Trails Magazine

Trails Magazine A new type of independent, print magazine for backpackers and people who sleep in the dirt.

Heads up: There are only about 20 copies of ISSUE 2 left! This issue has some of our favorite stories, including ’s debu...
01/02/2025

Heads up: There are only about 20 copies of ISSUE 2 left!

This issue has some of our favorite stories, including ’s debut Trail Obscura column, an inside look at world or uber-niche $1000 backpacks, and an examination of the big military contractor squeezing every last dollar out of us all through Recreation.gov.

As always, once these issues sell out, they’re gone forever, so make sure you add this piece of Trails history to your bookshelf while you can. Pick one up at trailsmag.net and start 2025 with some fresh reading material.

Letter from the Editor: “The Trails team and I are signing out for the year. Until January 2, we won’t be shipping magaz...
12/24/2024

Letter from the Editor: “The Trails team and I are signing out for the year. Until January 2, we won’t be shipping magazines, answering customer service emails, or (as much as is possible) working on our upcoming ninth issue. Instead, we’ll be outside skiing, hiking, winter camping, and enjoying time with friends and family.

This year has been an incredible one for us at Trails and I want to send along a big thanks to all of you who subscribed, read, and joined in on our movement in the last 12 months. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Once we’re back, I’ll spend some more time recapping the year that was and looking ahead to what’s next for Trails. But for the next week and a half, we’ll be Adventuring Offline. I hope you can join us out there.”

- Ryan Wichelns, Founder and Editor of Trails Magazine

If you put off your holiday shopping until now, don’t forget Trails Magazine Gift Subscriptions. They deliver digitally ...
12/23/2024

If you put off your holiday shopping until now, don’t forget Trails Magazine Gift Subscriptions. They deliver digitally (either immediately, or on a date you specify), so you can give one to your favorite backpacker at the last possible moment, if need-be.

But a Gift Subscription is far from a “it’s the thought that counts” kind of gift. Give your loved one four incredible magazines over the next year, pages upon pages of interesting stories, recipes, and maps, countless gorgeous photos from backpacking destinations across the world, and the inspiration they need to get excited about hitting the trails themselves.

Not to mention, you’ll be supporting a small, independent print publisher during a critical time of year.

TOMORROW (December 18th) IS YOUR LAST CHANCE to get your orders in to for the best chance of any hard copies or gear sho...
12/17/2024

TOMORROW (December 18th) IS YOUR LAST CHANCE to get your orders in to for the best chance of any hard copies or gear showing up in time to be placed under the tree.

Gift cards arrive in your inbox digitally so fear not, they can be ordered in the nick of time.

Trails cannot guarantee delivery time so please be patient with your USPS carrier as they do their best to get us all geared up during this busy season.

Not all challenges are found on trail, some are found at the bottom of an ice cream carton. What better way to celebrate...
12/16/2024

Not all challenges are found on trail, some are found at the bottom of an ice cream carton. What better way to celebrate completing half the AT than with the famous Half-Gallon Challenge? Get a closer look at this tradition with James Murren in Issue 8, the Photography Issue.

Paired perfectly with a pint of your own–in moderation.

Sometimes a backcountry bowel movement is something to savor: Take a seat and enjoy. Not so at the Yukon’s Divide Lake. ...
12/11/2024

Sometimes a backcountry bowel movement is something to savor: Take a seat and enjoy. Not so at the Yukon’s Divide Lake. Photojournalist Nate Luebbe found himself rushing through his evening ritual in order to get back to enjoying the sunset over the tundra. Luebbe backpacked the 17 kilometers in to this remote campsite to enjoy fall colors and rugged views of the North Klondike River Valley.

Read the full Outhouse Review, only in print in Issue 8. Available at the link in our bio.

Photo: Nate Luebbe

📈 Reader poll: Can you reserve a first-come-first-served lookout just by leaving a “claimed” comment on AllTrails? Most ...
12/10/2024

📈 Reader poll: Can you reserve a first-come-first-served lookout just by leaving a “claimed” comment on AllTrails?

Most of us would agree that you can’t. Yet, that’s exactly whats been happening to Washington’s Three Fingers Lookout. Entries like “Comfirmed group of 3 staying at the top July 10th” flooded the hike’s page, leading some to believe they had actually guaranteed their spot, but leading writer Mark Wetherington to wonder why we’re so obsessed with convenience in the outdoors.

Read the story, only in Issue 8, and let us know what you think.

A NOTE FROM RYAN: I'm realizing that now, two years into making magazines, not everyone knows who I am or where Trails M...
11/30/2024

A NOTE FROM RYAN:

I'm realizing that now, two years into making magazines, not everyone knows who I am or where Trails Magazine came from. I got my start about 10 years ago, writing for Backpacker Magazine. Backpacker was the first magazine I subscribed to as a kid and the only one I wanted to write for. But in 2022, Backpacker released its final print issue.

