Photo: Glacier National Park/Public domain
The Best Way to See Going-to-the-Sun Road Is Only Possible a Few Days a Year
One of America's most beloved national parks, Glacier sits along the northwestern edge of Montana and draws crowds every summer for good reason. Within it, Going-to-the-Sun Road, a scenic 50-mile highway through the heart of the park, is the main event. Most visitors only see it through a windshield in July or August, inching past crowded pullouts. But before it opens to cars, it opens to bikes.
Widely considered one of the world's greatest bike routes, the road offers 50 miles of paved mountain riding that feels wild and remote without requiring any technical backcountry skill. Every spring, there's a fleeting window when the road is fully clear of snow and still closed to cars, turning one of America's most iconic drives into a cyclist's paradise.
P A R K S
8 National Parks Where the Best Views Are From the Water
Road tripping is one of the most popular ways to see national parks in North America, from the redwood-covered roads of California's parks to the previously mentioned Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road.
But some parks, especially those defined by oceans, remote locations, and glacier-covered landscapes, don't allow cars at all. These are North America's water-based national parks: places with no roads, no cars, and no visitor centers selling maps and magnets. Only reachable by water.
G E A R
We've Tested Dozens of Hiking Boots. These Four Stand Out.
The right boot usually comes down to a few tradeoffs: ankle support or lightweight speed, waterproofing or breathability. We put dozens of pairs through the wet and the miles to sort it out. Four came out on top.
C A M P
'Nature Heals' Sounds Hokey, but I Have Sleep-Tracking Data to Prove It
Photo: Tim Wenger
The most effective sleep intervention might be found in nature. Forget the medicine cabinet and instead, try a reserved campsite, a flowing river, and a bedtime that follows the sun.
S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
In Belize, the People Saving the Reef Are the Same People Showing It Off
Photo: Duarte Dellarole/Shutterstock
Here, the people protecting the Belize Barrier Reef and the people sharing it are the same. Fishermen lobbied to turn their own harvest areas into protected waters. A sunken WWII ship became an artificial reef. Diving the world's second-largest barrier reef means entering a UNESCO-listed ecosystem of blue holes and marine reserves, funded by entrance fees the guides collect themselves.
S T A Y S
The Best Luxury Resorts in the World's Most Threatened Forests
These eight properties sit inside extraordinary forested landscapes, from the Vindhya Hills of central India to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.
Where to Stay
Travel Well
The Matador Editorial Team
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