Best American Adventures: Paddle 340 Miles of the Mighty Missouri—Nonstop

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Robert Earle Howells; Photograph by Michelle M. Peltier

The huge upside of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, nexus of an environmental battle lost a generation ago, is the emergence of its progeny, Lake Powell, as a supreme freshwater kayaking destination. The lake’s green-water tentacles extend from the main 185-mile (300-kilometer) watercourse into 96 side canyons, where kayakers can paddle free of tides, waves, currents, and motorboats. A reverential hush inevitably descends upon a group of kayakers when they proceed into slots of Navajo sandstone towering 500 feet (150 meters) overhead that constrict to barely the length of a paddle.

The size and complexity of the lake convey both challenge and mystery to the experience. Kayakers wanting to go the DIY route might need two full days to get to the best kayaking—and even then they can find themselves paddling into inviting slots that turn out to be blank walls. Outfitters provide a motor assist and the local beta for five-day trips that get you into canyons like Cascade, Driftwood, and Rainbow, beneath the numinous presence of Navajo Mountain (10,388 feet, or 3,166 meters) and the Kaiparowits Plateau. Rainbow Canyon is the gateway to the massive natural arch of Rainbow Bridge.

The typical routine is to paddle eight to ten miles (13 to 16 kilometers) a day, venture into a slot, cross the channel, paddle another, proceed afoot when the canyon closes in entirely, and paddle back out to camp on the main channel where sunset, stars, and sunrise are players in the drama.

Spring and fall are the best times to paddle free of the swarms of speedboats and personal watercraft that plague the lake in summer. Warm water lingers right into fall.

Need to Know: No fees or permits are required to enjoy Lake Powell. Get general info at www.nps.gov/glca. Outfitters and rentals: Kayak Powell (www.kayakpowell.com) provides shuttles, tours, and rentals. A five-day tour starts at $895.

Best American Adventures: Camp With Brown Bears

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Robert Earle Howells; Photograph by Alaska Stock/National Geographic

It’s thrilling to see big browns with no fence or barrier between you and them. At the Great Alaska International Adventure Vacations Bear Camp, you can quietly watch a dozen or more brown bears from a spruce-fringed meadow that lies between Mount Iliamna in Lake Clark National Park & Preserve and Cook Inlet. Or try out the camp’s viewing platform elevated 15 feet (4.5 meters) above the grassy plain, where hungry brown bears congregate in late spring and summer to fatten up on the supple shoots. (In case you were wondering, it’s black bears that climb trees; browns prefer to push the tree over. Listen to your guide and stick to protocol, and you’ll be safe.)

In June and July the bears stick to the meadow. By mid-August the action shifts to a nearby stream, where the bears glut on spawning salmon and teach their cubs how to fish. It’s precisely this abundance of food that accounts for Alaska coastal brown bears’ prodigious size (650 to 700 pounds, or 295 to 318 kilograms, is typical)—they are somewhat larger than their interior grizzly cousins. It also explains the remarkable numbers of their congregations. It’s not unusual to see 20 at a time from your chosen Bear Camp perspective.

Camp is a cluster of eight heated, portable huts arrayed along the beach where long days permit plenty of time between viewing sessions to gather for meals or a campfire and trade bear lore and lies. Shellfish are abundant, so there’s a good chance you too will do some glutting on fresh local bounty.

Need to Know: Great Alaska Bear Camp (www.greatalaska.com) offers one- to three-day camps that include the flight across Cook Inlet from Soldotna, from $1,095.

Best American Adventures: Trek Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Kate Siber; Photograph by Whit Richardson, Aurora Photos

Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, the country’s largest national park, operates on an entirely different scale than the Lower 48. Let’s just review the numbers: Six times the size of Yellowstone, it’s home to the country’s largest collection of glaciers and peaks over 16,000 feet (4,879 meters), including nine of the 16 tallest mountains. Parts of the national park are so remote and unexplored that mountains, glaciers, and passes remain unnamed, and only two roads—both gravel—enter it at all. Few visitors ever set foot into the backcountry. All of this adds up to that rarest of finds: true solitude.

