Nature
Archive
Rail trails are the ultimate in reusing and recycling. Converted from former railroad corridors, these multi-use paths carve gentle grades through cities and the countryside, making them family-friendly routes for hiking and biking. To date, there are more than 1,800 rail trails open nationwide, covering more than 21,000 miles. “They…
So you’ve promised your significant other you’ll do something romantic this weekend. Trouble is, you still haven’t planned anything. But don’t worry: there’s a way to turn a regular walk in the woods into an amorous getaway. Just grab your favorite daypack, fill it with these five items, and pay…
Norbu Tenzing Norgay is deeply familiar with Mt. Everest—his father famously made the first summit with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. But alongside the beauty and adventure, there's real danger, especially for Sherpas. It's time to make a change.
If you’re looking for the seclusion of a private beach with the affordability of a state park, but want to do more than kick off your flip-flops and sunbathe, these are the five Florida beaches for you.
The first county in the United States to outlaw fracking has an idea that could give environmentalists the upper hand—and deliver a major setback to big oil.
Chelsea and Hillary Clinton have teamed up to confront a new challenge—protecting the heavily poached African elephant.
Europe banned chemical-covered produce; should we follow suit?
A growing number of trail runners are finding a new way to test themselves—without race fees, bibs, or finish line chutes—in search of virgin trail and new course records.
There are roughly 200 natural history museums across the U.S., not including the big daddies in New York and D.C. Some are barely bigger than a schoolroom, while others are sprawling, multimillion-dollar palaces that house some of the country’s most precious natural artifacts. The five below are among the finest—for…
Amid the worst drought in California’s history, does the fate of the state’s salmon rest on weeding out the illegal marijuana farms?
Green biz expert and author of The Big Pivot Andrew Winston says that how much we buy and consume may not be the root of our environmental woes.
A showdown at a Utah canyon pits ATV users against the BLM. But the real operators in public-land disputes are out of view—and out to use sportsmen to advance their cause.
Yosemite National Park offers arguably the most scenic hiking in the country. The only challenge? Picking which trail to hike.
Space might not yet be the final frontier, but it’s an intriguing one. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) recommends places for Earthlings to stargaze—especially places absent the yellow haze of light pollution. The association’s Dark Sky Places program sets a high bar for national and international communities,…
Enveloped by New York City's concrete jungle, a family finds its perception of adventure and the outdoors irrevocably changed.
Some climate scientists argue that it's getting warmer faster at high altitude. And that could spell disaster for mountaineers.
Outside and Greenfield chew the fat about locally sourced food—and learning to grow and hunt your own.
Enjoyable family trips require positive attitudes, not five-star hotels.
You're pathetic. Really. According to the latest research, human fitness has decreased so dramatically in recent years that even the strongest of us would consider ancient men to be, well, monsters.
Lyme disease is up 21 percent in dogs, but that doesn’t mean your ultimate adventure companion has to stay in the kennel—so long as you take these precautions before hiking this summer.
The volcanic remains at the heart of Aniakchak National Monument—the least visited site in the national park system—are a trippy mishmash of postapocalyptic cinder cones, hardened lava, and flame-colored walls. The only catch? Doing it right involves days of trekking and rafting through some of the planet’s toughest, most bear-heavy terrain.
Amy Ragsdale learns to appreciate life's simple beauties through her children's eyes
America’s Most Endangered Rivers, the 2014 list from American Rivers.
Specifically: Sean Carey, the hypertalented multi-instrumentalist and Bon Iver band member whose new solo album, Range of Light, was inspired by the mountains Muir loved most.
Feast your eyes on the next big thing in sports nutrition: insect energy.
For the first time in years, water is returning to the parched Colorado River delta. Peter McBride prepares to launch.
If you’re looking to get zen in the USA with some sun salutations and downward dogs, here are a few places you should try. White Lotus Foundation Retreat Center Santa Barbara, CaliforniaFor the yogi looking to hone his or her practice Every year, the…
An innovative sushi chef named Bun Lai has a new strategy in the war on invasive species: If you can’t beat ’em, plate ’em. Feral hog sashimi, anyone?
Bites from lone star ticks have been blamed for causing red-meat allergies.
South African Johnny Olivier was just looking for an easy job to pay the bills. But after agreeing to help a buddy collect lion bones for an international wildlife-trafficking kingpin, he found himself in the middle of an unprecedented poaching scheme that involved imported sex workers, heavy gambling, bags of cash, and the slaughter of more than 30 rhinos.
Conservations want the iconic animals to roam free once again. But many ranchers believe rewilding is a really bad idea.
A new study indicates that climate change will bring the disease, and the bugs that carry it, previously uninfected areas.
A rare ice bridge between Isle Royale National Park and the mainland offers a lifeline to the island's dwindling wolf pack.
To many entrepreneurs across the world, rising temperatures, drought, and ice melt represents a market opportunity. McKenzie Funk spent the past six years reporting around the world on how the business world is preparing for a warmer planet.
A recent study suggests that Lyme disease might be sexually transmitted. Just how seriously should you take the findings?
A handful of primate researchers believe Sasquatch is real, and they take their search for the creature very—very—seriously.
A popular performing orca may get listed under the Endangered Species Act. Her freedom rests on the decision.
Let's just say the dry spell means much more than an epically awful ski season.
