Abandoned Mining Town | Ikeshima (Japan) LifeIsAdventure 2026-04-10 | Ike Island off the coast of Japan near Nagasaki was a bustling coal mining town, peaking to a population of around 10,000 in the 1970s. The mine closed in 2021 which ended the primary economy resulting in almost everyone leaving the island. About 100 or so remained but 25 years later even they are aging out and moving to the mainland. What remains are dozens of apartments, a small village and coal mining infrastructure which is completely abandoned. The forest is slowly consuming the buildings but it is still possible to explore all that was left behind.Those remaining on the island operate a limited tour of the underground coal mine and this is likely the main reason the ferry still makes a daily stop on the island.
Yufu Volcano Scramble (Japan) LifeIsAdventure 2026-03-27 | Mount Yufu or Yufudake is a prominent landmark in northwestern Kyushu (south Japan). It is an active stratovolcano, although it hasn't erupted in more than 2000 years. This is fortunate as it is a popular hiking destination. The crater's edge can be traversed to visit both the west and east summits. The west summit in particular requires some scrambling to reach the top, although there are bolted chains to aid in the ascent.
Dividend + Apex Mountain Tour (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2026-03-13 | An ambitions late-season tour around Apex Resort (Green Mt, Dividend Mt, Apex Mt, Riordan Mt.) was mostly successful despite very poor snow conditions (or no snow).
Youngs Peak, up the Asulkan Valley (BC, Glacier National Park) LifeIsAdventure 2026-02-21 | Youngs Peak is a classic ski objective in Rogers Pass with access to the 'seven steps of paradise' and 'forever young' couloir. This task is made easier by staying part way in the Asulkan cabin which we did for a couple days. Aside from exploring the ample terrain on and off the nearby glaciers, there are some good ski runs down popular routes like the 'tree triangle' and 'triangle moraine'. In short, it's a backcountry ski paradise when conditions cooperate.
Lava Butte Winter Hike (Oregon) LifeIsAdventure 2026-02-14 | Lava Butte is a striking geological feature just south of Bend, Oregon. In the winter, the cinder cone is completely closed to traffic and makes for a peaceful hike from top to bottom. There is an old firewatch tower perched at the top making for great views across the nearby lava fields and larger volcanoes and mountains in the distance.
Nak Peak Ski (BC, Coquihalla Summits) LifeIsAdventure 2026-02-05 | Nak is the middle peak of the Zopkios Ridge (between Yak and Thar) in the Coquihalla Summits area. It is the easiest of the three to ascend in winter and has some decent ski terrain (when snow conditions behave). This bright blue sky day had great views but terrible icy conditions. It still made for a great daytrip and wonderful winter day outside in the alpine.
Umpqua Hot Springs (Oregon) LifeIsAdventure 2026-01-24 | Umpqua is a remote but picturesque natural hot springs in Oregon's Umpqua National Forest. A short, steep hike reveals several pools of varying temperature along a cliff's edge over the North Umpqua river. The area is worth exploring a bit to find the hidden pools and caves.
Subway Lava Tube (California) LifeIsAdventure 2026-01-17 | A pull-off from the highway and a short walk through the forest brings you to an incredible geological formation - a lava tube that has formed in the shape of an underground subway. There are several offshoots to explore, each with some diabolical name.
Ironstone Lookout on Willoughby Peak (Alberta) LifeIsAdventure 2026-01-09 | Ironstone Lookout is an active firewatch tower at the summit of Willoughby Peak south of Coleman, Alberta in the Crowsnest Pass. It makes for a decent hike and the views of the surrounding and more dramatic peaks are incredible.
