Katie Coakley

Ah, the Great American Road Trip: Plan a route, load up the car, pack road snacks, argue about the playlist, get stuck in traffic, deal with aggressive drivers, get a speeding ticket … ugh. Maybe it’s not so great after all.

If the idea of a road trip is more attractive than the trip itself, why not switch the planning to a Great American Train Trip?

A family in Colorado invented their own attraction and turned it into a million-dollar business - here's how.

These six podcasts will get you excited about the outdoors no matter where you are.

For her eighth birthday, my niece Evaline had an unusual request: “I want to go to the North Pole.” My sister was nonplussed; I was bewildered. But, like any good aunt, I was up for whatever would make her happy. That’s how I found myself in the car with my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew, headed to a little slice of roadside nostalgia in Colorado Springs.
It was a beautiful day in July, 2019. The skies were that quintessential Colorado bluebird color and at 9:30 a.m., the temperatu...

Two hours from Denver on the seasonal Winter Park Express—which launches Friday service in January—this ski resort town offers plenty of Rocky Mountain adventure

I was stretched out in the sunshine, a sarong draped atop my legs and a thick layer of sunscreen over every exposed piece of skin. The quiet chatter on the other raft blended with a gentle slosh of water hitting the bow. It would have been easy to pull my hat down and snooze as a few others did, but I was too entranced by the changing landscape around me. I was floating down the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park in Utah and I had already hiked to pictographs, marveled at natura...

Researched and wrote a story about how to plan a ski trip.

Take your Ikon Pass north of the border and enjoy skiing at these four resorts.

Every year, Labor Day weekend signals an end to summer, and therefore, a dramatic drop in camping excursions. There are plenty of excuses—school, work, cooler temperatures—but in reality, the long weekend doesn’t need to end the season of slumbering under the stars. Instead, why not make it a goal to slip in just a few more camping trips before the snow flies? But—and here’s the “but”—where should you go?
Colorado is home to a surplus of camping options: private and public, swanky and rustic,...

Erin Parisi’s trek up Mount Kilimanjaro last March wasn’t easy. Recovering from food poisoning and contending with almost continuous rainfall and the aches and fatigue that accompany six days of climbing, she tried to maintain a positive attitude as she sat in her tent at Barafu camp, approximately 15,358ft above sea level and 36 hours from the summit.
This story was first published in Outside Magazine. Outside is the leading publication for those who love the outdoors. With in-depth narrativ...

It’s no secret: Colorado loves its craft beer. Whether it’s cracking open a can at the top of a Colorado 14er or bellying up to a beetle-kill pine bar in a brewery, there’s no shortage of amazing beer to sip and sample while in the Centennial State.

The next time you’re at Steamboat Ski Resort, if you hear strains of reggae drifting through the air and catch the aroma of braised beef wafting across the snow, you’ll know you’ve found the Taco Beast.
This tricked-out snow cat, which debuted at Steamboat on opening day back in November, is the first of its kind in Colorado. An on-mountain version of a food truck, the Beast serves tacos, Mexican street corn, sodas, and 24-ounce beers right on the slopes. It roams the resort by day, hunkering...

Erin Parisi is on a mission to become the first transgendered person to climb all Seven Summits.

It was just another day in the backcountry for Breckenridge resident Courtlandt Pennell and his wife Anne as they skinned their way up the Sallie Barber trail to the northern side of Baldy Mountain in Breckenridge. He’d been skiing in the area for the past six years, but this trip afforded a view of an addition to the terrain: the brand-new Sisters Cabin, the newest lodging option in the Summit Huts Association (SHA).
It’s easy to spot Baldy Mountain from town; it’s a popular location for bac...