Skip to Content
Back­country Water
The ultimate guide to drinking surface water—on the trail, in the woods and in the wild!
Vernal Falls
Who wouldn’t want a taste of this magnificent waterfall?! We do! (Vernal Falls in Yosemite NP)

Whatever you’re doing—backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing or just getting away from it all and camping out in the wilderness—you’ll eventually need to drink surface water. It’s not practical to carry more than a day (or maybe two days) of water—it’s too heavy! So you’ll have to drink what you can find along the way, and we’ll help you make informed decisions so you can safely consume clean, delicious water.