People believe seniors are gradually losing their physical abilities and mental agility as the years wear on. A new study suggests that seniors can – and often do – improve over time. …

Sometimes, when the snow is deep, snowshoes are the best way to explore the winter woods. Even though skis are better for gliding down hills, snowshoes are better for navigating winding singletrack, …

Research confirms exercise is good for your brain. A new paper published in Brain Research has suggested that short bursts of exercise could increase people’s brain-derived neurotrophic factor …

As this issue arrives in your mailbox, winter weather has determined when, how and where we get outside. Whipsawing between blue skies and fresh snow to a three-day thaw that leaves trails icy and …

According to the March 13 dataset, the U.S. national park system welcomed 323 million visitors in 2025, about 8.8 million fewer than in 2024. Despite this drop in visitors, 26 of the 433 sites in the …

As I write this, the Midwest is welcoming in winter with a bang. First long stretches of below-average temperatures and above-average snowfall, followed by day after day of rain and fog. While some …

Saunas have long been a staple of life in the Upper Midwest, where chilly winters make the warm, steamy sanctuary of a heated room feel almost inevitable. In recent years, interest in sauna culture …

It starts with the land. Before you reach the storefronts downtown or the brick façades along Stephenson Avenue, you feel the terrain first. Hills rise and fold around Iron Mountain—steep …

Held every March in Madison, Wisconsin, Canoecopia is the world’s biggest paddlesports event. Over three days, 15,000 paddlers swarm the Alliant Energy Center for deals on gear and to attend more …

Over several years and thousands of freshly waxed skis delivered to the starting line of the American Birkebeiner, only twice have skis entrusted to Pioneer Midwest’s waxing services gone astray, …

Shoppers at Gear West in Long Lake, Minnesota, don’t rush through the checkout lines with plastic bags full of code-swiped outdoor sports merchandise. Rather, customers engage with Gear West …

Halfway through his inaugural Barnebirkie ski “race” in 2002, our son Benjamin decided that being pulled in a sled by his older sister was easier than slogging through the slush of Hayward, …

The Ariens Nordic Center near Brillion, Wisconsin, represents a modern benchmark for snowmaking investment in the Midwest. The total development cost for the center reached $15 million, with …

Welcome to the first issue of Silent Sports in its new seasonal format—four comprehensive print editions each year, complemented by monthly online content at silentsportsmagazine.com. You’re …

The operator of Eddie Bauer’s stores in the United States and Canada filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, blaming declining sales and supply chain issues. The bankruptcy reorganization …

On January 28, 2026, with the race clock showing 59:30:00, Michael Koppy finished the 2026 Arrowhead 135 Mile. Seventy-five year old Koppy’s performance earned him the honor, “the oldest …

QBP President Rich Tauer told industry members who had been planning to attend Frostbike in late February that the distributor had decided to cancel the event.  “Over the past six weeks …

Piotr Bednarski, has announced his retirement from his coaching position at the Loppet Foundation, effective April 3rd, 2026. Piotr dedicated his entire career to advancing the sport of Nordic …

At age twelve, I helped my father and older brother build a ply-board fish shanty in our storeroom. Once the walls were all in place, we realized that the assembled shanty would not fit through the …

Ben Ogden ended the United States' 50-year medal drought in cross-country with silver in the sprint event at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Ogden became just the second U.S. man ever to win an …