Tagged: outdoors

5 Ways to See the Northern Lights in Fairbanks, Alaska

This year and last, a string of powerful solar storms has been setting nighttime skies around the world ablaze with the colors of the aurora borealis, aka the northern lights or, in…

Florida Is Trying to Ram Development of State Parks, "Skirting the Legal Process"

Floridians are sounding a red alert after the state unexpectedly revealed its intent to allow rapid development at nine of Florida's nature reserves, sidestepping the usual process…

The Best National Parks to Visit in the Fall

Updated July 11, 2024 Autumn can be an exuberant season in U.S. national parks. In some of them, the mating calls of elk fill the air. In others, the turning of the leaves gives…

Best Places to Go in the Fall: USA Travel Picks for September, October, and November

Updated June 27, 2024 There are those who find summer oppressive and winter dreary, but does anybody not like fall? Okay, maybe third graders bummed about being back in school. But for…

How to Avoid Ticks While Hiking, Camping, or Otherwise Enjoying the Outdoors

Tick season, which typically lasts from April through October, is expected to get pretty intense in 2024, and travelers need to be prepared to protect themselves. Mild winters and wet…

California State Parks That Would Be National Parks Anywhere Else

Updated March 11, 2024 There are nine national parks in California—more than in any other state. From the iconic waterfalls and granite cliffs of Yosemite to the stark desert expanses…

Entrance Fee–Free National Park Days in 2024

More than a quarter of the 425 sites managed by the U.S. National Park Service charge entrance fees, ranging in price from $10 to $35.  But on a few select dates each year, the federal…

UnCruise in Alaska: Seeing the State’s Wild Splendor by Small Ship

I’ve cruised to Alaska more than half a dozen times on ships of all sizes and have always preferred smaller vessels for the intimate access they provide to the state’s supercharged…

Alaska Small-Ship Cruises: 7 Options for Up-Close Adventures

One of my first small-ship cruises ever was in southeast Alaska on the 102-passenger Spirit of Endeavour, which sails today as the Safari Endeavour for UnCruise Adventures. That…

Down-Home Away from Home: 7 Great Farm Stays for Families

A farm vacation connects you and your family with nature and a simpler way of living. Kids feed goats and lambs, collect eggs, and get on a first-name basis with resident cows like the…

Frommer’s New Yellowstone Guidebook Captures an Ever-Changing Natural Wonder

In my almost 15 years of regularly visiting Yellowstone National Park, I’ve learned that change is the only constant in this dynamic place.  Volatility is literally baked into the…

Mexico City’s Island of the Dolls Is the Creepiest Place on Earth

We've covered our share of scary places over the years: haunted hotels, overgrown cemeteries, the house that inspired The Conjuring, Nevada's Clown Motel, literally any airplane…

Beyond the Beach: Fun Things to Do in Miami Without Showing Off Your Abs

Updated October 12, 2022 In 1961, Frommer’s Miami and the Caribbean on 10 Dollars a Day (the mind boggles) describes the South Florida city as a pastel-hued land of “unheard-of…

Banff Without a Car: How to See the Canadian Rockies by Foot, Bike, Shuttle, and Bus

Like most national parks across North America, Banff, the scenic stunner in Alberta’s mighty Rocky Mountains, is currently dealing with soaring popularity—and all the accompanying…

Savor Arizona’s Natural and Culinary Wonders with Our New Guidebook

Arizona's embarrassment of riches in the natural wonders department exerts a pull on any traveler hoping to trek through, raft amid, or simply gawk at landscapes of astonishing,…

D.C. Has a New Must-See Attraction, Says Author of Latest Frommer’s Guide

"To be totally honest, this was probably the most challenging travel editorial project that I’ve done," says Jess Moss, coauthor of the just-released Frommer's EasyGuide to Washington,…

Canadians Can Get Prescriptions for a Free National Parks Pass

In Canada, doctors can now prescribe a national parks pass to patients in need of a healthy dose of nature. Developed in partnership with Parks Canada, the PaRx program makes Canada's…

Summer Vacation in the National Parks? You Need Reservations for Some of Them Now

In case you haven't heard, the U.S. national park system had record visitation numbers in 2021, with the crown jewel parks stretched to the breaking point.  Arches National Park had to…

Hikers Follow Glow-in-the-Dark Guideposts on This New Stargazing Trail

A scenery-focused hike in the dark sounds counterintuitive, but not when the nighttime amble is at Exmoor National Park, a coastal stretch of unspoiled moors between Devon and Somerset…

Great Smoky Mountains Adds Parking Fee to Access Beloved Waterfall

There's no entrance fee at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In fact, when Tennessee and North Carolina turned over the land to the federal government in the 1930s, one of the…

4 Tips for Staying Safe on a Solo Hike

For those looking to explore the outdoors in peace and quiet and at their own pace, it's easy to see the appeal of a solo hike. But there are obvious dangers to heading into the…

10 Spectacular and Stirring Waterfall Hikes in the USA

There are waterfalls that inspire awe with their size and power. And there are smaller cascades that soothe frazzled nerves via painterly scenery and calming woodland soundtracks.…

Tips for Avoiding a Snakebite While Hiking

An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people get bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Deaths from the…

The Best Time to See the Great Smoky Mountains’ Magical Firefly Spectacle

For a roughly two-week period each spring, fireflies put on a magical light show at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.  After dark, lightning bugs in the…

The Gentrification of Nature—and What to Do About It

America’s wide-open spaces should be open to all. But more and more, the great outdoors are becoming a playground for the rich.  Mind you, nature has long had a luxury market hawking…