Sunset's outdoor adventure roundup reads like a greatest-hits collection of Western US travel, and the through-line is clear: you no longer have to choose between roughing it and travelling well.
The headline piece is a guide to iconic dude ranches where cowboy life comes with the luxe trimmings — think horseback rides and open range by day, then proper beds, good food and spa-level comfort by night. For anyone who has always fancied the ranch holiday but balked at shared bunkhouses, this is the version worth booking. Sunset frames it as making your cowboy dreams come alive without sacrificing comfort, which is essentially the modern guest-ranch pitch: authentic activities, upscale lodging.
Around that, the coverage spreads out across the outdoor spectrum. National parks get heavy billing, including a fresh look at the Grand Canyon — described as eternal yet ever-evolving — which remains the region's most awe-inspiring anchor trip. There's also a memorable feature on photographer and conservationist Pete McBride, who has documented the Colorado River, a water system of epic beauty that is under real environmental strain. His work is a good reminder that a rafting or road trip along the river is both spectacular and increasingly a look at a landscape in flux.
Mountain resorts are pitched as year-round propositions rather than winter-only destinations: skiing when the snow arrives, but also hiking, sophisticated dining and unexpectedly strong cultural programming in the shoulder seasons. That reframing matters for trip planning — the same high-altitude towns that fill up in February can be quieter, cheaper and arguably better in June or September.
Camping also features, with gear recommendations aimed at helping you stay present rather than fiddling with equipment, plus picks for campgrounds worth considering. And the range extends beyond the mainland: a profile of Kauai-based photographer Mike Coots, who survived a shark attack as a teenager and now champions shark conservation, adds a Hawaiian marine dimension to the outdoor theme. Other pieces cover a young couple learning the West by boat with no prior experience, local-favourite insider guides, fall adventure planning, and the story of how one woman and a cougar sparked an experiment in rewilding urban spaces.
Who is this for? Travellers building a US outdoor trip with a comfort baseline. The practical takeaway is to match the format to your style: a luxe ranch for a hassle-free Western immersion, a national park road trip for scale and variety, a mountain resort town if you want dining and culture alongside the trails, or tent camping if gear and ground time appeal. Autumn comes up repeatedly as a sweet spot for planning adventures — cooler hiking weather, thinner crowds and the West at its most photogenic.
It's a broad snapshot rather than one deep-dive itinerary, but as a menu of ways to do the outdoors in the American West — with the honest thread that even iconic landscapes like the Colorado River need mindful travellers — it earns its place on the shortlist for anyone plotting their next fresh-air holiday.
