There are so many ways to enjoy North Dakota State Parks in every season. We usually think of getting outdoors during the summer, but some endorphin boosting exercise, quality time in nature and a little vitamin D-inducing sunshine can do us a lot of good during the long dark days of winter as well. Many North Dakota State Parks include winter recreation and outdoor opportunities. You can also rent gear at the park if you don’t have access to your own. (Just make sure you wea

Did you know there are 30 North Dakota nature parks in North Dakota? It’s okay. I didn’t either. These are mini escapes right in the middle of the city, places where you can cycle through wild grasslands, hike along natural river bottom forests and see wetlands teeming with birds. You can pick cherries (or plums or apples) for free, fish from a shaded spot on the riverbank and generally feel a world away from other humans, even though you’re just a few blocks off a busy city

I don’t consider myself an expert hiker by any means, but choosing the right basic hiking gear is easy. Hiking is a fairly straight-forward sport to get into and you don’t need any special gear at all when you’re starting out — just a pair of good shoes, sun and bug protection and plenty of water and you’re good to go. Of course, as you get more miles under your belt, you can specialize and choose gear that’s optimal for your body, your abilities, the weather, and the terrain

What’s the best hike you’ve been on lately? Mine is this gorgeous hike in the Beartooth Mountains of southern Montana. From the minute my feet hit the trail, I had this John Muir quote imprinted on my brain; “Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” That’s always excellent advice. While I didn’t have a week to spend in the woods, it was meditative (and practically medicinal

Staring up into the thick, velvet night, with the monolith of Bear Lodge at my back, I realize that the sky isn’t black at all, but a marbled expanse of slate and jet, charcoal and gray, sprinkled with glittering stars. The Black Hills slumber hard and deep. I know the names of many of the constellations that suddenly seem to burn close and impossibly bright. But I know them in Greek. I have no knowledge of the star stories from the people who have lived here for thousands of

The longest trail in the United States starts (or ends, depending on your interpretation) in North Dakota. But unless you’re a hiker, it remains one of the state’s (and the country’s) best kept secrets. When completed, the North Country Trail will span 4,600 miles (more than twice the length of the Appalachian Trail) between New York and North Dakota’s Lake Sakakawea State Park. It cuts a path across the North Dakota prairie, around Minnesota lakes and past Wisconsin waterfal

When you practice yoga outdoors in the deep freeze of a Minnesota winter, the usual prompts to “feel your breath” and “visualize your breath” take on a whole new meaning. In a cozy yoga studio, they sound like soothing spiritual reminders. Outdoors in winter, they are starkly practical. Feel my breath? Sure thing. I’m pulling deep, icy breaths down into my lungs right this second, thanks. Visualize my breath? That’s even easier. Even the most peaceful poses, like standing wit

European explorers came north to Minnesota to learn what the indigenous people of the Northwoods had known for thousands of years — that the source of the Misi-ziibi (the great river of life in Ojibwe) is a glacial lake in the northwoods of Minnesota. The mighty Mississippi (as it’s now known), starts as a trickle in Itasca State Park, before continuing its winding route 2,552 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico. The park’s 33,235 acres of lakes, forests, and historic markers (

Minnesota has more than 10,000 lakes (11,842, if you want to be exact — which I do) and long winters, so it’s no surprise that the state offers lots of ways to enjoy all that ice and snow. You could simply go ice fishing if you want to go the traditional route. But I prefer a walk (or a paddle or a climb) on the wild side. Here are a few fun ways to experience the ice in my home state this winter. Be sure to add your favorites in the comments section below! Scream for an extr

My friend and colleague Jack Dura loves fall. On crisp autumn days when he’s not covering a story for The Bismarck Tribune, you’ll find him tromping along the trails in the upper Midwest in search of fall foliage. His passion is contagious. He’s also the only person that has ever said “leaf peeping” in my presence without eliciting a shudder. (For some reason, that phrase usually gives me the creeps.) So when he offered to give us a field report from some of his favorite Minn

The Northern Lights are a trending topic among travelers these days. I count myself lucky to have grown up seeing these gorgeous, shimmering lights spreading across the nighttime horizon. Created from the collision of charged particles with molecules high in the atmosphere, the Northern Lights (or aurora borealis) put on a stunning natural light show near the Earth’s northern poles. Those of us who live in the Upper Midwest and Canada are lucky enough to be able to see the au

If you can’t decide between an outdoor adventure and doing a little urban exploring, The Greenway is the perfect solution. You can be busy outdoors all day, yet still be steps away from boutique shopping, art galleries and restaurants in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The Greenway is the gorgeous, green heart of these sister cities, 2,200 acres of outdoor space along the banks of the Red and Red Lake Rivers. Start your trip on the 20 miles