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Emerging from a 27-year civil war, Sri Lanka’s jungle terrain and white-sand beaches remain largely undiscovered. But the conflict ended in 2009, meaning there are empty (and safe) waves to be found. Head to the island nation’s southernmost tip, near the village of Gandara, where 24-year-old British surfer Jack Phillips recently opened his Talalla Surf Camp.
Starting with a single Alaskan Husky named Derby, Kenth Fjellborg built a dogsled-touring empire that attracts 5,000 would-be mushers a year to a frozen patch of tundra 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. And he's not afraid to yell at you in bad words.
La Niña means a long, hard winter—just how we like it. Take advantage by basing yourself at one of these nine Outside-approved adventure lodges.
Is it possible to learn to kitesurf on the cheap in the Caribbean? If so, where?
Tom Chapman's cunning real estate deals have made him a lightning rod in the battle over property rights in the wildlands of the West. Is he gaming the system or just playing smarter than everyone else?
I want to learn to ski off-piste this winter. Are there any resort ski schools that can teach me?
I want to take my girlfriend to a romantic, outdoorsy winter lodge in the Northeast. Any suggestions?
I want to take a weekend road biking trip in California. What are your suggestions?
Further putting to the test whether there's no such thing as too many pictures, photographer Brian DeFrees strapped a Canon 60D camera to his windshield and used an intervalometer to take a photo once every five minutes as he circled the United States on…
Boulderer Thomasina Pidgeon attempts the Method one last time before heading south to continue her endless summer of climbing.
My girlfriend and I want to spend a getaway weekend in a tree. What do you recommend?
Big-mountain skier Ingrid Backstrom picks her 5 favorite places to ski
Where are the best places in North America to make early tracks this fall?
Name a coast that’s treacherous to navigate, or a shallow area where an epic naval battle took place, and I’ll show you a ship graveyard that’s worth exploring. The beauty of wrecks is that they’re not only giant, waterlogged pieces of history, but also artificial reefs that teem with life.
Norway's forbidding Hardangervidda Plateau nearly killed Roald Amundsen when he attempted a ski traverse in the winter of 1896. But the failure set him on a path of training, study, and exploration that led to his historic conquest of the South Pole. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of that feat, Mark Jenkins and his brother Steve skied the route, an epic challenge that even now can prove deadly.
What are the best American mountain biking destinations that don’t begin with “M” and end in “oab?”
Winter comes to British Columbia. Is it too late for Kevin and Jeremy to ride the trail they spend the summer building?…
Steamboat was the only town awarded both a USA Pro Cycling Challenge start and finish.Photo courtesy of David Dietrich Photography. I was skeptical when I heard that Steamboat Springs, the low-key ski town…
Where to take photos to inspire your Facebook friends to get out.
Greg Martin in Sun Valley Last month, I interviewed Greg Martin about building the USA Cycling Cross Country National Championships course in Sun Valley, Utah. I posted a quick by the numbers on…
Before any know-it-alls start complaining about the absence of Edmund Hillary, Thor Heyerdahl, or Amelia Earhart from this list, let me make a distinction between “explorer” and “adventure traveler.” An explorer has historically been someone who attempts to do something that no one has done before (or plunder indigenous people…
I’m thinking of backpacking through Egypt. Is it safe there?
Blair Beakley Guest Blog by Emily Brendler Shoff With young kids, it can be an accomplishment to get out the front door. So when my husband, Andy, and I decided to take our girls camping and meet up with some…
South America has more than 144,000 miles of coastline, so you can really take your pick. Start with these. Saquarema, BrazilSaquarema is Brazil’s beach sports hub, a quiet town molded around a lagoon that drains into the South Atlantic about 60 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. It’s home…
From farm shares to bike shares, these seven flashes of genius are reinventing a metropolis near you
The mountain peaks that make this list could double as a greatest hits compilation for the Appalachian Trail below the Mason-Dixon Line: all but one are accessible via the AT. 5. Springer Mountain, GeorgiaFor AT thru-hikers, the 2,100-mile trek to Maine doesn’t officially begin until they trudge up the…
Adventure amenities make a lot of towns seem dreamy. What sets these 19 burgs apart is their nod to reality: affordable homes, solid job prospects, and vibrant nightlife. Start packing.
From a practical standpoint, your neighborhood climbing gym. You don’t need to hop on a plane to the other side of the planet to learn how to tie in or belay. In fact, you should probably see if you actually like rock climbing before planning an expensive, globe-trotting vacation around…
The folks in my step-family are all inexperienced backpackers, while those on my side of the family are very experienced. We’re all camping for five nights on Isle Royale this summer. What's the one item we need to make sure everyone has a great time?
My husband and I are planning an around-the-world travel adventure, and we're having a hard time narrowing down our list. We love hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor activities. What are your top five can't-miss adventures?
There are roughly 10 top-flight whitewater kayak schools across the country, and to name one would be pretty subjective. A person in Colorado who lives close to the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center would probably answer quite differently from a Vermonter who paddles at nearby Adventure Quest. So let me set…
Presenting eight romantic, spontaneous, epic, and quest-driven cruises down America's emptiest highways.