Foxwarren Bunker (UK) LifeIsAdventure 2026-01-03 | Hidden in the forest in an otherwise normal English neighborhood is an old bunker from WWII. It is just enough creepy to warrant a short explore in the forest to find the entrance and explore what remains underneath
Bluejoint Mountain Fire Lookout Ski (BC, Boundary) LifeIsAdventure 2025-12-20 | Tucked away in the Granby River valley of south-central BC is a little known destination called Bluejoint Mountain. The summit was once home to an active fire lookout station. Nowadays the structure is abandoned but still makes for an interesting visit. All sorts of history memorabilia remain inside the tower and the local off-roading community lovingly maintains it from falling into complete disrepair. I had planned a late-season hike to the summit but luckily I had my skis along in case there was some snow. There was definitely some snow!
Cambie Climbing Tree (BC, Vancouver) LifeIsAdventure 2025-12-13 | A favourite little adventure for Vancouver locals. A nondescript tree in the middle of a busy boulevard is much more interesting on closer inspection - the perfect climbing tree!
Garnet Fire Lookout Overnight (Montana) LifeIsAdventure 2025-12-06 | South of Bozeman Montana and at the top of Garnet Mountain is an abandoned fire lookout that has been preserved for recreational purposes. It has been outfitted with a wood stove, bunkbeds, table, cookstove etc.. Perfect for an overnight!
Payne Bluff (BC, Kootenays) LifeIsAdventure 2025-11-29 | Payne Bluff is a legendary section of the now abandoned K&S (Kaslo and Sandon) Railway. It took an astonishing feat of engineering to wrap a section of rail around the steep bluffs with the track hugging tight to the rock-face. Nowadays the section can be accessed by a short hike and remnants of the track and other railway features lay scattered along the cliffs.
Sloquet Hot Springs (BC, Coast Mountains) LifeIsAdventure 2025-11-22 | Sloquet Hot Springs is a popular destination for natural hot springs enthusiasts but getting there involves a 3-hour trip on rough forestry road whether you start from Pemberton or Hope BC. The location features a scalding creek that flows over a small waterfall before cascading through a number of man-made pools before entering a freezing river.
Highwood Mountains C-54 crash site (Montana) LifeIsAdventure 2025-11-15 | On Feb. 9, 1950, a C-54 military aircraft training for a Cold War assignment crashed into South Peak of the Highwood Mountains in central Montana, tragically killing its crew of three. The impact was so forceful that the plane broke into many pieces - some flying across the peak onto the opposite slope. The hike to find the wreckage site involves a trek across the mountains near Geyser, MT.
Harrison Fire Lookout Overnight (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-11-08 | Down a long and lonely forestry road and perched at the top of Hale Peak is an abandoned fire lookout tower with fantastic views over Harrison Lake. We stopped for the night on the way to Sloquet Hot Springs to spend the night despite a storm passing through. The lookout was surprisingly weatherproof compared to many other similar structures we've visited in the past. It was built in 1953 and staffed through the 1970s before being eventually abandoned to the elements. After being nearly destroyed by the elements and fire, it was adopted by the local community and rebuilt in 2019 to be enjoyed for decades to come.
Mile High Traverse & Mt Significant (Alaska) LifeIsAdventure 2025-10-31 | The Mile High Traverse (+bonus points Mt Significant) is a 25 mile (40km) ridgewalk up from Eagle River, Alaska. The journey links a number of peaks including Mt Magnificent, Mt Significant, Black Ptarmigan Rocks and Mt Baldy. The route is not technical and can be completed in a very long day without breaks. Along the way there are continual breathtaking views across the peaks of the Chugach Mountains.
Shuswap Rail Trail (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-10-24 | 15km of the eventual 50km rail trail from Sicamous to Armstrong BC is now finished so we decided to check out the progress with a late-fall ride. Eventually the route will connect down through Vernon, Kelowna and in many years, Osoyoos near the US border for a 200km continuous non-motorized corridor. Navigating the funding, land ownership and construction is a huge endeavour but a wonderful addition to the Okanagan.