Because there are limited well-trod trails in the park, backpackers usually forge their own routes, which is why a guide can come in handy. Enter Greg Fensterman, the author of the FalconGuides to trekking in the park and owner of the outfitter Trek Alaska. After exploring the park for the better part of a decade, Fensterman now offers choice guided treks, ranging from several days of bush-plane-accessed base camping and pleasant day hikes to nine days of serious climbs, swift river crossings, and bushwhacking. Either way, the rewards are indescribable: You’ll witness paper-white peaks that rise 9,000 feet (2,743 meters) out of valley floors, spot grizzlies that have likely never seen humans, and witness a place so remote and wild it could very well be the end of the world.

Need to Know: Contact the National Park Service (www.nps.gov/wrst) for information on backpacking. Trek Alaska offers five-day trips from $900 (www.trekalaska.com).

Best American Adventures: Ski Silverton Mountain

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Kate Siber; Photograph by Whit Richardson, Aurora/Getty Images

If the Wild West is still alive, it’s no more obvious than at Silverton Mountain. This scruffy mom-and-pop ski area is the country’s premier antiresort. The low-speed, two-person chairlift, the old laundry trucks they use as shuttles, and the wood-stove-heated base yurt are your first clues as to the owners’ no-nonsense philosophy: It’s all about the skiing. And skiing there is.

Situated in the remote southwestern corner of Colorado, a seven-hour drive from Denver, Silverton has 1,800 acres (728 hectares) of bowls, chutes, and cliffs all served up au naturel with nary a groomer in sight. To put it mildly, blue-square skiers need not apply: The easiest run tops out at about 35 degrees in pitch. The lift brings you to over 12,000 feet (3,658 meters), but many skiers huff up another 1,000 more vertical feet (305 meters) to access the hairiest couloirs. With an obscene amount of snow—400-plus inches (10-plus meters)—and an utter dearth of skiers (rarely more than 80 per day), Silverton virtually guarantees fresh tracks.

When planning a trip, there are several modes of attack. On select dates in December, January, and April, skiers can ride without a guide. For the rest of the season, skiing is guide-only. Helicopter assistance is available all season: One single helicopter drop gets skiers to a peak or ridge unreachable by foot; a roundtrip drop and pickup gets a day of remote backcountry touring with a guide; or book an entire day and have work-free freshies and gratis bragging rights.

Need to Know: Reserve tickets in advance at Silverton Mountain (www.silvertonmountain.com). Unguided tickets are $49 and guided tickets are $99 to $139, depending on the month. Not including lift ticket, heli drops are $159, heli-accessed backcountry ski touring is $320. A full day of heli-skiing is $999 per person, lift ticket included.

Best American Adventures: Raft the Forks of the Kern

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Kate Siber; Photograph courtesy Sarah Teed, Kern Outfitters

Locals describe the Forks of the Kern in two ways: It’s either 80 rapids in quick succession or one really, really long one. These 22 miles (35 kilometers) of nonstop Class IV and V rapids make the Forks of the Kern, only 150 miles (241 kilometers) from Los Angeles, one of the country’s premier whitewater runs. But it’s also a brilliant escape. After the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) hike in, there are no other people, no roads, no Starbucks, and no distractions from the beauty of the remote granite canyon.

Because many of the rapids are unscoutable, even veteran rafters must bring their A game. Kern River Outfitters don't require experience for their three-day trips, but they do require passing a swim test. On day one, the groups (no larger than 15 people) schlep gear to the put-in, while mules carry the rafts. Soon after launching, the river turns as bumpy as a bronco with a succession of boat-flipping Class IV and V rapids and drops as large as 10 feet (3 meters). Side hikes lead to lush waterfalls and natural 60-foot (18-meter) waterslides, but arguably the best part is the pine-ensconced riverside campsites. Come evening, guides fix three-course meals before tuckered rafters fall asleep under a blanket of California stars.

Need to Know: Kern River Outfitters’ (www.kernrafting.com) three-day all-inclusive trips start at $798, and depart on fixed dates between May and July, depending on flows.

