The United States is blessed with fabulous backcountry and wilderness areas, coated by dense forests, cut by deep canyons and capped by great mountains. Even the heavily populated east coast has its share of open space, notably along the Appalachian Trail, which winds from Mount Katahdin in Maine to the southern Appalachians in Georgia - some two thousand miles of untrammeled forest. In order to experience the full breathtaking sweep of America's wide-open stretches, however, head west to the Rockies, to the red-rock deserts of the Southwest, or right across the continent to the amazing wild spaces of the west coast states. In some areas, however, the shoreline is often disappointingly hard to access, with a high proportion firmly under private ownership
National parks and monuments
The
National Park Service
administers both national parks and national monuments. The park service is sadly underfunded, and in style and design most of its visitor centers and other facilities still date conspicuously from the 1950s....
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Other public lands
National parks and monuments are often surrounded by tracts of
national forest
, also federally administered, but much less protected. These too tend to hold appealing rural campgrounds, but in the words of the slogan each is a "Land Of...
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Camping and backpacking
The ideal way to see the great outdoors - especially if you're on a low budget - is to tour by car, and
camp
at night in state and federal campgrounds, which tend to be far more peaceful and scenic than their commercially run equivalents....
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Mountain hikes
Hiking at
higher elevations
, for instance in the 14,000ft peaks of the Rockies or in California's Sierra Nevada, and certainly in Alaska, take especial care. Late snows are common, and especially in spring there's a real danger of avalanches,...
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Desert hikes
If you intend to hike in the
desert
, tell someone where you are going, and write down all pertinent information, including your expected time of return. Carry an extra two days' food and water and never go anywhere without a map. Cover most of...
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Adventure travel
The opportunities for active traveling in the US are all but endless, from whitewater rafting down the Colorado River, to mountain biking in the volcanic Cascades, canoeing down the headwaters of the Mississippi River, horseback riding in the Big Bend on...
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Wildlife
Watch out for bears, deer, moose, mountain lions and rattlesnakes in the backcountry, and consider the effect your presence can have on their environment.
Other than in a national park, you're highly unlikely to encounter a
bear
. Even...
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Snakes and creepy-crawlies
Though the deserts in particular are home to a wide assortment of
poisonous creatures
, these are rarely aggressive towards humans. To avoid trouble, observe obvious precautions. Don't attempt to handle wildlife. Keep your eyes open as you...
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