Pioneer Peak Scramble (Alaska) LifeIsAdventure 2025-10-17 | Pioneer Peak is a long and challenging hike beside the Knik River near Palmer, Alaska. It requires an ascent of 6000 vertical feet (near 2000m) to the summit. With epic views across the Chugach Mountains including Knik Glacier, there are no shortage of breathe-taking vistas along the ridge-walk toward the summit. A relatively straightforward hiking trail leads to the base of the peak and with some careful routefinding and scrambling it is possible to summit the south summit. A traverse over to the north summit requires some mountaineering skill and is seldom attempted.
Swalwell Lake | Island Campout (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-10-10 | It is unsurprising that Lake Country BC is full of dozens of lakes. We set out on one of the more popular lakes (Swalwell / Beaver) in search of a good island to camp on. There were 6 or so to explore and choose from before finally settling on a favourite.
Greystokes | Mt Jubilee + Moore (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-10-03 | Greystokes Provincial Park in BC's interior is mostly known for its excellent snowmobile terrain and there are a number of huts maintained by the BC Snowmobile Federation. There are however, a couple of high-elevation peaks (for Okanagan standards) in the park which occasionally draw hikers. It was for this reason that the decision was made to finally check out what the park had to offer.
McCrae Lake + Peak (BC, Kootenays) LifeIsAdventure 2025-09-26 | McCrae Peak is tucked away south of Revelstoke between Mt. Cartier and Sprout Mt. The scramble to the top is well worth it for the journey and destination. Below the peak, there is a glacier to explore and a scenic lake to camp beside. Makes for a couple great days in the backcountry.
Mt Plewman Plane Crash (BC, Kootenays) LifeIsAdventure 2025-09-20 | October 18, 1947, an RCAF B-25 bomber crashed on the east slope of Mount Plewman. A couple nearby skiers dove to the ground as the descending plane flew low overhead. But it wasn't until 5 years when the crash was accidently found by a local adventurer out grouse hunting. It was time for a fresh hike to the crash site to inspect for ourselves and learn more about this interesting piece of BC Kootenay history.
Mt Loki Scramble (BC, Kootenays) LifeIsAdventure 2025-09-12 | Mt Loki is a prominent pyramid-shaped peak located across Kootenay lake from Kaslo, BC. To reach the trailhead it is necessary to take the ferry across at Balfour and drive up a long forestry road to the trailhead. The hike is a difficult 6-8 hour affair with a few tricky scrambling sections but great rewards for those who push through to the summit. The top features 360 views deep into the Purcell range and around Kokanee Lake.
Galena Trail (BC, Kootenays) LifeIsAdventure 2025-09-05 | The Galena trail is a chunk of former railway (now rail-trail) that spans from Rosebery to Three Forks BC. This is part of the larger route from Nakusp to Kaslo and Sandon. The trail features some remarkable scenery and history of the abandoned railway and nearby mines are also nearby. The signature feature of the Galena trail is a human-powered carriage that spans Carpenter Creek approxmiately 2km west of Three Forks.
Widgeon Bomber Trek (BC, Coast Mountains) LifeIsAdventure 2025-08-29 | An old plane wreck lies abandoned in a remote and difficult to reach mountain range near Widgeon Lake. The journey involves a paddle from Pitt Lake up Widgeon Creek, followed by a day-hike up to Widgeon Lake. From there one has to get across the lake before hiking up to the ridge due to the steep cliffs around Widgeon Lake. The hike up to the ridge is no joke. There is some horrendous bushwhacking and some 3-4 class scrambling just to gain the ridge near the peak where the wreck lies. We were up for this adventure and set out on a 3 day trek to reach the crash site.
Berg Lake (BC, Rockies) LifeIsAdventure 2025-08-22 | The Berg Lake Trail is a highly sought after adventure in Mt. Robson Provincial Park. We were lucky enough to get permits this year and enjoyed the spectacular scenery including numerous waterfalls, glaciers, and mountains.
