In mid-March, on a boat crossing Lake Wānaka on New Zealand’s South Island, there’s a slight bite in the wind. As Ngahuru, or autumn, settles in across the Southern Hemisphere, and conditions below the equator become more favorable for glimpsing the aurora australis, or southern lights. The boat captain unlocks his camera roll to show me images of fluorescent green ribbons washed with red and purple light that he captured the night before. On this night, however, I’m not as lucky. Still, the po...

With the Tennessee River, Appalachian Highlands, and forested Cumberland Plateau as the backdrop to Chattanooga, Tennessee, its nickname, “Scenic City,” is well deserved. But 50 years ago, Chattanooga was considered to have the worst air quality in the United States. Through ambitious planning, community investment, and progressive environmental action, Chattanooga transformed from an industrial cautionary tale into North America’s first National Park City, equipped with a revitalized riverfront...

A vertical mile up from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in the heart of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, LeConte Lodge rests at 6,360 feet, just shy of Mount Le Conte’s summit—the third tallest peak in the half-million-acre park. Cradled by mountain mist and the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, LeConte Lodge—a collection of seven cabins and three multi-room lodges—remains the park’s only overnight accommodation and the highest guest lodge in the eastern U.S.

I’m sitting at a long wooden table inside Yellow Springs Brewery, just steps from the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Across from me is Gary Zaremsky, a retired engineer and devoted cyclist. It’s mid-October, and he’s already logged an impressive 4,000 miles this year. Even though the air has turned cool and leaves carpet the trail, he assures me there are still many more miles to come.

In late July, an intense heat wilted over the hills of western Pennsylvania. David Cale wore a gray suit—a stifling choice had we been anywhere else. But inside Laurel Caverns, the temperature remained at a cool 52°F. We plodded down dark, narrow passages slick with moisture. I had a flashlight. He did not. He knew this underground system by memory, navigating each step and turn as if moving through the familiar rooms of a house.This cave is his home.Cale has explored, managed, and protected Lau...

On a hot July afternoon in western Pennsylvania, the dark, shaggy outline of a bison appeared briefly before slipping into pale grass. At first glance, his home, the thousand-acre International Conservation Center—an extension of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium—looks like many pastoral landscapes in the Laurel Highlands. But here, four young bison (culturally referred to as buffalo) represent some of the “purest bison stock” in North America, say the zoo’s conservation team. Earlier this year, biol...

In the 1980s, Russ Miller and his wife moved to a far edge of eastern Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, where they built a homestead on a ridge hugged by three sides of the river. It’s the kind of place you can only get to with a hand-drawn map. A place so remote that the farther and farther you drive to get to it, the more unsure you are that you are in the right place.They would spend leisurely afternoons drifting the river in inner tubes, until they started noticing what floated alongside them: hea...

In the winter of 1924, 14 American bison weighing 1,500 pounds arrived in crates at the harbor of Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles, California, where they were set free to roam the hillsides. Local lore has it that they were brought here to film a movie, though there’s little evidence they made a Hollywood debut. But over the last century, the bison have become the unlikely stars of Catalina’s ecosystem. It’s unclear how much longer that will last. The herd that once numbere

In an area with high grizzly mortality rates, the birth of three cubs in January 2021 was a triumph in Elk Valley, British Columbia. But nine months later the unimaginable occurred when the family of cubs and their mother were killed by one of the grizzly’s biggest threats in the region: trains. “She was one of the only grizzly bears we had ever monitored that actually produced three cubs,” says Clayton Lamb, wildlife scientist at Biodiversity Pathways, a research institute at the University of

Cumberland Falls, along the Cumberland River in southeastern Kentucky, is 13 miles off the main highway—hidden, preserved, and, most importantly for my visit, completely dark. I'd taken the two-hour journey to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park to see one of nature's celestial wonders—a moonbow.

It’s 5:30 a.m. on a recent Wednesday morning. Krystle and Cory Gaiser of the Gaiser Bee Company have just arrived back in Cincinnati with 2.6 million bees in tow. The husband-wife team drove through the night from their supplier in Patterson, Georgia and now they’re back on their suburban West Side farm, where they’ll distribute their haul for their annual bee pickup day.

And I love exploring it — especially with my dog, Luna. From hiking in desert mountains and playing in foamy waves, to camping in damp, dense forests, the outdoors has so much beauty and wonder to offer. But in an ever-changing climate, I want to make sure we’re responsible stewards by being mindful of our impact during adventures. While dogs are great companions to take along with us, they can negatively affect the environment if we don’t share responsibility in minimizing their impact. Here

The Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater at the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) has long been a place where movies come alive through towering visuals and heart-thumping audio that courses through theater seats. Now, it’s taking the experience even further by tying in a culinary component guests can partake in firsthand.

Every year in December, my black Volkswagen Atlas is packed with suitcases and metallic-wrapped gifts for the 2,200-mile trip from my home in California, to my family in Ohio. Reserved in the back seat is a designated spot for Luna, my three-year-old Portuguese Water Dog who has become my yearly companion for the 32-hour-long journey. I never fathomed I’d be driving cross-country (and back!) so often, but visiting home for 2-3 weeks at a time during the holiday season has transformed into a mea

Explore a triad of charming river towns where history, exploration, and outdoor adventure intertwine. Begin your trip in North Bend, a town steeped in U.S. and Indigenous history with trails that lead you through significant landmarks and scenic vistas.

The Southern Ohio and Eastern Kentucky river towns of Ashland, Ironton, and Portsmouth are some of the region’s most beautiful, surrounded by thousands of acres of breathtaking forests and the winding Ohio River.

For garden visionary Chris Smyth, sustainability coordinator of neighborhood nonprofit Price Hill Will (PHW), an empty yard is more than a patch of dirt. It’s a blank canvas. It’s a start for a sustainable lifestyle and a place for education and transformation to blossom within a neighborhood. It may seem audacious to say a patch of dirt is the start of a movement, but a PHW initiative called Grow It Forward Gardens is proving to be a small ripple in a big pond of change, taking it one garden at a time.

Downtown Maysville - Lined with art, historic buildings, and delicious eateries.The John P. Parker House, Ripley - A museum and designated National Historic Landmark in honor of John P. Parker, a heroic abolitionist who helped hundreds to freedom along the Underground Railroad.John Rankin House, Ripley - This National Histo...

After visitors travel the gravel pathway leading to Grailville, they enter a cultural oasis made up of rich farmland, peaceful nature trails, organic gardens and a group of women dedicated to sustainable living and a holistic approach to life.

The Indiana river towns of Vevay, Madison, and New Albany combine vibrant culture, serene landscapes, and lively annual events that promise to unfold local traditions and authentic community spirit. Ve...