In short, yes. And, maybe, no. Tasers can be an effective method of non-lethal defense against cougars, ignoring other vital factors. But we’ll get to that. Before you head into the backcountry packing high voltage, you’ll want to know a few things about America’s misunderstood lion.
Jack London said that achieving greatness sometimes means burning white hot, even if there's a price to be paid once the flame goes out. Josh Dean went to Alaska to hang with Lance Mackey, the toughest competitor in Iditarod history. He came away with a new understanding of resilience, bravery, and the iron bond between a musher and his dogs.
Is there a more abused word in the travel writer’s lexicon than “escape”? But it really does describe a Belizean vacation. Belcampo: Room 1 and the room of your dreams. The Central American country has all the makings for a timeout from reality, including multiple ecosystems to explore (swampy planes,…
A warming habitat—and a changing Antarctic landscape—have forced the iconic wobblers to take to high ground, ascending precipitous frozen cliffs in the process. But how is the question.
Sixteen-year-old Noah Graham was lying down during a late-summer camping trip when he felt jaws clamp down on the back of his head. He reached back and touched a Wolf’s face.
Each spring on Costa Rica’s desolate Caribbean coast, endangered leatherback sea turtles come ashore at night to lay and hide their eggs. Poachers steal them for cash, and as Matthew Power reports, they’re willing to kill anyone who gets in their way.
There are few species more in need of a helping hand than the sea turtle: All seven species are on threatened or endangered lists. And thanks to the turtles’ penchant for secluded, sandy beaches, altruists planning volunteer trips have exotic vacations in store—bonus! Most volunteer work involves working at a…
No jungle or river is too remote for self-described medicine hunter Chris Kilham, who travels the globe looking for plants to boost our vitality, ease our pain, and turn us on.
Cutting down your own evergreen is easier than you think
A new book, DEEP, digs into the science and emotion swirling around climate change and how it will impact the ski industry.
I’m racing the California International Marathon this weekend. The temperature will be in the 30s to start. How should I warm up?
There are endless twister videos out there. These are the man-eating, building-splintering best.
This season, choose outdoors over indoors, adventure over eating, and hiking over cooking.
When I get fat and out of shape, my first run back is always a super-itchy experience. My thighs itch, my abdomen itches, it drives me crazy. Why is that?
In an effort to prevent yet another extinction, DODOcase has teamed up with Ink-dwell, artist Jane Kim’s project to bring endangered species into the public eye, to publicize the plight of the Nevada Big Horn Sheep.
Women combat veterans suffer the same injuries and difficulties as their male counterparts. And a rugged form of expedition therapy offers a new kind of hope.
Determined that Russia will put on the most lavish Winter Games in history, Vladimir Putin has spent $51 billion, quashed environmental critics, and turned one of Europe’s most beautiful natural regions into a construction zone.
The new Interior Secretary has an impressive résumé. Oil geologist, banker, president of REI. But today's Washington is a landscape without maps, and in this age of climate change and keystone, the major battles are taking place over at the EPA and State. Is greatness still possible at Interior?
Plastic toys, on the other hand, rule! That's the takeaway from a recent Toys"R"Us advertisement. Fortunately, some recent public policy changes bode well for getting kids in need more than free toys.
In the past two months 7 wild orcas have been captured in the Sea of Okhotsk for the purposes of stocking aquariums and water parks. These are the first wild orca caught in more than a decade, making it clear that Russian fishermen are earnest about reviving the wild capture trade.
How Sandra Steingraber is leading the war against hydraulic fracking
Do family vacations that are meant for learning about other cultures devolve into the wild mistreatment of historical sites? These guidelines aim to help you help them see what's so special about all things ancient.
Each summer 20,000 shining paragons of American boyhood march into the wilderness of Philmont Scout Ranch to confront an age-old question: Can the anarchy of adolescence be tamed?
Motivated by adventure, science, and awe at the power of nature, stormchasers are risking it all to get closer to tornadoes than ever before. Last spring, during the deadly Oklahoma City outbreaks, they got more than they bargained for.
A new documentary features scientists, policy makers and activists who are all wrangling for a cleaner, clearer lake. Watch the full film here.
In 1962 in Haiti, Clairvius Narcisse was certified dead and buried. Days later, he was raised from the grave by a sorcerer and became a will-less zombie slave. In 1980, a Haitian psychiatrist found him. In 1983, a Harvard ethnobotanist discovered the secret of his poisoning. And in 1985, a reporter traveled to Haiti to (literally) unearth the true story.
Langdon Cook's new book seeks to demystify the strange—and sometime dangerous—world of mushroom hunting
After a friend's recent near-miss with disaster in the backcountry, our writer has been thinking about risk, personal responsibility, and what it means to be "ready" to go the wild.
5 stories by our editors about near-death experiences and how they survived.
New Jersey’s post-Sandy strategy: massive resistance to rising seas
Geologist Orrin Pilkey predicted exactly what a storm like Sandy would do to the mid-Atlantic coast and New York City. On a tour of destruction after the deluge, he and David Gessner ponder a troubling question: Why are people rebuilding, as if all this isn't going to happen again?
The billions in federal Sandy relief will mainly be used to rebuild what was there before
In a new book, author and naturalist Doug Peacock imagines our species’ next big adventure—coping with a climate apocalypse that may now be imminent.
Is another megaflood imminent in the Boulder, Colorado, area? One thing's for sure—they're gonna need a bigger sewer system.