Mt Outram (BC, Hope) LifeIsAdventure 2025-08-15 | Mt Outram is a prominent peak south of Hope, BC rising above the sunshine valley. It makes for a great dayhike or an overnight at the tarn below the summit.
Monument 83 + Chuwanten Mountain (BC, Similkameen) LifeIsAdventure 2025-08-10 | The Monument 83 trail is located in EC Manning Park, BC and features a route to the US border where there is a fire lookout tower. This used to be a moderately popular trail until a couple bridges washed out at the beginning followed by a forest fire that tore through the area. Since then the trail hasn't been maintained and as of summer 2025 has hundreds of trees blocking the route. There is also a side-quest to a little-visited peak to the east called Chuwanten Mountain (full bushwhacking).
West Kelowna Canyoning (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-08-01 | A well known spot with some interesting river features in West Kelowna. Not everyone descends into the canyon to take a closer look but it's worth it!
Old Glory Fire Lookout (BC, Kootenays) LifeIsAdventure 2025-07-25 | Old Glory Mountain is famous for its fire lookout tower which is maintained by the community, as well as the ruins of an old meteorological station. This mountain hosted some some fantastic history like the rugged adventures who manned and supplied the summit stations, the day the weather station burned down to the day that one of the former lookout staff discovered a long-lost airplane. We enjoyed this fantastic hike while taking in the spectacular scenery and learning more about the incredible tales from the area.
Adra Tunnel on the KVR (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-07-18 | The Adra Tunnel is one of the most famous features of the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) but it has been closed since the early 90s due to dangerous conditions. In 2025, a rehabilitation project to open it again to the public was completed so we jumped on our bikes for a 25km bike loop to check it out.
Tranquille Slot Canyon (BC, Kamloops) LifeIsAdventure 2025-07-11 | In a steep valley above above Kamloops (BC, Canada) there is an interesting rock formation around the Tranquille river that is worth a visit. The journey involves a steep hike down to the canyon past dry sagebrush landscape and a vehicle graveyard. From the river one can explore up and down the canyon (late summer is the best option when the water level is at its lowest but it is still warm enough to swim).
Coastline South Wales | Abandoned Wrecks, Bunkers, and Jets (UK) LifeIsAdventure 2025-07-04 | The Welsh coastline has all sorts of interesting surprises including this particular walk past washed up jellyfish, abandoned shipwrecks, world war era bunkers and tunnels, and abandoned military jets + tanks.
Canoe Camping at Commando Bay (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-06-27 | Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park has a number of lakeside campgrounds that are accessible only by water or long hike. We decided to spend the weekend exploring the coastline, swimming, cliff jumping, and camping at one such campground. Commando Bay ended up being the empty one so we took it (all sites are first come first serve).
Musquash Estuary Secrets (NB) LifeIsAdventure 2025-06-20 | There's the strangest thing you would ever expect along the shore in the Musquash Estuary in southern New Brunswick. A paddle or bushwhacking adventure can bring you right up to what satellite imagery suggests is old wreckage.
Gibraltar Fire Lookout (BC, Kootenays) LifeIsAdventure 2025-06-13 | Tucked away in the mountains around the Columbia Valley of the East Kootenay region of BC is a remote and seldom visited fire lookout tower called Gibraltar. It involves driving down a long forestry road followed by a significant uphill hike (more than 1000m elevation gain) to the summit.
Keremeos Columns (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-06-06 | Keremeos Columns is an interesting geological feature tucked away in the Similkameen valley above the town of Keremeos. The columns can be found after a short hike through hilly sage-covered pasture land.
Hillsborough Gypsum Silos + Mines (NB) LifeIsAdventure 2025-05-23 | Gypsum mining around Hillsborough New Brunswick's dates back to the mid-1800s. Two relics of that age are the concrete silos along the Petitcodiac river that were built in 1928 and stand tall to this day. Further inland in what is now a network of recreation trails, entrances to old gypsum mines lay hidden in overgrown vegetation. Both locations are well worth a wander.