There’s an old saying that clichés are clichés for a reason. That applies to outdoor destinations as well. Moab is a riding cliché, but you still won’t find better slickrock anywhere else. The Gunks are a climbing cliché, but they live up to their reputation. In the case of Midwestern…
English poet and artist, Edward Lear, was traveling in Greece in 1848 when a cholera outbreak forced him to follow the overland route home. His subsequent travels through Albania and Macedonia ended up being the highlight of his trip. The author of “The Owl and the Pussycat” wrote about and…
My Dad and I want to take the dogs and head out for a 3-4 day hike this summer. We're experienced, but my Pop's got a bad back and can’t do a lot of climbing. Any good spots in New England or the mid-Atlantic that allow dogs and aren't too steep?
Airfares aren’t falling. They’re not going up either. They’re jumping around more erratically than ever. George Hobica, founder of Airfarwatchdog.com puts the trend this way in a recent interview with Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site: “If I knew [that ticket prices were going up] I wouldn’t be sitting…
Charles Bukowski spent a few years traveling—sometime between being declared unfit to serve in WWII and being dicovered by John Martin of Black Sparrow Press—but it’d be hard to call the drinker, poet and boarding house luminary, who spent most of his days in a bedroom, a “traveler.” Bukowski knew…
The ten best ways to have a great time at the Fiesta de San Fermin, without taking a horn or nightstick to the head.
Henry Miller wrote, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of looking at things.” These days that means you can vagabond around the world with a computer and a reasonably fast Internet connection. Here are 10 videos that will take you up and out of your office…
Michael Brown and the crew at Serac Adventure Films geek out on all the new gadgets they're bringing to Everest.
Go behind the scenes with photographer Chris Buck as he shoots Wells Tower's ill-conceived, possibly insane crossings of alligator-infested North Florida waters in an inner tube.
This year's Killer Value also happens to be one of the most versatile snowshoes.
Our Gear of the Year winner excels in any kind of snow conditions.
Tips to find the perfect pair for running, hiking, or mountaineering.
A retro—and well-priced—model that works well for casual winter outings.
The 51-year-old bike builder talks about Rwanda's potential for change.
I’m spending the summer in Boston but am not from the area. What weekend trips in New England would you recommend?
Where are the best places in the Lower 48 to do a backcountry hike and camp with remote trout streams to dry-fly fish?
National parks always get all the attention, but what are the best state parks in the country?
My parents are healthy 70-plus-year-old experienced hikers who want to take their 13-year-old grandson on an outdoorsy vacation in the American West. Any ideas?
Where do you end up when you want a community with incredible access to the outdoors, affordable homes, and solid jobs? Some very surprising places. Introducing the top 25 towns in America for cycling, paddling, running, surfing, skiing, and—because you might want everything—all of the above.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the GoLite TraveLite wheeled carry-on.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 60L.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Eagle Creek ORV Trunk 30 rolling luggage.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Osprey Shuttle 32 rolling luggage.
Outside reviews the best gear in the 2011 Summer Buyers Guide, including the Victorinox WT Hardside Trolley 20 rolling luggage.
My demands at home don't allow me to travel much, so I've got to do it vicariously. What, in your opinion, are the best adventure travel movies ever made?
I'm leaving in a couple days for Haiti with Medical Student Missions to help teach a Wilderness First Responder course and work in a cholera clinic. Along with a small wad of clothes, running shoes, and Blundstones, here's the essentials crammed in a Patagonia MLC wheeled backpack. …
Some high school friends and I are planning a reunion. They're beach people, and I'm a hike-in-the-mountains person. Plus, they're teachers and I'm just finishing medical school--which means we are all poor. Any suggestions for a warm, sunny location that fit this description?
We have two weeks to spend in South Africa and an appetite for whitewater adventure. What trips would you recommend and what's the best time of year to go? --Katherine Saint Paul, MN
GearJunkie.com and the CORDURA® brand have partnered this week to launch a contest with a goal of discovering the outdoor world's “most durable person.” To enter, participants upload a quick story, photos, or a video to show why they or a friend/family member are among the outdoors' “most durable” people. (“Durable”…
Do you have any recommendations for a one- to two-week honeymoon adventure outside of the United States this summer? We would like the trip to involve outdoor activities mixed with relaxation. My fiancée and I are all over the board right now: Bora Bora, New Zealand, African safari, Mont Blanc circuit… --Andrew Evergreen, CO
The plan was to check out Yemen, a little-visited Arab nation that offers glowing deserts, forbidding mountains, and lonely Socotra Island—a naturalist's paradise as imagined by Dr. Suess. But instead all hell broke loose, and a tourist romp became a front-row seat to the bloody upheavals sweeping the Middle East.
Looking for a domestic weekend escape with international flair? Pack a bag and head for Miami. The city, known for beaches, beautiful people, and wild nightlife, has plenty of adventure options. Paddle: The obvious choice would be to paddle around South Beach (…