On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene brought 100-mile per hour winds to the mountains of Western North Carolina and dropped up to 30 inches of rain. The devastation was swift and heartbreaking and resulted in one of the worst natural disasters in the area鈥檚 history.

The mountain communities situated along the French Broad River, such as Asheville, Hot Springs, and Marshall, saw devastating floods, while Pisgah National Forest lost an estimated 100,000 acres of trees from a combination of high winds and an overly saturated forest floor. More than 100 people lost their lives in North Carolina and countless others lost their homes and businesses. For the last twenty years, Asheville has been home, and I covered Helene from my perspective during the immediate aftermath of the storm,

News of Helene鈥檚 destruction dominated the news cycle at the time, but the story of the region鈥檚 recovery, which began immediately after the rain and wind stopped, has gone largely unnoticed.

A year has passed and the communities that survived the destruction have been working tirelessly to rebuild. It started with carving paths through the downfall on city streets and has been ongoing with debris removal, building restoration, and trail reconstruction. I鈥檓 amazed by the progress that鈥檚 been made the past year. More than 85 percent of Asheville鈥檚 hospitality businesses have reopened. In Pisgah National Forest, hundreds of miles of trails are ready for bikers and hikers, and sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway have been restored.

The recovery isn鈥檛 complete though. You can still see scars from Helene. A number of businesses are still shattered. In Asheville, parts of the popular River Arts District are still vacant. In the smaller towns of Marshall and Hot Springs, some buildings remain empty as reconstruction moves forward. Sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway are still closed, and some recreation areas in Pisgah National Forest still need significant restoration work before they can be safely explored.

But we鈥檝e come so far in a year, and the towns (and the mountains surrounding them) are safe and open for visitors again. As fall approaches, along with the year anniversary of the worst natural disaster to hit the area, it’s time to come back and see the recovery story for yourself.

Consider this a local鈥檚 guide to adventuring in and around Asheville and the surrounding mountains one year after Hurricane Helene.

Asheville

If you walk through downtown Asheville today, you鈥檇 never know a powerful storm ripped through the community a year prior. Downtown was mostly unscathed, but the River Arts District, just west of downtown on the banks of the French Broad River, was hit hard. Flood waters rose to 20 feet above the French Broad鈥檚 typical level, pushing the river into聽breweries, restaurants, and studios that made up the popular entertainment district. Many of the buildings are still vacant or have been demolished entirely. But there is a resurgence of businesses in that district, from artists occupying studios again to breweries re-opening in their former locations.

Here are a handful of spots you should check out:

Hi-Wire Brewing

has reopened its River Arts District beer garden after being closed for eight months after the storm. The location was more than just a beer garden, it was the brewery鈥檚 headquarters and distribution center. Hi-Wire lost 100 percent of its packaging inventory and 80 percent of its finished beer in the flood. The newly restored space is loaded with murals and games and has 24 different beers on tap. Their Lo-Pitch Hazy IPA is my top choice.

Wrong Way River Lodge

has A-frame cabins on stilts on the bank of the French Broad. They saw water levels rise to their front row of cabins, and submerge the bottom floor of their lodge, but the entire property has been fully restored (from $223 a night).

The Bull and Beggar

has been a staple of Asheville鈥檚 culinary scene for more than a decade, but the building took in almost two feet of water during the storm and had to be completely renovated. It reopened in January 2025 and is back to serving the best steak frites in town. Too fancy? Their sister location, , makes what I believe to be the best burger in town.

The Next Phase

The next phase of recovery in the River Arts District is just as exciting. , a 50,000-square foot bazaar that housed the studios and galleries for more than 300 artists, is set to re-open this fall with the majority of its artists returning. was just a few weeks away from opening a 13,000-square foot bouldering gym and cafe on Foundy Street before the flood hit. The company is on schedule to open that new climbing gym in the Foundy this fall. And should open their popular Wedge Foundation, which was one of my favorite places to drink a beer outside, this fall as well.

Pisgah National Forest

Asheville is flanked by the 500,000-acre Pisgah National Forest, which was hit hard by Helene. There was damage to roughly 850 miles of trail and聽30 percent of the forest鈥檚 road beds.

Bent Creek Experimental Forest

Bent Creek Experimental Forest, which sits in the Pisgah Ranger District, is the closest section of Pisgah National Forest to downtown Asheville, and has more than 20 miles of trail that locals and visitors flock to for mountain bike rides and trail runs. Bent Creek experienced flooding and heavy winds, and lost a number of trees, but local volunteers were able to clear the damage quickly after the storm. The聽forest started reopening to visitors at the end of October 2024. , which has a two-mile, technical downhill, is the signature trail, but I like , which doesn鈥檛 get as much attention but has plenty of flow and cruisy benchcut singletrack.

Grandfather Ranger District

While the Pisgah Ranger District endured its share of destruction, Helene did the most damage in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah east of Asheville. The tall, steep mountains that rise to 6,000 feet in elevation in the Grandfather District saw triple digit winds and some of the heaviest rainfall of the storm with hundreds of miles of trail and road destroyed. Forest Service staff and volunteers have been working tirelessly, restoring access to more than 250 miles of trail within the Grandfather District.

Mountain bikers in particular should be excited by this, as the , just outside of downtown Old Fort, is now open with a new parking area. Bikers now聽have full access to this 14-mile trail system that emphasizes flow and fun. is designed for hammering fast laps, with a gravel road climbing to the top of a ridge that provides access to the downhill singletrack. If you want a taste of old school Pisgah singletrack within the Grandfather District, you need to ride , which is at the heart of a 10-mile loop between the towns of Old Fort and Black Mountain, and features a monstrous switchback climb preceding a fast, technical downhill through a thick forest canopy. It鈥檚 a classic for a reason.

Old Fort

Regardless of which trail you ride, be sure to drop into downtown Old Fort after your adventure. Old Fort is a town of 800 that was leaning heavily into outdoor recreation as an economic anchor before Hurricane Helene hit. The storm damaged more than just the trails within the national forest; it sent a flood surge through downtown that destroyed聽more than 40 buildings and homes. The town is scrappy though, and working hard to rebuild. Grab food and beer from the town鈥檚 social anchor, , which had flood waters four-feet deep inside its building.

The Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469-mile long two-lane highway that runs through the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, connecting Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Shenandoah National Park. It is the most visited unit of the National Park System with more than 17 million visitors each year. The Parkway wraps around Asheville connecting the town with the tallest peaks in the Eastern U.S., but聽the road is more than a scenic drive. Hundreds of trailheads are scattered along the corridor, and cyclists flock to the blacktop in droves for the scenic pedaling and tough climbs.

Helene brought heavy winds and rain that caused landslides and eroded sections of pavement both south and north of Asheville. The Parkway north of Asheville, from mile marker 377 to 333 is still closed, which means there鈥檚 no access to . But the National Park Service has been working hard to reopen the impacted sections of the Parkway, the most exciting of which (to those of us who are Asheville locals) is the 38-mile section of road from Asheville south to milepost 420, which gives hikers and cyclists access to two popular destinations: Graveyard Fields and Black Balsam.

Graveyard Fields, at milepost 418, is a mile-high valley with a popular trail system that accesses waterfalls and swimming holes along the Yellowstone Prong. The mile-long offers a quick tour of the goods, but climb the 1.5-mile for the best chance of solitude and an up-close look at the 40-foot falls.

At milepost 420, you鈥檒l find access to Black Balsam Knob, a 6,214-foot tall grassy bald with 360-degree views of the surrounding forest. You can also trek聽up the popular which runs for 29 miles through Pisgah National Forest, and has聽short loops or epic multi-day hikes.

The French Broad River

The French Broad River runs for 146 miles from the small town of Rosman to Newport Tennessee. In recent years, the French Broad has evolved from a source of industry, with paper mills and coal plants along its corridor, to more of a source of recreation. The non-profit, Mountain True, developed a with established campsites from its headwaters to its tailwaters.

Thousands of people tubed and paddled several miles of the river through the River Arts District every day this summer. Helene caused significant damage and essentially shut the river down for months as thousands of pounds of debris, from PVC pipe to tractor trailers, were deposited into the river from the storm. But Mountain True and the Army Corps of Engineers have been working tirelessly and the majority of the river is open again for recreation, with a number of put-ins and takeouts fully restored.

Boaters looking for some excitement should head to of the French Broad, which runs for eight miles from the town of Marshall to Hot Springs, offering the best whitewater on the entire river. While Helene caused its fair share of damage to the river corridor, the rapids on this stretch are largely the same as before the storm. I had the chance to run a rafting trip on Section 9 earlier in the summer, and was so happy to see the character of the whitewater had not been changed. The run is highlighted by class III waves and a couple of big class IV rapids, the most famous of which is Frank Bells, a river-wide ledge with several different routes depending on how crazy you want to get. runs half day and full day trips on Section 9 (from $59 per person).

The towns of Marshall and Hot Springs both sit directly on the French Broad River and both were devastated by the storm. After the flood waters receded, Marshall was left with several feet of mud to contend with, while the storm surge ripped through the sides of certain buildings in Hot Springs. But both communities are coming back strong, each with businesses that are open and eager for visitors.

In Marshall, grab a beer and pizza at 聽on Main Street. In Hot Springs, serves tacos and great beer in its beer garden. If you鈥檙e looking to camp, grab a site at , which has tent sites overlooking the French Broad within walking distance of downtown Hot Springs (from $45 per site).

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national parks columnist. He鈥檚 lived in Asheville for more than 20 years, and has personally seen the town flood twice in that time. He recently wrote about the in the country.聽

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Everyone who loves adventure must, at some point, make a pilgrimage to Moab, Utah. Just don鈥檛 be surprised if one trip turns into many. Cradled in a sprawling, three-dimensional garden of spiraling towers, sandstone arches, plunging canyons, and wind-polished slickrock, Moab is the hub of a 20 million-acre desert wonderland. The landscapes are otherworldly. The sunsets are second to none. And the opportunities for adventure, solitude, and self-reflection are virtually limitless.

Just be an informed pilgrim. While the area鈥檚 marquee national parks鈥擜rches and Canyonlands鈥攇rab most of the headlines, they encompass only a fraction of the region鈥檚 trails and campsites. Dead Horse Point State Park and Bears Ears National Monument together encompass millions of acres of . In Bears Ears, you鈥檒l trace emerald rivers hemmed in by soaring mesas and sheer cliffs. In Dead Horse, a network of wildflower-fringed trails connects cliffside campgrounds. Just a few minutes out of town, offers an uncrowded alternative to the postcard-famous Delicate Arch. is littered with dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs as pristine as anything you鈥檒l find on national park land.

If you prefer to do your exploring on two wheels, you鈥檙e still in the right place. Moab is a with more than 150 miles of trail accessible from downtown. Hit the world-famous and ride through canyons and sage-lined arroyos. Or knock out a section of the , a legendary ribbon of singletrack that climbs from Moab to the riverside town of Loma, Colorado.

While spring and fall are peak seasons for hiking and biking, early summer brings a surge of alpine snowmelt, topping up the and drawing paddlers from across the continental United States. Here, you鈥檒l find everything from calm, cool stretches of flatwater to demanding Class V rapids. Load up your raft for a weeklong excursion, or target a half-day route for a leisurely afternoon on the water. If you don鈥檛 have your own boat, dozens of local companies can take you out on the river, providing all the necessary gear, food, and expert guidance.

The expansive desert terrain also makes Moab the country鈥檚 epicenter, with rugged jeep tracks, vast swaths of BLM land, and countless remote campsites. Rent a 4×4 vehicle in town, bring your own rig, or book a guided tour to experience the raw beauty of the desert with someone else behind the wheel.

One word of advice as you plan your next adventure in Moab: While you鈥檒l find an infinite number of things to do here, be careful not to pack your itinerary too full. The desert has a quiet magic that only comes in moments of stillness. Leave time to watch the stars come out or the sun rise amid the junipers. Times like these, stitched together with all the adventure action, make it clear why Moab is a sacred place for so many.

is Utah鈥檚 most iconic adventure epicenter. It鈥檚 a place to look inward and experience the beauty of the desert. Every traveler has an edge. In Moab, you find yours. Moab calls to those drawn to raw beauty, challenge, and connection. Come with intention and leave changed.

