Trail Mix: Two Magazines You Should Subscribe To Right Now
One industry that has had its share of hard knocks is the print journalism industry. Walk in to your local bookstore and you’ll see the once thriving periodical racks much sparser than prior years. Similarity our local pharmacy used to have the largest lineup of magazines in the area… and now doesn’t stock a single issue. Magazine companies have folded, merged, and restructured in hopes of staying afloat and things aren’t looking up with A.I. replacing numerous journalist positions across the industry.
In the glory days we had Canoe Magazine, Canoe & Kayak Magazine (American Media bought 14 brands including Canoe & Kayak in 2019 however ultimately closed it) and Canoeroots. Originally Canoeroots was its own publication, but then it was folded into Paddling Magazine in 2017 and currently they only publish a few issues a year. Similarlily U.K.‘s Paddler Magazine combines all water related interests (Kayaking, SUP and canoeing) and can be read monthly as a .PDF.
Since our inception we’ve tried to highlight what Canada has to offer in our “On the Newsstands” section such as Explore Magazine which features all outdoor pursuits across our beautiful country.
Despite these hard times, there has been a resurgence of interesting magazines in a digital world, each with their own take to grow their readership.
In 2021 Backpacker Magazine was purchased by Outside Media however in 2022 they restructured and the print magazine ended. From the ashes a freelance writer for Backpacker decided to launch his own magazine to continue the effort and it’s beautiful.
Trails Magazine is printed on high quality paper and it is chock full of stunning reader-submitted photos and articles. It’s primarily subscriber supported which means there are only a few ads in each issue and they average a whopping 100 pages. Check out their community on Discord and daily new photos on Instagram. I’ve been particularly intrigued by recent articles “The End of the American Backcountry” and “Rethinking Wilderness”. It’s been worth the effort to take a few minutes out of a day and just cherish reading the thoughtful content. There’s no rush to blaze through it, but instead take the time to let the full page photos really sink in and allow yourself to notice the little things. Kudos to the entire team for creating something really special here. I’ve appreciated the bonus little sticker in one issue, and the continuous dialogue through their online community.
In a digital-only form, check out Paddle & Portage (Facebook/Instagram) which puts out a new issue on the 20th of each month and covers paddling the BWCA and Quetico areas.As an added bonus they also run a podcast with some great, unique stories. Even if you’ve never paddled through the Boundary Waters you will still enjoy the great canoeing content.
Is print dead? Can a bespoke offering that connects directly with the reader be an effective strategy, or will digital offerings that shed the physical all together be the future? Let us know what you think, as well as any fond memories or favourite publications that you have enjoyed over the years.
Trail Mix is an assortment of outdoors related blog posts that can be fun, quirky or just thought provoking.
