26% OFF OUTSIDE+ FOR 2026

Start the year with long reads, mapping, and more

SAVE TODAY

Culture

Culture

Archive

A Q&A with Hannah McCaughey, our creative director

Published: 

Devyn Bisson, a 24-year-old internationally acclaimed filmmaker, traveled to Greece in 2015 to document the volunteers who save refugees' lives during the dangerous sea crossings. Her movie premieres this summer.

Published: 

We sent our intrepid writer—a transplant from New York City—to look for love in America’s most outdoorsy town

Published: 

For more than a century, the Girl Scouts has been the most well-trod path for junior explorers to get into adventure. But what comes after the Thin Mints and craft badges is a troop for sisterhood, winter camping, and some serious archery.

Published: 

What happens when a Black woman decides to solo-hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine during a summer of bitter political upheaval? Everything you can imagine, from scary moments of racism to new friendships to soaring epiphanies about the timeless value of America’s most storied trekking route.

Published:  Updated: 

Photojournalist

Published: 

Grab a car and a buddy, then check out 40 miles of mysterious, awesome outdoor art installations

Published: 

From filmmaker Eric Becker, A Higher Crawling is a film starring two titans of climbing. Shelby and Reyka are the rising stars of the under-6-month-old age bracket.

Published: 

Turns out runners and bikers both love Ed Sheeran, while CrossFitters can't decide whether they want to turn it up or get angry

Published: 

Remember that place that campaigned for Americans to move there if Trump won? Well (sigh), it's beckoning. Welcome to idyllic Cape Breton, population 132,000 and shrinking.

Published: 

This week, we've got Town Mountain performing "Coming Back to You."

Published: 

How two digital editors are using the online encyclopedia to advocate for women in our world

Published: 

New shows we're excited about, plus our editors' picks for road trips and long runs

Published: 

As her daughters get older, our correspondent wanted to pass along a few things that running has taught her

Published: 

Hold your nose: we need to play dirty if we want to protect our public lands

Published: 

A new bill would open up wilderness areas to bikes—but the arguments in favor of it don't hold water

Published: 

Social media can expose tens of thousands of people to places in an instant. That's a double-edged sword.

Published: 

Outside's love guide is here—and answering your most pressing questions about dating, break-ups, and everything in between. Today, we look at a gear-obsessed boyfriend, staying safe as a queer person while camping, and cheesy outdoor proposals.

Published: 

Our favorite hidden-gem outdoor blogs and websites

Published: 

The Pulitzer Prize finalist spent two years visiting 12 sites around the world for an ambitious new book that reveals the surprising—and surprisingly fascinating—arboreal secrets hidden in the canopies of ordinary trees. Paul Kvinta meets with the real-life Lorax on New York's Upper West side and learns why white men never stand in the shade.

Published: 

Colorado will soon be home to a 35,000-strong book collection that's all about the culture and conservation of natural places

Published: 

In one town's debate over how to honor its snowboarding roots, we can all learn something about what makes an artistic homage feel just right

Published: 

How the National Winter Activity Center is raising the next generation of skiers

Published: 

This week, we've got the Foghorn Stringband performing "Fall On My Knees."

Published:  Updated: 

Sometimes the greatest outdoors companion comes with four legs, a tail, and a whole lot of wet kisses

Published: 

Leif Haugen is a lookout for the U.S. Forest Service in Northern Montana. He patrols his section of wilderness for any sight of lightning strikes or fires.

Published: 

We know President Trump wants Los Angeles to host the 2024 Olympics. But could his policies get past a new set of anti-discrimination rules for host cities?

Published: 

Teton County is known for its endless adventure—and for its tax-haven status and lack of affordable housing. We asked four residents earning between $30,000 and $200,000 how they make it work.

Published: 

Paul Hawken presents a bold plan to beat back climate change based on solutions already within our grasp. Do any of them stand a chance?

Published: 

Almost 50 years ago, Richard Nixon commissioned a photography project called Documerica to illustrate miles and miles of environmental degradation, advocating for the need for the agency. The following are some of the most striking images from that project.

Published: 

Sound crazy? Not to Bekah and Derrick Quirin, who are embarking on a thru-hike with their one-year-old this March

Published: 

Love playing on our public lands? It's time to help pay for them.

Published: 

"And if we all listen to each other, we might just learn something."

Published: 

Couples who ski together stay together, right? But even if neither of you will ever click into a pair of bindings, you can learn from these eight dating tips.

Published: 

Is it time for environmental activists to take a different, more potent approach to mobilizing?

Published: 

Two friends built an empowering community that encourages everyone to focus on trails, not scales

Published: 

Peter Heller returns with a straightforward but expertly observed detective mystery, set in America's first national park

Published: 

In 1965, Outward Bound took 28 women into the great outdoors to paddle lakes, hike mountains, and catch fish. They forged a bond that's unlike any other.

Published:  Updated: 

The premise sounds nice: spend all your time off the grid in a cliffside dwelling with great views. We asked a real hermit what else the job entails.