I started Trails in the wake of that heartbreak, to fill the gap and offer a print magazine specifically for backpackers. But, as you should know by now, we do it in a very different way. For starters, we're still an incredibly small team. I'm still the only full-time "employee," though I do have a handful of part-time editors and others working with me almost daily. I'm still the only "owner" of the business—we haven't found the need to bring on any investors or venture capital money. We're run, mostly, out of my house in Bellingham. Four times a year, I take over our dining room table and personally stuff all of our subscribers' magazines into envelopes before labeling every single one, sorting them, and driving them to my local post office. And if you email a generic Trails email, I'm the one answering your questions.

And to be honest, I don't see any of that changing any time soon. We're not changing our print cycle or adding more issues every year. We're not going to start publishing digital stories or start a YouTube or launch a podcast. We've seen what all of that does to traditional media. I don't have an "exit plan" and I don't have aspirations of this being anything but a small business. My focus is on making the best magazine we can. It's on remaining connected to you—the backpacking community.

If any piece of that sounds good to you, I'll take all the help I can get. Subscriptions are what allow us to keep the focus on you and keep the presses running (and we do still have a nice Black Friday deal going). Pick one up for yourself, grab one for a friend or loved one, or just tell your hiking buddies about us. It means a lot.

Thanks again for getting after it with us,
Ryan

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A NOTE FROM RYAN: I’m realizing that now, two years into making magazines, not everyone knows who I am or where Trails M...
11/30/2024

A NOTE FROM RYAN:

I’m realizing that now, two years into making magazines, not everyone knows who I am or where Trails Magazine came from. I got my start about 10 years ago, writing for Backpacker Magazine. Backpacker was the first magazine I subscribed to as a kid and the only one I wanted to write for. But in 2022, Backpacker released its final print issue.

I started Trails in the wake of that heartbreak, to fill the gap and offer a print magazine specifically for backpackers. But, as you should know by now, we do it in a very different way. For starters, we’re still an incredibly small team. I’m still the only full-time “employee,” though I do have a handful of part-time editors and others working with me almost daily. I’m still the only “owner” of the business—we haven’t found the need to bring on any investors or venture capital money. We’re run, mostly, out of my house in Bellingham. Four times a year, I take over our dining room table and personally stuff all of our subscribers’ magazines into envelopes before labeling every single one, sorting them, and driving them to my local post office. And if you email a generic Trails email, I’m the one answering your questions.

And to be honest, I don’t see any of that changing any time soon. We’re not changing our print cycle or adding more issues every year. We’re not going to start publishing digital stories or start a YouTube or launch a podcast. We’ve seen what all of that does to traditional media. I don’t have an “exit plan” and I don’t have aspirations of this being anything but a small business. My focus is on making the best magazine we can. It’s on remaining connected to you—the backpacking community.

If any piece of that sounds good to you, I’ll take all the help I can get. Subscriptions are what allow us to keep the focus on you and keep the presses running (and we do still have a nice Black Friday deal going). Pick one up for yourself, grab one for a friend or loved one, or just tell your hiking buddies about us. It means a lot.

Thanks again for getting after it with us,
Ryan

📸

We’ve said this before: Black Friday kind of stinks. We feel like you probably agree. But it comes every year, no matter...
11/29/2024

We’ve said this before: Black Friday kind of stinks. We feel like you probably agree.

But it comes every year, no matter what, and as a small business it would be pretty difficult for us to completely ignore it (as much as we might want to).

So here’s our spin: This Black Friday, we’re not just passing along a good deal on our magazines. We’re making it a little bit easier for you to find some piece of the joy we all find on the trail, when you can’t actually be out there.

Buy a subscription (or a gift subscription) and get one FREE* back issue!

Now through Monday, December 2nd.

*Free back issue excludes Issue 8.

Trails Mag gear goes great with a gifted subscription—ya know, just in case you needed some ideas.Pick up some stocking ...
11/27/2024

Trails Mag gear goes great with a gifted subscription—ya know, just in case you needed some ideas.

Pick up some stocking stuffers at trailsmag.net!

Nothing says f&@ # the IG algorithm quite like a whole magazine of panoramic images that your phone will never do justic...
11/26/2024

Nothing says f&@ # the IG algorithm quite like a whole magazine of panoramic images that your phone will never do justice. Issue 8, the Photography Issue will take you places no geotag ever could.

Order yours while they last – because they won’t.

Photos are always better in print. That’s the whole point of our Photography Issue. And it’s why we partnered with to o...
11/25/2024

Photos are always better in print. That’s the whole point of our Photography Issue. And it’s why we partnered with to offer exclusive, limited-edition prints from Issue 8’s photographers.

Look for the images you enjoyed from the magazine, as well as additional images from the same trips or shoots, and order prints so you can enjoy them on your wall, desk, and beyond. All proceeds go to the photographers behind the camera.

Check the link in our bio to explore the images!

Calling all readers! We want to see your magazines in the wild! Send us photos of where you’re enjoying Trails. Your cou...
11/13/2024

Calling all readers! We want to see your magazines in the wild! Send us photos of where you’re enjoying Trails. Your couch, at camp, in the waiting room.

As we near the end of our second year in production, we’d love to share where the magazine has gone.

