23 Publications that Pay for Writing About Outdoor Activities and Sports

Today, for our latest roundup of publishers, we have a list of 23 publications that accept submissions of career-related topics.

We’ve researched payment rates and found contact information for all of these publishers, to make it easy for you to connect with the right opportunity.

If you want to browse even more opportunities, be sure to check out our database of over 1,600 publishers that pay writers. It’s easily searchable, and includes thousands of listings just like the ones below.

If you’re new to freelancing, I also very much encourage you to take our course on pitching. You can get the details here.

So, without further ado, here’s today’s list…

1. Backcountry Magazine is all about skiing and snowboarding in the backcountry. Each issue of Backcountry is packed with high-definition photography and stories, trusted avalanche safety skills and reliable, unbiased gear reviews. They are always looking for Feature ideas, Destination stories for their On Location department, Profiles and Newsworthy items, Mountain Skills pieces and Accounts of avalanches and other mountain mishaps. According to their submission guidelines, they pay $0.35 cents per word.

1. Trails is a quarterly, print-only magazine for “backpackers and people who sleep in the dirt.” The focus of the magazine is on “backpacking and other human/naturally-powered means of sleeping outdoors: bikepacking, canoe camping, even things like rafting or mountaineering are fair game.” The main emphasis of the magazine is on North American destinations. They’re always looking for story ideas from writers, photographers, etc. Feature length can be between 1,000 to 5,000 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay writers anywhere from $0.50 to $2 per word, depending on the difficulty of the story, the writer’s experience, and the commitment required. They can pay $35 to $400 per photo.

1. The Sierra is the magazine of the Sierra club, the non-profit environmental activist organization. Their readers are “environmentally concerned, politically diverse, and actively enjoy the outdoors.” According to their guidelines, they pay up to $1.50 a word for feature articles. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.

1. Roadtrippers Magazine “celebrates road culture, Americana, and the great outdoors.” They are occasionally seeking new contributors to tell stories from the North American road. They are not always open to submissions. According to their pitch guide, they typically pay $100 to $600, based on length, article type, and how much reporting is required.

1. Rod & Rifle is a magazine dedicated to “hunting, fishing and related outdoor sports in New Zealand and overseas.” They prefer topics based on trophy animals, extraordinary hunts, destination stories, and how-to-articles. They are looking for articles of minimum 1,500 and maximum 3,000 words. The articles should have one photo with a caption of 300 to 400 words. According to their pitch guide, they generally pay $100 per published page.

1. Woods Reader is a quarterly magazine for people who love woodland areas. They are looking for stories on experiences and observations in the woods. They do not publish hunting stories. Topics like history, woodcrafting and how-to DIY would be preferred more. They consider stories of any length, but their ideal word count is 500 to 1,000 words. According to their submission guidelines, payment is $35 for short poetry, and articles/essays by offer from $40 to over $100 for longer articles. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. Gripped is a Canadian climbing magazine that covers routes, events, and climbing gear, and profiles of prominent climbers. Word count for features is 1500 and 2500 words. According to their submission guidelines, they pay $250 for features, plus $50 to $200 per photo. Their Northern Faces columns pay $150 for 500-1000 words, and for Area Profiles pieces of about 500-1000 words, they pay $150. To learn more, refer to this page.

1. Outside Magazine is a monthly publication that covers “the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors.” They have previously indicated to pay $0.50 per word and up depending on the complexity of the reported article. To learn more, refer to this page.