The Sunset Travel Awards celebrate the best in travel in the West. These trips, excursions, and more are the 2025 winners of the What to Do: Adventures and Explorations category. Check out the complete list of winners here. For our definitive and searchable travel directory to help you plan your next trip in the West, click here.
Spirit of the West Adventures
Courtesy of Spirit of the West Adventures
Spirit of the West’s private campsite on remote Swanson Island in British Columbia’s Blackfish Sound is a little piece of heaven. Spirit of the West has luxury tents and real beds, an oceanside hot tub, an on-site chef, hot showers, world-class sea kayaking, and B.C.’s diverse wildlife surrounding you, including many humpback and orca whales.
Fess Parker Ranch Horseback Adventures
Courtesy of Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard
Saddle up for a scenic ride through the old-growth oak groves of Santa Ynez Valley with Fess Parker Ranch Horseback Adventures, a family-run experience led by rancher Katie Parker that blends deep local history, sweeping wine country views, and a post-ride pour at the family’s namesake winery and vineyard.
Schweitzer Backcountry Adventures
Courtesy of Schweitzer
Schweitzer, the largest ski resort in Idaho, is known for its relaxed ambiance and short lift lines, featuring more than $75 million in recent upgrades, like a new hotel and Schweitzer Backcountry Adventures, which offers snowcat and snowmobile tours from the resort, covering 4,350 acres of pristine snow with expert guides and safety gear, making backcountry exploration both accessible and family-friendly.
Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises
Courtesy of Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises
There’s no shortage of operators in Alaska, but family-owned Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises has been taking guests to explore glaciers, wildlife, and cascading waterfalls aboard comfortable vessels in the eco-conscious way for more than 50 years, and that stewardship is worth nodding to.
Sea Cave Kayaking at Channel Islands National Park
Dustin Harris
Embark on expert-led kayak and snorkel tours through one of the country’s least touristed national parks, where you’ll be mesmerized by Santa Cruz Island’s sea caves, kelp forests, and rich Chumash history.
Catalina Island
Courtesy of Love Catalina
Just 22 miles off the Southern California Coast, the diverse and rugged landscape of Catalina somehow feels a world away from the hustle with its miles of maritime trails, world-class diving, and breathtaking vistas, which for the first time in 15 years, can now be traversed on horseback, thanks to the reopening of Catalina Island Horseback Adventures.
John Hall’s Alaska
Courtesy of John Hall’s Alaska
In a state that’s as expansive and difficult to navigate as the Last Frontier, John Hall’s Alaska makes things seamless, handling all the logistics that it takes to navigate six of Alaska’s eight national parks, which traverse Native communities and cultures, historical sites, wildlife, and glaciers along the way.
Redwood Yurok Canoe Tours
Courtesy of Visit Del Norte County
It’s hard to imagine a deeper connection to the redwood-lined waterways of Klamath River than the Yurok. On these tours, guides paddle handcrafted dugout redwood canoes (ohl-we-yoch), all while sharing the rich cultural history and sacred landscapes that are defined by both land and water.