Table of contents for Spring 2026 in Explore Magazine

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…

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…

Whether you call it fast hiking or hike-run, the point is the same: to cover more distance in less time. To turn a classic overnight backpacking trip into a day hike or crush out a long trail in a couple of hours requires gear that’s light enough to move fast and built for a longer haul in uncertain conditions. Enter these run-hike hybrids. Hydration Station $240; pingora-gear.com A snug-fitting pack is a must for moving fast. Pingora’s new Flow 8L Vest forgoes the usual adjustable sternum straps, relying on zig-zagging side-pulls instead. They cinch the pack at the waist to hold it close to the body for bounce-free carrying whether running or hiking. Two water bottle sleeves on the mesh shoulders free up interior space for layers making the pack…

There is no garbage can at the Paradise Meadows trailhead. As the gateway to the best mountain hiking on Vancouver Island, the area of Strathcona Provincial Park attracts hundreds of hikers every day, all summer long. They produce a lot of garbage. But not only can nobody keep up—no one is even trying. This is an example of the gap between the growing demand for outdoor recreation across Canada and the funding to provide basic services. Just about every park or recreation club can share their own story of lack. Governments, whether local, provincial or federal, seem uninterested in figuring out a sustainable path forward—even though every person walking into Paradise Meadows with their trekking pants, hiking poles, grippy shoes and fancy pack are a walking advertisement for a simple,…

It was a cloudless and sweltering day in 2022 when I decided to trek up Teapot Mountain near the coastal town of Jiufen in Taiwan. Never mind that the decision to do my first Taiwan hike was on a whim, that I had just moved to Taiwan a mere three weeks before, that I did not pack any of my hiking gear and that I had one bottle of water. More critically, I had also forgotten my sunscreen at home. I’d later find the bottle abandoned on my bed as I lathered on copious amounts of aloe vera to soothe the worst sunburn I have ever experienced. I’ll be fine, I reassured myself before setting off. The trail was short, seemed relatively easy, and I am, after all, an avid…

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…

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…

When I was about eight years old, my family and I joined Brenda Holder, owner of Mahikan Trails, on an Indigenous winter snowshoe tour near Canmore, Alberta. I still vividly remember the crunch of the snow underfoot and the way Holder captivated my brothers and me through storytelling. As we snowshoed along a mountain trail, she showed us how to identify animal tracks and pointed out plants her ancestors used to make traditional medicines. I remember feeling drawn to the slower pace of exploring and to the Cree, Iroquois and Métis culture Holder shared so openly. When I was growing up, I knew I was Indigenous because my mother told me that I was. We knew that my maternal grandmother’s side of the family was Huron-Wendat from Quebec, even though…

In the summer of 2024, three large Banff tourism businesses lodged a complaint with the Canadian Competition Bureau against Viad Corp. Since 2011, this Arizona-based company, through its subsidiary Pursuit, has acquired a portfolio of 17 hotels and visitor experiences, mostly in Banff and Jasper National Parks. The list includes iconic attractions like the Jasper SkyTram, Banff Gondola, Lake Minnewanka Cruise, Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure, Columbia Icefield Skywalk and Brewster Express bus line, as well as 11 hotels and lodges. “This is a major national scandal,” Adam Waterous, the Alberta oil tycoon who owns Banff’s Mount Norquay Ski Resort and is proposing to invest in high-speed train service between Calgary and Banff, said in an interview with the Calgary Herald. FILLING LUXURY PASSENGER TRAINS AND HOTEL SUITES WAS THE GOAL;…

Moments before David Elton jumped into the ocean to try to save someone’s life, before he drowned, before his parents established a fund in his name and before that fund helped make school trips safer—before all that—David was just having the time of his life. It was March 25, 2000, and 17-year-old David was backpacking California’s Lost Coast Trail on a trip organized by his Calgary high school. The group of 18 students and six parent and teacher chaperons from William Aberhart High School had prepared all winter for the spring break adventure. David was really looking forward to it, as his mom Ann Gray-Elton remembers. The whole family, Ann, her husband John Elton, David and his younger brother Stewart had always spent a lot of time outside. The family…

I’ve been drawn to the night sky since I began my photography journey 10 years ago. Spring in the Canadian Rockies is my favourite season for astrophotography: the nights remain long, the lakes begin to thaw, and the Milky Way rises above the mountains. I planned this shoot for a moonless night at Two Jack Lake. That night, everything aligned. The lake was still, the sky was clear and the Milky Way climbed steadily above the peak. After three hours, satisfied with what I had captured, I packed up and started for home. As I turned around, a faint green glow appeared behind me. The northern lights were emerging as a substorm began to build. I quickly set up my tripod again. For five brief minutes, the aurora intensified above…

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…

Paul Verchere pushed off from Transfer Beach Park in Ladysmith, BC on June 25, 2025, with 40 kilograms of gear, 10 litres of drinking water and the lofty dream of being the first person to paddle around Vancouver Island on a stand-up paddleboard. The 1,300-kilometre journey has been checked off by kayakers, and a handful of adventurers have taken stand-up paddleboards around the Island in sections, pieced together over successive summers, but never has anyone achieved the feat on a SUP all in one go. Verchere didn’t tell many people about the quest before leaving, in case he only got five days out and had to turn around. It wasn’t until he reached Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island to reload food that he started dropping the…

I used to think becoming Canadian would feel as official as a handshake or a document. Maybe a tiny flag dramatically handed to me while a Canadian goose (or cobra chickens as I like to call them) flew overhead in slow motion. Instead, it has looked like me wobbling on a frozen lake, holding a drink that contains clam juice and learning all the lyrics to the “Good Ol’ Hockey Game.” I’m writing this as I prepare to take my Canadian citizenship test, partly to memorize facts and partly to honour the small, unglamorous moments that have made me feel Canadian long before any certificate does. I moved from London, England to Regina in 2018 and continued onto Calgary one year later. In some ways, the memories I’ve made feel…