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THIS SEASON’S TOP TRIPS & PICKS

1.FROSTED WORLD

ROAN MOUNTAIN, NC

Once winter settles over the Appalachians, the higher you go, the fewer people you see. This spot at the top of Roan Mountain is no exception. Where summer finds it brimming with hikers, winter brings stillness. The 5-mile round trip can be a bit slippery after a snowstorm, but traction devices and hiking poles will give you the stability to climb beyond the trees to the 6,189-foot summit. There, frost often rimes the grass and rhododendrons and the views stretch for miles over the snowy Blue Ridge Mountains. Roan Mountain is actually a series of five distinct summits—Round Bald, Jane Bald, Grassy Ridge Bald, Roan High Knob, and Roan High Bluff. You can walk the Appalachian Trail along almost the entire ridgetop, which is accessed from the trailhead at Carver’s Gap. PERMIT None CONTACT bit.do/roan mountain

2.MEET THE NEIGHBORS

A weeklong paddle through Florida’s Everglades National Park is chock-full of wildlife encounters. Brianna Randall

I STARTLE AWAKE AT DAWN

to the sound of heavy breathing an arms-length from our tent. Heart pounding, I bolt upright, ready to fend off sharp-toothed swamp monsters lurking under our chickee—a 10-by-12-foot wooden platform on stilts that serves as a personal island in Everglades National Park. But once I unzip the door, instead of an invading alligator, I spy two bottlenose dolphins circling, probably in search of snapper for breakfast. I breathe a sigh of relief, wonder replacing my worries, as I take in the 360-degree view of water reflecting the calm golden light of dawn.