Best American Adventures: Bag Fourteeners in the Weminuche Wilderness

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Robert Earle Howells; Photograph by Dan Cox

The Weminuche Wilderness in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado would be almost impossible to access without the fortuitous presence of a famous (and spectacular) sightseeing train, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Savvy peak baggers see it as a sweet symbiosis—they hop aboard with the tourists, take the train as far as Needleton, then hop off to cross the Animas River footbridge for a seven-mile (11-kilometer) hike into Chicago Basin. The prize is access to a feast of peaks called the Needle Mountains. Notable Needles include three fourteeners: Mount Eolus (14,083 feet/4,292 meters), Sunlight Peak (14,059 feet/4,285 meters), and Windom Peak (14,082 feet/4,292 meters).

A classic route is to ascend the west ridge of Sunlight—nontechnical, but a Class IV blast to climb on clean, highly aesthetic rock. Then descend via the south slope and head up the west ridge of Windom for about as much fun as a mountaineer can have in a single day. Unless it’s to tick off Eolus the same day to score the highest of bragging rights. Then you can knock off thirteeners in your spare time. No matter what, a very early start is de rigueur to beat the afternoon thunderstorms. Going with a guide can save you some route-finding frustration and get you swiftly to the sweetest rock.

Chicago Basin is no secret among climbers—nor among increasingly brazen goats, who will eat pretty much anything. Hang your stuff while you’re out peak bagging, even your hard goods. And consider a fall trip, when the climbers are fewer and the aspen are shimmery gold.

Need to Know: General info is available at www.fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan. Southwest Adventure Guides (www.mtnguide.net) offers three-day backpacking trips to Chicago Basin starting at $750.

Best American Adventures: Climb the Diamond on Longs Peak

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Doug Schnitzspahn; Photograph by Kennan Harvey, Aurora Photos

In general, Colorado’s famed fourteeners—the state’s 54 peaks over 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) tall—are pretty easy to climb. This makes the east face of 14,259-foot (4,346-meter) Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, which serves up the biggest buffet of multipitch, big-wall routes this side of Yosemite, even more of a prize. The east face’s sheer, 2,000-foot-high (609-meter-high) Diamond is a true, big mountain adventure that requires confidence in climbing 5.10 rock and the guts to sleep out in a portaledge.

If you do not seek that gritty of a challenge, there are easier options on the east face, such as the 5.4 Kieners route, a classic alpine climb that wends around the south side of the Diamond and takes advantage of a snow-filled couloir. But it is the hard rock routes on the Diamond that bring alpinists here from across the globe. The most popular way up, the Casual Route (5.10a), is still quite committing. Plus, the 5.10 crux of the Casual Route is near the top so you need to keep your energy in reserve.

For even greater challenges, King of Swords (5.12a) is a tough, overhanging route, and Eroica (5.12b), which runs next to the Casual Route, provides continuous 5.11 climbing with two cruxes at 5.12. Technical talk aside, the Diamond may be the very best place in the Lower 48 to test your big-wall mettle with a guide before you move on to even bigger mountains. Of course there’s certainly no shame in the Diamond being the apex of your rock-climbing achievements.

Need to Know: Colorado Mountain School (www.totalclimbing.com) will guide you up the Diamond on one- or two-day trips, from $475.

Best American Adventures: Swamp Tromp in Big Cypress National Preserve

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Robert Earle Howells; Photograph by Jack Dykinga

The “big” in Big Cypress is much more about land and sky than about trees. Most of the preserve’s giant cypress trees were long ago logged out, leaving behind their stunted kin. But few places can match the sense of spacious wilderness (720,000 acres, or 292,000 hectares) and primal pleasure of Big Cypress Swamp when you hike it under its own terms. Which, we submit, is when it’s underwater. That’s right—conventional wisdom may say to stick to the dry season, and that’s fine. But take a cue from a peculiar breed of Florida hiker called the swamp tromper and go for a sawgrass prairie slosh in July through October.