Published: 

Over the past six years, there have been 20 shark attacks around Reunion Island. The deaths have inspired some surfers—most famously and recently Kelly Slater—to advocate for a cull. Susan Casey argues why that's a terrible, immoral, and totally ineffective way to deal with the problem.

Published: 

In 1960 Wallace Stegner wrote a letter to Congress illustrating the importance of wilderness.

Published:  Updated: 

This Spring, we've partnered with Portland, Oregon's Pickathon Music Fest to showcase some of the year's best new music.

Published: 

Behind-the-scenes with the company's efforts to make sure kids—and parents—are valued at the office

Published: 

A new executive order that opens the door to coal mining corporations is shutting off water to the rest of us

Published: 

A new book reveals, in vivid detail, how Christopher Knight escaped society more completely than most anybody else in human history

Published: 

"How can you let her do that? It's so dangerous!" For years, my mom has fielded this question from other parents about my climbing. Here's what she thinks about raising an adventurous daughter in an unfamiliar sport.

Published: 

The same people and organizations we admire for protecting our wild places also have a history of being apathetic—or plain antagonistic—toward issues of race and social justice

Published: 

This segment, The Fox Hunt, from GoPro's upcoming feature "Mongolia Eagle Hunters," captures the essence of the sport perfectly.

Published:  Updated: 

Rising global temperatures could render the meanings of these words obsolete

Published: 

Jim Shepard’s latest collection takes a hard look at characters confronting extraordinary—and often cataclysmic—environmental situations

Published: 

Ever wonder where terms like "gnarly" and "steazy" come from? So did we.

Published: 

Florence Williams has been writing about the tangible benefits of getting outdoors for years. Presenting the best of what she's learned.

Published: 

Research shows that walking has many benefits—but it's also a pretty darn good family adventure

Published: 

From Roark Revival, 'A Ramp in the Woods' features skater Jamie Thomas honoring his late friend Jamie Collins.

Published: 

A new report details how complicated the National Park Service's deferred maintenance backlog really is—and why it shouldn't be used as a political weapon to privatize our parks

Published: 

The world's greatest dog sanctuary is on a small farm in Costa Rica, where hundreds of canines run wild over the land—eating huge piles of food and slobbering happily on Lya Battle and her small band of dedicated volunteers.

Published: 

Risky pursuits like BASE jumping offer a buzz better than any drug. New technologies provide the same rush without the danger.

Published: 

Behind the scenes with the producers who spent thousands of hours in the Himalayas to capture first-of-its-kind footage of four snow leopards

Published: 

This week, we've got Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles performing "The Way You Make Me Feel."

Published:  Updated: 

Our writer went searching for love on skis and rejected just two snowboarders in the process

Published: 

The vertical ceased print publication this winter, after 70 years of great stories

Published: 

Our hard-earned lessons (clean up the van before a first date) and the advice we still stand by (sex in a portaledge—great idea!)

Published: 

Climber turned photographer Sagar Gondalia has carved out his own warm, fuzzy niche in the world of paid portraiture

Published: 

Taking kids on extended trips into the wilderness comes with an element of stress—the key is to talk about it

Published: 

The fiberglass menagerie before you is made up of 34 animatronic beasts, created for Spy in the Wild, a Nature miniseries on PBS in which cameras disguised as animals embed with the real beasts for an immersive take on the nature documentary.

Published: 

Valentine's Day is coming, so we put together a list of gifts that will help you truly enjoy spending the night outside

Published: 

Nature documentaries offer the chance to teach your kids about the beauty and diversity of our planet

Published: 

This week, we've got Daniel Norgren performing Everything You Know Melts Away Like Snow.

Published:  Updated: 

On Kauai, residents worry less about whether genetically-modified food is safe to eat and more about what the pesticides used to test them are doing to their bodies. In an excerpt from his new book, 'Food Fight,' the author hits the ground to find out just what's happening.

Published: 

'World, Chase Me Down' is a nonstop crime adventure novel. Even better, most of it actually happened.

Published: 

The U.S. ski culture’s 10 oldest, weirdest events—official and unofficial

Published: 

From filmmaker Germain Lalot and writer Claire Endress, MySon is a short film about a mother bringing a son into this complex world.

Published: 

Apart from the Olympics, no one’s really watching the best athletes on the planet compete and perform live. Probably because their events are not very entertaining.

Published: 

Noted adventure writer Colin Thubron's latest novel tells the story of residents trapped in a burning building—but it also distills what he's learned over a lifetime of nomadism

Published: 

If we want to create a new generation of activists who care about the environment and women's rights, then children need to be exposed to political controversy

Published: 

But that's finally starting to change—and these five CEOs, writers, and activists are helping to lead the charge

Published: 

Given is the simple tale of a unique family legacy.

Published: 

Conservation and recreation make a strong showing in both documentaries and dramas at this year's festival

Published: 
Back Next