"You don't wind up here by accident; you come here for a reason, and that reason is typically the abundant outdoor adventures and natural resources we have," Nathan Miller, the former executive director of the Copper Harbor Trails Club, told Travel + Leisure.
The first step to sustainability is seeing that there is no boundary between you and nature. When we see this essential connection and reverse the artificial disconnections created over millennia, people can imagine a future where we all thrive with a regenerated ecosystem.
The camping category has gone through a genuine design evolution. Products are emerging from studios that understand outdoor life not as a survival exercise but as an experience worth designing for.
The Off-Grid Luxury Mobile Double Office is a trailer-based unit that packs two fully independent workspaces and a sleeping area into a 26-ft (7.9-m) frame, all while running entirely on solar power. Built on a double-axle trailer, the unit spans 10 ft (3 m) wide, broader than a standard tow, which means it requires a permit for road transport.
Jornet's well-publicized States of Elevation project in 2025 was a feat in human endurance, mountain running, and planning. Starting on September 3, he linked 72 of the 14ers in the contiguous U.S in a human-powered fashion - on foot and bike - with a support crew following him and helping with logistics. He started with the 14,259-foot Longs Peak in Colorado, then went on to California and north to Washington, finishing on the 14,410-foot Mount Rainier.
Wildlife populations are in decline. Recreation sites are crowded and often underfunded. Wildfires are larger, more destructive and harder to control. Climate change is reshaping natural systems, from ocean fisheries to mountain snowpacks, faster than institutions can respond. At the same time, communities are being asked to host new energy projects, transmission lines and mineral development - often without clear processes, adequate resources or trust that decisions are being made in the public interest.
The body is a shifting landscape transformed by surfaces and sensations. Each look captures a different tactile world: the heat of blood, the cool weight of metal, the yielding drift of water. The result is a sculptural study of how the elements carve, shield, and release the self. The materials we embody become the emotions we carry, and the body becomes a materialised exhibition of our emotions, from the pulse of Blood to the discipline of Metal to the surrender of Water.
Australia's Build Tiny has crafted a charming escape that proves small living doesn't have to sacrifice character. The Tallarook Hilltop Tiny House 1 sits perched on a stunning hilltop in rural Victoria, offering sweeping views over Broadford and Kilmore while embracing the raw, unpretentious aesthetic of agricultural architecture. Built on a double-axle trailer, the home's corrugated metal siding and matching roof create an almost utilitarian appearance that feels right at home against the backdrop of Mount Piper and the Tallarook State Forest. This design choice reflects a refreshing departure from the sleek, apartment-style tiny homes that dominate today's market. Instead, Build Tiny has returned to the movement's roots, celebrating the cabin-like simplicity that first inspired people to downsize.
On day five of an eight-day, 500-mile mountain bike race in Africa, Piers Constable found himself sprawled in the dirt for the second time. First he'd crashed on his left side, then on his right, until he was, in his own words, "muddied and bloodied," staring at a bike that was very much broken. He remembered a feed station a couple miles away and realized he had two choices: quit or run. He picked up the bike and ran.
In reality, the job of my dreams consisted of overnight flights where I'd get little to no rest, then hit the ground running as soon as I arrived at my destinations. After I'd fly back home from some trips, it would take me nearly a week to recover from jet lag. My stress levels were often cranked up, dealing with flight delays, deadlines, and navigation across different states and countries.
In Indra's Net of pearls and jewels, every gem reflects every other, a shimmering image of interdependence. This ancient Vedic metaphor for connection across the cosmos also illuminates what the environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht first proposed in 2014as 'theSymbiocene': the era after the Anthropocene, in which human technologies take their cues from living systems and work in partnership rather than through dominance.
To capture the biological impact of this extreme environment, I used a comprehensive suite of sensors and biomarker analyses. I wore a wireless electroencephalograph (EEG) system to monitor brain activity, sleep stages and neural signatures of stress and adaptation; the Oura Ring to continuously track sleep patterns, heart-rate variability and circadian-rhythm shifts; and the glucose monitor to follow metabolic responses in real time.
When my neighbor Tom celebrated his 65th birthday last month, his kids threw him what they thought was the perfect party: comfortable chair, cozy slippers, and a stack of crossword puzzles. Meanwhile, three doors down, 68-year-old Margaret was booking her first skydiving lesson. The contrast struck me-why do we assume retirement means slowing down when some people are just getting started on their biggest adventures?
House 720 Degrees by Fernanda Canales stands in a secluded valley three hours from Mexico City. The project approaches dwelling as a calibrated relationship within the landscape as the design takes form as a geometric and optical device which extends a 360-degree span into a doubled circuit. From a central patio, the house establishes a continuous exchange between interior and exterior conditions. It works like a solar clock, tracking time through ever-shifting sunlight and shadow.
The world spends 30 times more money destroying nature than protecting it. That's according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that exposes a massive gulf between so-called "harmful investments" and financing that promotes nature preservation. The global environment agency's latest "State of Finance for Nature" (SNF) report is calling to phase out the US$7.3 trillion (6.2 trillion) in global investments that damage nature including into high-emissions energy infrastructure and manufacturing, for example.
When the time comes to begin working on our annual travel trends of 2026 list, I get to thinking about the year that's just passed (somehow always so much quicker than the last) and the trends that shaped how we traveled. If I could sum up 2025, it would be the year that we let the stars dictate our destinations; sought out intrepid supper clubs; detoured to lesser-known spots and tried our (ranch) hand at cowboycations (thank you, Yellowstone).
You may dream of seeing the geysers of Yellowstone or the overwhelming greatness of the Grand Canyon, but chances are you have a handful of little wonders in your own backyard. State parks like Goblin Valley in Utah hold their own against the neighboring Arches National Park (or Canyonlands, for that matter), while Maine's Baxter State Park is arguably just as wild as the well-known Acadia National Park (Baxter doesn't even have running water!). Plus, state parks tend to be less crowded and more affordable-two things that bode well for overnight guests.