Ian Frazier

The Pull of the Open Road

As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, travel for many is still a faraway dream. But Ian Frazier reminds us that there’s no more promising feeling than hitting the road, windows down, hair blowing, full speed ahead.

If You Live in Your Van, Don't Tell People You Live in Your Van

There are many noble qualities about living simple. But if you want to impress someone, for God's sake, don't tell them you live in your van.

The Daytona 500 of Ice Fishing

At the planet's biggest ice-fishing tournament, held every January in Brainerd, Minnesota, 10,000 contestants battle 20-below temperatures for a $150,000 purse. Ian Frazier slips and slides among wily fish, cheese curds, and some of the greatest nearly frozen anglers he's ever seen.

An Ode to the Rand McNally Road Atlas

Because the map application on your phone cannot give you the big picture

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Seek and ye shall find

Poisonous Monster Toads Are Taking Over South Florida

In South Florida, cane toads are so numerous that they seem to be dropping from the sky. They're overtaking parking lots and backyards, can weigh almost six pounds, and pack enough poison to kill pets. Why the surge?

National Parks Don't Need Your Misty-Eyed Reverence

John Muir rhapsodizing about Yosemite is one thing, but Ian Frazier has had it with people calling their favorite outdoor spots “cathedrals,” “shrines,” and “sacred spaces.” The false piety detracts from the real task at hand: seeing these places as they actually are.

Can Sylvia Earle Save the Oceans?

The marine biologist has done things in the ocean that would scare most people senseless. She's been alone in total darkness thousands of feet down, hovered under a Russian ship as it pinged her submarine, and been charged by huge sharks. But one thing does frighten her: the dire state of our overfished and polluted seas, something she spends every waking hour trying to change.

Dogs Have Nailed Down Happiness. Learn from Them.

What man's best friend can teach us about being content

Proven strategies for getting laughs, plus some always winning punch lines

A few words on kick-starting a love of adventure

The Last Days of Stealhead Joe

The Deschutes River fly-fishing guide called Stealhead Joe was an angling master with a long list of devoted clients. But as Ian Frazier, who fished with Joe last fall, learned, off the water, Joe’s life was a tangle of troubles that ultimately overwhelmed him.

The Tale-Telling Days Are Over

Whatever happened to an outdoorsman’s sacred right to exaggerate? In the age of digitized adventure, the fish that got away is gone forever.

Fatherhood and the Great Outdoors

Outside's best writers share their thoughts on fatherhood and nature-bonding with Dad.

The Longest Yarn

A new film chronicles the classic story of a daring prison break from a Soviet gulag. We dispatched our crankiest critic to weigh in on the somewhat true story.