Arizona: At the Grand Canyon, 683 scary stories, all true

You don’t want Michael P. Ghiglieri writing about your next vacation.

Yosemite Half Dome's new lottery permit system begins

If you're hoping to hike Half Dome at California's Yosemite National Park this summer, you'll want to take action by March 31. That's...

The skiing and snowboarding are great in western Canada

Ski resorts — and their patrons — from the Sierra to the Rockies are cursing La Niña. Up in western Canada, however,...

At Mammoth Lakes, snowshoeing and teens are a good mix

Mom: "OK, let's go. Time to try something different — we're going snowshoeing this afternoon."

Covering the Sierra High Route by ski

After Barry Ohm met mountain guide Dave Beck, Ohm knew he had to ski across the Sierra.

Technology at ski resorts offers skiers info, images of day on slopes

The first rule of skiing: There are no friends on a powder day. Technology has infiltrated every corner of our lives, but really, the idea...

Convict Lake worth going on the lam for a getaway

My brother, John, tried to sleep during the boring part of the three-hour trip from Los Angeles to Convict Lake in the Eastern Sierra.

Pikes Peak, Colorado: It's all about the journey and views

Pikes Peak has a punctuation problem.

Offbeat Traveler: Gullfoss in Iceland

Visitors approaching Gullfoss

Forks of the Kern: A Calif. river's proving ground

The Forks of the Kern, where the rapids line up one after another — as white as your mother's wedding dress — is among the finer...

Scuba diving with Dad in Curaçao

We all marveled at the hideous thing, trying not to gasp through our regulators.

On a pilgrimage to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

The White Mountains that straddle the California-Nevada border are known for their extreme environment. They get less than a foot of rain...

Eccentrics, dreamers and seekers flock to Crestone, Colo.

For thousands of years, the high, arid San Luis Valley has spawned tales of the strange and the fantastic.

Yosemite's back-country hikers have seen the light

John Muir understood that the best way to see his beloved "Range of Light" is to travel light.

Escape urban stress at Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument

Barreling across the desert toward Palm Springs, I measured my progress on Interstate 10 by the unsightly roadside landmarks I passed: a...

Arizona spring training ballpark 'bringing baseball back home' to Indian land

The paint has barely dried on the Dodgers' new spring training digs in Glendale, Ariz., and another new venue is making its debut in...

In the mood for offbeat sport? Try swamp soccer, toe wrestling

Did you promise to get active in 2011? If you have a taste for the offbeat — swamp soccer, anyone? — these one-of-a-kind...

Keep eye out for deals on round-the-world flights

The premise is simple: Buy a $500 plane ticket to zip around much of the New World for a month. The big question: Isn't it just some gimmick...

Reality check for beginning skiers

Call it a mini-crisis. It was my fourth day of skiing — ever — and Vail Mountain was getting pounded with snow.

Shop for snowshoes like a pro

If you've spent time wandering through deep untracked snow, you may have entertained the idea of stepping into a pair of snowshoes.