Dan A. Nelson

I am a veteran outdoor journalist who started writing as a general news reporter at weekly and daily newspapers in the Puget Sound area.

In the early 90s, I took on the role of editor of regional hiking magazine, Northwest Trails magazine, and started freelancing for a number of national magazines, including Men’s Journal, Backpacker, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, USA Today, CNN, The Seattle Times, Outdoor Retailer, Elevation Outdoors, and other publications. During most of the 1990s and early 2000s, I would spend up to 159 nights per year in a tent while ‘conducting research’ in the wilderness.

For the past 25+ years, I’ve authored a dozen guidebooks, and launched a number of popular guidebook series with the Mountaineers Books, including the Best Hikes with Dogs series, the Snowshoe Routes series, and the Day Hiking series. I've also contributed extensively to several National Geographic Society National Park guidebooks.