You'll walk through calf-deep to knee-deep water on a 30-mile (48-kilometer) segment of the 1,500-mile (2,414-kilometer) Florida Trail that cuts across the preserve. For one thing, water keeps the marl soil compacted; “dry” usually means “muddy” here. For another, it’s just plain fun—and decidedly magical. The water is crystal clear. You’ll see primeval avians like wood storks, Florida sandhill cranes, and egrets, and, on the higher ground, songbirds like grosbeaks and cardinals. You’re unlikely to have much human company.

The trail is blazed, but GPS is a big help, especially in winter when the pathway isn’t particularly evident underfoot. There are few gators hereabouts, and no, you won’t be camping in knee-deep water. The trail links high-ground islands known as hammocks, where the camping is fine beneath pines and palms, and where gorgeous bromeliads festoon the trees. Bears like the high ground, too, so a clean camp is called for. At night, listen for the wail of a panther. They’re out there.

Need to Know: The blazed trail runs from the park visitor center on U.S. 41 to a rest stop on I-75. For info and free permits, go to www.nps.gov/bicy. Maps and guides are available at www.floridatrail.org.

Best American Adventures: Dive Freshwater Caves

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Kate Siber; Photograph by Wes C. Skiles, National Geographic

Little known fact: Florida’s best diving isn’t in its saltwater. It’s hidden in the northwestern corner of the state, which is riddled with freshwater springs that flow through mazes of limestone passageways. Few people ever witness the strange sights of these underwater chambers—fossils, sunlight beaming in from holes in the cave ceilings, and even ancient mastodon tusks—because the only way to see it all is by donning a mask and flippers. Cave diving is rife with potential dangers. The good news is beyond good training, all it really necessitates is a little nerve.

Test the waters at Ginnie Springs Cavern, a beginner cave that Jacques Cousteau once described as “visibility forever.” It requires only an open-water diver certification. From an aquamarine, cypress-lined pool, descend and enter a chamber called the Ballroom, 130 feet (40 meters) long and 55 feet (17 meters) deep. There you can see water’s artwork in the limestone formations and feel the force of 30-plus million gallons of water per day pouring out of the inner cave entrance.

To graduate to the 6.5 miles (10 kilometers) of passageways in the Devil’s cave system, take a cavern or cave certification course at Ginnie Springs. Claustrophobes be forewarned: The tiniest swim-throughs require divers to take off their tanks to squeeze through. But the reward of these contortions is witnessing a vast watery underworld, some of which still remains unmapped.

Need to Know: Ginnie Springs Outdoors (www.ginniespringsoutdoors.com) is a certified PADI dive center and offers guided dives as well as cave-diving training. Diving Ginnie Springs itself doesn’t require a guide and costs $30 for open-water divers.

Best American Adventures: Climb Mount McKinley

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

Photograph by Dan Evans, My Shot

Standing atop the highest point in North America requires a good bit of luck and a big investment of time. The biggest obstacle on 20,320-foot (6,194-meter) Mount McKinley (or Denali, in native Athabaskan), which is the centerpiece of Alaska’s Denali National Park & Preserve, is the weather.

A successful climb requires a lot of waiting for the right window. But reach the top and you have claimed one of the most difficult of the famed Seven Summits and the mountain with the greatest vertical relief on the planet, rising 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) from its base. (Compare that with Mount Everest’s 12,000 feet/3,658 meters of vertical rise.) Denali is a test piece for climbers at the top of their game, but the summit is still a solid goal for less experienced mountaineers who hire a guide.

There are numerous ways to the top, but the standard route—and the one most guides use with clients—is the West Buttress, which begins at 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) and steadily makes its way up the mountain. Though it’s not particularly technical, the route is challenging simply for the extended exposure at elevation and requires more vertical stepping than a trip up Everest’s South Col.

Far more challenging is the Cassin Ridge, one of the most famous technical alpine climbs on the planet, dishing out 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) of sustained, exposed climbing on mixed steep ice and 5.7 rock. But those routes are just the beginning: The Harvard Route on the Wickersham Wall, climbed in 1963 by members of the Harvard Mountaineering Club, has never been repeated.

Need to Know: Less experienced climbers start with an eight-day training course (starting at $2,000), then sign up for 21-plus days on Mount McKinley (starting at $6,000) with Alpine Ascents International (www.alpineascents.com).