The social reform and welfare movement in the United States may be most commonly associated with such persons as Jane Addams, but years before her pioneering work on Chicago’s West Side, the Boys & Girls Club of America organization was started in Hartford, Connecticut. Over the past century and a half, the organization has provided a host of services to young people in order to help them realize...

The Chicago Park District is one of the largest municipal park systems in the United States, containing over 8,100 acres of green space. All told, the District has 580 parks, including two city conservatories, a number of historic lagoons, and the iconic Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. This website allows visitors the opportunity to learn about the District's mission, history, and...

If you're an avid cyclist or just a neophyte, you'll find this rather unique app most useful. Cycle Route can assist those with a passion for cycling plan out their route based on topography, elevation, main roads, and a range of other variables. Visitors just need to enter their origin and destination and they will be all set. The app returns a range of routes that users can take advantage of and...

If you've ever wanted to turn your hiking skills into helpful information, the Mountain Watch section of the Appalachian Mountain Club website may be of great interest. The site is designed to turn hikers into "citizen scientists" who can "aid in the collection of data that measures the ecological health of our mountains." The site contains four areas (including "Mountain Plants" and "Mountain...

The National Park Foundation's Trail Talk Blog offers readers a peek into the breadth and wonders of America's National Park system, with everything from recommended hikes to popular activities to educational opportunities. On the site, various authors post entries at least four times per week. Recent items have included a meditation on the importance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a discussion...

Exploring the great outdoors can be charming, exciting, and peaceful, and the Outside Online website can be quite helpful with planning such an adventure. Designed to complement the print magazine, the website contains blogs, videos, podcasts, photos, and an "Ask the Experts" section. Mind you, that's just the homepage, and there's much more to explore here. The main blog on the homepage offers up...

What is the British sporting life all about? This fine query can be answered in part by these remarkable illustrations crafted by Henry Alken during the early 19th century. Alken was a English sporting artist and he was one of the most popular of his time, known throughout the land as a chronicler of horse racing and much more. He learned at the side of his father, another regarded artist, who...

People might know Tennessee for its fabulous Great Smoky Mountains, but have you ever heard of the Cedars of Lebanon or Fall Creek Falls? Oh yes, those two gems are just a small part of the Tennessee State Park system. After looking at some of the beautiful images on the Tennessee State Parks homepage, visitors can explore the Popular Places People Want to Go section to get a taste of the diverse...

With an eye towards conservation and documentation, The Mountaineers outdoor club has been in existence since 1906. Since that time, the group has been actively engaged in and around the Pacific Northwest’s many wilderness areas in a variety of capacities. Recently, the University of Washington Libraries’ Digital Collections project saw fit to digitize some of their extensive photographic...