered his filters. “I found a clarity that I hadn’t had in years, or maybe ever,” he said. “I was like, this is what I’m going to dedicate myself to.”

Less than four months later, in January 2010, Rose landed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a few days after the deadliest earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere, on his first official Waves for Water disaster -response. A private donor had read a news article about Rose’s experience in Padang and offered him $40,000 to rush 4,000 water filters to Haiti. Waves for Water didn’t yet have 501(c)3 status, let alone 4,000 filters, but Rose said he’d do it anyway. He followed a ragtag group of responders to a Port-au-Prince home that had been arranged by the donor and started picking up on the lingo of the international-aid community. The “structure” had been “compromised,” so he pitched his tent in the yard. The stench of decomposing bodies hung thick in the air for weeks.

As it would be in Puerto Rico after Maria, the relief effort in Haiti was bogged down by the bureaucratic red tape of government and large NGOs, which left swaths of the disaster area totally ignored. “I was a one-man show,” Rose recalled. “I wasn’t competing against other organizations, I was competing against the crisis.” He gravitated to other independent responders, like the two paramedics from Florida who commandeered an ambulance to locate the injured and deliver them to hospitals.

Rose’s most important connection was Pierre-Louis, a Haitian businessman who seemed to be in possession of the only working BlackBerry in the country and who could coordinate relief to the hardest-hit neighborhoods. It was with Pierre-Louis that Rose perfected the strategy of going directly to needy communities with the filtration systems, each of which involved a filter connected to a five-gallon bucket by a tube and an adapter. (Today, Waves for Water utilizes the same system, , which contains a microfiber cartridge that can catch 99.9 percent of the common bacteria, protozoa, and cysts that cause things like cholera, botulism, typhoid, and dysentery. The filters don’t need to have their cartridges changed and can function for years.) “The difference between Waves for Water and a lot of large organizations is that when there’s a catastrophe, we don’t spend time in meetings,” Pierre-Louis told me. “In two days, we are on the ground and getting to the people who are really in need.”

Together, Rose and Pierre-Louis identified community leaders and taught them how to assemble and maintain the filter systems, to ensure that they would remain effective for years to come. This is how Waves for Water still operates today. “We remain small on purpose,” Rose told me, referring to the crisis-response teams, which rarely have more than four members. “The goal for any aid organization should be: have the least amount of international people and the most amount of nationals.”

Waves for Water is no megalith, but it’s having an impact. In eight years, Rose and his teams have distributed more than 150,000 filter systems in 44 countries, helping an estimated seven million people.

Though it’s difficult to find, there has been criticism of Rose’s go-with-anybody approach to aid work. Some people denigrate him for partnering with the U.S. military. “It’s taboo,” he said. “In the minds of some aid providers, they’re saving the world and the military is killing it.” Rose also isn’t opposed to teaming up with companies that many other nonprofits refuse to work with. “If a mining company is willing to throw down and millions of people are going to benefit, I’ll take it—I have an agenda, too.”

With the exception of Hurricane Sandy, Waves for Water hasn’t responded to any disasters in the United States, a decision that has also sparked disapproval. After deciding to sit out the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, Rose had to issue a statement. “The last thing we want to be is an ‘ambulance-chaser’ type org,” he wrote. Additionally, Waves for Water filters were not effective against the heavy metals in Flint’s water, he noted, and fixing the problem—repairing contaminated pipes—was something that the U.S. government could address.

In the remotest corners of Puerto Rico, where help from FEMA was minimal, Waves for Water’s response, led by McQueen, has been textbook guerrilla humanitarianism—and incredibly effective. Last winter, months after the hurricanes and the media attention that came with them, Waves for Water teams and their networks continued to expand their efforts. In Puerto Rico alone, over 6,000 filters had been distributed to 78 communities. Another 1,700 filters had been implemented across the Caribbean islands, and donations, most of them from individuals, surpassed $620,000.

Rose, however, was not there. He and his girlfriend, Loriann Smoak, who works for a retail tech startup, were spending the final weeks of 2017 in Colorado before signing a lease on a place in Marin County, California. After eight years of working nearly every day, Rose was taking a sabbatical. He loved New York for the “energy of its hustle,” and I wondered if—and how—he could truly unplug living in the Bay Area. “That’s the cool thing,” he said, as if on cue. “From a business-development standpoint, it’s a market we haven’t even scratched yet.”

Andrew S. Lewis () is a writer in New Jersey. He wrote about Dutch engineer Boyan Slat in January 2017. Joe Pugliese is an ���ϳԹ��� contributing photographer.

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