Email us your photos at [email protected] and as always, tag us on here as you continue to .

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A friendly reminder to all subscribers, our swag is ALWAYS 15% off for you. From hats to t-shirts and a few new items co...
11/12/2024

A friendly reminder to all subscribers, our swag is ALWAYS 15% off for you. From hats to t-shirts and a few new items coming down the line. These make for a great addition to your pride in print.

“There’s a curious tension where capitalism meets the outdoor industry.”Read Lorren Drummond’s Book Review: Take Less, D...
11/07/2024

“There’s a curious tension where capitalism meets the outdoor industry.”

Read Lorren Drummond’s Book Review: Take Less, Do More by Glen Van Peski for free in our Hiker Box, and get the Hiker Box sent to your email every week for more critiques and reviews like this.

Your trails, your media, and your daily lives depend on your vote. Please make sure your voice is heard.
11/05/2024

Your trails, your media, and your daily lives depend on your vote. Please make sure your voice is heard.

Trails is proud to celebrate three of our contributors and team who were presented with awards over the last month. Nora...
11/05/2024

Trails is proud to celebrate three of our contributors and team who were presented with awards over the last month.

Nora Neus () was awarded the Best Conservation Story of 2023 by for her Issue 4 story, “”Nature’s Battleground”” with Petro Zadorozhnyy.

Kassondra Cloos () was recently recognized with an Award for Excellence for Technical Feature by the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild () for her Issue 4 story, “A Review of My Ex-Boyfriend’s Titanium Pot”.

Last but not least, our own Founder and Editor, Ryan Wichelns () was named a “40 Under 40”recipient by the .

Thank you to these institutions for recognizing the stories Trails tells and the people who make it possible to bring them alive on our pages.

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“If your adventurer is still in a daydream or planning phase, why not give them some help with the research? Outdoor adventurers who like hiking around the United States will love Trails, a coffee table-style magazine for nature lovers with an often irreverent style (where else will you find reviews of the best views from backcountry outhouses?).”- @adventurecom from @kassandracloos Here are three ways to gift Trails: GIFT CARD: Gift them a subscription—perfect for virtual gifting with an emailed notice of the gift card in their inbox. GIFT CARD +: Send that gift card but add on a back issue like Issue 8 so a copy shows up in time to be wrapped under the tree. BACK ISSUE 5 COPY BUNDLE: For a limited time, you can get Issues 2,3,5,6, AND 8 for only $74, which is–quite frankly–a steal. Gift the full bundle or give a copy to each of your favorite backpacking buddies. For any back issues, orders must be placed by 12/18 for a chance to arrive before the 25th. Trails cannot guarantee delivery times during the busy mailing season so plan accordingly. Actual delivery date may vary. #giftguide #adventuregifts #giftsforbackpackers #giftprint

We couldn’t be more proud of this one and more excited to get it in your hands. Subscribers, start looking for your copy next week!

Worth the weight. Worth the wait. Coming soon, Issue 8. #trailsmag #sleepinthedirt #adventureoffline #eldoradog

The last step before we sent any issue to the presses is final review! Issue 8 is coming any day now. Get yours by subscribing before November 1 #adventureoffline #printaintdead #keepprintalive #print

Issue 7 is about to be sent off to the printer. Make sure you are subscribed before August 1st to secure your copy at the best price with prime perks. #trailsmag #sleepinthedirt #adventureoffline

Stories you’ll want to return to. Subscribe at trailsmag.net. #TrailsMag #Sleepinthedirt #adventureofline

We will never run a sale like this again. For a limited time, pick up any back issue, get another for FREE! Start your collection, fill in the gaps, or introduce your trail buddy to the only magazine for backpackers—there’s never been a better time to start reading. Help us clean our our magazine closet. As always, once these issues are gone, they’re gone forever. “While supplies last” has never been more true. #summersale #adventureoffline #sleepinthedirt #buyonegetone #bogo

So what is the Outdoor Recreation Archive. Trails Magazine editor Ryan Wichelns sat down with Chase Anderson of @outdoorrecarchive to discuss what the project is, how it works, why its important, and more. Interested in learning more about it? Check out the story from Alisha McDarris only in print in Trails Magazine Issue 6, while supplies last.

Here’s a taste of what you can expect from Issue 6. Subscribers will read it first. #appalachiantrail #hotsprints #subscribenow #lessadsmorestories #adventureoffline

Adventure Offline with a subscription to Trails Magazine. #TrailsMagazine #IndependentMedia #AdventureOffline

A new round of flip-bait is here in anticipation of Issue 5 hitting your mailbox. You can still order Issue 5 and better yet, bundle it with a subscription and get the Issue 1 reprint while it lasts—which won’t be much longer. #TrailsMag #FlipDontClick #SleepintheDirt

We’re not ones to splash a big over-the-top “theme” across the cover of any of our issues. In fact, we don’t really have those at all. So how do we balance making each issue’s stories feel like they belong together, without restricting our contributors’ creativity? Here’s how. #trailsmag #outdoormedia

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