Top Ten Outdoor and Adventure Podcasts

By far my favorite podcast, period. It is “THE Outdoor Recreation Comedy”. The hosts are from Upstate NY where they work and recreate in “NY’s Largest Wilderness Area”, the Adirondacks. The show is the perfect blend of humor, news and conservation. The podcast is split up into hilarious sections like “foot stuff” and hiker news. Each episode features an outdoors topic or interesting interview. You will laugh, you will learn stuff and you will feel empowered to protect our environment.

A close second is Outside/In produced by New Hampshire Public Radio. The hosts dive into complex stories about conservation, invasive species, clean energy and how humans impact the environment in positive and negative ways. The hosts are both funny and nerdy, reporting on each topic in a captivating way.

One of the longest running outdoor podcasts. Dirtbag Diaries brings you stories of dreamers, athletes and wanderers. Each episode is a well-produced story created by an outdoor enthusiast who did something amazing or learned a valuable life lesson. It is like a friend telling a story around a campfire.

The Adventure Podcast is a weekly show about exploration, travel, gear, mountaineering, and all things related to the outdoors. Each week the hosts bring us news about epic expeditions from Himalayas to South Pole. They have an “inside baseball” approach to the outdoor industry and discuss the latest outdoor products in great detail.

If you want to find inspiration to live your life more intentionally and wild, this is the podcast for you. The host interviews high-profile people in the outdoor and adventure industries, from athletes to authors to entrepreneurs, to find out the secrets of living a better life. The host is very sincere and personal, I love that she ends each episode asking “If you had a party, who would you invite, what would you eat and where would it be?”

A weekly podcast where the hosts interview the outdoor industry’s top athletes, adventurers, entrepreneurs, and activists about how to balance work, life, and adventure while having fun and making a difference. They do a deep dive into what “stoked” means to each guest.

Want to learn about thru-hiking? This podcast reports on everything from the Appalachian Trail to the Pacific Crest and everything in between. If it has to do with long distance hiking, Backpacker Radio will report on it. They review gear, trails and interview guests who have “been there, done it”.

Want to shed some pounds from your backpack and learn about the latest lightweight technologies and techniques for backpacking, this is the podcast for you. Backpacking Light is not just about gear, it is a philosophy. This podcast will teach you everything you need to know to “go light”.

The best thing we can do is learn from others mistakes. The only way we can learn is to talk about them. The host of the Sharp End interviews people who have made mistakes in climbing in North America. The host digs into what went wrong and how the mistake could have been prevented. You do not have to be a rock climber to learn something that might keep you alive in the wilderness.

Outside Podcast has to be on the list. Outside Magazine’s premier podcast tackling a wide variety of topics from brain benefits of nature, the science behind snake venom, or imagining in perilous situations like being attacked by a swarm of bees or falling into an ice cold lake. This podcast is professionally produced and is very polished.

The 46 of 46 Podcast is an outdoors documentary-podcast of one local man’s journey hiking all 46 High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains in one summer to become an Adirondack 46’r along with other mountains on the way.

Another New Hampshire Public Radio production, Patient Zero a multipart podcast series that explores one of the most enigmatic epidemics of the 21st century: Lyme Disease. The podcast explores the origins and evolution of Lyme Disease. The disease is more complicated and controversial than it seems.

The tag line of this podcast says it all, “An 1839 assassination of a Cherokee leader. A 1999 small town murder. Two crimes collide in a Supreme Court case that will decide the fate of one man and nearly half of the land in Oklahoma.” This Land is a multipart series digging into how a unique court case could result in the largest restoration of tribal land in U.S. history.

A multipart podcast that relays the story of the devastating and controversial 2017 Eagle Creek Wildfire in Oregon. The hosts cover a diverse range of perspectives on the history of wildfires, the increase of fires in recent years, and what the future may hold for fire season in North America.

A multipart podcast chronicling the rise, fall and resurgence of the Bundy family, the armed uprisings they inspired and the fight over the future of the American West.