WHERE TO GO

Where to go hiking, backpacking, camping, or mountain biking.

Chris & Mac
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There are millions of miles of trails in the U.S alone. These trails are located in national parks and monuments, national forests, Bureau of Land Management lands, state parks and forests, and even private lands. Each of these trail areas has its own rules, risks, and rewards. Finding the right trails for your outventures requires an understanding not only of your outventure goals, but the trails you plan to use. The “Where to Go” section of this website provides information on how to source trails in the different categories of land use and provides information and photos for some of our favorite trails by outventure activity.

FOR ACTIVITY SPECIFIC DESTINATIONS – PICK YOUR OUTVENTURE

HIKING

Day hiking outventures, by far, have the greatest access to trails. Most other outventure activities have additional restrictions on trail use that may foreclose or limit use in certain areas. This is not to say that day hikers have unrestricted trail access. Growing trail usage has seen the implementation of permit requirements and/or daily use restrictions. Understanding how to source a hike greatly reduces missteps (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun).

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Mountain biking’s popularity has exploded in recent years, leading to an explosion in mountain biking trails. Whether you plan to ride in a bike park or in the backcountry, it is all available to you. This does not mean, however, that riding is unrestricted. Mountain biking is prohibited, for example, in federally designated “wilderness”areas. Additionally, in areas where you can ride, it is important for fun and safety to understand the type of riding the trail system offers. Knowing how to properly source trails and systems will make this outventure rock.

BACKPACKING

On the surface, backpacking offers the freedom to take your equipment and head out into the wilderness, ideally camping wherever the mood strikes. While this sounds romantic, the reality, however, is that many areas place restrictions on disperse camping and the number of backpackers who can enter the back country on a given day. To protect the environment, many areas also have specific rules for back country use and require permits for camping. It is therefore necessary to understand where you can backpack and the rules you must follow.

CAMPING

There are tens of thousands of places to camp in the U.S., including national parks and forests, BLM land, state parks, state forests, county and city parks, and private campgrounds. Each place offers something a little different. Costs can vary greatly, as too can availability. Your needs and access will also be affected by your desire to car camp, walk-in camp, or RV camp. Each of these variations and how to successfully secure your site are discussed in this section.