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Few things inspire more clickworthy internet rage than stories about tourists who suffer consequences after doing 鈥渟tupid鈥� things. Every summer, someone else is getting gored by something with horns, tossed by something with antlers, rescued from trails they had no business hiking, or causing a domino effect of river rescues. Often, there鈥檚 a phone and a selfie somewhere in the mix.

It鈥檚 hard to say whether the average tourist today is worse than ever before, or if there鈥檚 a higher proportion of “bad travelers” than there were in, say, the 1970s. There are certainly more travelers than there were back then鈥攖here were 1.4 billion global travelers in 2024, and this year will see even more. It鈥檚 easier, faster, and cheaper to travel today than ever before, which means travel and, therefore, rugged wilderness areas, are accessible to a much wider segment of the global population. That鈥檚 a good thing鈥攚e鈥檙e all about making it easier for people to connect with nature and have meaningful experiences outdoors. It also means that there are more people with less experience getting themselves into tricky situations because they haven鈥檛 been exposed to proper wilderness etiquette.

Thanks to our always-scrolling society, it鈥檚 harder for less-experienced travelers to make their embarrassing mistakes in private, away from prying phone cameras. Plus, no one makes headlines for not touching wildlife, or for not stealing artifacts from historic sites, or for not . Back in the 1800s, it was common practice to hack off pieces of petrified redwoods like those at , in Colorado, as a sort of DIY souvenir.

Before you write everyone off as a brainless tourist, consider that many 鈥渟tupid鈥� and high-risk mistakes could easily be made by any one of us. It doesn鈥檛 take much to fall, trip, or slide down a mountain. Most of the 鈥渂ad behavior鈥� I鈥檝e read about this summer broadly falls into five categories, and they鈥檙e mistakes anyone could make.

Here鈥檚 what we modern, overconfident, it-could-never-happen-to-me tourists have been up to this summer鈥攁nd how to avoid making headlines yourself.

Getting Too Close to a Cliff Edge or Riverbank

Far too many tragic accidents and near-death experiences start out this way: We just wanted a cool photo鈥� In July, a harrowing river rescue of three out of four Floridians in Glacier National Park was caused by one such group shot. It started when one member of the group fell into Avalanche Creek, then two of the others jumped in to try to save them. The domino effect of rescues involved two cardiac arrests requiring CPR from bystanders, plus a technical rescue team to save the third person. All are OK now, but it could have easily been much worse.

Ignoring Posted Warnings, Access Restrictions, or Clear Danger

This has been a shockingly deadly summer for hikers in Europe, with over 100 hiker deaths so far this year in the Italian Alps alone. This is partly because there are more people getting higher up into the mountains because of hotter temps at lower elevation, and partly because more of those people are less experienced.

Accidents can happen to anyone, anywhere, but you won鈥檛 help your odds by ignoring closures due to known risks. In July, a British man attempted a via ferrata that had been closed because of rockfall. Well, he got stuck thanks to falling rocks, and had to be evacuated by helicopter. He was reportedly asked to , which cost the equivalent of about $16,000.

Overestimating Fitness, Ability, or Skills and/or Lack of Preparedness

We鈥檙e not trying to shame anyone for phone addiction鈥攕ome people (far too many people) would dive into a trailhead toilet to rescue their iPhone鈥攂ut we would like to state for the record that phones are replaceable, and your lives (and dignity) are not. Back in April, an international student from China was , both times outside the mountain鈥檚 official climbing season. He first got stuck when he lost his crampons and couldn鈥檛 descend the mountain, and a rescue team picked him up by helicopter. Then, a few days later, he hiked back up to retrieve stuff he鈥檇 left behind, including his phone, and needed a second rescue due to altitude sickness.

Getting Too Close to Wildlife

For some reason, we seem to believe bison are adorable, giant stuffed animals, no more dangerous than a cow (which can actually be extremely dangerous!). As such, there is never any shortage of stories about enamored tourists being gored by bison in Yellowstone, and there have been at least two so far this year. But here鈥檚 a new one: this spring, a 29-year-old guy climbed a fence to hop into a crocodile enclosure at a wetlands park in the Philippines, evidently intending to pose for a selfie with a 2,000-pound聽reptile that he 鈥�.鈥� Lalay, a 15-foot crocodile, was not amused and spent half an hour thrashing around with the man鈥檚 leg clenched in her teeth, until the park owner clocked her over the head with a block of concrete to get her to let go. The man was able to retain possession of all of his limbs, and got away with just 50 stitches and some seriously traumatic memories.

Breaking Safety and Conservation Rules, Often for the 鈥楪ram (and Usually in Yellowstone)

Maybe there鈥檚 something that鈥檚 just so otherworldly about Yellowstone that our brains mistake its hot springs, geysers, bubbling mud pits, and plethora of animals with pointy extremities as manufactured amusements with some killer special effects. But whatever it is, its majesty inspires a fair bit of foolishness. In July, a teenager walked off-trail near the Lone Star Geyser and sustained serious burns to his foot and lower leg when he broke through a delicate crust into hot, hot water. The , a guy in flip-flops walked through Grand Prismatic Hot Spring to gather hats that had blown off people鈥檚 heads. Even more perplexing is the report of a man spotted on Instagram who appears to drink from a plastic cup he filled in a hot spring. Those waters are teeming with so much bacteria you can see it with your naked eye鈥攖hat鈥檚 what causes all those bright colors around Grand Prismatic鈥攁nd it is extremely not potable, to say the least. Also, it probably tastes horrendous. TL;DR: Do not do this.

How Not to be That Tourist

It鈥檚 so easy to be overconfident and to underestimate risk, to be 鈥渢hat guy.鈥� I鈥檇 venture to guess that, if you鈥檙e reading this, you鈥檝e probably taken an unnecessary risk at least once, too. I know I have. So, how can you be better?

1. Reflect on Your Past Mistakes

I鈥檇 like to tell you I鈥檓 perfectly well-behaved, but reading these stories reminds me that I, too, have gotten too close to the edge of a viewpoint for a good photo. I鈥檝e had close calls with cars as a cyclist who thinks she is above traffic laws, and with cyclists as a pedestrian who acts like she has outgrown the First Commandment of walking outside: look where you鈥檙e going when crossing the street.

I鈥檝e found myself on icy trails with fading light and too few layers; in the desert with insufficient water; on rugged terrain with very wrong shoes; and within 20 or 30 feet of a bear without an ounce of bear spray. Have you done any of these things? If so, resolve to be more thoughtful in the future. It only takes one deadly mistake to put yourself permanently out of commission.

2. Know Your Limits聽

It鈥檚 crucial to get comfortable with quitting, turning around, or avoiding a trail or experience all together if you鈥檙e not certain you have the skills and equipment necessary to proceed safely. Before you set off, ask yourself: Do I have the training, equipment, and resources necessary for this adventure?

3. Do a Buddy Check

Follow the lead of SCUBA divers and rock climbers who start with an essential buddy check before getting in the water or on the wall. Do you both have ample water, essential layers, a first aid kit, a map, and a clear plan for what to do when something goes wrong? Have you checked the weather, confirmed whether there are any closures or access restrictions, researched environmental hazards like flash flood or avalanche risks? Have you applied for necessary permits?

4. Let Go of the Need for a 鈥楶erfect Photo鈥欌�攁nd Watch Where You鈥檙e Going

Climbing out onto a ledge for a handful of hearts on Instagram isn鈥檛 worth risking your life. It鈥檚 also not fair to other hikers to block the trail while you try to make sure no one is blinking in the group photo. Always keep your eyes on the trail, and stay aware of who鈥檚 around you. Just think about how easy it is to trip in your neighborhood while you鈥檙e scrolling while walking. It would be so much worse to trip over the edge of a canyon.

5. Just Say No to DIY Wildlife Encounters

Even if you spot the tiniest, cutest, fluffiest baby mountain goat TikTok has ever seen, you absolutely should not touch or approach wildlife at any time, for any reason. Do not pick them up, do not touch them, do not take selfies with them, do not get between a mama and her babies, do not turn your back on nearby animals with horns, antlers, or teeth you don鈥檛 want to meet, and do not feed them. So many of the attacks and close calls you see on accounts like are devastatingly preventable. The keeping at least 25 yards between you and wildlife at all times鈥攁nd make that 100 yards if the animal in question is a bear, a wolf, or another predator much bigger and stronger than you.

6. Behave Like You鈥檙e Risking A Life鈥擝ecause You Are

Remember, a rescue doesn鈥檛 impact just you. Rescuers and first responders must take risks to save people, and sometimes even the best-trained people make deadly errors.

When in doubt, act like someone else鈥檚 life depends on it.

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Colorado鈥檚 14ers鈥攎ountains that reach 14,000 feet of elevation鈥攃arry significant gravitas in the adventure travel world. Rightfully so: They are physically and mentally challenging, astoundingly beautiful, and, with 58 to choose from, offer a tantalizing variety of Rocky Mountain geology and ecology to explore. What they don鈥檛 offer is solitude.

Fourteeners are heavily trafficked, by both locals and tourists. According to a latest annual聽report from the聽聽(CFI), the trail counter at 14,272-foot Quandary Peak, a popular 14er near Breckenridge, recorded more than 26,500 hiker days during the 2024 season. The season runs roughly June through September. 鈥淗iker days鈥� corresponds to one person, hiking one peak in a single day. That means there are hundreds of hikers conga-lining their way up Quandary on good weather days in the summer.

Hoping for a more authentic nature experience, I opted for a different summit hike during my recent trip to Breckenridge: 13,860-foot Crystal Peak, a lowly 13er. It was the right decision. During the seven-hour聽round-trip, I saw just two other people outside of my party. And we had the summit all to ourselves. Meanwhile, over on Quandary, we could see swarms of people, like ants, from our vantage atop Crystal.

I checked in with veteran guide Ted Mahon on this phenomenon. Mahon has hiked and skied Colorado鈥檚 100 tallest mountains鈥�58 14ers plus 32 13ers 鈥攌nown as the Centennials. I asked him the difference between a 14er聽and a high 13er like Crystal Peak. 鈥淚n terms of scenery, physical effort, and challenge, they are quite the same,鈥� Mahon said. 鈥淭he difference is the 13ers will be considerably less trafficked, by a huge margin.鈥�

There are more than 600 mountains in Colorado that rise to between 13,000 and 13,999 feet of elevation. Twenty of them are within 100 feet shy of 14,000 feet. Consider me converted. I see no reason to battle crowds to get my Rocky Mountain high. These five 13ers are even better than 14ers.

Crystal Peak

Elevation: 13,860 feet
Distance (out and back): 9.5 miles
Rocky Mountain Subrange: Tenmile Range
Basecamp: Breckenridge

Hiring a local guide is always a smart move. For Crystal Peak, I worked with Breckenridge-based Colorado 国产吃瓜黑料 Guides. Our guide was Brittany Konsella, who is one of only two women ever to have summited and skied all 58 of Colorado鈥檚 14ers (the other is Mahon鈥檚 wife Christy).

Mahon told me that you don鈥檛 want to underestimate 13ers. They may be lower in elevation than 14ers, but that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e easier. 鈥淭he lack of traffic means there’s also a lack of established routes,鈥� Mahon said. 鈥淎nd so sometimes the path to the top of a 13er can involve more route finding and more actual self-reliance than going on a more popular 14er.鈥�

Sure enough, on Crystal, not long after we鈥檇 reached the scree slopes of the alpine where the trail disappears, I was drawn toward a cobalt blue lake carved out of slate-grey stone. It turned out to be the wrong move. Had we kept going that way, we would have had a much steeper climb to the summit. Fortunately, Konsella was there to steer us back in the right direction.

