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Outside editor at large Hampton Sides has a gift for homing in on some of the most intense and violent moments in history. Winner of the 2002 PEN USA Award for non-fiction, he wrote about Bataan Death March survivors in his first book, the bestselling Ghost Soldiers (adapted into the…

Ten go-now getaways that are short on hassle but long on adventure—no passport required

Wanna live where the action is? The goal: Trails out the back door, a serious Saturday-morning peloton, whitewater just up the road, and neighbors eager to join in. Our source: The best adventure athletes in America, who tell us where they live and why. The result: 20 places where locals work, train, and play hard. Start packing now.

Think life in America's favorite outdoor mecca would be dreamy? Careful what you wish for.

To air is human. To go big is divine. To huck for dollars at the hard rock cafe... a cry for help. Why are action-sports athletes suddenly channeling Evel Knievel?

Hook up with Carmichael Training Systems and Santa Fe Mountain Adventures for one of the most comprehensive adventure racing camp in the country.

IN JANUARY, ARIZONA’S Hualapai tribe, whose 2,000-person reservation covers 1,500 square miles along the Grand Canyon’s south rim, is opening a glass-bottomed, horseshoe-shaped walkway that will jut 70 feet from the edge, 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. Located 200 miles west of the crowded lookouts of Grand Canyon National…

Thirty vehicles, 16,000 miles, and not a single tank of gas

Think Utopia doesn't exist? Maybe not yet—but these ten towns are making a play for perfection with adventure-friendly innovation and cool ideas for building smart communities. Plus the hottest concepts in urban revival, combating sprawl, and better hometown living.

What does a naive environmentalist discover when he buys his own forest? He's got to log it to save it.

Our two-week pleasure tour samples the best of Canada's most bountiful province

Don't just hike—follow in the footsteps of famous explorers and naturalists

If your big-day fantasies include a crescent beach or a mountain vista, you're part of the hottest trend in nuptial bliss: destination weddings

Ten tempting all-American lodges with style and ambience to spare

Catch a glimpse of these five heavenly cascades

From the red-rock vistas of Abiquiu to the dunes of White Sands—with a few shots of tequila mixed in—New Mexico is another world. Try these 12 perfect days in the Land of Enchantment. Horseback Riding into the Sunset Cerrillos Twenty miles south of Santa Fe, where the southern Rockies peter…

A new breed of luxury camping mixes fresh air and fireside fun with crisp linens and five-star dining

Thirty-three years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, New York’s 315-mile Hudson River, long an icon of industrial and municipal pollution, is running clean enough that native fish species like the striped bass are boosting their numbers even in the waters off Manhattan. And they’re not alone. About…

Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, Fl Little Palm Island FLY IN, BOAT OUT: Little Palm from your taxi window This 28-bungalow retreat is as off the grid as it gets—120 watery miles south of Miami, accessible only by boat or floatplane. Snorkel and kayak off white beaches, or…

Climb aboard for the ultimate ride with the ultimate boat buddy: Martin Litton, the Colorado River legend and conservation warrior who, as much as any other single person, shaped the Grand Canyon float trip into an American classic

Think outside the cubicle. Ditch your desk and soak up the sun courtesy of the nation's best alfresco Wi-Fi unplug-ins.

No one denies that our 50th state is Paradise, USA. But anyone who's ever been to this lush chain knows a simple truth: Not all the islands are created equal. So which is best? Welcome to the Great Hawaiian Island-Off. Read on, and pick your perfection.

An 812-mile effort to revive the spirit, if not the tactics, of the West's most notorious monkey-wrencher

Does President Bush have the votes to drill Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? The world is about to find out.

A new class of hotels pitches boutique offerings to thrill-seeking hipsters

An ANWR defeat would deal a major blow to the entire concept of wilderness protection. In this exclusive essay, Senator JOHN KERRY vows to take the fight to the GOP leadership.

WHEN OLYMPIC ORGANIZERS reintroduced the old-school sport of skeleton at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, after a 54-year hiatus, they had a hit. Skeleton, which sends competitors headfirst down icy tracks at up to 80 miles per hour, is the “moonshine of winter thrills,” as American gold-medal winner Jim…

In the February 2005 issue of Outside, Senator John Kerry argues that oil development in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would bring irreparable harm to a uniquely American treasure. His essay is the latest in a series of Outside reports exploring the pros and cons of drilling in ANWR. Here,…

An ANWR defeat would deliver a major blow to the concept of wilderness protection – and environmental leaders know it. Backs against the wall, green lobbyists are planning to fight, and one group at the forefront will be the D.C.-based League of Conservation Voters. Long feared by legislators for its…

Forget hiking the Kalalau Trail on Kauai’s famed NA PALI COAST. You’ll get a much better view of these fluted green cliffs by boat—and winter is prime time to see humpback whales that have migrated here from Alaska. This season, Na Pali Explorer, a Kauai-based outfitter, is offering morning whale-watching…

The wedding's a wrap, the guests are gone, and now the real fun begins. these eight perfect honeymoons will launch your new life together.

