Holiday Shopping Guide for Nature Lovers & Outdoorsy People
The holidays are right around the corner! If you have an outdoor lover on your list who appreciates spending time outside and exploring the natural world around us, this is the perfect gift guide for you. I’m sharing my favorite gift ideas that any hiker, trekker, camper, climber, photographer, or birdwatcher would love to receive. Check out the holiday shopping guide for nature lovers and outdoorsy people!
Let’s make holiday shopping a little less stressful by making sure the outdoor lover in your life gets a gift they’ll actually use and appreciate! Please note that this holiday shopping guide for nature lovers contains affiliate links to gift ideas, many that I use myself and wholeheartedly recommend. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission that costs nothing additional for you. Happy holidays!
Best Outdoor Gear Gifts
Outdoor gear tops every holiday shopping guide for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers because gear can be the difference between the experience of a lifetime and freezing your butt off, coming home with painful blisters, or being prepared in the event of an emergency. This is the gear I don’t leave home without—and exactly what the outdoor lover in your life will appreciate getting this holiday season!
Fjallraven Women’s Abisko Trekking Tights
These are double-lined in the places that matter like the knees and rear, and these pants provide warmth, protection and style. Several utility pockets are perfect for a phone, keys, or small accessories. I wore these throughout several wet and cold days in Alaska and was never cold. Get them here!
Appalachian Gear Company All-Paca Fleece Hoodie
My new favorite mid-layer, this pull over is available in both men’s and women’s sizes and is perfect for any kind of adventure. Made from 100% Alpaca fiber in the U.S., these cozy sweaters are a great mid- or base layer for cold weather and fall hiking, skiing, or stargazing. Get yours here.
Eddie Bauer Insulated Pants
I wear these insulated leggings by Eddie Bauer more than any other pant I own. Work, play, hike, ski base layer—you name it, they are warm and sleek enough for whatever the cold day throws at you. Help your nature-loving recipient look good and stay warm! Get them here.
Decathlon Forclaz Trek 100 Jacket
This is the best lightweight jacket for hiking, camping, and backpacking. It’ll keep your recipient warm and cozy when temperatures are chilly. Use it as a mid-layer in the winter or a top layer in the fall. Best of all, it’s less than $100! Get it here.
Decathlon 2 Second Tent
For the camper that doesn’t want to spend an hour putting up the tent, this tent pops up fast so you can spend more time roasting marshmallows and looking at the stars. Decathlon makes multiple sizes and weights for every adventure, including solo backpacking, family outings, and more. You can check out all the options: Grab it here.
Outdoor Vitals Stormloft Down Quilt
From the experts in ultralight backpacking, this lightweight quilt is perfect for backpackers trying to reduce the weight of their packs. Made with sustainable duck down, these quilts come in varying weights and are perfect for hammock or tent sleepers. I just got one and am loving it in both the car and tent! Just make sure you have a great sleeping pad to go underneath. Get yours here.
Shimoda X30 or X50 Backpack
My favorite backpack for trekking and exploring, this backpack comes with a removable core unit made for photographers. It has many gear pockets, zippers, and pouches (which I explain in this video). If you’re shopping for someone that needs a waterproof bag that holds camera equipment and gear, this is the bag! Find it here and save 10% with code FORD10!
My Medic First Aid Kit
You never know when disaster, dehydration, or bug bites may happen to your nature-loving, outdoorsy recipient. That’s why its essential to carry a first aid kit when in the outdoors. My favorite fully-kitted first aid kits are made by My Medic with customized kits made for hikers, backpackers and more. It’s everything the outdoor lover needs. Grab one here.
Spyderco Delica 4
Everyone needs a good knife, for cutting rope, sticks, or the occasional hang nail. This is a great everyday fold up knife that’s lightweight and handy to keep around. It even comes in 8 colors so you can customize your choice for the outdoor lover in your life. Get it here starting at $84.
Leatherman Charge + Multi-Tool
A knife is great, but what’s even better is a multi-tool. Tighten your tripod, start a fire by sawing some small twigs, and pliers always come in handy for something. This new Leatherman is my absolute favorite. It’s a great multi-tool for unexpected challenges while camping or hiking. Find it here for $139!
Garmin InReach Mini
A GPS device and emergency beacon is a must for serious outdoor adventurers. The Garmin InReach Mini is great for solo hikers, backpackers and serious outdoor explorers wanting to have a lifeline to friends, family, and emergency services as well as on-demand GPS coordinates when out in the wild. I never hike alone without mine. Get one here.
Tagvo Water Bladder Cleaning Kit
For all serious hikers and backpackers that use a water bladder, this inexpensive cleaning kit is a must to avoid mold and mildew contaminating the drinking water. With multiple brushes and cleaning tablets, this keeps your water bladder good as new. Find it here.
BioLite FirePit +
For the camping enthusiast that loves a campfire, this contained portable fireplace can be used with wood or charcoal and creates no smoke! You can even control the flame size with a bluetooth remote. This company also gives back to the planet by donating solar lights to families in Africa. Find it here.