She also informed us that actual crystals can be found on Crystal Peak. My friend Brigid is a rockhound, and she was keen to spot some on the descent (the air was too thin, the physical effort too high, to be on the hunt during the ascent). The crystals were surprisingly easy to find in the talus if, like Brigid, you know how to look. She鈥檇 wander off the main route and start turning small boulders over with her foot. She鈥檇 bend down and voila, toothy quartz crystals growing in the rock would reveal themselves.

While you can do Crystal Peak as a day-hike, we opted to spend the night before at聽, part of the system. The idyllic cabin is located at聽11,264 feet of elevation, just off the Crystal Peak trail. Not only is staying at Francie鈥檚 even better than glamping, but starting from there in the morning shaved two miles off our summit hike distance.

Pacific Peak

Elevation: 13,965 feet
Distance (out and back): 7.75 miles
Rocky Mountain Subrange: Tenmile Range
Basecamp: Breckenridge

Konsella鈥檚 favorite 13er is Pacific Peak, located in the Tenmile Range alongside Crystal Peak, Quandary Peak, and the peaks of Breckenridge Ski Resort. One of the highest 13ers (35 feet shy of 14,000), Pacific Peak offers see-forever views looking into the Gore, Sawatch, and Elk ranges. Konsella, who is also a ski-tour guide, describes the trail as easy鈥攔elatively speaking鈥攕tarting in an evergreen forest that gives way to meadows and lakes before ascending into the alpine. She follows it to the top, then descends on skis via the North Couloir鈥攚ell-known among experts for being one of the steepest, most aesthetically pleasing ski lines in Colorado. The rest of us just turn around and hike back down the way we came.

Experienced high-elevation hikers (and skiers) can get two summits for the price of one by adding on 13,856-foot Atlantic Peak, located less than half a mile across the saddle from Pacific. The two 13ers share a trailhead, which is located about ten miles from the popular mountain town of Breckenridge.

New for Breck, began welcoming guests in 2025. The contemporary 205-room hotel features a high-end restaurant, The Edwin, serving up global mountain cuisine like Elk Bolognese. Don鈥檛 miss the 鈥攖he world鈥檚 highest鈥攚hich recently unveiled Casa Breck Tequila, in addition to its award-winning whiskeys, gins, and vodkas.聽In 2024, restaurant’s owner and Executive Chef Matt Vawter earned a James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef: Mountain region鈥攖he first in Breckenridge.

Twining Peak

Elevation: 13,721 feet
Distance (out and back): 4.4 miles
Rocky Mountain Subrange: Sawatch Range
Basecamp: Aspen

If you鈥檙e new to high-elevation hiking, Twining Peak is the 13er for you. The trailhead starts at 12,000 feet atop Independence Pass, a scenic drive from Aspen to the Continental Divide that鈥檚 a bucket-list activity in its own right. The hike to the top of Twining is just over 2 miles long and doesn鈥檛 involve any scrambling. Mahon does it in an hour. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e coming from sea level, plan for maybe twice that,鈥� he said. Like most hiking routes above treeline, the trail may be challenging to find in places, and traverse rubble and loose rock.

The view from the summit is one of the best in the state鈥攁 full, 360-degree panorama. 鈥淭wining is pretty central in a big sea of peaks,鈥� Mahon said. Look east for a rare bird鈥檚 eye view of Mount Elbert and Mount Mt. Massive, the two tallest peaks in Colorado at 14,438 feet and 14,427 feet respectively.

Base out of Aspen, Colorado’s bougiest mountain town,聽for exceptional accommodations, dining, and entertainment. , the acclaimed French bistro from Chef Ludo Lefebvre, is opening its third location there in winter 2025 (inside the hotel) and the luxury boutique hotel will open its doors in fall 2025.

Mount Adams

Elevation: 13,937听蹿别别迟
Distance (out-and-back): 11.6 miles
Rocky Mountain Subrange: Sangre de Cristo Range
Basecamp: Crestone

One of the more remote and dramatic subranges of the Rockies, the Sangre de Cristos stretch from southern Colorado to northern New Mexico. Sangre de Cristo means 鈥淏lood of Christ鈥� in Spanish and refers to the red hue the peaks take on at sunrise and sunset. The range contains the Great Sand Dunes, the tallest in North America, and Crestone, a very small town with a very strong spiritual vibe (also known as a vortex).

Peak-baggers are drawn to the area by the Kit Carson massif, a 14,000-foot behemoth encompassing Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point, and Columbia Point, and by the nearby Crestones, a cluster of four 14ers. But Mahon prefers the under-the-radar 13er, Mount Adams. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same incredible Sangre de Cristos rock, which is mostly conglomerate and a lot more solid compared to the crumbly rock in other ranges,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the view of all those other peaks from the summit of Adams is pretty amazing.鈥�

Take the Willow Lake trail, and plan to camp the night before in one of the dispersed sites about 4 miles in, just before the gorgeous alpine lake and cascading waterfall. It鈥檚 one of Mahon鈥檚 favorite places to camp in Colorado, located in a high-elevation plateau encircled by massive peaks. Bring your fishing gear and license.

Vermillion Peak

Elevation: 13,909 feet
Distance (out and back): 10.2 miles
Rocky Mountain Subrange: San Juan Range
Basecamp: Silverton

Vermillion Peak is the tallest of a series of high 13ers surrounding the iconic Ice Lake Basin in southwestern Colorado. The picture-perfect turquoise lake has become an incredibly popular hiking destination, but Mahon said you see very few people once you start ascending the peak.

Vermillion and its neighboring mountains are all part of the San Juans, a distinctive subrange that鈥檚 best known for its mining history. 鈥淭he San Juans are really beautiful geologically,鈥� Mahon said. 鈥淵ou have all these different shades of color where natural veins of ore were seeping out the side of the mountain.鈥�

While it鈥檚 tempting to plan this hike during summer wildflower season鈥攖he apex of beauty along the Ice Lake trail鈥擲eptember is better because most of the snow will be melted out from the summit of Vermillion.

Plan to stop in Silverton, a former gold and silver mining town turned mountain sports mecca. Besides world-class skiing, hiking, and rafting, Silverton is also the gateway to Ouray鈥攙ia 11,018-foot Red Mountain Pass鈥擜merica鈥檚 ice-climbing capital. Mahon鈥檚 go-to for breakfast burritos and gourmet coffee is Coffee Bear Silverton. For apr猫s-hike burgers he hits Handlebars Food & Saloon, serving veggie, 鈥渟hroom,鈥� beef, and elk patties.

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Ever come across an incredible hotel that stops you mid-scroll and makes you think,聽 Wow, wouldn鈥檛 it be something to stay there?聽We do, too鈥攁ll the time. Welcome to聽Friday Fantasy, where we highlight amazing hotels, lodges, cabins, tents, campsites, and other places perched in perfect outdoor settings. Read on for the intel you need to book an upcoming adventure here. Or at least dream about it.

After a long day of travel, I woke up and walked outside my cedar yurt overlooking the Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island. The still green water perfectly reflected the tree-covered hills and mountains on the opposite shoreline, as the heavy fog slowly gave way to sunlight. A few anglers prepped their boats for a day of fishing, while a lone sea lion briefly made an appearance before disappearing under the water. Two chatty kayakers paddled across the bay, while some double-crescent cormorants made a momentary appearance before disappearing into the fog. I could have sunk into a lounger and watched the scene for hours, but there were too much to get into here to stay idle any longer.

This July, I traveled more than 2,500 miles to catch some wild Pacific coho salmon and check out two fishing lodges I鈥檇 been hearing so much about. and , both owned by Nootka Marine 国产吃瓜黑料s, are located on the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, surrounded by Sitka spruce forests and the Pacific Ocean鈥攁nd minutes from 鈥渟almon highway,” a prime spot to catch salmon on their migratory path June though September.

Lodging

The two lodges each have their own appeal. Moutcha Bay is a little bit fancier, with the cedar yurts and waterfront chalets almost demanding you slip into a fluffy robe, sink into a comfy chair, and stare out into the surrounding beauty. Newton Cove is more remote, only accessible by seaplane or boat. Comfortable outdoor seating areas, each surrounding a propane fire pit, encourage camaraderie among the anglers. It is the perfect spot for spinning stories about the ones that got away.

My first day on the water was mostly spent looking for bears and other wildlife, eventually making do with a gaggle of sea otters floating across the water and the occasional bald eagle overhead. The other boat passengers and I eventually made our way to Yuquot, a small First Nations village where we briefly chatted with Sanford Williams, a master carver of totem poles as he labored on his newest creation, and then hiked to a rocky beach where we had a light lunch.

After two nights at Moutcha Bay, I took a 45-minute boat ride to its sister property Newton Cove, a floating resort just off the Esperanza Inlet. At first glance, the surroundings seem a bit non-descript, but when I entered my room and the various common areas, I felt immediately comfortable, like being wrapped in a Winslow Homer painting. Everything was impeccably clean and well organized. Enjoying聽a cocktail around the fire pit in the evening, while watching the sun disappear behind the mountains and hearing the shoreline come alive with life, was a great way to cap the day.

Fishing Along Salmon Highway

I came all this way to fish, and it was finally the day. Rolling out in one of the resort鈥檚 fishing boats, we traveled where the fish had been biting recently, a stretch of unprotected water where the waves kept bouncing the front of the moving boat like an angry trampoline. I rarely ever get seasick when fishing, but by the time we reached our destination and began trolling, I was vomiting off the side of the 32-foot boat. But that wasn鈥檛 going to stop me from catching fish.

Soon I watched the fishing rod directly in front of me violently jerk up and down, signaling a fish had taken the bait, inadvertently setting the hook in its mouth. With wobbly legs, I stood up, grabbed the rod, and started reeling. The fish had other ideas though. As I took a quick rest, I watched as the line zipped off the reel, as the wily fish dove deeper into the ocean, trying to escape. For the next few minutes, I鈥檇 fight for a bit, then it would fight, and back and forth until the salmon had exhausted itself. I finally lifted my defeated adversary into the boat, and after a moment of compassionate unpleasantness, placed it in a cooler with the rest of the day鈥檚 fish.

When fishing in British Columbia, you need to be cognizant of the province鈥檚 regulations. Chinook and coho salmon must be hatchery-raised and larger than 45 cm (17.7 inches) and 30cm (11.8 inches), respectively, to keep. You can keep a maximum of two per species per day. That meant that most of the fish we caught needed to return to the ocean. I reeled in at least a dozen while keeping three, while my buddy caught just as many and kept one massive chinook that had me green with envy (or maybe that was just the seasickness). Upon returning to Newton Cove, we compared our catches with the other boat that docked around the same time, happily sharing fish stories from our day on the water.

The resort staff will clean, filet, and freeze your catch, boxing it for your return trip home. The next time I鈥檇 see my coho would be on a plate, drenched in butter and lemon, atop a bed of asparagus, while the rockfish would be diced, seasoned with Tajin, and served on tortillas. I couldn鈥檛 help but smile, again.

国产吃瓜黑料 Intel

If you鈥檙e new to saltwater fishing, Nootka Marine 国产吃瓜黑料s offers an which pairs guests up with experienced guides who will not only get you 聽some fish, but also teach you about marine safety, how saltwater tides affect fishing, where to fish, and more. Upon graduation, there鈥檚 no cap-and-gown ceremony, but you will receive a discount on boat rentals during subsequent visits.

While fishing is the main attraction for both resorts, there are plenty of other options for fun. Folks driving to Moutcha Bay traverse the so-called Tree to Sea Drive from Gold River. The fairly rough gravel road is just over 36 miles, with Moutcha Bay around the middle, the Tahsis village at the terminus, and opportunities for adventure scattered throughout. I crossed at least a half dozen creek and river access points that made me kick myself for not bringing my fly rod and waders.

About 10 miles along the road, you鈥檒l find a trail leading to Upana Caves, where you can do a self-guided tour through the caverns, leading to both a waterfall and an underground river. Given my rather crippling claustrophobia, I chose to ignore that sign, but luckily there are three other above-ground waterfalls along the route that you can hike to and capture聽some beautiful selfies in front of the flowing water.

