Camp means community service for many young people

NEW YORK (AP) — At 14, Tyler Cohen had never been out of the country or traveled without his Long Island family when he found himself in Costa Rica on a monthlong service trip for teens.

Hiking with babies and tots: Trail options grow

Debbie Frazier wants her two children to grow up appreciating the outdoors. So she introduced them to hiking before they could walk.

Urban adventures: discovering your city on foot

Adah Bakalinsky says there are more than 650 public stairways in San Francisco. She knows because she's climbed them all, except the newest ones. And at age 90, she still climbs them with friends.

Even urbanites can navigate a park like Yosemite

The vista of Yosemite Valley stunned me: a majestic waterfall, soaring granite, and a winding river flowing through an endless stretch of pine trees.

Hundreds flock to annual Hammond Outdoor Sports Show

HAMMOND | Camo was the clothing pattern of choice Saturday at the Jean Shepherd Community Center, where hundreds of people gathered for the annual Hammond Outdoor Sports Show.

Coaching your own kid brings pressures, rewards

Coaches Jeff Goldman, left, and Jack Russell are shown with their team, the Sounders, at the Raynham Soccer complex in Raynham, Mass. Both Goldman and Russell have sons on the team. Parents who sign up to coach appreciate the experience because it's usually fun and builds dedicated time with…

Coaching your own kid brings pressures, rewards

Coaching your child is a tough line to walk for parents, who make up the majority of coaches working with the millions of kids playing youth sports every year.

Lake Station receives $18,000 grant to build playground at Field of Dreams

LAKE STATION | The city's Field of Dreams complex will soon sport a new playground and skate park, Mayor Keith Soderquist said.

Rails to trails movement grows around country

On a route once traversed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, shouts of "On your left" ring out as cyclists pass runners, in-line skaters and families out for a stroll with children and dogs.

'Hunger Games' fever makes archery cool for kids

In schools and backyards, for their birthdays and out with their dads, kids are gaga for archery four weeks into the box office run of "The Hunger Games" and less than 100 days before the London Olympics.

Dog Scouts of America have troops in 22 states and counting

They've got badges and campouts, cookie drives and troops in 22 states. The Dog Scouts of America even has a motto or two as the half-human, half-hound organization goes about the business of doing good deeds.

Dog Scouts of America have troops in 22 states

They've got badges and campouts, cookie drives and troops in 22 states. The Dog Scouts of America even has a motto or two as the half-human, half-hound organization goes about the business of doing good deeds.

Through the frozen forest: Yellowstone on skis

I took a deep breath, positioned my skis and shot down the hillside, whizzing through a forest of trees covered with thick, feathered layers of ice.

For the love of skiing

Some of my best childhood memories happened on my little red-and-white skis, and I had decided probably before my kids could walk that it would be that way for them, too (whether they liked it or not).

M&Ms, good gloves and patience cut slopeside tears

One of the worst things a parent can see on the ski slopes — short of an injury — is the swelling of a tear underneath the layers of facemask, goggles and helmet. The problem isn't only that the little drop of water could freeze: It could be the moment your child is turned off from skiing or…

Boarding a pet isn't limited to kennels anymore

You are spending Thanksgiving with Aunt Nellie in Kansas. Your dog will be staying in a hotel suite called Neiman Barcus with a flat-screen TV. There might be surf lessons, a massage, pawdicure, and photo shoot.

Boarding a pet isn't limited to kennels anymore

You are spending Thanksgiving with Aunt Nellie in Kansas. Your dog will be staying in a hotel suite called Neiman Barcus with a flat-screen TV. There might be surf lessons, catered meals, a massage, pawdicure, spa bath and photo shoot.

Christy Turlington Burns preps for NY Marathon run

Christy Turlington Burns is putting all the time she spends in motion juggling her different hats to good use: She's planning to run in today's New York City Marathon to raise awareness for her maternal health charity.

Kids' ER concussion visits up 60 percent over decade

The number of athletic children going to hospitals with concussions is up 60 percent in the past decade, a finding that is likely due to parents and coaches being more careful about treating head injuries, according to a new federal study.

Wildlife trapping: strong feelings for and against

COOLBAUGH, Pa. | Barry Warner has loved wildlife since boyhood, and lived out his dream of becoming a conservation officer. He sees no contradiction in the fact that he's also a lifelong trapper, skilled at capturing wild animals and, if appropriate, killing them as part of an avocation that…