Outdoors

Swimmers complete record 24-hour Lake Superior relay — without wetsuits
Six swimmers completed a 48-mile, 24-hour relay in Lake Superior, from Split Rock Lighthouse to Duluth, without wetsuits — to set a record and to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change on one of the world’s largest lakes.
After two-year spike, Boundary Waters visits drop to pre-pandemic levels
The number of visitors to the Boundary Waters dropped in 2022, returning to pre-pandemic levels. But the number of permit cancellations and no-shows continued to rise.
'Biking far with friends': Minnesota Randonneurs take 745-mile ride through France
This weekend, 15 members of a Minnesota cycling group will be in France riding in the oldest long-distance road cycling event in the world: The Paris-Brest-Paris. And it’s not a race — it’s a journey.
Concordia College plants its first Indigenous medicinal herb garden
On a sweltering mid-summer afternoon, a “rainbow tribe” of about a dozen people planted ceremonial tobacco, cedar, sweetgrass, sage and more. Anyone is welcome to take it.
Look up Minnesota: There's a meteor shower this weekend
Earth will be encountering debris from a comet this weekend. That may sound scary — but it actually means Minnesotans can see the annual Perseid meteor shower if they look up to the skies this weekend.
Small wildfire near Ely is now fully contained
A small wildfire detected earlier this week in the Superior National Forest southeast of Ely, Minn., is now fully contained.
Christian Cooper on what it means to be a Black man in the natural world
Christian Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park in 2020 when a white woman falsely accused him of threatening her. That incident went viral, pushed his work as a Black birder into the public eye, and led to his fantastic memoir, “Better Living Through Birding: Notes From A Black Man In The Natural World.”
The healing benefits of getting outdoors
Listen back to a conversation with MPR News host Angela Davis and two Minnesotans who are helping others experience the joys of the outdoors and the health benefits.