Malaspina Lake is a great place to swim, fish for stocked rainbow trout, or watch wildlife like bald eagles, black bears, and the occasional cougar. Leiner River Recreation Site offers some fun hikes, while the Boulder Patch Trail leads to a popular rock-climbing spot along the river.

Wildlife watching is a must at the floating Newton Cove Resort.聽 Start your mornings at the beach, looking for brown bears foraging for clams, sea lions, and various aquatic wildlife. Most boat rides also include a wildlife watching element, where you can see bears, whales, and sea otters among others.

Kayak and stand-up paddleboards are available to rent at both locations. Nothing beats a quiet, solitary paddle through gorgeous environments to get you centered and ready to start your day.

Room Intel

Moutcha Bay鈥檚 cedar yurts are gorgeous and modern, featuring a bedroom with an聽attached bathroom which is, in turn, also attached to the living room and kitchen area. A second bedroom is located in an upstairs loft.聽 Massive windows look over the bay, but if you鈥檇 rather breathe in the sea air, you can relax on a lounger on the deck, which also boasts a grill and outside dining area.

For folks on more of a budget, Moutcha Bay offers a small campground with several waterfront sites as well.. The 28 RV-friendly sites have both water and power hookups and are located a short walk away from washhouses with flush toilets and hot showers

The rooms at Newton Cove are a bit more basic than Moutcha Bay鈥檚 yurts, but still very clean and comfortable. The scenery surrounding the resort makes it nearly impossible to not be outside enjoying it.

Eat and Drink

Being a floating resort makes food deliveries more difficult, so Newton Cove鈥檚 breakfast menus are fairly limited鈥攐melets, breakfast sandwiches, and the like. While dinners are typically pre-prepared by the chef and customized based on allergies and dietary restrictions. During my visit, each three-course dinner was more amazing than the last. The perfectly prepared scallops were a personal favorite, as well as the steak and broccolini dish that served as my party鈥檚 send off. Meals and drinks are part of Newton Cove鈥檚 all-inclusive package, so you鈥檙e encouraged to get your money鈥檚 worth.

At Moutcha Bay, meals are a la carte, leaning heavily on upscale pub fare like ling cod tacos, tuna tataki, pizza, and poutine. (It鈥檚 still Canada, after all.) My friends and I paired our meals with a variety of Vancouver-area craft beers and custom cocktails.

If you ask the staff at either resort nicely, they may even cook your freshly caught fish that evening for your dinner.

When to Go

Moutcha Bay Resort is open from June to September, while you can stay at Newton Cove from July to September. July and August are generally the prime months for salmon fishing.

How to Get There

Fly into Comox (YQQ) on Vancouver Island, then drive approximately three hours to Moutcha Bay. The last 45 minutes to an hour will be on a lumpy dirt road, but the bumps and jostles will be worth the trip. Reaching Newton Cove requires a less than one-hour boat ride from Moutcha Bay. You can reach either resort by direct seaplane flight from Seattle, Vancouver, or Gold River.

Details and How to Book

Prices at Moutcha Bay start at around $949 CAD per person for a basic two-night stay, with a three-night stay with two days of self-guided fishing beginning at $1,849. Newton Cove rates begin at $5999 CAD for a three-night fully guided fishing trip in a private suite for two guests, three full days of guided fishing, fish processing services, and meals.

offers standard itineraries for individual lodges, but they can also do custom bookings that include combinations of聽 both Moutcha Bay, Newton Cove, and a third lodge, Nootka Sound.

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It was announced yesterday,聽 September 4,听迟丑补迟 . Creator Mike White and HBO have zeroed in on France as the setting for the upcoming season of the hit series, Deadline reported in an exclusive.

While no exact location has been confirmed, the murder-mystery dramedy has always been shot at a Four Seasons, as HBO has a marketing partnership with the hotel and resort chain. Deadline focused speculation on the luxe Grand-H么tel du Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera, with its strong Hollywood tie-in and proximity to Cannes.

However, sources stress to Deadline that no hotel has been locked in. There are two other Four Seasons in France that could be used for filming; the Meg猫ve in the French Alps, and Hotel George V, which is located in the heart of Paris.

It鈥檚 no surprise that 国产吃瓜黑料 hopes it鈥檚 set in the French Alps, an outdoor playground known for its imposing peaks鈥攈ello, Mont Blanc鈥�and high-octane world-class skiing and hiking. After all, we have the French Alps to thank for 补辫谤猫蝉-蝉办颈. While everyone鈥檚 favorite custom of warming up with food and drinks after skiing originated in Norway, the term was coined in the 1950s after it spread to France.

The setting is everything in the White Lotus, and it is always part of the larger theme. Hawaii dove into class and colonialism; Sicily played with themes of lust and fantasy versus reality; and Thailand poked at spiritual tourism, and well, karma.

So perhaps a season in the French Alps could tackle ambition and competition?

The Drama of the French Alps Is Perfect for the 鈥榃hite Lotus鈥�

Our fellow editors at 厂碍滨听called it earlier this year: . 鈥淚t makes perfect sense. Wealthy clientele on vacation: Check. Gorgeous scenery. Check. And resorts that seem too good to be true? Check, check, check.鈥�

But SKI editors also heard a rumor the White Lotus creator Mike White says聽he鈥檒l never write a season centered around skiing because he doesn鈥檛 like the cold. We’ve seen enough bodies floating in the water, what about sticking out the snow? And, of course, the Alps are warm in the summer, when the series is filmed typically.

鈥淔or the fourth season, I want to get a little bit out of the crashing waves of rocks vernacular, but there鈥檚 always more room for more murders at the White Lotus hotels,鈥� White .

While SKI speculated Courchevel would be a good pick in the French Alps, as it鈥檚 where “wealth, status, and ambition would fit right into the White Lotus universe.鈥滿eg猫ve is also synonymous with upscale ski culture. After all, it was established as a rival to St. Moritz in the 1920s by the Rothschild family.

We asked French mountain guide Fred Buttard his thoughts on Meg猫ve as a ski destination. Buttard was born in the heart of the French Alps, has over 20 years experience as an IFMGA-certified guide, and has led ski touring trips all over the world, most recently 70 degrees north of the Arctic Circle for .

鈥淢eg猫ve is unique because it鈥檚 a cosy little town / village, in a small mellow mountain area, but so close to Chamonix and all the big mountain skiing,鈥� says Buttard.

Known for its charming medieval streets and designer boutiques, Meg猫ve does also seems like a great setting for wealthy people pushing each other off cliffs. Located in the elegant , there are nearly 250 miles聽of slopes spread over four mastiffs to ski here, and well, to plot.

The Four Seasons Hotel Meg猫ve has ski-in, ski-out access to the slopes of Mont d鈥橝rbois, and the region鈥檚 largest spa. This could be where the spa manager character Belinda comes in鈥攚orking at the spa before she starts her own.

If It鈥檚 Not in the Alps, the French Riviera Is Still Epic

Yoga Journal聽digital editor Calin Van Paris says she鈥檚 never stayed at a hotel as luxe or visibly epic as the 鈥淭he pool, for example, is located down a wooded trail (which can be skipped via hillavator) and built into the surrounding ocean rocks. There are two recently refurbished villas, the front room was designed by Gustave Eiffel (as in Eiffel Tower), and the main building is a beacon of Belle Epoque architecture.

It’s a bit of a trip. The antique elevator makes it feel like you’re traveling through time.鈥�

While it’s not the Alps’ outdoor playground, there are still some active pursuits in the French Riviera. Running, yoga, and cycling would be the most natural outdoor activities here, says Van Paris (there’s a paved trail along the water and mountain bike rentals are available for guests). “The hotel鈥檚 recent push to be viewed as a wellness destination could factor into the show’s trajectory,”adds Van Paris.

Maybe the Riviera would show Belinda enjoying her new-earned wealth. 鈥淔ormer spa manager Belinda had been a through line for the White Lotus, and an opportunity to take her passion for wellness (and her newly acquired millions) to a destination that’s defined by heightened glamour could make sense,鈥� says Van Paris.

It鈥檚 unlikely Mike White will opt for an urban setting like the city of Paris, but if he is choosing the French Riviera, it does track with the previous opulent settings.

Frankly, it鈥檚 all down to the plot and characters for us. We couldn鈥檛 get enough of Walton Goggins’s character, Rick. And even though he won鈥檛 be making it back for the next the White Lotus, we are excited to see Hoggins play a climber in the upcoming Batso聽film about trailblazing climbers who took on El Capitan.

High peaks do lead to high-stakes drama and mystery… c鈥檓on Mike White, give us Le Lotus Blanc (Mont Blanc).

The post The Next ‘White Lotus’ Will Be Filmed in France. We Sure Hope It’s the Alps. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

September 7 marks the , a full moon named for its proximity to harvesting corn and grains. (It also happens to be a blood moon, or a total lunar eclipse.) For Pagans like me, the Corn Moon will usher in Mabon, our holiday for giving thanks. Pagans view September as a time to prepare for the dark half of the year. It’s when we consider what we will bring into winter, and what we will leave behind.

During the Corn Moon, as part of my practice, I’ll lace up my boots and hike the starlight woods near my home in Eastern Washington, where the moon will be on full display.

There’s something magical about trekking the trails by moonlight, spiritual preference aside. Here’s how to go about it for this Corn Moon, and for many moons to come.

The Best National Parks for Viewing a Full Moon

While you can hike under the stars on your backyard trails, some national parks offer special outings and events to celebrate the moon鈥攁nd some have natural features that really pop after the sun sets.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

On September 7, and on each full moon until winter, visitors can join a ranger-led moonlit hike in Bryce Canyon National Park. Distances range from one to two miles, during which a park ranger will educate hikers about the lunar phase and unique viewing opportunities around the park. suggests packing water and a jacket, wearing shoes with good tread, and bringing a headlamp or flashlight. White lights are not permitted during the hike, but red lights are. Tickets are available .

Pro tip: Grab a bite at , a bar and steakhouse right outside the park entrance, after your hike. And on many evenings this fall, catch some live music there, too.

White Sands National Park, New Mexico

White Sands National Park offers March through November. Tickets can be purchased up to a month in advance through or by calling 1-877-444-6777.

The hike goes 2.3 miles into Dune Life Nature Trail, a moderate trek with a few climbs up steep dunes and through sand. Hikers are asked to bring two liters of water and can carry a flashlight or headlamp, though they will not be permitted to use without ranger say.

Pro tip: If you’re traveling in to southern New Mexico, stop by Fillmore Falls, an oasis in the desert 47 miles southwest of the entrance to White Sands.

Acadia National Park, Maine

is known for its dark skies that show off the Milky Way. And because it’s furthest East, it takes the lead in the contiguous United States in experiencing the moon in all its glory.

From May to October, Ocean Path is a great place from which to view the full moon. Get there from the upper parking lot of Sand Beach to Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole takes you to Otter Point to the cliffs, where the stars will encapsulate you. But if you want to feel like you’re touching the moon, Cadillac Mountain offers the most dramatic experience, as it is the highest point on the North American Eastern Seaboard.

Pro tip: Bike through the carriage roads if you’re at the park for the day, and keep in mind that is famous for its popover pastries, coffee, and tea鈥攇reat for warming.

Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

Between the Superior National Forest, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and Voyageurs National Park, northeastern Minnesota is a dream for kayakers and those who canoe. All three protected lands share a border with Canada and boast pristine lakes and waterways the rest of the country cannot compete with. It can feel like you’re paddling towards the end of the earth. And for water lovers who couple as moon lovers, Voyageurs is a gem of a spot for lunar magic. You need a but once reserved, you’ll have 24 hours to explore.

Pro tip:, on the Minnesota/Canadian border, is a charming spot to stay the night during colder months. But plan far in advance, as it books up quickly.

Arches National Park, Utah

What better place to observe the Corn Moon than through one of the thousands of natural arches in Arches National Park? For me, viewing a full moon through the famed Delicate Arch is a bucket-list experience.

Other unreal places to experience moon magic at Arches include the Balanced Rock Picnic Area, the Windows Section, or at Panorama Point. Arches is known for its “windows to the Universe,” and has listed every upcoming opportunity to

Pro tip: Grab food, lodging, and drinks five miles south of the park in Moab. The , featuring everything from tacos to sushi, is a must stop.

