Backroads in the News
Backroads is regularly featured in local and national publications. Here are some of our favorite articles:
Over the course of the last decade, a growing number of individuals are "embracing a more authentic version of wellness. It’s not just about a spa-focused escape, a fad diet, or some other trendy quick fix," says Avery Hale, Chief Experience Officer for Backroads Active Travel Company. Instead of a detox or deprivation-spiked sojourn, modern-day wellness vacations are holistic, immersive, and actually fun.
When the itinerary is changing by the hour, the work often happens in real time. At Backroads, an adventure tour operator that runs biking, hiking, and multisport trips in Tasmania, the Azores, and beyond, an observant guide will adjust a bike fit before discomfort turns to complaint, replace an e-bike battery before it runs low, refill water bottles during lunch, or tweak the next route because the group’s pace has changed.
Michigan’s 300,000-acre state park system ranges from Great Lakes beaches and towering dunes to waterfalls, old-growth forests, dark-sky preserves and historic sites. That variety means choosing the best Michigan state park for your next visit may depend on whether you’re a traveler who wants a remote camping adventure, a fall road trip, a beach vacation or an easy nature escape near a city.
Part of an eight-island volcanic archipelago, Madeira is a semitropical outcropping of green, fertile hills peppered with black-sand beaches. Often called the “Hawaii of Europe,” it’s a far cry from the mainland’s iconic Mediterranean landscapes and is known for its striking landscapes and network of hiking trails.
Active Travel is a hotter vacation category than it has ever been. This is Part Two, Where To Go for The Best Active Travel Vacations right now and in the near future, including classics and trending hotspots.
For dads who desire more active adventures, Backroads offers family tours with biking, hiking, or walking, or multi-adventure trips all over the world. Each trip includes hotel stays, several meals, attractions, guided tours, adventure equipment, transfers and more.
As a fan of World War II historical fiction, I was drawn to a guided cycling trip through Normandy and Brittany with active tour operator Backroads, and invited my husband along with me.
Backroads began with my dad, Tom Hale. While working a desk job, he dreamed of creating a company that let people experience the world by bike—something few were offering at the time. Once the idea took hold, he left his job and set out on a 5,000‑mile ride across the western US, using that journey to map out and shape what would eventually become Backroads.
Backroads got its start in 1979 as a small, regional bike touring company that offered trips in the western United States and the Canadian Rockies. Fast-forward to today, and the active tour company now offers more than 500 itineraries on all seven continents.
Backroads, a tour operator that specializes in active and adventure travel, has joined the United States Tour Operators Association as an active member.
Active travel operator Backroads is seeing a noticeable uptick in demand for trips that visit U.S. national parks. While national parks are always a popular choice for summer vacations, the company also says it has seen greater interest in North American departures in general as a result of this year’s ongoing global uncertainties.
On its walking tour across England, Scotland, and Wales, Backroads champions insider access and intensity levels that range from easy to strenuous.
Backroads, the global leader in active travel, today reported continued growth in travel to the US national parks as the country prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary this summer.
Avery Hale Smith joins podcast host Rebecca Minkoff on SUPERWOMEN to discuss the pressure of working in a family business and the challenge of proving yourself beyond the “nepo baby” label. She also shares how she helped guide Backroads through the COVID crisis, navigating layoffs and uncertainty while rebuilding the company with resilience and grit.
Backroads offers a series of really challenging itineraries in stunning mountain ranges around the world that avid hikers will love.
Break a sweat pedaling through villages, farmland, vineyards, and forests and along rivers on a series of bike rides as you wind your way through Europe on a river cruise.
Tour companies are launching itineraries for travelers in their 30s, 40s, and 50s that focus on active adventures in destinations like the Dolomites, Peru, Mexico, and Portugal’s Douro Valley.
Demand is soaring for health-focused itineraries that go beyond traditional wellness. Why just sit on a beach when you can get a diagnostic overhaul that might make you live longer?
