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Screenshot of The Outdoor Recreation Economy. Photo: OIA People in the United States spend $646 billion a year on outdoor activities, according to The Outdoor Industry Association's recently released report “…

I’ll be in Boston this summer and I’m a decent runner. What are some fun and competitive road races I should consider entering?

I live in Minneapolis and have begun to take up rock climbing. Where do you think are the best places to go bouldering in the Midwest?

I’ve got three days to jet away to Jamaica with my wife. What should I do while I’m there?

I want to go zip-lining—but in the wilderness, not in some amusement park. What are my best options in the U.S.?

*If you want her to run alongside you for a really, really long time. Kentucky Fried Chicken doesn't need a lot of help in China, but this is a story that sounds perfect for the company's next commercial there. After his graduation, 22-year-old…

I’ve always wanted to go trekking in Scotland. What are the best paths that combine great natural scenery with history?

I want to escape to a cabin in the woods. I'm looking for someplace that's really isolated, but close to lots of recreation and a small town where I can grab a decent bite to eat. What do you recommend?

I just graduated from college and I'd like to do some traveling this summer. What are the world’s best towns for backpackers who like outdoor adventure—and partying?

It would be even more pretentious of me than normal to try to name the absolute best adventure travel poems ever written—but I’m willing to try. These five classics should be placed near the top of any armchair voyager's list. As for how to interpret them, you'll have to decide…

I’m about to take a month-long road trip with a couple of buddies. We’d like to turn it into a junk food tour of America. Where can we find the best hamburgers?

I want to take my girlfriend for an outdoorsy, romantic weekend in a state or national park in the Northwest. What are your suggestions?

What are the best stretches of road for taking a spring bike ride in the Midwest?

My buddies and I want to take a car-camping spring road trip through the Southwest, beginning and ending in Las Vegas. What do you recommend?

I'm training for my first marathon, and I'd like to run it in a fun place. What are the best marathons in cool destinations?

I’ve some vacation time coming, and I’d like to escape to a Mediterranean island for some adventure. Where should I go?

What is the best way to escape the crowds on my trip to Yellowstone this summer?

I want to take a spring whitewater rafting trip in the U.S., but I hate being cold. Where should I go?

I tend to divide the handfishing world into two groups: those of us who knew about and appreciated the sport called noodling (or catching fish with your bare hands) before the Animal Planet show “Hillbilly Handfishin’,” and all of the wannabes who are just now jumping on the bandwagon and…

  Little yurt in big woods photo: Katie Arnold My husband, Steve, and I have been living and skiing in northern New Mexico for 16 years. We’ve had epic powder season, when we skied Taos nearly every weekend and drought seasons when we had to settle…

Kate Kernerman on her way to a campground. Photo: Ryan Branciforte It was a brisk and sunny morning, typical for the dry winter we're having in San Francisco. As I locked my bike up to a sturdy fence and started down the escalator to the 24th…

I want an adventure without crossing the pond, but don't want to break the bank. Where should I go?

I want to ride the best rapids in the Caribbean. Where should I start?

I live in the Southeast and I’m a pretty good amateur photographer. What are some of the most amazing, camera-worthy hikes in my neck of the woods?

I want to go on a road and mountain biking vacation in the tropics. What do you recommend?

Where are the best places in the world to learn to BASE jump?

What are your five favorite travel apps for iPhone and Android?

I want to stay in a cabana on stilts, with margarita in hand, in a tropical location. Got any ideas?

I’m planning a long weekend of cross-country skiing in the West. Which national park is a better option: Yosemite or Rocky Mountain?

Skiing is expensive. Where can I find a resort that sells lift tickets for under $50?

Is your old Samsonite looking a little dogeared? Are you ready to replace your black roller board with something that's easier to identify on the luggage carousel? We'll be checking out new luggage this week at the Outdoor Retailer show. Here's a preview of a few of the pieces we're…

What are the best non-tropical places to go scuba diving in the winter?

I want to plan a rugged weekend in the Southwest with a group of my buddies. Some aren’t very outdoorsy, others are moderately experienced, and one could vanish for a week in the woods with nothing but a knife and dental floss and come back fatter and stronger. What would be a fun, not-too-cold adventure that would please everyone?

Some people like to head to the tropics in the winter. I like to bask in the snow and cold. What are your favorite winter carnivals in North America?

I want to spend a week in the Galapagos. Plan my trip for me, please.

I feel guilty about the environmental impact of skiing at a resort—given the energy consumption of the chairlifts and grooming machines, not to mention the snowmaking. What are the most eco-friendly ski resorts?

Where in the U.S. should I go to learn to ice climb this winter? Is Ouray really worth the trip?

Is it possible to learn to kitesurf on the cheap in the Caribbean? If so, where?

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?

My girlfriend and I want to spend a getaway weekend in a tree. What do you recommend?

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.

What are the best American mountain biking destinations that don’t begin with “M” and end in “oab?”

Where to take photos to inspire your Facebook friends to get out.

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?

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…

Thule Crossover 87L rolling duffel.

Patagonia Black Hole 60L duffel.

Tumi Vapor International carry-on.

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…

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 �����ԹϺ��� Quest. So let me set…

Jordan Davidoff, 37, New York City

T. J. Sassani, 34, San Francisco

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…

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…

Gap �����ԹϺ���s founder Bruce Poon Tip

Bahamas Vacation Tips…

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?

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?

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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?