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

The historic headquarters of the park, , is open year-round and is close to a nearly mile-long hike called the Trail of Shadows that is recognized as one of its . The trail doesn’t have much of an ascent, but it runs along a meadow with a killer view of Mount Rainier.

A couple of other great trails for full moon hiking near Mount Rainier are Nisqually Vista at Paradise and Skyline to Myrtle Falls at Paradise. Rangers warn to hike in groups if venturing out at night though, as bears are active after sunset in the area. Headlamps are a must for keeping the path in front of you lit鈥攔ed light, of course. And the National Park Service promotes a for hikers. For night hikers specifically, navigation, insulation, and illumination are king.

Pro tip: Grab dinner at . before heading out, or pop in for a Treeline IPA after.

Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico

Although not technically a national park, Chaco Culture, a certified , stands out as one of the best NPS-managed sites for stargazing and moon watching. It has an entire program dedicated to experiencing the park at night: . The Chacoan people were know as “observers of the sky.” The park honors them with events like its star party mid-September, during the around Autumn Equinox.

As for full moon hikes? Trails like and are open until Halloween for night exploration of the ruins. As with the others, wear closed-toe shoes, and bring water and a headlamp with red light.

Pro tip: Arrive by day and tag on a guided tour of the cultural sites to explore the ruins.

Tips for Hiking Under a Full Moon

Many folks itching to get on to the trail under the moon are compelled for reasons that go beyond recreation. Pagans, or simply those whose spirituality is all about being in tune with nature, often weave ritual into their time in the woods.

But no matter where your spirituality rests, there are simple tips to follow when wandering along a moonlit trail.

1. Choose a Familiar Path

Hiking at night can be dangerous no matter how much safety gear you have. Choose a short, easy ascent, one you could walk in your sleep.

2. Bring Along a Good Headlamp

A flashlight won’t always cut it. Make sure you have a reliable head lamp before venturing out into the woods at night. It doesn’t matter how bright the moon glows; depending on clouds and tree cover, it may not be enough to keep the path in front of you safe.

3. Make Sure You’ve Downloaded Your Map

国产吃瓜黑料听谤别肠辞尘尘别苍诲蝉 as a top navigation app for off-grid hiking. Downloading maps for offline use is a must, especially when hiking solo. (Gaia shares聽翱耻迟蝉颈诲别’蝉听parent company, 国产吃瓜黑料 Inc.)

4. Set an Intention

If, like me, you want to tap into the more spiritual side of moon hiking, there’s a simple way to do it. Before taking your first steps, place your hand over your heart and set an intention. As you’re walking, imagine that you’re drawing in lunar light. Release whatever it is you need to into the night.

If you go on a full moon hike with a group, affirmation circles are another option. Each person can share a word or intention they wish to carry forward.

Fall Full Moon Dates

Can’t make it out for the Corn Moon? Don’t worry. There are other upcoming full moons that won’t disappoint. Fall’s moons are supermoons, which occur when a full moon coincides with the moon being at its closest point to Earth. This is what makes the moon appear bigger and brighter than usual.

• October 6: Hunter鈥檚 Moon

• November 5: Beaver Moon

• December 4: Cold Moon

The post The Best National Parks for Viewing the Upcoming Corn Moon appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Making a pilgrimage to one of the most iconic and remote land art installations of our time, The Lightning Field (1977) by American sculptor Walter De Maria, in the high desert of western New Mexico, isn’t easy to get to by any measure. After arriving in Albuquerque, you drive two and a half hours southwest through the vast desert to the ranching town of Quemado. There, a staff member then shuttles you another 45 minutes on dirt roads to the site, where 400 stainless-steel pointed poles jut out of the barren plain. You must stay the night in a rustic cabin; no day-tripping allowed. This isn’t a walk up, walk away piece of art hanging in a gallery. This is an experience of leaving one world and entering another, and one that has the suspended possibility of a next-level lightning show. De Maria once said isolation is the essence of land art. Standing there, small and silent in all that space, you begin to get it.

Nearly a half-century later, land art is having a moment again鈥攅specially in the American West, where the terrain still inspires the big, the wild, and the weird. The new era of outdoor art isn’t just for those who seek transcendence in stillness; it’s for people who want to hike past it, bike through it, or ski to it. You might find a massive steel paper airplane planted in the dust like a crash-landed idea. Or a James Turrell piece streaming color next to a ski slope.

This is land art reimagined for the now鈥攎ore accessible, more kinetic, and just as cosmic.

Big Sky, Bigger Art

A few hours drive north of Yellowstone National Park, a working sheep and cattle ranch houses large-scale sculptures scattered against the dramatic backdrop of the Beartooth Mountains.

, at 12,500 acres, is one of the largest sculpture parks in the world, offering visitors a chance to take in monumental sculptures and attend classical music concerts in uninterrupted landscapes. Located in Fishtail, Montana, halfway between Billings and Bozeman, the art center was founded in 2016 by philanthropists Cathy and Peter Halstead. Artists themselves, the Halsteads drew inspiration from in upstate New York to take art out of the museum鈥攖o open up art and the land to people.

“When you’re moving through a museum, you see piece after piece, and you’re consuming a lot of art at once,” Pete Hinmon tells me. He and his wife, Lindsey, are the co-directors of Tippet Rise Art Center, and help bring the founders’ artistic vision to reality. Former ski patrollers, they posses the varied outdoor experience to keep both safety and weather in mind. The sustained engagement with The Lightning Field is something they hope to spur as well. Just as De Maria’s seminal sculpture was meant to be walked in, and taken in over an extended period of time, so are the pieces in Tippet Rise, says Pete.

“The Lightning Field is this in-depth, multi-day experience. You spend the night. It’s a really lengthened and heightened experience. We’re interested in that as well, and how you physically move through the space,” he says.

And space there is: more than 15 miles of trails and 14 miles of gravel road can be traversed by mountain bike or on foot. And while visitors usually spend at least a half day here, no two visits are the same. Sculptures are scattered hundred yards to a few miles apart on hilly terrain and steep inclines. “Through this extended time and space, it allows people to have a deeper connection with the outdoor environment,” says Pete.

Visitors for hiking and biking are limited to 100 people per day, so it’s possible you won’t encounter another soul during your Tippet Rise visit. That’s the luxury of open space here, not exclusivity. Hiking and biking is free; concert tickets, as well as sculpture van tours, are $10, and the number of people who can come per day is controlled via a ticket drawing system. “We limit the reservations, because we really want it to be an intimate experience,” says Pete.

Exiting the parking lot, the first work visitors come upon is Aps谩alooke (Crow) artist Wendy Red Star’s The Soil You See鈥� (2023). Red Star grew up on the Aps谩alooke tribe’s reservation, roughly 120 miles east of the art center. Her monumental piece sets the mood immediately for letting art-goers know they’re on her sacred homeland.

A giant blood-red fingerprint, nearly eight-feet tall and modeled from Red Star’s own fingerprint, rests on top of granite rock. Etched in whorls on kiln-formed glass are the names of 50 Aps谩alooke chiefs and tribal representatives who were coerced to sign treaties giving away their land to the United States government between 1825 and 1880. Often these treaties were signed with thumbprints (and Xs).

The sheer distance of terrain to cover means there are many ways to heighten the experience鈥攁nd the effort. “You are having this sort of raw, visceral experience because you are putting in effort and moving through the landscape at a pace where you can notice the nuance of it,” says Pete. Sixteen permanent sculptures are scattered across Tippet Rise, including pieces by internationally renowned artists Ai Weiwei and Richard Serra.

“It’s this sense of exploration; you’re on this journey, climbing up this hill, or running or biking, and you pop around the corner and there is this stunning red piece, Archway II by Alexander Liberman, like a gateway arch into the Beartooth Mountains,” says co-director Lindsey Hinmon.

“We hope to maintain that openness of the land, so that there is that experience of being able to see the sculptures on foot or on land, and not feel like you’re seeing sculptures, every way you turn your head,” she says.

Last August, the art center debuted its new open-air music venue, The Geode, which is an art piece itself: four triangle structures envelop the sound and project it in all directions. The newest installed sculpture is site-specific Bronze Bowl with Lace by Ursula von Rydingsvard, which stands at nearly 20 feet tall and is made from cedar wood planks cast in bronze, set within a natural bowl surrounded by plateaus and canyons.

“It references the rock formations that are visible beyond it; the texture of it, the shadows and light that it creates, and all of the hues are just so at peace with the landscape,” says Pete.

A likely question that arises around putting any man-made structures in nature: how does this affect the environment? Pete is quick to respond. “We essentially have conserved 12,500 acres, and yes, we’ve installed several large outdoor sculptures on it. But [the land] is not being developed beyond that,” he says. “It’s private ranch land that is now open to the public.”

Using private land this way has a powerful place in creating more space for wildlife, Pete explains. If we were to confine wildlife to just public land managed by the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management, it creates “islands,” lessening the amount of safe land wildlife can live and traverse. By not developing land adjacent to those public land masses, a larger ecosystem is able to be created.

Tippet Rise is located in what’s called the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which spans 22 million acres and includes the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area, Yellowstone National Park, Teton National Park, and big tracts of ranch land. “Tippet Rise is one of those tracts of land that is helping create a buffer between highly developed areas and the wilderness areas,” says Pete. What’s more, all buildings on campus are heated and cooled with a geothermal system, solar panels provide electricity to the buildings and vehicles, and a gray-water system collects runoff.

“Humans are a part of nature,” Pete says. “I think that pairing these wonderful highly creative, amazing human creations alongside and right in nature help remind us of that.”

A Skiable Sculpture Park

Hiking and biking miles to the next sculpture takes the experience up a notch at Tippet Rise, but skiing to sculptures? That’s the ambitious idea behind Powder Mountain’s new open-air land art park.

With its old-school vibe and endless pow, 鈥擯owMo as it’s affectionately called鈥攊s one of the largest ski resorts in North America, with some of the most skiable acres in the U.S. It’s a throwback to what skiing used to be, with uncrowded slopes and its indie spirit. With more than 8,000 acres of in-bounds terrain, it’s virtually a ski sanctuary.

But staying independent and free from lift lines, while still being a viable ski resort, hasn’t been easy in recent years, and its new owner has brought in some controversial changes. In a bold business shakeup, Powder Mountain’s new billionaire owner, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, announced he was taking the resort semi-private for homeowners and lifting a longtime season pass cap. Adding on an ambitious approach to preserve its magic by creating an open-air museum with artworks that are reachable via hiking鈥攁nd yes, skiing鈥攊s, understandably, being met with more excitement and open minds.

The visionary idea behind using the Utah ski resort’s vast terrain as an art park came from Powder Mountain’s chief creative officer Alex Zhang. “I always had a really strong connection to the mountain, and it held a special place in my heart, mostly because I think in the American West, so many ski resorts and ski towns are overdeveloped. They’re super crowded. They’ve lost a lot of that soul,” says Zhang, who has been skiing Powder Mountain for the last ten years.

“Powder Mountain seems to have retained this sort of rawness and the sort of soulful magic of like a throwback to where ski resorts, in the seventies, eighties, nineties, could just sort of be whatever they wanted to be,” he adds.

Zhang heard the rumor swirling that Hastings was going to acquire Powder Mountain, where Hastings was already a homeowner. So when Hastings asked Zhang what he would do with Powder Mountain if he were him, he had already given it great thought. At the time, Hastings was asking everyone from the executives of the resort to the shuttle driver: “What makes this place special? And what would you do to protect it?”

That feeling of the sublime, the feeling of spirituality, you get that when you’re in the presence of great nature, you get that when you’re in the presence of great art, too.

Zhang said Hastings was in a very receptive, open-minded mood to dream up something exciting. So in that first conversation, he shared his idea for how you preserve the soul of a place without overdeveloping it, all while increasing visitation and tourism in a way that honors the culture and the place.

