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Top Adventure Travel Trends for 2026
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Trips for Solo Travelers
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Follow the Leaders: Their Top Trip Picks for 2026
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Turning Values into Action: The Give Back Field Project Program Year in Review
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Welcome to The BackBeat!

Welcome to The BackBeat, the Backroads blog. Looking for pro tips and a peek behind the scenes on trips around the world? We’ve got you covered. Tips and tales from the road and trail? Find it right here. Inspiration for your next epic adventure? Welcome to The BackBeat.

Bite Sized Nova Scotia
April 16, 2020

Bite-Sized Backroads Trip: Nova Scotia

Continuing with our series of videos specially made to bring a bit of the Backroads travel world right to your home, we asked longtime Backroads guest Tara Hitchcock to take us on a virtual trip to Canada's hidden gem province of Nova Scotia.

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Backroads Hiking Trip in Yosemite
April 7, 2020

Bite-Sized Backroads Trip: Yosemite

With so many of us home and unable to travel at the moment, we thought it would be nice to bring a bit of the magic of travel (and one of our favorite national parks!) right to you and your family. So we asked Trip Leader Russell Grange to take us on a "Bite-Sized Backroads Trip" to California's epic Yosemite National Park

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Tom & Liz Hale
March 27, 2020

A Message from Tom Hale

There's no doubt about it—these are difficult times. As I write this, I'm at my home in the Bay Area with my wife Liz and the kids. Like everyone else in California and so many others worldwide, we are sheltering in place and learning to adapt to new realities that would have seemed hard to believe just a short time ago.

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Backroads Hiking Trips in Iceland
February 6, 2020

Why "Journey" Should Be Your Word of the Year

According to U.S. News & World Report, about 80% of New Year's resolutioners will lose their resolve by mid-February.

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tres
January 31, 2020

Six Tips to Improve Your Adventure Travel Photography

People often ask us for advice on how to improve their chances of winning our annual photo contest. Read on for some tips to improve your travel photography and come up with some prized photos!

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Tom Hale with Backroads in India
January 21, 2020

Tom Hale: My Year with Backroads

As the founder and owner of Backroads, people often expect me to have some special insight into how our trips run. It's true that I was a Trip Leader in the earliest days of Backroads, but nowadays I'm busy running the company from Berkeley and every chance I get to visit the field is precious. Ah, for the footloose days of being a leader.

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Hahnenkamm Ski Course
January 17, 2020

Hahnenkamm Streif - Austria's Epic Ski Race

Imagine blasting down an icy slope, blinded by fog and flat light, nothing protecting you besides a helmet, goggles, and a spandex speed suit. Enter Hahnenkamm Streif: the world’s most demanding and dangerous downhill course.

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January 7, 2020

Top 5 Lakes in the Canadian Rockies

The color of the lakes in the Canadian Rockies is unlike anywhere else. Jaw-droppingly turquoise? Yes. Stunning? Any time of the year. And with so many lakes to pick from, there’s no way you can go wrong! That said, the Canadian Rockies are massive, as they span from Banff to Jasper to Kananaskis County, and your time may be short, so read on to hear about the crème de la crème!

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Dogsled Race in Alaska
January 7, 2020

Alaska's Iditarod: "The Last Great Race"

The Iditarod is one of the most epic dogsledding races in the world, but outside of Alaska, few even know what it is. How long is it? Why is it known as "the last great race"? And do they really race with dogs? As a man who has mushed a few teams myself, I like to start with a brief history, dispel some common misconceptions, and then relate some of my favorite facts about the race.

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Castle ruins in scotland
January 7, 2020

Scotland : Land of Music, Myth and Whisky

As a former Glasgow bartender, I’ve spent most of my working life writing lists of “cool Scottish stuff” on napkins for passing tourists. I couldn’t be more excited to give you some bona fide inside knowledge that will bring your Caledonian adventure to life!

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