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Recreation

An aerial view of the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge plant, circa 1945

Walt Disney Visited a Ford Factory in 1948. What He Witnessed There Laid the Groundwork for What Would Become Disneyland

A new book argues that the film producer’s trip to the River Rouge plant in Michigan inspired him to embrace the power of automation when designing the first Disney theme park

Swimmable Cities is a global alliance of local government officials, experts and advocates working to make urban waterways clean enough to swim in.

Would You Jump Into Your Local River? Swimmable Cities May Be Within Reach as Once-Polluted Waterways Are Restored

Efforts to improve the “swimmability” of urban areas are gaining global traction, from Paris to Chicago

Alex Honnold climbed Taipei 101 without ropes or safety equipment.

See How Alex Honnold Climbed a Dizzying 1,667-Foot-Tall Skyscraper Without Ropes

He became famous after scaling El Capitan without protective equipment in 2017. Now the 40-year-old athlete has completed the first free solo of Taipei 101 in Taiwan

The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) owns about half of Switzerland’s 320 huts, including the Almageller Hut on the southern side of Weissmies Mountain above the village of Saas-Almagell.

The Race Is On to Save the Alps’ Famous Huts and Trails as Melting Permafrost Threatens to Destroy Them

Hiking will always be a part of life in the Alps, but climate change has made navigating high-alpine routes more complicated

Bonneville is one of the flattest natural runways on the planet, a surface so smooth and open that racers have been coming here for generations to see how far they can push the machines they build.

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

Meet the Daredevils Chasing Down Speed Records at the Bonneville Salt Flats

Race officials, tinkerers and competitors converge in Utah every fall to test both metal and mettle

Boise Whitewater Park includes two adjustable wave features spread over a mile apart. The first is suitable for those beginning to surf, while the second phase is better for advanced levels to put on a show.

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

How Landlocked Idaho Became a Leader in Urban Surfing

Boise’s wave park is attracting outdoor adventurers—and the innovative public works project is inspiring other cities

Apps like the newly launched Runmates provide links to running clubs worldwide.

Third Places Are Being Reimagined—and Welcoming Travelers in the Process

Outside of home and work, spaces like parks, food halls and libraries are stepping up with social offerings

No winners are declared. No medals are handed out. There is no podium. The only aim for riders of the Vätternrundan is to complete the challenge, and doing so is a rite of passage. 

How Sweden’s Vätternrundan Became One of the Biggest Recreational Bike Rides on the Planet

For 60 years, cyclists have descended on the city of Motala in June to ride 196 miles around Lake Vättern and promote healthy living

Perched on the southern edge of the picturesque Monterey Bay, Pacific Grove, California, is home to the Monarch Grove Sanctuary, one of the largest overwintering sites of monarch butterflies in the region.

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2025

From a barbecue capital in Texas to the site of the first offensive victory for American forces in the Revolutionary War in New York, these spots are worthy of a visit this year

Visitors pose atop Arch Rock, a geological formation on Mackinac Island.

How America’s Forgotten Second National Park Lost Its Federal Status—and Gained a New Lease on Life as a State Park

Much of Mackinac Island was designated as a national park in 1875, but it proved to be too expensive for the government to maintain, so it was transferred to the State of Michigan in 1895

The men summited Mount Everest just five days after leaving the United Kingdom.

Climbers Summit Mount Everest in Five Days Using Controversial Xenon Gas

The four British former special forces soldiers left the United Kingdom on May 16. By 7:10 a.m. on May 21, they were standing at the top of the 29,032-foot-tall peak

Get your costumes on. It's slush cup season.

Why Skiers Are Ending the Season With a Splash—and Keeping the Raucous Tradition of Pond Skimming Alive

For nearly 100 years, die-hards have been saying goodbye to winter by speeding down the slopes and water skiing over massive puddles

Caught on Lake Livingston near Houston using a two-pound line, the massive alligator gar weighed 153 pounds.

Angler Catches 153-Pound Behemoth in Texas Using Ultra-Light Tackle, Likely Setting a New World Record

Art Weston and Kirk Kirkland reeled in and released the enormous freshwater fish, known as an alligator gar, after a four-hour battle on Lake Livingston

Volunteers with the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute in Santa Barbara, California, rescue a sick sea lion that's likely suffering from domoic acid poisoning.

Sea Lion Bites Surfer Amid One of the Worst Outbreaks of Domoic Acid Poisoning That California Wildlife Rescuers Can Remember

Sea lions, dolphins and birds are sick and dying because of a toxic algae bloom in Southern California—and animal care organizations are overwhelmed by the scale

Zion National Park in Utah was the second most visited national park in the country with 4,946,592 recreation visits in 2024.

These Were the Most—and Least—Visited National Parks in 2024

America’s national park sites saw a record number of visitors last year. Great Smoky Mountains, Zion and Grand Canyon national parks are perennial favorites among travelers

Ever since it debuted in 2008, the Running of the Reindeer has become one of the signature events of the Fur Rendezvous Festival.

Every March, Runners Race Reindeer Through the Streets of Anchorage

For three and a half blocks, athletes and ungulates share the road during the headlining event of Alaska’s Fur Rendezvous Festival

Alaska’s hardiest residents have gathered around the frozen waterfalls of Valdez—some of them up to 900 feet tall—to hone their skills, test their mettle and celebrate the state’s tight-knit ice climbing community.

Learn to Ice Climb at Alaska’s Most Extreme Community Festival

For more than 40 years, Alaskans have been gathering in the tiny coastal town of Valdez to celebrate the art of climbing ice

More than 40 variations are played around the world today, although the core tiles and the way the tiles are shuffled and stacked to begin the game remain the same.

The Asian Game of Mahjong, Which Creates Order Out of Chaos, Is Trending in the West

The 200-year-old tile game is popping up in clubs, hotels and parties as a way for Gen Zers and millennials to connect

With its clear, dark skies, Colorado's Browns Canyon National Monument is an ideal spot to admire planets, constellations and the Milky Way.

A New Dark Sky Park in Colorado Offers a Front-Row Seat to the Cosmos

This week, Browns Canyon National Monument, a 21,586-acre protected natural area in central Colorado, achieved International Dark Sky Park certification

Cyclists pass a preserved section of the Berlin Wall.

How the Berlin Wall Became a 100-Mile Bike and Pedestrian Trail

Once one of the world’s most dangerous border crossings, Berlin’s symbol of death and division has been turned into a tangible way to experience history

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