Robert Annis

In two recent events, grizzlies shared the trail with hikers in Canada and a black bear joined the crowds at Magic Kingdom. Growing bear populations are the cause, experts say.

Is this the most ridiculous adventure ever?

It started as an innocent, non-threatening lark. I would hike and paddle my way to the largest island on the largest lake on the largest island on the largest lake in the world, which also happens to be in the middle of the least visited national park in the lower 48 states. A virtual Russian nesting doll of idiocy, adventure, or maybe both.

Although I consider myself more of an Average Joe adventurer these days, I’m no stranger to difficult outdoor...

A grizzly-curious writer decides to train as a bear guide in British Columbia, and surprises himself along the way

My travel companions and I had spent nearly a week in Alaska’s Katmai National Park surrounded by wild coastal grizzlies with nary an issue. But on our last day in Hallo Bay, a popular bear-viewing area in the park, something was amiss. Our guide Brad Josephs, an...

Channel Islands National Park isn’t far from Santa Barbara, but this ecologically rich archipelago is anything but familiar.

Walking the trail that led to Lobo Canyon felt like being on a different planet. Arid terrain gave way to steep sandstone cliffs that towered above lush greenery and spiny cacti, an intriguing mishmash of environments. At times I had to be a contortionist, ducking under the low-hanging limbs of island oak trees, scrambling up and over rocks, and walking across a wobbly ...

THE WOLF TRACKS — large, wide paws about the size of an NBA player’s fist, claws digging into the frozen ground — are fresh, likely made just minutes earlier. Kneeling down to get a better look, our guides estimate a dozen wolves could be traversing this lonely stretch of wilderness just west of Canada’s frozen Hudson Bay. The chase is on.

At the western edges of North and South Dakota, large swaths of grassland prairie collide abruptly with multicolored rock formations of limestone, shale, volcanic ash, and sandstone. When seismic upheaval created the Rocky Mountains 65 million years ago, these Dakota badlands formed almost as an afterthought, as sand, silt, and mud flowed down ancient rivers to be deposited here, hundreds of miles away.

I hoisted myself over the rocks and dusty buttes of the Caprock Coulee Trail ....

The gigantic bear ambles closer and closer. Weighing between 800 and 1,000 pounds, its the largest predator I’ve ever come across—and I’ve certainly never been this close. Now, just yards away from me and the eight other bear-watchers in my tour group, just off the eastern coast of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, it looks up across the flat, tiny patch of meadow between us and meets my gaze. I’ve wanted to see a bear in the wild for years, but in these first few seconds, I’m secon...

Researchers say Churchill's polar bears are headed toward extinction if warming continues

If you’ve ever seen a nature documentary about polar bears, odds are it was filmed near Churchill, Manitoba, in Canada. For more than 40 years, scientists, wildlife biologists, and filmmakers have traveled to Churchill—which calls itself the “polar bear capital of the world”—to study and document these magnificent creatures. Last year, I visited Churchill with Natural Habitat Adventures to photograph the...

Hiking a social trail behind Joshua Tree National Park’s famed Cap Rock, I came across a peculiar sight that, if you know what you’re looking for, actually isn’t so unusual at all: a crude cross made of dark stones below a scribble of orange graffiti.

It was a makeshift memorial to Gram Parsons, the 1970s rock star who had a deep connection to the park in life — and in death. So much so that fans, nicknamed “Grampires” by some park staff, still haunt this dusty patch of Mojave Desert decades ...

The big brown bear ambled up the makeshift trail, seemingly making a beeline for our group. Topping 600 pounds, he was one of the largest bears we’d seen in our few days in Lake Clark National Park.

Johnny Haws, our guide for this afternoon excursion, gathered us close together, with him in front and on one knee. In the rush, I’d left my backpack behind, and now the bear was walking up to it, giving it a serious sniff. My mind raced — did I leave any food or other contraband in the backpack? ...

Every year at the Alaska State Fair, local farmers try to outdo each other with car-sized pumpkins and 130-pound cabbages. Here’s what it takes to grow such prodigious produce.

Patagonia is a bucket-list list destination for many fly fishers, including me. But when I got an invite to Melimoyu Lodge, an ultra-high-end lodge in Chile, I almost turned it down. I only picked up a fly rod in earnest last spring, and I continue to struggle with my casting. At this point, me traveling to Patagonia to fly fish was like a beer-league softball player suddenly being inserted into game seven of the World Series. But my desire to throw myself into the middle of this vast gorgeous wilderness once again won out.

New York is the 10th state to ban predator killing contests. Should others follow?

THE IMAGES FOUND ON THE INTERNET CAN BE HARD TO SHAKE: dead, bloody coyotes stacked in piles like cordwood, surrounded by a grinning crowd dressed in camouflage. Once the photos are taken, the animal carcasses are often discarded in dumpsters—a common aftermath of predator killing contests, where species such as b...

South Dakota packs adventure into a western pocket of the state, home to two national parks: Badlands and Wind Cave. Explore wondrous geological formations both above and below ground in these natural playgrounds.

SEE THE COMPLETE TRIP GUIDE

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
All aboard to Cuyahoga Valley National Park! Sandwiched between two prominent metropolitan areas, this northern Ohio park charms with its easy access, scenic train ride and prolific waterfalls.

The hairs on my neck stood on alert as the massive coastal grizzly ambled closer and closer. I’ve watched brown bears like these in nature documentaries for years, but where once we were separated by a 55-inch Vizio television screen, now the only things between us were a few yards of grass and air. I could hear the breath escaping from his lungs as the nearly 1,000-pound bear moved to within a dozen yards or so.
But any fear I may have had quickly dissipated, replaced by an overwhelming sens...