Gear Up for Your Best Year Yet, Including the Ultimate 2026 Adventure Checklist

Looking for an active, outdoorsy New Year’s resolution but can’t make up your mind? Then this list is for you! Print it out, put it on your wall, and check off 101 things to do in 2026. 

No matter if you’re a mountain biker, a trail runner, or a van-dwelling rock climber, we’ve got a bucket list for you. 

Make 2026 your most adventurous year yet!  

Hiking/Backpacking 1-10

• Complete a multi-day backpacking trip
• Backpack solo for at least one overnight
• Backpack in the snow!
• Hike a sunrise-to-sunset day
• Cook 10 meals on a camp stove
• Sleep in 5 different environments (snow, desert, forest, etc.) 
• Hike to the top of a local mountain
• Take a summit selfie 
• Hike a route that once felt “out of reach”
• Do a backpacking trip with a friend

Rock Climbing 11-20

• Climb a style that you don’t usually go for (slab, offwidth, overhanging)
• Send 25 routes this year
• Try belaying with a pair of belaggles 
• Climb outside for the first time
• Take a friend climbing for their first time
• Take a climbing class to improve one of your skills (physical or technical!) 
• Do a night climb
• Get up early for an alpine start on a climb
• Do some deep water soloing
• Climb somewhere you’ve never climbed before

River Rafting 21-30

• Plan and execute a multi-day raft trip
• Lead a full day on the oars
• Row a stretch of river that challenges you 
• Mentor a newer rafter 
• Send a stretch of river that you’ve swam in before
• Raft a river you’ve never been on before 
• Sleep under the stars on a rafting trip 
• Take a mid rapid selfie with a friend (Safely!) 
• Make your rafting group a stellar campfire dessert 
• Practice your downstream ferrying

Trail Running 31-40

• Run a 5k
• Run a 10k
• Run a half marathon
• Run a marathon!
• Get up before the sun rises for a run
• Do hill sprints to improve your uphill technique
• Run in each type of weather (rain, snow, sunny, cloudy) 
• Set a PR in one of your mileage distances
• Do a trail run you’ve had on your mind for a while 
• Do a track running day

Skiing/Snowboarding 41-50

• Take your level 1 avalanche course
• Go to a resort for the first time
• Ski/snowboard in the backcountry for the first time
• Improve uphill efficiency (if touring)
• Send a line that you previously fell on 
• Ski/snowboard while it is actively snowing
• Take a friend skiing/snowboarding for the first time
• Take a summit selfie
• Try a jump!
• Drink a hot beverage at the top of a beautiful run

Mountain Biking 51-60

• Ride a trail system you’ve dreamed about for years
• Achieve a 10 second track stand 
• Get comfortable leaving the ground on a bike 
• Learn how to ledge hop 
• Do a multi-day bike packing trip
• Take a skills-focused day or clinic
• Learn how to patch your tire 
• Do an all day mountain biking route
• Get some sick footy of you on a hard obstacle
• Take someone else mountain biking for their first time

Reflection & Meaning 61-70

Break out your journal and reflect on these prompts! 

• Define what “adventure” means to you 
• Assign yourself a fitness goal for each month of the year
• Reflect on your favorite adventure that your body has taken you on 
• Journal on an aspect of your sport that no longer serves you, why? 
• Write about a failure that taught you something
• Name your fears, and let them go
• What does success in your sport (or the outdoors) look like to you?  
• What is something you like about yourself most when you are outside? 
• Spend time somewhere sacred to you
• What do you look for in adventure partners?

Connection & Community 71-80

• Take someone on their first outdoor adventure
• Learn from an elder or mentor
• Volunteer for land stewardship or trail work
• Share a meal outside with friends
• Do a trash clean up event
• Go on an adventure date
• Offer mentorship to someone new to your sport
• Spend intentional time alone in nature 
• Spend intentional time with a group in nature
• Say thank you to someone who influenced your path

Travel & Exploration 81-90

• Take a solo trip to a new destination
• Visit a town just because the name intrigued you
• Spend a week with no agenda in a new place
• Camp on public land in a new state
• Take a train somewhere scenic
• Stay somewhere with no Wi-Fi (or cell service!) on purpose
• Travel with only a carry-on
• Visit a place where you don’t speak the language
• Swim in a body of water you’ve never been to before
• Befriend a street animal (safely!)

Just Because 91-101

• Watch the sun set 10 times in a row
• Drink coffee somewhere impossibly beautiful
• Take a nap outside
• Do a handstand somewhere new
• Make a playlist for a specific adventure
• Laugh until your stomach hurts on a trip
• Take 10 summit selfies this year
• Bring something impractical on an adventure with you 
• Say “no” when it really matters
• Make a new adventure friend
• Write down how 2026 changed you

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If this list inspired you, download it here and get started!