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Outdoor Travel

An aerial view of the southwest side of the island.

The Best Caribbean Island You’ve Never Heard Of

This tropical paradise is packed with lush landscapes and secret pleasures

The lighthouse on Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas

Cool Finds

A Lucky Artist Will Be Marooned on a Deserted Island

An artist-in-residence program invites applicants to consider spending a month alone in paradise

Workers start to encircle the island of San Paolo with the first floating elements, April 2016.

Nine Northern Italian Destinations to Visit After You View Christo’s “Floating Piers”

Cultural and historical treasures abound near Lake Iseo

Look up—there's more to the Grand Canyon than geology.

Cool Finds

Grand Canyon Turns Down Its Lights to Become a Dark Sky Park

Star gazers, rejoice—the skies above the Grand Canyon will never lose their sparkle

The cover to one of A-No.1's books about his life as a hobo.

Cool Finds

After a Century, an Anthropologist Picked up the Trail of the “Hobo King”

One hundred-year-old graffiti by “A-No.1” and others were found by the L.A. River

Beitou District

Soak Up Taiwan’s Hot Springs Culture in These Five Natural Baths

A rejuvenating soak has long been a vital part of Taiwanese culture. Here are some of the top places to take a dip.

Dorset Horn sheep are one of eight heritage livestock breeds currently living at SVF. The gene bank currently contains 30 breeds.

For One Day Only, Visit the Farm and Cryogenics Laboratory Trying to Save Endangered Livestock Breeds

Enjoy a farm tour, cryogenics demonstration and a heritage-breed beef burger at Newport, Rhode Island’s Swiss Village Farm

A pile of discarded prayer flags lays in front of Mount Everest, which claimed four lives in just four days over the weekend.

Trending Today

Four People Have Died on Everest in as Many Days

The mountain’s terrible toll has set the 2016 climbing season off to a rocky start

Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

The Best National Parks for Wildlife Spotting

Plan your national park visits around prime viewing hours

America's beaches are filled with treasures for beachcombers.

Five of the Best Beaches for Beachcombing in the U.S.

On the hunt for seashells and other buried treasure? Here’s where to look

Trending Today

China Will Start Publicly Shaming Tourists Who Graffiti Mount Everest

Leave nothing but footprints

Cool Finds

Central Park Opens Up Its “Secret Sanctuary”

Closed for 80 Years, the Park recently announced it will open the restored Hallett Nature Sanctuary to vistors

Sponsor: National Portrait Gallery

Which of These Summertime Athletes Should Be Displayed on the Walls of the National Portrait Gallery?

Vote now for your pick!

A rainbow can be spotted in the mists of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with an exploration of the planet's most colorful places?

Cool Finds

Celebrate Earth Day With a Rainbow of Spectacular Photos

Nature’s palette is unparalleled

Switzerland

Here’s Where You Can Hike a Glacier (Before They’re Gone)

Read on for five of the world’s most stunning icecap experiences

Smithsonian Best Small Towns 2016

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2016

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, our top picks this year are all towns close to America’s natural splendors

Waterfall Display

A Show of Over 6,000 Orchids Celebrates a Victorian-Era Obsession

Succumb to “Orchidelirium” at The New York Botanical Garden

Hoh Rainforest moss

National Parks

Is This the Quietest Square Inch in the U.S.?

An acoustic ecologist reveals his findings

Edelweiss.

Switzerland

Switzerland’s Most Beautiful Alpine Gardens

The best place to see Switzerland’s stunning flora is high up in the mountains

Arches National Park

National Parks

Marathoner Sets Out to Run All of America’s National Parks

Autumn Ray’s goal: 59 national parks before she turns 40 in four years

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