Best Subscription Boxes & Passes for Nature Lovers
One of the best things to consider in any holiday shopping guide for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers is a subscription gift or pass. These are the gifts that keep on giving all year-round and help you recipient find new places to explore and gear they’ll love!
National Park Pass
Give the gift of adventure with access to all of our nation’s national parks for an entire year. This is my most worthwhile purchase every year! It even gets you access to most national forests, too. Buy one here.
Friends of Georgia State Park Pass
Depending on where you live, a state park pass is also a wonderful gift or stocking stuffer for the outdoor lover on your list. With a Friends of Georgia’s state parks pass you get access to all state park, historic sites, 2 free nights of camping, and some other great discounts. You can now get 15% off with the code AliceAdventures for all membership levels. Get your pass here!
Nomadik Subscription Box
For the hiking and camping gear heads, this is the best subscription box. The monthly or quarterly box is full of gear, accessories, snacks, coffee, and more. It’s packed with brands they’ll love, like Park Project and Rumpl, and items like hats, fire starters, headlamps and camp mugs. Save 20% with the code ALICE20. Sign up here.
Decathlon Gift Card
The company that makes sporting equipment for almost every sport, from biking and hiking to kayaking, baseball, archery, water sports, camping—you name it, it’s here. Right now, you can spend $100 and get $10 added for free! Buy one here.
AllTrails+ Subscription
For the hikers on your list, having a great trail map tracker is a must. With AllTrails+, they’ll have access to offline trail maps, tracking for hikes, bike rides, and off-road adventures. The best part? You can gift it for less than $30 a year. Subscribe here.
Outside+ Subscription
For climbers, bikers, and off-roaders wanting a little more, the new Outside+ includes a subscription to Outside Magazine, Cairn trail maps, and classes offered by Outside and all its subsidiaries (including yoga, camping, and backcountry hiking). Find it here.
Best Cameras and Outdoor Photography Gifts
When I noticed many of the top holiday shopping guides for nature lovers were leaving out photography equipment and accessories, I wanted to make sure mine included plenty of options for the outdoor photographer in your life! If you know someone who enjoys photographing wildlife, landscapes, outdoor sports, or beautiful nighttime scenes, these are tried-and-true gifts they’re sure to appreciate.
GoPro Hero 10
If you thought the last few models of the GoPro rocked, the Hero 10 will blow you away. This model offers superior stabilization, great sound, warp speed 4k 120, and both a front and back color display. It’s perfect for the adventurers on your list. Faster. Smoother. Better. Save $150 on the HERO10 Black + subscription to GoPro—only $399!
DJI Mavic 3
The new Mavic is a game-changer in cinematic aerial videography and photography, with not one but two cameras, this is the best Mavic yet. With a 20 megapixel camera for photos and an adjustable aperture down to 2.8, this drone is excellent for shooting in low light and even at night with better color profiles and excellent auto focus. Find it starting at $2,049 here.
Lume Cube Selfie Tripod
Looking for the perfect selfie stick that is also a tripod? The Lume Cube selfie tripod is compact and sturdy. It holds up to a 5-pound camera, light, phone, or GoPro. Get one here for $60.
Jabra Elite 85 Wireless Headphones
Wireless noise-cancelling headphones by Jabra come in a few colors and last for up to 15 hours. These are truly one of the best workout headphones on the market! Find it starting at $79 here!
Best Travel Experience Gifts for Nature Lovers
While this holiday shopping guide for nature lovers has tons of items and physical gifts your recipient will love, you might find that the best gifts are often the ones you cannot hold in your hand but get to experience. If you’re shopping for someone truly hard to shop for, think about gifting an experience rather than an item. Here are a few of our most noteworthy trips.
Indigenous-Led Trips in Norway & Tanzania
For the traveler that wants a completely unique and once in a lifetime experience, get creative and gift an indigenous-led trip! In these homestay-style trips, you can herd reindeer with an indigenous family in Norway or walk the Serengeti with members of the Maasai as they tend to cattle on the plains of Africa. I’ve done both and it’s a truly life-changing experience. Learn more here.
Hiking in Peru
For hikers and backpackers, a trip to Peru has to be done at least once. The lesser known routes like the Salkantay Trek take you through the Andes with llamas in tow past lesser-known Mayan sites in some of the most beautiful countryside of Peru before ending at Machu Picchu. Learn more here.
Custom-Built Adventure Trips
With destinations like Nepal, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and more, our sustainable travel partner TravGanic has dozens of itineraries for active adventurers. Customize a trip your recipient will love, from trekking Kilimanjaro to glamping in Patagonia. Contact TravGanic here to build bespoke itineraries anywhere in the world!
Wrapping Up the Holiday Shopping Guide for Nature Lovers and Outdoor Adventurers
Need some more advice or want to share a comment about my holiday shopping guide for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers? Leave a comment below! Don’t forget to connect with me on Instagram or Youtube for more inspiring content.
Very nice selection of goodies. Love that National Park Pass idea.
I gave a few of my friends usb rechargeable headlamps a couple years ago. They now have mentioned numerous times how they both love them. Give the gift of a nice headlamp👍