“The easy thing to do just to make it a solvent business would be to build a bunch of retail, shopping, restaurants, condos, and sort of do that over seven years and build as fast as you can, and call it a day,” says Zhang, noting that’s what most American ski towns have done.

“So I came to him with this idea around involving artists and involving culture at an earlier level of this development, so a lot of that magic will actually be preserved,” he says. “It will increase visitors not as fast as a shopping mall, but it will be a lot more enduring, and with a more diverse, interesting audience.”

Zhang was inspired by the Japanese “art islands” of Naoshima and Teshima, where art breathed new life into these depopulated and aging islands. And unlike Desert X, the biennial contemporary art show held in the Coachella Valley, these would be permanent installations.

The perceived weaknesses of Powder Mountain鈥攊solation, the single road, and the expansive, underdeveloped terrain鈥攃ould be just the thing to save it, thought Zhang. Its shoots and glades, powder skiing in the trees, and off-piste terrain all make it the perfect place for discovery. There’s a “magic school bus,” as the locals call it, an abandoned school bus that found its way into the middle of the forest some 15, 20, years ago, that people hang around and take pictures in.

“What if instead of that old hippie-dippie bus, it was contemporary art by a really important artist, and it had even more of a wow factor, because it was a 30-foot sculpture that had a ton of excitement and artistic merit behind it,” Zhang imagined.

Awe, Art, and the Sublime

This initial idea evolved into creating an outdoor, skiable, open-air museum, one that will unlock a multi-season art experience: biking in the summer, hiking in the fall, skiing in the winter. There was a resounding “hell yes” from world-class artists, Zhang says, who were so excited by the ambition of creating something monumental at scale and integrated into nature and landscape. Light master James Turrell, text-based artist Jenny Holzer, and provocative sculptor Paul McCarthy are part of the lineup of iconic artists on board. And a major work of late land art pioneer Nancy Holt will be permanently installed at Powder Mountain.

These site-specific works will be permanently installed on Powder Mountain; several of the large-scale pieces already are, while some are in the works for an official unveiling in 2027. All the art will be free and accessible to the public via hiking and biking during summer and fall, and skiable with a lift ticket or season pass during the winter. And you don’t have to worry about dodging sculptures in the middle of a ski run: all artworks will be carefully placed to avoid disruption of the ski experience. In fact, you might not even find them, they’ll be so integrated into the landscape.

The first newly installed art piece, Relay (Powder Mountain) (2023), created by the art duo Gerard & Kelly, is a whimsical but functional ski magic carpet that takes people 90 feet up the ski slope on a converter belt covered by rainbow-banded canopy. Listener, Reflector, and Mother (2024) by Davina Semo consists of three six-foot bronze bells at the peaks of Powder Mountain. Right before you drop into your ski experience, you ring the bell, and it creates this amazing sound. The ring and echo is like a call and response that you hear in different parts of the mountain.

One of the much-anticipated works is by Turrell, who is no stranger to ambitious projects. (Take Roden Crater, a two-mile-wide extinct volcano in Arizona he’s been carving a naked-eye observatory into since 1977). The 82-year-old artist’s walk-in light installation Ganzfeld Apani (2011), originally commissioned for the 2011 Venice Biennale, is set to be installed in a trailside pavilion at Powder Mountain in 2027.

It’s a particularly fitting piece, as “Ganzfeld” refers to the German word to describe a “complete field” or perceptual deprivation, also known as the Ganzfeld effect. One of the ways this disorienting loss of depth perception is caused is by snow blindness during a blizzard, which can cause hallucinations. Turrell’s immersive installation changes colors and covers the entire space鈥攁 simulated “snow blindness” effect that could occur naturally on this same mountain.

“There’s always been this sort of fear coded into [our] DNA about [mountains], but always viewed as the sublime,” says Zhang. “Think of the landscape paintings in the 19th century of this sort of Manifest Destiny, and looking out and surveying a great land.”

For Zhang, the scale of mountains and the scale of land art both help us connect to a feeling that’s bigger than us.

“There’s an intrinsic obsession with the wonder and the scale of the mountains. It’s very humbling. It makes you feel smaller,” he says. “And to me, great art makes you feel the same. Great art is spiritual, or it’s transcendental, and it fills you with awe, and makes you, for a moment, forget about whatever was on your mind and be in the present moment.”

That feeling of the sublime, the feeling of spirituality, you get that when you’re in the presence of great nature, you get that when you’re in the presence of great art too, he believes. “And I think the fusion of those two together will create a very, very transcendental experience for people who might not even know that they’re looking for it.”

The Desert Canvas

A radical movement paved the way for today’s land art.

Picture this: It’s 1970, and you’re an artist who’s fed up with stuffy galleries and urban sprawl. So what do you do? You go west to push some boundaries and to collaborate with nature.

In the seventies, renegade artists decided the American West’s endless stretches of wild space were everything they needed. Armed with heavy rocks and cranes, and a healthy contempt for convention, they set out to make art so big, utterly un-sellable, and in the remotest of spaces that it would break the system.

Take Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970), a 1,500-foot-long coil of earth and black basalt jutting into Utah’s Great Salt Lake like some prehistoric sea monster taking a nap. Smithson moved 6,000 tons of material to create this 15-foot-wide walkway that spirals into pink algae鈥搕inged waters. The best part? Sometimes it disappears entirely when water levels rise, as if the lake itself is playing curator.

Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels (1973鈥�76) consists of four massive concrete cylinders arranged in Utah’s Great Basin Desert, like an ancient astronomical computer. Twice yearly, during solstices, the sun aligns perfectly with these tunnels, creating a light show that would make Pink Floyd weep. As Holt put it in a 1977 Artforum article, they “bring the vast space of the desert back to human scale.”

Michael Heizer looked at Nevada’s Mormon Mesa and thought, “You know what this needs? Giant trenches.” His Double Negative (1970) is exactly that: two massive cuts creating sculpture made entirely of absence. His City, a 1.5-mile behemoth of compacted rock and concrete, took 50 years to complete.

Then there’s James Turrell, who has spent the past five decades transforming Arizona’s Roden Crater鈥攁 two-mile-wide extinct volcano in the Painted Desert鈥攊nto a naked-eye observatory, carving chambers and tunnels that will, one day, open to the public.

The desert, it turns out, makes an excellent gallery. It never closes and the lighting is always perfect.

The post The New Wild West of Art Is More Adventurous Than Ever appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

If you鈥檝e been waiting to book a Northern Lights trip, it鈥檚 time to make it happen. This autumn is expected to kick off one of the strongest aurora seasons in decades鈥攖hink last year鈥檚 low-latitude displays, and potentially even better.

That鈥檚 because the sun has reached its roughly 11-year peak of activity, known as solar maximum. The bright star causes auroras by sending charged particles whizzing through space. When those electrons and ions crash into our atmosphere, they spark kaleidoscopic sky swirls that aurora hunters, like me, travel the world to see.

Solar maximum isn鈥檛 the only time to catch the lights, but it does bring above-average aurora intensity and frequency. According to , the sun entered this lively period in October 2024; the awe is expected to continue at least into this fall, and likely winter.

The TL;DR? There鈥檚 no time like the present to chase those colorful curtains. And I鈥檝e gathered tips and tricks from nearly a dozen of my aurora-chasing peers, including expert guides, space-weather scientists, and astrophotographers, to help you make the most of this once-in-a-decade Northern Lights season.

1. Know What You鈥檙e Looking for (Hint: It May Be Less Vivid Than Expected)

Northern Lights photos can be deceiving. Cameras are significantly more sensitive to light and hues than our eyes. The photos you see on Instagram, for example, are more vivid and saturated than what you鈥檒l see in real life.

鈥淚n the northern tier of the U.S., the aurora often appears as a translucent white or silver veil to the eye, until the sensitive lens of a camera reveals their full color,鈥� says , author and co-founder of the annual . 鈥淲atching for the structure, movement, and formations of aurora is just as important as watching for the color, if not more so.鈥�

That said, you can still see color with your eye, especially if you鈥檙e witnessing a show in a dark location that鈥檚 far from light pollution. I鈥檝e seen reds and greens that twist like corkscrews overhead, but that鈥檚 an exception, not the norm.

2. Monitor the Sky with Your Smartphone or Camera

Sure, it鈥檚 frustrating that our cameras get a better view of the aurora than we do, but savvy Lights chasers use that to their advantage. 鈥淐heck to see if the lights are out using your phone or, better yet, a DSLR/mirrorless camera,鈥� says astrophotographer, teacher, and author . 鈥淭ake test shots facing north, and if you see green along the horizon, it鈥檚 game on.鈥�

A subtle green glow can turn electric in minutes. The lights rapidly shift colors and shapes, and substorms鈥攁 stint when the aurora intensifies and expands southward, according to 鈥攃an make the lights exceptionally eye-popping. Catching these intense displays is about being in the right place at the right time.

鈥淚f you really want to see the aurora, travel to the darkest skies near you and spend at least three to four hours taking in the awe of the night,鈥� says Kaelin. 鈥淭his will increase your chances of being present for a powerful substorm.鈥�

3. Learn How to Read Space-Weather Forecasts

It鈥檚 helpful to download an aurora-prediction app before embarking on a lights chase, but it鈥檚 even better if you know how to read and interpret the data yourself鈥攁nd I鈥檓 not just talking about Kp index. Kp, which measures geomagnetic activity on a scale from one to nine, is a tiny piece of the ribbon-hunting puzzle. More important data points include solar wind speed and Bz (the orientation of the magnetic field). I use apps like to track this.

And I also turn to the experts. Twice per day, the NOAA鈥檚 Space Weather Prediction Center provides three-day forecasts, with insights to help amateur Lights chasers better understand what to expect. 鈥淔or a bit more detail about confidence levels or uncertainty, and a description of what is actually the causal phenomena in the forecast, check out our , which is also issued twice daily,鈥� says Shawn Dahl of the NOAA鈥檚 Space Weather Prediction Center.

Monitoring real-time updates from other Lights chasers can be especially valuable. Dahl recommends the citizen-science platform , which plots sighting reports from around the world. I also use and Facebook groups like to keep tabs on what other lower-48 swirl-seekers are seeing.

4. But Don鈥檛 Obsess Over Lights Predictions

While apps and data are helpful aurora forecasting tools, the best way to chase the aurora is to actually go outside and look up. 鈥淎urora predictions are useful, but local weather is just as important,鈥� says Adriel Butler, president and founder of Fairbanks-based , an astrotourism getaway with sky-view igloos, stargazing cubes, and northern lights wake-up calls. 鈥淎 clear night with a low aurora prediction can beat a cloudy night with a high aurora forecast.鈥�

Even with all the best tracking technology in the world, space weather remains largely unpredictable. 鈥淎 low aurora forecast doesn鈥檛 mean a no-show,鈥� Butler says. 鈥淏e patient, check often, and don鈥檛 give up. A break in the clouds at 3 A.M. could be the best show ever.鈥�

That鈥檚 why I always choose dark-sky accommodations during my aurora hunts. It鈥檚 easier to pop in and out of the warmth, or peek out of my tent flap, than driving back and forth to a sky-watching lookout.

5. Get Strategic with Your Location

Traveling to northerly latitudes like Iceland or Alaska will increase your sighting odds. These destinations lie within a donut-shaped zone of Lights activity known as the auroral oval, which hovers around 65 to 70 degrees latitude. The shape swells and moves further south during periods of strong geomagnetic activity, like last year鈥檚 May and October shows, where the Lights danced across nearly every state.

Low-latitude auroras are a rarity, but some contiguous U.S. locales do see lights quite regularly during solar maximum, including the northern Great Lakes region (I swear by Michigan鈥檚 Upper Peninsula) and many northern-border states.

