Colorado, aspens, and Fall go together like "pumpkin," "spice," and "latte." When we think of Fall, we imagine golden leaves shining in the sun against a bright blue sky. Colorado is known for its beautiful fall colors. Anyone seeking to snap photos can go anywhere in the high country in mid-September. In addition to the beautiful Colorado fall colors, there is a myriad of fall adventures in Colorado. Here is a list of ten Colorado Fall activities you may not have thought of and should try: Hike A Fourteener Fall is a perfect time to hike Colorado fourteeners because fewer...
Standard operating procedures. “SOPs” for short. Not a sexy topic, but an important one for adventure tour operators, especially when it comes to finding ways to automate them. SOPs are critical for maintaining consistency, safety, and quality in adventure tourism operations. While the title does say “standard,” SOPs may vary depending on the specific activities you offer, where you’re located, and your company's policies. So, we’re going to put the “standard” in Standard Operating Procedures by giving a general overview of what they are and how to automate them for your adventure tour guiding business. What Are Adventure Tour Guide...
Adventures in Arkansas are easy to find because there are loads of them. With 52 State Parks, seven national parks (home of the first national park), nine Arkansas Game and Fish Nature and Education centers, mountains, caves, rivers, and hot springs, you’ll be hard-pressed to find yourself bored when you visit this state. They seriously have it all—two mountain ranges, limestone caves, craters full of diamonds, and roughly three million acres of protected forest. After adventuring with all these operators and you’re ready to soak your bones, visit both the smallest and oldest national park in the United States, Hot...
Alaska has an unlimited number of things you can do, places to discover, and limits to reach. It was hard to narrow our list down to eight guiding companies in Alaska that hit all our interests. Below, you’ll find mountain guiding companies, anglers, ATV’ers, snowmobilers, rafters, and everything in between. If you'll be there for a Labor Day weekend, read what we recommend here or if you want to explore an underrated state national park, check out Kobuk Valley National Park. Credit: Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours About them: The owners of Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours, Matti...
Rock climbing in Arizona means you have more exposed rocks than any other state in the US. While it isn’t all climbable, Arizona has the best year-round climbing with crags at nearly every elevation. Not to mention, Arizona has some underrated spots to adventure like the Petrified Forest National Park. From The Pit and Paradise Forks in the north, to the crags of the Watson Lake Dells in Prescott and Queen Creek Canyon just outside of Phoenix in the center, and then Mount Lemmon and Cochise Stronghold to the south near Tucson. Arizona has a ton of climbing to choose...
Finding guiding companies in Alabama is pretty easy when you know what to look for. In fact, we found nine guiding companies who will introduce you to an Alabama you’ve never known before. We found everything from kayaking under a full moon to climbing deep below the Earth’s surface. What You’ll Find In Alabama Alabama is a great place for outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers alike. Considering that it’s actually 70% covered in forest, time to rethink this isn’t an outdoor lover’s paradise. And while mistletoe might not be the first thing you think of when you consider what grows in...
October may be one of the funnest months — if you like exploring the scariest outdoor spots, that is. There are a lot of haunted bridges, battlefields, and of course, houses. If you’re like us and enjoy scaring yourself silly by snaps of twigs in the woods, odd orbs floating by, or blood curdling screams, then this post is for you. We’ve found everything from haunted roads to mines to trees. Check out 50 legends of the scariest outdoor spots in the United States. Alabama: Nancy's Mountain Trail While Nancy's Mountain Trail at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Haines...
There’s an attitude with the backcountry skiing crowd that hiring a backcountry ski guide is for newbies, and backcountry skiing is a do-it-yourself sport. When you hire a guide to take you into the backcountry, you discover new places to shred, you stay safer, and you improve your skills. It doesn’t matter whether you’re learning how to start backcountry skiing or you’re an expert, there’s always something to improve upon. Skiing with someone who’s better than you will make you a better skier. Period. Skip Craigslist and backcountry skiing forums for someone to take you out to learn, and hire...
Every time a guest lands on your website they’re measuring how much value you provide against the cost of your trip. If you’re the only guiding company that offers that kind of service in your area, then you already have a leg up against other guiding companies who are competing for more guests against multiple guiding companies who offer the same experience as them. So how do you add more value to your trip offerings? Why should a consumer pick your guiding company over another? We reviewed “The Elements of Value” by Eric Almquist, John Senior, and Nicolas Bloch. Here’s...
Avoiding the crowds along the front range in Colorado to do some honest mountain biking is everyone’s MO nowadays. We scoured the front range and found some legit trails ranging from easy to difficult, from chunky to smooth, and everything in between. If you explore any of these trails, tag us on Instagram. We’d love to hear how it went. Red Mountain Open Space powered by Singletracks.com Distance: 12.1 miles Difficulty: Beginner/Intermediate Elevation Gain: 1,403 feet Elevation Drop: 1,401 feet Average Grade: 4% Notes: It’s in a pretty remote location, so bring everything you’ll need with you (water, snacks, etc.)....
We love seeing so many folks enjoying outdoor recreation, but we don’t like outdoor wreckreation. With the increased visitation to the outdoors, we’re seeing too many of our beautiful spots damaged here, here, and here. Whether it’s leaving trash on the trail or your poop, we think it’s as good a time as ever to (re)introduce the Leave No Trace Seven Principles for those of you who don’t know them, forgot them, or are just now finding out that there’s something called the “Leave No Trace Principles.” If you want more detail, you can read about them here. What Does...
Winter adventures are anything but ordinary. Winter brings a fresh perspective to exploring that you just don’t get in summer. Having to take extra precautions is one of the biggest ways that winter adventures differ from summer. There are seven fundamental things we think you should take into consideration before exploring frozen waterfalls and icy trails: The weather and wind chillRecognizing signs of frostbite and hypothermiaFunction over fashionChecking your gearGo with a guideAssess your physical conditionNutrition and hydration 1. Check the Weather and Wind Chill Weather The first thing you should do before going out is to check the weather...
Colorado State Parks are seeing record numbers of visitors this year because everyone wants to get outside and explore. And we are here for it. What has also come from this surge of State Park visitors is increased congestion, overcrowding, and questionable trail etiquette — especially for Colorado State Parks near Denver. Colorado has 41 diverse State Parks which offer everything from hiking to fishing to horseback riding to spending the weekend in a yurt. We wanted to see what lesser-known Colorado State Parks had to offer so we can practice social distancing as well as discover new places. In...
Dispersed camping (also called wild camping, boondocking, or dry camping) is not about luxurious amenities. It is about beautiful natural places and camping in an area that is not a designated campground.
With 300 days of summer and varying geographic terrain, you can go on an outdoor adventure any month in Colorado. Here's our list.