Iriški Venac TV Tower (Serbia) LifeIsAdventure 2025-05-22 | While travelling around Serbia, we found ourselves in Novi Sad for a few days and wanting to get off the beaten path. Perhaps a peculiar idea to some but I wanted to see what remained of some of the structures that were bombed during the 1999 NATO bombing operations in the area. One particular structure I wanted to check out is the TV Tower at Iriški Venac on Fruška Gora (Mountain). We took public transportation as close as we could get and then hiked for the day to try and get up to the ruins.
Gladstone Mine Exploring (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-05-16 | After hiking the Gladstone loop near Pincushion mountain in Peachland BC, we decided to explore the nearby abandoned Gladstone mines.
Hot Springs + Swim Holes (Guadeloupe) LifeIsAdventure 2025-05-09 | The island of Guadeloupe is of course surrounded by ocean and countless beaches. Some find it more interesting to seek out some of the less well known swim spots. Numerous hikes through the jungle reveal waterfalls and swim holes. There are also numerous hot springs around the active La Soufrière volcano. There are too many to count but we did have a chance to sample some of what the islands had to offer.
Classic Wapta Traverse (Alberta) LifeIsAdventure 2025-04-25 | The classic Wapta traverse is a 5 day, 4 hut ski adventure across glaciers and mountain passes from Icefields Parkway in Alberta to Field, BC. Without any side-quests, the distance is 60km. The journey includes stays at 4 ACC huts - Peyto Hut, Bow Hut, Balfour Hut and Duncan Hut. This world renowned ski tour is absolutely worth it but requires a lot of energy and specialized training (avalanche, crevice rescue, glacier travel).
Abandoned Le Chameau on Terre-de-Haut (Guadeloupe) LifeIsAdventure 2025-04-18 | While on a day trip to the small island of Terre-de-Haut in Guadaloupe, I noticed there was this mysterious structure at the top of the highest point of the island. Hiking up for a better look, it appeared to be an abandoned military structure.
Plane Wreck on La Soufrière Volcano (Guadeloupe) LifeIsAdventure 2025-04-04 | On Sept 9, 1971 a DC3 carrying copper ship parts and other cargo was travelling from Trinidad to Dominica when it was rerouted to the French island of Guadeloupe. Before reaching the landing strip, it tragically crashed into the side of Guadeloupe's highest peak, La Grand Soufrière, a volcano complex rising 1467m above sea level. Nowadays, it is quite popular to summit La Soufrière and after doing so, we set off in search of the crash site which appeared to be a few kilometers away. The route is passible but not without serious travel over undulating jungle terrain, through mud and thick vegetation.
Wilden Fire Cabin Lookout (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-03-14 | There's this special spot up in the hills on the outskirts of Kelowna, BC that really only locals know about. Unfortunately, it was lost in the McDougal wild fire in Aug 2023. I wanted to run up to the spot to check on the status and remember the good memories associated with this unforgettable vista.
Rogers Pass | Wheeler Hut (BC, Glacier National Park) LifeIsAdventure 2025-03-08 | Roger's Pass is a legendary backcountry ski destination between Revelstoke and Golden, BC. Adventures in this area date back over 100 years when visitors would take the train up to the pass and stay at Glacier House. The ACC's A.O. Wheeler Hut is a great spot to base and provides access to numerous alpine objectives all year round.
Lake Skate 2025 (BC, Okanagan) LifeIsAdventure 2025-03-01 | Every year we go on a hike to find a different lake that we can hopefully skate on.
Phoenix Fire Lookout Ski (BC, Boundary) LifeIsAdventure 2025-02-15 | Knob hill sits above the old mining town of Phoenix, BC. The town and the extensive mining operations are now long gone but remnants of the past are dotted everywhere. I wanted to explore the area as I made my way up the the summit. I was curious about what mining infrastructure was visible in the winter but the ultimate goal was to see if the old fire lookout still existed at the top.