6. Know When to Lights Chase

Certain times of the month are better for chasing than others. 鈥淪kip full moon nights,鈥� says Jason Makela, co-founder of , a remote getaway on Michigan鈥檚 far-north Keweenaw Peninsula. 鈥淭he bright light can wash out the show. Also, aim for clear, dark skies away from city lights.鈥�

Even strategizing the hour of your aurora hunt can improve your luck. 鈥淭he best aurora displays often occur between midnight and 3 A.M.,鈥� says Shaw. 鈥淟eaving before then robs you of the opportunity to experience these beautiful events.鈥�

Finally, consider traveling around the equinoxes. The fall and spring equinoxes are known to see 鈥渁n improved chance of geomagnetic disturbances and thus a possible improved chance of aurora development,鈥� says Dahl. Of course, nothing is guaranteed with auroras. But anecdotally, I鈥檝e had a ton of luck with fall-equinox-timed lights pursuits. And according to the Michigan tourism board , the likelihood of aurora displays around the equinoxes nearly doubles.

7. Embrace the Challenge, and Pursue Non-Aurora Activities, Too

If your sky-watching itinerary focuses solely on the aurora, you鈥檙e setting yourself up for disappointment. 鈥淗ead out with the goal of spotting constellations, a satellite, or maybe even a shooting star,鈥� says Makela. 鈥淭hat way, if the auroras do show up, they鈥檒l be the icing on an already sweet evening鈥攁nd if they don鈥檛, you鈥檒l still head home with a successful night under your belt.鈥�

And remember that the chase is all part of the fun. 鈥淒on鈥檛 get discouraged,鈥� says Saskatchewan-based astrophotographer . 鈥淭he best part about the aurora is also the worst: It鈥檚 unpredictable and cannot be planned for. Even the most seasoned chasers have many failed attempts.鈥�

8. Build in Buffer Days for Weather and Aurora Activity

Weather plays a major role in chasing the Northern Lights. 鈥淵ou could have the strongest aurora forecast, but that will mean nothing if you have clouds that night,鈥� says Indigenous aurora hunter and guide , founder of Yellowknife-based .

Building in extra days will increase the chance of strong auroras and minimal cloud cover on the same night. 鈥淪tay three or more nights [during your aurora trip],鈥� says Butler. 鈥淕iving yourself multiple nights greatly increases your chances of catching a show.鈥�

In fact, the says Fairbanks Lights seekers who actively seek the swirls for at least three nights have a 90 percent success rate. This goes for many northerly locales like Yellowknife, although in places notorious for moody weather like Iceland and Greenland, I like to give myself at least one week.

9. Hire a Local Guide

From tracking forecasts to scouting locations, a lot goes into chasing the Northern Lights. That鈥檚 why I always tell first-timers to book a guide. 鈥淟ocal guides can help you maximize your limited aurora-chasing time by knowing where the best locations might be, or when to stay up for a late-night show,鈥� says , expedition leader for adventure outfitter , which hosts sky-watching trips to remote and northerly Churchill, Canada. 鈥淕uides can also help you if you’re traveling to an area much colder than your normal, and keep you safe from the elements while you’re focusing on the beauty of the lights.鈥�

And as I learned firsthand last year, it鈥檚 especially powerful to book a chase with an Indigenous aurora tracker like Buffalo Child. 鈥淭his is our land,鈥� he told me of his home in popular aurora getaway, the Northwest Territories. 鈥淭hrough tourism, I show people that we can be ourselves and make a living.鈥�

10. Learn to Use Your Camera Beforehand鈥攁nd Know When to Put It Down

These days, it鈥檚 almost instinctual to respond to a beautiful scene by grabbing our smartphone camera. But taking photos of the aurora on an iPhone, or any kind of smartphone or camera, does require a bit of practice.

鈥淲hile some viewers like to watch with their eyes only, using a smartphone or DSLR to capture the moment is often a great way to take a trip memory home with you,鈥� says Edye. 鈥淣ewer smartphones can be very successful with aurora photography, while older models may not be able to capture the Lights or may leave you underwhelmed. DSLRs are a great way to capture the lights, but be aware of the cold and dark鈥攌nowing how to adjust your camera settings and change out batteries in the dark will save you a lot of frustration in the moment.鈥�

And while it can be tempting to spend your whole aurora hunt photographing, it鈥檚 also important to step back and look up. 鈥淒on鈥檛 forget to watch the show itself,鈥� says Edye. 鈥淧ut the camera down and enjoy the moment.鈥�

The post This Fall Could Bring the Best Northern Lights in Decades. Here’s How to See Them. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

There鈥檚 nothing quite like hopping on a train and watching the world go by. Train travel is more popular than ever with intrepid travelers in 2025, not only as a more sustainable alternative to flying, but as a way to gain a deeper experience with the destination. The journey itself becomes the focus 鈥� and the ultimate adventure.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know who will sit beside you, what regional food you鈥檒l find on board, which villages and towns will flit past the window,” says Monisha Rajesh, a train travel expert and author of Moonlight Express: Around the World By Night Train and Around the World in 80 Trains. “So much happens between the walls of a carriage, while at the same time the world continues to turn outside, giving you a unique understanding of the shape of the land, its bends and twists, the way mountains rise and recede, how deserts expand and close in. And all of this before you even reach your destination.”

We asked Rajesh and other travel writers for their most adventurous train journeys around the world. From the Arctic Circle train from Sweden to Norway, to ones closer to home, such as the Empire Builder that passes through Glacier National Park (where you could be lucky to spot a grizzly from your seat), these train journeys were chosen for their proximity to outdoor adventures, and incredible landscapes they pass through.

Hop aboard. Here are our picks for the most thrilling train adventures around the world in 2025.

Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Tibet

The Route:聽Xining, China to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region
Duration:聽1215 miles, 21.5 hours
The Fare: 107 USD in a soft-sleeper compartment, one-way
The 国产吃瓜黑料: The train from Xining to Lhasa is the highest rail journey in the world

Few sights can take my breath away, but at almost 5,000 metres (16,404 feet)聽above sea level, I was struggling, a headache squeezing at my temples. Gold nozzles pumped purified oxygen into the compartment and I inhaled in awed silence, licking my chapped lips. Before me, the Qinghai-Tibet plateau resembled a live Rothko painting: a slab of blazing yellow terrain rising to meet electric-blue sky, not a wisp of cloud in sight. Dreadlocked yaks were dotted around the foreground and the odd cluster of nomad tents swept by colorful prayer flags fluttering in the wind. What looked like an ocean flashed up towards the glass, tiny green waves on an expanse of bleeding hues, and then it was gone. Lakes gleamed like molten metal in the dryness and on the horizon a faint squiggle of suede-soft mountains.

Opened in 2006 the train from Xining to Lhasa is the highest rail journey in the world. Passing through earthquake zones, the line peaks at 5,072m above sea level at the Tanggula pass and contains more than 300 miles of elevated track built on permafrost that could melt at the slightest increase in temperature. Considered an engineering feat of excellence, the line requires liquid nitrogen to be circulated below the rail bed to keep it frozen throughout the year.

Overnight we had passed the Qinghai Lake and I was disappointed to have missed it in the darkness, but we were now barrelling into the Kunlun Mountains, their jagged bodies closing in, throwing an icy blue glow into the carriage. I had never seen earth鈥檚 natural beauty in so many forms and in such close proximity. Having travelled on more than 200 trains around the world, it was the most scenic ride of my life. On the descent into Lhasa Chinese flags flapped in the wind, Buick garages glided past the window and we drew into a station as vast as an airport hangar, armed guards greeting us at the exit, a reminder of Tibet鈥檚 ongoing struggle.

Once in Lhasa, try the four-day tour from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp which includes stops at Yamdroktso Lake, and both the Pelkor and Tashilhunpo monasteries. Top tip: ask for Kungga Dundruk to be your . 鈥� Monisha Rajesh

Expreso del Sur, Bolivia

The Route: 翱谤耻谤辞-痴颈濒濒补锄贸苍
Duration: 373 miles, 19 hours
The Fare: USD$18.50
The 国产吃瓜黑料: Salar de Uyuni; Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa; Cordillera de Chichas

After departing the tin mining city of Oruro in western Bolivia, the Expreso del Sur bore south through one of the world鈥檚 most dramatic, and least hospitable, landscapes. Gazing out of the carriage window, I watched the urban sprawl gradually dissolve into the altiplano, a vast plateau stretched taut between two branches of the Andes at an average altitude of more than 12,000ft.

Sparsely populated, bitterly cold, largely treeless and starved of rain, it was a stark yet beautiful landscape, particularly when we skirted the shoreline of the otherworldly Salar de Uyuni, the world鈥檚 biggest salt flat. Built in the late 19 th century to transport the altiplano鈥檚 abundant metals and minerals, the railway line once ran from Bolivia鈥檚 de facto capital La Paz to the Pacific port of Antofagasta in Chile. The boom has long passed and the route is now plied by the Ferrob煤s, which vaguely resembles a coach on rails and follows a truncated route between Oruro and the town of Villaz贸n on the Argentine border. En route it calls in at the remote, windswept tourist hub of Uyuni and the quieter but similarly isolated town of Tupiza.

Most travellers disembark at the former and take guided jeep tours across the salar, a pancake-flat, blindingly white expanse the size of Jamaica ringed with chalk-smudge peaks and dotted with islands studded with giant cacti. These trips generally take in the neighbouring Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, a realm of smouldering volcanoes, high-pressure geysers and mineral-stained lakes sprinkled with flamingos, as as well as the Cementerio de Trenes (Train Cemetery). The latter, on the outskirts of Uyuni, is an evocative collection of abandoned steam locomotives, wagons and carriages from the railway鈥檚 heyday slowly disintegrating in the harsh climatic conditions of the altiplano.鈥� Shafik Meghji

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Colorado聽

The Route: Durango, Colorado to Silverton, Colorado
Duration: 45 miles, 3.5 hours each way; 9 hours roundtrip with two-hour stop at terminus town
The Fare: $109 – $335 depending on class; season passes for $170-320
The 国产吃瓜黑料:聽Travel back in time on this historic train through the Rocky Mountain wilderness

Listening to the shriek of the steam whistle as it echoes eerily through the Animas River Canyon, I have no trouble believing that the first passengers to ride the when it was completed in 1882 gazed out at the jagged peaks and crashing rapids with the same awe I feel 137 years later.

It鈥檚 possible to do this round trip from either origin point; I鈥檝e chosen to depart from Durango and overnight in Silverton, though many choose to take this ride as a nine -hour day trip with a two hour stop in the terminus town.

My reason for overnighting in Silverton was to challenge myself with one of this rugged silver mining hamlet鈥檚 many high-altitude hikes, among them the lung-challenging six-mile round-trip to Highland Mary Lakes, which gains more than 1500 feet in altitude before arriving at the granite-scooped lake, surrounded by tundra at 12,300 feet. Equally rugged adventure possibilities come via offered by local outfitters that put you straight on the river or skimming over the canopy with no need for additional planning.

Try your mettle on the course of 27 ziplines 鈥� the most in the world 鈥� at , an adventure center midway on the ride reachable only by train or plane. You can also include a wild and crazy on the rugged Silverton Skyway or a two-hour with Mountain Rafting with a round-trip ride.

There鈥檚 one more possible thrill to be had on your ride: a rare spotting of Bigfoot, more commonly known locally as Sasquatch, who鈥檚 been sighted 鈥� or allegedly sighted, depending on your belief status 鈥� in the Silverton and Durango areas. More importantly, the most recent of these sightings, just two years ago, was by a railroad passenger, so keep a lookout for a tall, hairy figure, or for massive footprints, which are also commonly reported, and listen for the mysterious creature鈥檚 spine-tingling howls. 鈥� Melanie Haiken

The Elephant Express, Zimbabwe

The Route:聽Dete to Ngamo, Zimbabwe
Duration:聽75 miles, 3.5 hours
The Fare: $300 (for the train, not per person)
The 国产吃瓜黑料: Spot elephants and lions from your train seat

The first time I drove a train I worried most about animals wandering onto the tracks. Zebras, kudu, lions鈥攁ll such unpredictable beasts. Mostly it was the elephants, though. There are a lot of those in this corner of Zimbabwe. Think 50,000 of them.

Anyone can drive the Elephant Express; you just have to ask. The train itself is less of a train and more of a trolley鈥攁 one-car locomotive with open-air seats under a proud metal roof. The train was custom built using Land Cruiser parts by a former game ranger named Mark Butcher, a Zimbabwean who runs a safari company called Imvelo that operates in and around Hwange National Park, Africa鈥檚 fourth largest, southeast of Victoria Falls.