This fall, workers are finishing construction on the world’s largest tree house, set among 16 lime trees in the Alnwick Garden, a 40-acre public space 30 miles north of Newcastle, England. Hardly a glorified kiddie clubhouse, the three-story, 10,000-square-foot turreted spread will contain a 120-seat restaurant, private dining rooms, a…

How to see your stomping grounds as a concrete jungle.

Four luxurious north-woods hideaways where you can chill into fall

On the high plains of the West, tough men still ride herd on the open range. But the new riders are lonely gauchos from Chile and Peru, and their 21st-century frontier is a place where the cowboy myth meets a harsh reality.

Which of our 2004 Dream Towns is the best place for unbridled fun and outdoor adventure? Cast your vote now! Results will be reported in an upcoming issue of Outside. Lanesboro, Minnesota Etna, California Cashiers, North Carolina…

Summer is the new prime time at mountain resorts

Week of July 16-22, 1998 Dodging lightning in the mountains and canyons Off-roading in South Dakota’s Black Hills Navigating Nova Scotia Touring Asia by bike Off-roading in South Dakota’s…

June 20-July 4, 1995 Dream Towns Debate Your kind of town? After a cross-country quest to find the best towns in which to hang your bike helmet and your shingle, Outside correspondent Mike Steere got online to discuss his…

Week of February 14-21, 1996 Camping at Point Reyes Seashore, CA Alabama backpacking destination The new Crater Lake Lodge Camping on Florida's barrier islands Bike touring Nova Scotia and the Maritimes…

  Week of September 5-11, 1996 Alabama's scenic Pinhoti Trail Question: My wife, Carolyn, and I want to take a four-day backpacking trip September 11-14, but we don't want to travel too far from Indy. We are thinking about Alabama but…

Live well in the wilds at these five perfect perches

BEST PLACE TO LIVE WITHOUT SHOES

BEST PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY

BEST PLACE TO BE AN ÜBERJOCK

BEST PLACE TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

BEST PLACE TO BECOME AN OLD SALT

Where kids can catch a faceful of the wild

 Outside magazine, December 1996 Mush, Mush, Mush, Dammit, Mush! As it preps for its 25th running, the Iditarod considers a mangy history of PCism, marauding polar bears, and the occasional random murder. Trail notes from America’s last great race. By Elizabeth Royte…

BEST PLACE TO GET LOST

BEST PLACE TO HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

BEST PLACE TO START A BUSINESS

Deep into Anasazi country, and way back in time

BEST PLACE TO STAKE YOUR CLAIM

The Big Dig hits pay dirt—in the shape of a new island playground in Boston Harbor

Go straight to the source and taste the good life at these organic farm getaways

Five superlative rivals to our national parks

Savor our top 20 wild Canadian adventures (including 5 new parks) for heaping helpings of glacial lakes, alpine meadows, swift rivers, and snowcapped peaks

Let loose on a carefree horsepacking journey through the Absarokas

A dad-and-daughter duo paddle into the past on the San Juan River

The highest points in heartland states like Kansas and Iowa aren't much to look at, but when you knock off seven of them in a four-day, 3,000-mile blitz . . . well, let's just say the little bastards have a way of kicking back.

As the brutal battle over proposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge grinds on, a former oil worker returns to the North Slope in search of the truth about the pro-exploration argument. His conclusion? (Brace yourself.) The unthinkable is the right thing to do.

Sex. Danger. Family values. This backyard soap opera has it all—plus feathers, razor-sharp talons, and a neighborhood obsessed.

Ten North American spas that will recharge your mind, body, and soul

On and off the Slopes at Ten Top Ski Areas

We stopped at a boulder below the saddle of 10,229-foot Heyburn Mountain as early-May sunshine broke past the ridge and washed over us: three backcountry skiers on a mission to schuss the wild peaks of central Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, and me, a snowshoe loafer in search of serenity. As my…

View from the California Riding and Hiking Trail Q: Now that fall is here we’re thinking of taking a backpacking trip through the desert. Any hints on where we should go? What about day hikes? — Nicole Frisbee, Denver, Colorado Adventure Advisor:…

The gray wolf may lose federal protection. Will killing it become the law of the land?

Amy Bechtel was there, and then she simply wasn't

Escape urban gridlock in West Virginia, where country roads and mountain mamas are only a fraction of the attraction

A modern speed demon breathes new life into an ancient Hawaiian sport

He grew up poaching alligators, he sells Cadillacs, and his friends run oil companies. But saving the bayous of Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin is Harold Schoeffler's number-one deal.

Everybody loves the Klamath. Everybody wants a piece of it. And they're willing to go to war to get it. Editor's Note/Correction

1. Havasu Falls, Supai, Arizona Hike two miles to this perfect turquoise pool, with year-round 72-degree water, in Havasu Canyon. All About H2O The wet stuff is always there for us—it grows our food, puts splash and spirit in our adventure, and (by the way) keeps us alive.

Mama's boys, beware: Portsmouth Island is nature untethered

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