Over the decades, we’ve learned a thing or two from our guests, our own excursions and our intrepid leaders. While I could write a book on our evolution, I’ll narrow it down to a brief(ish) list of my favorite improvements in recent years.

How do you narrow down days of hiking with your favorite people--amid some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable--into a "top 3" list? It's not easy. But I always appreciate tips from other travelers to help me make my travel decisions, so here we go...

I just returned from a biking trip through Brittany and Normandy and hiking trip in the Alps with extended family and was once again reminded of the ways a vacation like this brings families together. Backroads has been offering family trips since before I had kids (and my oldest is now 22). Why did we start them? Well, Backroads is just such a naturally positive, amazing environment for families to have a great time together that it didn’t take us being rocket scientists to see their potential. Once my wife, Liz, and I had our own kids, the beauty of designated family trips became even more obvious.

At the end of a typical Backroads day, I find myself well fed, happily tired and awe-inspired by what I just experienced. I drafted this blog from a hotel balcony in Dinard, just across an estuary from St. Malo, reflecting on yet another one of those wonderful days. What particularly struck me about the day was how much my kids learned without even knowing the trip was actually educational. I’m sneaky that way.

I truly believe that an active lifestyle has a profound impact on overall health and our ability to rebound from setbacks. So, what are some of the easiest ways to stay active, regardless of age or ability level?

In the 38 years since I founded Backroads, I've found a great deal of pride in knowing we deliver the very best active travel experiences. I'm passionate about what we do and what we stand for. No matter who you travel with, you deserve the best possible trip. If you ask the right questions, and hold your responders to their answers, you are much more likely to be successful. Here are the top questions to ask when choosing a biking, hiking or multisport adventure.

Mixed abilities, mixed interests, mixed goals, or maybe mixed inclinations. Whatever label we put on it, this is one of the key quality factors that differentiate Backroads: choice. You choose where you want to go, who you want to travel with, what activities you want to enjoy – and for how long or how far. The leaders are not there to decide your day, but to see what you want to do and help make it happen.

We're outfitting our bikes with the top-of-the-line Wahoo Elemnt Roam devices on biking, hiking and multi-adventure trips around the world--included in your trip at no additional cost! How does it work? You simply show up and your Backroads bike will be set up with a Wahoo Elemnt Roam, pre-loaded with all the routes on your trip.

Ever wonder how Backroads came to be? From a garage startup in 1979 to today—here's a quick video snapshot.

The other day a guest asked me how we're able to hire such amazing leaders with such consistently exemplary values. He then asked whether we specifically recruited for values, which prompted me to review the criteria we use to screen leaders.