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  Hi, I'm Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside and former Northwest Editor at Backpacker magazine. Click my photo to learn more about me and my blog. Sign up for my free email newsletter in the blue box above. Click on Subscribe Now! in the main menu (top right) to get full access to all of my stories on America's best backpacking, hiking, and outdoor adventures. And click on Ask Me in the main menu to learn how I can help you plan your next trip.

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Tag Archives: Colorado

Ask Me: Should I Go Backpacking Solo?

October 13, 2018  |  In Ask Me, Backpacking, National Park Adventures, Skills   |   Tagged advice on backpacking solo, backpacking skills, Colorado, Colorado backpacking, Colorado Rockies, Continental Divide, Flattop Mountain, Grand Lake, Hallett Creek Trail, Haynach Lakes, Lake Nanita, Lake Nokoni, Longs Peak, North Inlet Trail, personal locator beacons, Rocky Mountain National Park, Rocky Mountains, satellite messenger devices, Summerland Park trailhead, tips on solo backpacking, Tonahutu Creek Trail, Wild Basin   |   8 Comments

A backpacker at Upper Lyman Lakes, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington.

Hello Michael,

I’ve read through a lot of your blog, and it really has inspired me to get outside more and look for greater adventures than what I’ve already done. I have never been anywhere in the United States and so I have my sights set on Rocky Mountain National Park, in Colorado. I’m looking to do some backpacking, and with so many trails and options to choose from, I’m at a loss and honestly confused. I’m looking for something that will take me about four days. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find someone to tag along with me, and although I have quite a bit of camping and hiking experience, I haven’t done it by myself. What are your thoughts on backpacking solo? Continue reading →

September 10, 2018

10 Awesome Fall Backpacking Trips

In Backpacking, Family Adventures, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged " Pemi Loop, Andrews Bald, Appalachian Trail, backpacking Olympic coast, Bondcliff, Bright Angel Trail, California backpacking, California national parks, Capitol Reef National Park, Clingmans Dome, Clouds Rest, Colorado, Crawford Notch, family backpacking, Franconia Ridge, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon South Rim backpacking trips, Grand Teton National Park, Grandview Trail, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, High Sierra, Hiking White Mountains, John Muir Trail, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, Mount Hood, Mount Hood National Forest, Mount Hood Wilderness, North Cascades, North Cascades National Park, North Kaibab Trail, Olympic National Park, Oregon backpacking, Park Creek Pass, Pemigewasset Wilderness, Rainbow Lake, Royal Arch Grand Canyon, South Kaibab Trail, Southern Olympic Coast, Southern Utah hiking backpacking, Spring Canyon, Stephen Mather Wilderness, Teton Crest Trail, Thunder River Deer Creek Loop, Timberline Trail, Tuolumne Meadows, Upper Muley Twist Canyon, Utah, Utah parks, Washington hiking backpacking, White Mountain National Forest, White Mountains, Yosemite National Park, Zeacliff, Zealand Notch   |   2 Comments

By Michael Lanza

The imminent end of summer always feels a little melancholy. After all, it marks the close of the prime season for getting into the mountains. But it also signals the beginning of a time of year when many mountain ranges become less crowded just as they’re hitting a sweet zone in terms of temperatures, the lack of bugs, and fall foliage color. Autumn also stands out as an ideal season for many canyon hikes, with moderate temperatures and even some stunning color.

From Yosemite to the North Cascades (lead photo, above), Grand Canyon to Grand Teton, the Great Smokies to the Olympics, and more, here are 10 of my favorite backpacking trips that are best served up in fall.
Continue reading →

June 11, 2018

The 12 Best Uncrowded National Park Dayhikes

In Family Adventures, Hiking, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged best national park hikes, Best uncrowded national park dayhikes, Big Spring Canyon, Black Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Blacktail Deer Creek Trail, Box Top Trail, Boy Scout Trail, California, California hiking, California national parks, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Chimney Rock Canyon, City of Rocks National Reserve, Clouds Rest, Colorado, Colorado hiking, Death Valley National Park, Eagle Peak Trail, family hiking, Grand Teton National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Heather Pass Maple Pass Loop, High Sierra, hiking Grand Teton National Park, hiking Wyoming, Joshua Tree National Park, Lost Canyon, Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades, North Cascades National Park, North Fork Circle Creek Trail, Peekaboo Trail, Southern Utah hiking backpacking, Squaw Canyon, Static Peak, Stripe Rock Loop, Taylor Canyon Zion, Tea Kettle Trail, Telescope Peak, Tenaya Lake, The Needles District, Utah, Utah parks, Washington hiking backpacking, Wonderland of Rocks, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park   |   2 Comments

By Michael Lanza

The best-known dayhikes in America’s national parks are certainly worth adding to your outdoor-adventure CV. Summits and hiking trails like Angels Landing in Zion, Half Dome in Yosemite, the North Rim Trail overlooking the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Glacier National Park’s Highline Trail, and many others represent the highlights of the crown jewels of the National Park System. But for that very reason, unless you take those hikes outside the peak seasons or times of day, you can expect to encounter a lot of other hikers.

