Mount Rainier National Park

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Tag Archives: Mount Rainier National Park

April 22, 2018

The 10 Best National Park Backpacking Trips

By Michael Lanza

Olympic, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Glacier, Zion, Grand Teton, Mount Rainier, Canyonlands, Sequoia, Great Smoky Mountains. To backpackers, these names read like a list of America’s greatest cathedrals in nature—and no surprise, because these parks hold some of the most scenic, adventurous, and coveted backpacking trips in the country. Hike any of them and it will earn a spot on your personal top-10 list. Knock off all 10 trips on this list and you will experience some of the finest landscapes not only in the nation, but on the planet.

Ready to be blown away? Scroll through this list and find your next unforgettable trip. Continue reading →

April 9, 2018

Sahale Glacier Camp, North Cascades National Park

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 →

March 18, 2018

Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park.

Ask Me: My Top Picks For Long Backpacking Trips

In Ask Me, Backpacking, National Park Adventures | Tagged Ansel Adams Wilderness, Ask Me backpacking, Ask Me North Cascades, Ask Me Yosemite, Bridge Creek Trail, California, California backpacking, California national parks, Clouds Rest, Easy Pass, Fisher Creek, Glacier National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness, High Sierra, John Muir Trail, May Lake, McAlester Lake, Merced River, Mount Hoffman, Mount Hood, Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, North Fork Park Creek Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Park Creek Pass, Park Creek Trail, Pasayten Wilderness, PCT, Rainbow Lake, Red Peak Pass, Sierra High Route, Stehekin Valley Road, Tenaya Lake, Thunder Creek, Timberline Trail, Tonto Trail, Tuolumne Meadows, Vogelsang Pass, Washington hiking backpacking, Wind River High Route, Wind River Range, Wind River Range backpacking, Wonderland Trail, Yosemite National Park | 4 Comments

Hi Michael,

I’m looking for a backpacking loop, out and back, or shuttle that allows me about 20 miles a day for about five days. I’ve done a ton of multi-day backpacking and lots of long-distance trails. I’m an elementary-school teacher, and I usually take a solo trip the first week of my summer vacation. It can be tricky as it’s the second week of June and there is usually too much snow to attempt certain trails. I saw your piece on the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood in Oregon, which is an option, but I’m looking for more like 75 to 125 miles in total. Ideas would be sooo appreciated. Continue reading →

March 4, 2018

Beaver dam in the Fishhook Creek Valley, Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho.

12 Simple Landscape Photography Tips For Better Outdoor Photos

In Backpacking, Family Adventures, Hiking, National Park Adventures, Skills | Tagged backpacking skills, Capitol Reef National Park, Glacier Bay National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Prismatic Geyser, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Grand Teton National Park, Iceland, John Muir Trail, Jotunheimen National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, landscape photography tips, Midway Geyser Basin, Mount Rainier National Park, Old Faithful, outdoor photography tips, Peek-a-Boo Gulch, Sawtooth Mountains, South Fork Cascade Canyon, taking better outdoor photos, taking better scenic photos, Teton Crest Trail, Washington hiking backpacking, White Cloud Mountains, Yellowstone National Park | 9 Comments

By Michael Lanza

Do you wonder how some people come back from national parks and other outdoor trips with fantastic photos? Would you like to take the kind of pictures that make people ooh and aah? It may not be as complicated as you think. The following tips on outdoor and landscape photography, which I’ve learned from studying photography and over three decades of shooting the finest scenery in America and the world, will help you take home better photos whether you’re a beginner or an experienced photographer. Continue reading →

February 12, 2018

The 20 Best National Park Dayhikes

In Family Adventures, Hiking, National Park Adventures | Tagged Andrews Bald, Angels Landing, Anhinga Trail, Appalachian Trail, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, California, California hiking, California national parks, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Cascade Pass, Chesler Park Trail, Clingmans Dome, Cohab Canyon Trail, Death Valley National Park, Delicate Arch, Everglades National Park, family hiking, Fying Pan Trail, Garnet Canyon, General Sherman Tree, Giant Forest, giant sequoias, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Grand Canyon South Rim hikes, Grand Teton National Park, Grandview Trail, Granite Park Chalet, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Half Dome, Heather Pass Maple Pass Loop, High Sierra, Highline Trail, Hiking Bryce Canyon, hiking Grand Teton National Park, hiking Half Dome, hiking Wyoming, Horseshoe Mesa, John Muir Trail, Logan Pass, Lower Yellowstone Falls, Mist Trail, Montana, Mount Rainier National Park, Navajo-Queens Garden Loop, Nevada Fall, North Carolina hiking backpacking, North Cascades, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park, Peek-a-Boo Loop, Sahale Arm, Sahale Glacier Camp, Sequoia National Park, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, Skyline Trail, South Kaibab Trail, Southern Olympic Coast, Southern Utah hiking backpacking, Strawberry Point, Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Tags: Best national park dayhikes, Telescope Peak, Third Beach, Toleak Point, Upper Yellowstone Falls, Upper Yosemite Falls, Utah, Utah parks, Vernal Fall, Washington hiking backpacking, West Rim Trail, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone North Rim Trail, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Valley, Zion National Park | 2 Comments

By Michael Lanza

America’s most stunning landscapes are protected within our 59 national parks, and some of the finest corners of our national heritage can be reached on dayhikes. Many can be done by kids and novice hikers. I’ve spent a few decades exploring most major U.S. national parks, making numerous trips to popular ones like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Grand Teton, and Zion (lead photo, above). From the thousands of very scenic miles I’ve hiked over the years, I’ve assembled here a list of the best dayhikes you can walk in our parks. Start ticking them off this year. Continue reading →

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Tag Archives: Mount Rainier National Park

The 10 Best National Park Backpacking Trips

Tent Flap With A View: 25 Favorite Backcountry Campsites

Ask Me: My Top Picks For Long Backpacking Trips

12 Simple Landscape Photography Tips For Better Outdoor Photos

The 20 Best National Park Dayhikes

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