When you stay at Imvelo Safari鈥檚 camps in the area, the train will take you the final 50 miles from a small depot town called Dete to the camps. It鈥檚 a helluva way to start an African bush adventure. Imagine rolling through the coolest zoo ever if zoos had no fences.

Imvelo under Butch has been instrumental in reintroducing white rhinos into the area while giving local communities ownership of the conservation and tourism opportunities. Now you can go for runs with the Cobras, a squad of local rangers assigned to protect the rhinos, and聽 watch how a pair of Belgian malinois can track down would-be poachers. Coolest of all, the Cobras will take you walking with the rhinos as they graze on rich grasses.

On the Elephant Express we trundled through mopane and teakwood forests and across the grassy veldt. The tracks, gun-barrel straight, are some of the only working vestiges of the Cape-to-Cairo railway, the 19th century British imperial boondoggle that aimed to tie the continent together from Egypt to South Africa.

After sitting in the conductor鈥檚 chair, I retired to the rear, letting the sweet African air purl around me as curious pachyderms emerged from the brush. Gangly giraffes punctuated the grasslands like goofy exclamation points. I watched lilac breasted rollers flitter through the trees and spied impalas hiding under the acacias. Later, I鈥檇 watch a lioness carry her tiny, fuzzy cubs over the tracks one by one. 鈥� Tim Neville

The Rocky Mountaineer: First Passage to the West

The Route:聽Vancouver, British Columbia to Banff, Alberta
Duration:聽600 miles, two days
The Fare:聽 From $1,980 USD per person for two days on board Rocky Mountaineer鈥檚 SilverLeaf or GoldLeaf Service, including two breakfasts and two lunches and one night hotel in Kamloops.
The 国产吃瓜黑料: Travel along the iconic Spiral Tunnels, the Continental Divide, and Lake Louise.

国产吃瓜黑料 the train鈥檚 glass-domed coach, cornfields and cranberry bogs ran toward the horizon, punctuated by ramshackle red barns. Although I grew up not far from here, watching the bucolic landscape go by at the pace of the railroad allowed me to notice these details as if for the first time. The Rocky Mountaineer鈥檚 journey began in my hometown of Vancouver on the coast of British Columbia, skirting the Fraser River through the interior Okanagan region before climbing into the Rocky Mountains and ending at the resort town of Banff, cradled by soaring, snow-encrusted peaks.

Over the two-day journey, which included a night in the riverside town of Kamloops, I scampered down to the observation deck at every opportunity, leaning over the guardrail to watch the train snake through the landscape with the wind in my hair. I took in tawny, arid hills dotted with aromatic ponderosa pine and sage, the sparkling Fraser River tumbling by, and the jagged Rockies emerging in Yoho National Park, marking the Continental Divide that follows the ridge of the Rockies between B.C. and Alberta. Along the route, Rocky Mountaineer guides imbued the landscape with an interpretive history of the region鈥檚 gold rush and 19th-century Canadian Pacific Railway landmarks, as well as an understanding of Indigenous culture in the two provinces.

The town of Kamloops is marked by sandstone canyons and forested hills, as well as sprawling . The crenelated silhouette of Castle Mountain marks the train鈥檚 arrival into Banff, where endless hiking and climbing adventures await. Above Lake Louise in Banff National Park, hike to a , continuing to Big Beehive or Devil鈥檚 Thumb, or head deeper into the backcountry along the three-day . On the nearby B.C. side of the Rockies in Kootenay National Park is the four-day , a stunning backcountry route that ends at Floe Lake, and straddling the two provinces is a in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.

Before kicking off the journey in Vancouver, head into iconic Stanley Park with to understand the old-growth forest through the lens of the Coast Salish Indigenous peoples. Grab a paddle board and glide over English Bay at sunset, or discover the coastal mountains on trails that end at glacial lakes in , an hour鈥檚 drive from Vancouver. 鈥� Chloe Berge聽

Empire Builder, Chicago to Seattle

The Route: Chicago to Seattle or Portland (at the Spokane station, designated cars are attached to a different train heading to Oregon, while the remainder heads to Seattle)
Duration: 2,206 miles; 46 hours
The 国产吃瓜黑料:聽 Travel along Glacier National Park and the Pacific Northwest

The atmosphere is electric as the diesel engine rumbles out of Chicago鈥檚 Union Station. Sitting aboard Amtrak鈥檚 famous Empire Builder train 鈥� one of the country鈥檚 most scenic train rides 鈥� the other passengers and I would spend more than 46 hours traversing seven states (eight, if you count Oregon), watching the green rolling hills of the Midwest give way to the desolate beauty of the plains, before craning our necks to see the mammoth mountains of Montana rising from the ground.

Most riders were doing the route nonstop, but I was getting off at Glacier National Park, the undisputed crown jewel of the route, for a few days of fun and adventure before jumping back on the train to complete my journey.

In the dining car, staff paired up unlikely dinner companions every meal. They say there are no strangers on an Amtrak, only people you haven鈥檛 been forced to make awkward small talk with as you all squish together in an undersized booth. Luckily, we all had the same percolating excitement about our epic train adventure. Every passenger was either on their first big train journey or their one-hundredth.

Disembarking at the West Glacier station just outside the park boundaries, I watched the train continue west, the smell of diesel smoke permeating the air. By the time I found my rental car in the parking lot, that smell had been replaced by the scent of aspen forests and recent rain.

Over the next few days, I paddled Lake McDonald, where I watched the mirror reflection of the mountains grow closer with each paddle stroke. Venturing to the east side of the park, I sang out-of-tune country songs while hiking to Hidden Lake, hoping that any grizzly within earshot would run in the opposite direction. I floated the middle fork of the Flathead River with my fly rod and a guide from , catching (and releasing) a dozen or more cutthroat and rainbow trout. If it wasn鈥檛 a perfect four days, it was damn close. 鈥� Robert Annis

The Arctic Circle Night Train, Sweden to Norway

The Route:聽Stockholm, Sweden to Narvik, Norway
Duration:聽1215 miles, 18.5 hours
The Fare: 136 USD in a six-person couchette compartment, one-way
The 国产吃瓜黑料: Disembark at Kiruna for cross-country skiing, dog-sledding and aurora hunting in Abisko National Park or stay on until Narvik, a gateway hub to the Lofoten Islands and Troms酶

Departing Stockholm Central station just after 6pm, this comfortable curls up the backbone of Sweden, crossing over the border into Norway and ending 137 miles inside the Arctic Circle, at the northernmost station in Europe. It was mid-March when I boarded, the sky a midnight blue, the air clean and crisp. As the train thundered out of the capital, turning north, I cupped my hands against the window and watched as bodies of ink-black water glittered under the glow of lampposts. Around me passengers were spreading out blankets, wedging in ear buds and opening takeaway boxes of pizza, the waft of kicked-off shoes adding to the mix.

Lured towards the dining car, the heart and soul of a night train, I tucked into a steaming bowl of reindeer stew and mash, surrounded by a group of teachers en route to the city of Kiruna to ski. They offered me wine and strips of sticky gravlax along with tips on how to spot the Northern Lights at Abisko National Park. This onboard community was filled with the warmth so typical to sleeper trains, but my midnight I was ready to take to bed. Crawling into my lower berth in a six-person couchette, I nudged back the curtain to watch the moon bobbing between tree silhouettes, and golden stars hanging in bedroom windows. By morning passengers had slipped out, leaving no more than a bundle of blankets and as we crossed the Norwegian border, less than a handful of passengers were privy to the route鈥檚 grand finale.

Embarking on the Ofoten line at Bj酶rnfjell, the train ran at the edge of a cliff as the fjords emerged below, magisterial in their quiet movement. Mountains rose, the sun throwing soft light upon the carriage as the train clattered through one tunnel after another, beside ice-blue waterfalls frozen in their midst. Nineteen hours after departure the train took its final breath, hissed and braked into the historic port of Narvik. 鈥� Monisha Rajesh

Denali Star, Alaska

The Route: Anchorage to Fairbanks
Duration: 356 miles; 12 hours
The Fare: Around $285 for 国产吃瓜黑料 Class and $532 for the upgraded GoldStar
The 国产吃瓜黑料: Take in Denali 鈥攖he highest peak in North America 鈥� as you zip through the remote Alaskan wilderness

The shining jewel of the Alaska Railroad, the links the state鈥檚 two largest cities with one of our nation鈥檚 most awe-inspiring national parks. I鈥檝e ridden the Denali Star twice over the last three years, and it鈥檚 by far the best way to reach Denali National Park.

From Anchorage, the Denali Star rolls through a couple of urban stops before entering the backcountry. The train chugs past the Chugach Mountains and across Hurricane Gulch atop a 296-foot-high trestle bridge. Chugging along past the spruce and birch forests, we see multiple homesteader cabins through the thick trees, and even stopped near one to drop off supplies.

Seeing moose, grizzlies, and other wildlife are a common occurrence; I may have caught a fleeting glimpse of a black bear cub standing near the edge of the Indian River, but we passed it so fast, it could鈥檝e been just a rock. A conductor calls out animal sightings, as well as bits of history intermixed with dad jokes over the intercom.

Roughly only 30 percent of Denali visitors actually see the iconic peak; the mountain鈥檚 so large, it creates its own weather systems, and is usually enveloped in clouds. When Denali 鈥� forget the Mt. McKinley name change 鈥� came into view in all its white-capped glory, the entire train car let out a collective 鈥渁hhhhhhh.鈥� Every other mountain in the Alaska Range looked like the proverbial molehill compared to the 20,000-foot behemoth.

When we finally arrived in Denali National Park after eight hours, my bags were whisked away and brought to my hotel, while I took in the majesty of my surroundings while waiting for a shuttle bus. Nearly a week later, I鈥檇 be back on the train platform, waiting to complete the journey to Fairbanks. While the first leg was filled with an anxious energy, the final leg is all about reliving your Denali experience. 鈥� Robert Annis

Tren del Fin del Mundo, Argentina

The Route: Estaci贸n Fin del Mundo/Estaci贸n Parque Nacional
Duration: 4.3 miles, 45 minutes
The Fare: USD $38
The 国产吃瓜黑料: Travel to the “End of the World” at the tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego

As I nibbled dulce de leche-filled biscuits, the Tren del Fin del Mundo (End of the World Train) chugged past peat bogs, southern beech forests, meandering rivers and snowy mountains, landscapes that make up much of Tierra del Fuego, the archipelago at the tip of South America. Tango classics played in the background, and a pair of yellow-green austral parakeets flashed overhead. It was hard to believe we were only 620 miles north of Antarctica.

Despite its modern comforts, the southernmost railway on earth has a grisly history. It was built by convict labour in the early 20th century, when the area was home to a notorious prison dubbed the 鈥楽iberia of the South.鈥� The Prisoners鈥� Train originally ran along 13.6 miles of track and played a vital role in the development of the region, before falling out of use in the 1950s. Four decades later, the railway was revived as a touristy heritage line in the mid-1990s, and rebranded the Tren del Fin del Mundo. Replica steam trains now run on a 4.3-mile section of the track, from the Estaci贸n Fin del Mundo 鈥� 5 miles west of the city of Ushuaia 鈥攖o a station at the edge of Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. En route they stop briefly at the miniature Estaci贸n La Macarena, which is populated by souvenir shops and cheerful staff in striped prisoner garb.

Despite these kitsch touches, the route provides a fascinating glimpse into the region鈥檚 tumultuous history, as well as its glorious scenery. It also enables you to explore Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, a trekking haven stretched along the shore of the Beagle Channel. At the end of my journey, as I followed a trail through a woodland echoing with the taps of a Magellanic woodpecker, a steam engine whistle sounded in the distance as the Tren del Fin del Mundo returned home. 鈥� Shafik Meghji’

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You can find more of Monisha Rajesh’s and Shafik Meghji’s favorite train journeys in which is released on September 23 2025.

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