But there are other national park dayhikes that remain off the radar of many hikers—so they attract a small fraction of the number of people flocking to the popular trails. On these 12 hikes, you’ll find scenery just as majestic as those famous trails, while possibly having these spots to yourself (as I did on several of them). Continue reading →

April 9, 2018

Tent Flap With A View: 25 Favorite Backcountry Campsites

In Backpacking, Family Adventures, International Adventures, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged Alice Lake, Arizona, Benson Lake, California, California backpacking, California climbing, California national parks, Camp Schurman, Canyon of Lodore, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Climbing Mount Whitney, Colorado, Columbine Lake, Coyote Gulch, Coyote Natural Bridge, Death Canyon Shelf, Dientes Circuit, Dinosaur National Monument, Dog Lake, Dome Glacier, Doubtful Sound, Eagle Cap Wilderness, East Fork Owyhee River, Emmons Glacier, Everglades National Park, Evolution Basin, Evolution Lake, family backpacking, Fiordlands National Park, floating the Green River, Gates of Lodore, Glacier Bay National Park, Glacier National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon's Royal Arch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Grand Teton National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Green River, Gunsight Pass Trail, Hance Rapids, High Sierra, Idaho, John Muir Trail, Johns Hopkins Inlet, Kings Canyon National Park, Lake Ellen Wilson, Little Frazier Lake, Little Yosemite Valley, Mount Baker, Mount Rainier National Park, Mount Whitney, Mount Whitney Mountaineers Route, New Hance Trail, North Cascades, North Cascades National Park, North Fork Cascade Canyon, Olympic coast, Olympic National Park, Paria Canyon, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Patagonia, Precipice Lake, Ptarmigan Traverse, rafting Lodore Canyon, rafting the Green River, Rock Slide Lake, Royal Arch Loop, Sahale Glacier Camp, Sawtooth Mountains, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth Wilderness, Sequoia National Park, Seven Devils Mountains, Southern Utah hiking backpacking, Spring Canyon, Stillwater Canyon, Ten Thousand Islands, Tiger Key, Titcomb Basin, Toleak Point, Tonto Trail, Upper Lyman Lakes, Utah, Utah parks, Virgin River, Wallowa Mountains, Waterpocket Fold, Whirlpool Canyon, White Rock Lakes, Wind River Range, Wind River Range backpacking, Zion National Park, Zion’s Narrows   |   30 Comments

By Michael Lanza

An unforgettable campsite can define a backcountry trip. Sometimes that perfect spot where you spend a night forges the memory that remains the most vivid long after you’ve gone home. A photo of that camp can send recollections of the entire adventure rushing back to you—it does for me. I’ve been very fortunate to have pitched a tent in many great backcountry campsites over nearly three decades of backpacking and trekking all over the U.S. and the world. I’ve boiled the list of my favorite spots down to these 25.

I update this list every year, and each time, it becomes more difficult. This year, I’m adding a campsite in Titcomb Basin, in the heart of Wyoming’s majestic Wind River Range. Below my top 25 list you’ll find a second list of campsites that were previously in my top 25. Each campsite photo below includes a short description of where it is and the trip, and most have a link to an existing story about that trip at The Big Outside. Continue reading →

September 13, 2017

The 5 Rules About Kids I Broke While Backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park

In Backpacking, Family Adventures, National Park Adventures, Skills   |   Tagged backpacking skills, Colorado, Colorado backpacking, Colorado hiking, family backpacking, Ouzel Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Thunder Lake, Wild Basin   |   7 Comments

By Michael Lanza

“I’m dying!” my son, Nate, bellowed to the entire forest in the Wild Basin of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. “This pack is too heavy!” We were just 30 minutes up the trail at the outset of a three-day backpacking trip. It was a trip that seemed like an unmitigated disaster for the first two days—then morphed into an adventure my kids remember fondly, and that helped expand their outdoor interests.

For me, those three days in Rocky serve as a reminder about the many ways you can do it wrong when taking kids outdoors, but how simple it is to make it right. Continue reading →