Recreation

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which stretches across North Carolina and Tennessee, was the most-visited park of 2023.

These Were the Most—and Least—Popular National Parks in 2023

The National Park Service recorded 325,498,646 recreation visits across 400 sites, which is close to pre-pandemic levels

Backpackers hike near Crescent Lake in Alaska's Chugach National Forest.

Alps-Style Hut-to-Hut Travel Is On Its Way to Alaska

Several ambitious projects are poised to bring a long trail and 25 new huts to the Last Frontier

Researchers have recreated what the exiled royal Charles Edward Stuart—better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie—might have looked like at age 24.

See the Face of 24-Year-Old Bonnie Prince Charlie, Recreated Using Death Masks

The new recreation shows what the prince might have looked like during the 1745 Jacobite rising

Mountaineers came upon the gear and remains of a hiker missing since 1986 last month.

Melting Swiss Glacier Reveals Remains of Climber Who Disappeared in 1986

As climate change warms the planet, more discoveries of human remains and objects in ice are expected to occur

Expedition tents at Everest Base Camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu District

Nepal Won't Move the Mount Everest Base Camp for Now, Despite Risks

The camp is growing more dangerous with climate change and human activity, but it’s an ideal location for keeping hikers safe from falling ice

The 16-acre resort has Airstreams, luxury canvas tents and suites.

New Glamping Resort Opens Near Zion National Park

AutoCamp Zion features a pool, an eatery, a clubhouse and air-conditioned lodgings

Lake Champlain, which is located on the border of New York and Vermont, is usually popular for ice fishing. 

Three Fishers Die After Falling Through Ice in Vermont

Ice fishing competitions on Lake Champlain have been canceled after an unusually warm January

Warm temperatures have melted snow in eastern Germany's ski resorts.

Skiing Faces an Uncertain Future as Winters Warm

A lack of snow has forced some ski resorts to close, impacting tourists and athletes alike

The Trans Bhutan Trail, which was originally part of the Silk Road, is a historic pilgrimage route dating back thousands of years.

The 250-Mile Trans Bhutan Trail Will Reopen After 60 Years

After a major restoration project, the path connecting 400 cultural and historic sites is once again passable

Sunrise at Glacier National Park

Three Climbers Reported Dead at Glacier National Park

The men died within days of each other in two unrelated incidents, park officials say

James Corner Field Operations, the San Francisco branch of the New York-based firm that designed Manhattan's High Line, was the developer for the project.

This New San Francisco Park Sits Above Six Lanes of Traffic

The 14-acre Presidio Tunnel Tops is the latest infrastructure reuse project to transform a city

The author and a friend paddled the 200-year-old Forth and Clyde Canal into the Union Canal. The two canals form a historic, 54-mile route that bisects Scotland.

How Scotland Is Reinventing Its Centuries-Old Canals for Paddlers

In the past 20 years, the country has transformed its decrepit coal-transport infrastructure into a thriving recreational wonderland

Researchers at the University of Montana find that wealthier, white campers are more likely to make online reservations for campsites at United States national parks. 

Does the National Park Service’s Reservation System Shut Out Non-White, Low-Income Campers?

The federal website excludes some would-be adventurers, a University of Montana study suggests

Snowboarder Shannon Dunn competes for Team USA in the 1998 Winter Olympics, where she won the bronze medal in half-pipe.

A Brief History of Snowboarding

Rebellious youth. Olympic glory. How a goofy American pastime conquered winter

Some facets of the 1918 influenza pandemic echo today's crisis: There were mask mandates, campaigns against spitting and pleas for people to cover their mouths, and more than half a million Americans died. The decade that followed the pandemic, however, was marked by social change and economic prosperity—for some.

What Caused the Roaring Twenties? Not the End of a Pandemic (Probably)

As the U.S. anticipates a vaccinated summer, historians say measuring the impact of the 1918 influenza on the uproarious decade that followed is tricky

A panel of the "Birthing Rock" petroglyphs in Moab, Utah, prior to its defacement with racist and obscene etchings

Racist Phrase Found Etched on Native American Petroglyphs in Utah

Unidentified criminals wrote "white power" and obscenities over thousand-year-old Indigenous markings on "Birthing Rock" in Moab

John Wanamaker, New York, NY. Spring & Summer Catalog (1915), front cover.

Looking at Leisure Through Early 20th-Century Trade Catalogs

How did people a 100 years ago spend their free time outside? The Trade Literature Collection offers a few clues to some very recognizable pastimes

Partially protected areas are often proposed as a way to bolster marine life and to improve people’s enjoyment of the ocean—neither of which seems to be happening.

Partially Protected Marine Areas Have Little Benefit, Scientists Say

Compared to fully safeguarded marine protected areas, the zones don't show a lot of positive effects for marine life or people’s enjoyment

A footpath weaves through ferns and trees on Denecourt Trail No. 6. The designer made sure the paths meandered around interesting features.

The Invention of Hiking

Follow the Frenchman who remade the woods surrounding a royal estate into the world’s first nature preserve

Johannes Vermeer's The Astronomer, 1668, (left) and recreation by Zumhagen-Krause and her husband featuring tray table, blanket and globe (right)

This Museum Is Asking People to Remake Famous Artworks With Household Items

The Getty Museum hopes its social media challenge will spark inspiration amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Page 1 of 4