Explore Magazine Spring 2026

Hello! If we haven’t met yet, I’m delighted to make your acquaintance. I’m Alison, the new editor of explore™. For the past 10 years, I’ve been writing stories, editing articles and learning from president and publisher David Webb. Now, he’s focusing on enhancing the explore™ brand and all our media channels, while handing me the trail map of this prestigious print publication. My path to get here started long before my first article for explore™ in 2016. It started with my dad. Tall as a tree at a lumbering six-foot-seven, my dad was always someone I looked up to. He worked as a forest guardian and rappelled from helicopters to fight wildfires after moving from Ontario to northern Alberta. My dad inspired my love of the outdoors. He helped me…

Springtime brings opportunity. It’s the year’s truest collision of seasons—when ski runs close out at mountain bike trailheads and you start the season in a parka but finish at the swimming hole. There are conventions and expos to attend (did you see us at the Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary Outdoor Adventure Shows?) and spring break family vacations to plan. We’re going to guide your way through the green season with our inaugural installment of “Explore NOW,” a breakdown of the best gear, trends, events and destinations of the season. Welcome to 2026. It’s going to be a good year. GEAR Bracelayer KXV Alpine—Thermal Knee Support Base Layer $125; bracelayer.ca Ski longer and stronger—knee pain free! Bracelayer’s thermal compression pants with built-in knee support can help to combat joint instability, relieve…

My fingers trace through the warm, silky water. Steam rises around me like the mist in the evergreens. I can’t believe I’m finally here. Since my 20s, I’ve dreamed of relaxing in this exact spot, soaking my sore muscles in the healing heat of Liard River Hot Springs in northern British Columbia. Getting here was worth every kilometre, from exploring the smallest desert in the world to the Sign Post Forest and hours alone on the Alaska Highway, passing bears, porcupines and bison. Our RV road trip through northern BC and the Yukon initially arose from my desire to get to a single destination—and evolved into a deep appreciation for the bounty of natural beauty in the North. Liard River Hot Springs is a 1,900-kilometre (22-hour) drive from my home…

Every week, another hiker disappears. Another rescue story circulates the internet. Another article asks some version of the same question: what went wrong? Yosemite National Park, for example, saw a seven percent rise in visitation last summer—and a startling 40 percent increase in rescues. As trail use surges worldwide, these stories have become disturbingly routine—and, according to Dr. Scanlon, largely preventable. As South African bishop and theologian Desmond Tutu said, “There comes a time when we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” These words captivated Dr. Rob Scanlon to challenge a deeply ingrained mindset: that learning how to survive disaster matters more than how to prevent it. Surviving the Trail, Dr. Scanlon’s newly released…

From remote Arctic landscapes and rugged Atlantic headlands to forested West Coast havens and freshwater giants, Canada’s islands offer wildly different experiences. Some are easy to reach and hard to leave. Others remain on the big-dream bucket list, calling to us from afar. Together, they tell a story of a country defined by water, wilderness and a deep sense of place. MANITOULIN ISLAND, ONTARIO The world’s largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island sits where Lake Huron meets Georgian Bay, blending rolling farmland, limestone cliffs and famously clear turquoise water. The island is home to more than 100 freshwater lakes, including Lake Manitou, the largest lake on an island within a lake. Hiking the iconic Cup and Saucer Trail offers expansive views over the Niagara Escarpment. Manitoulin feels spacious and calm, a…

If you’re an RVer looking for a cozy campground to call home where you can spend a day paddling before settling down to enjoy s’mores and a campfire, here are my favourite places in Ontario to go. Saugeen River Threading its way through the farms of Bruce County in southwestern Ontario, the Saugeen cuts through lush forest and high clay-silt bluffs. One of the best stretches is a 25-kilometre (six-hour) day outing from Saugeen Bluffs Campground (operated by the Saugeen Conservation Authority) to a take-out at Denny’s Dam, near Lake Huron. When you finish, you have the local Thorncrest Outfitters to take you back to your campsite. They’re situated right at the finish line. Grand River The Grand is an oasis tucked away in an urban environment, full of history,…