My favorite outdoor-themed books written by and about women.

Mountains & Rock

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Breaking Trail by Arlene Blum // Memoir of a legendary climber and scientist in the 1960’s

Mountains in My Heart by Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner // Climbing the world’s 14 tallest mountains

Gorge by Kara Richardson Whitely // A journey up Mt Kilimanjaro at 300 pounds

Savage Summit by Jennifer Jordan // The stories of the first five women to climb K2

High Infatuation by Steph Davis // Stories of life, struggle, and love told through rock climbing

End of the Rope by Jan Redford // A life of mountains, marriage, and motherhood

Tilting at Mountains by Edurne Pasaban // A memoir of the inner battles and competitive nature of climbing the world’s highest mountains

Rising by Sharon Wood // Memoir of the first North American woman to climb Mt Everest

Trails

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Up by Patricia Ellis Herr // A mother-daughter’s quest to climb the highest peaks in the White Mountains

Tracks by Robyn Davidson // A solo trek across 1700 miles of Australian outback

Wild by Cheryl Strayed // A woman’s journey to make peace with herself on the Pacific Crest Trail

Going Alone by Susan Fox Rogers // Adventurous stories from women’s solo journeys

Almost Somewhere by Suzanne Roberts // A twenty-something learns about life on the John Muir Trail

I Promise Not to Suffer by Gail Storey // Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for the sake of love

Extreme Sleeps by Phoebe Smith // Adventures of a solo wild camper in the United Kingdom

A Woman’s Guide to the Wild by Ruby McConnell // An outdoor handbook for adventurous women

Thruhiking Will Break Your Heart by Carrot Quinn // A woman leaves her lonely modern life to find community on the Pacific Crest Trail

Thirst by Heather ‘Anish’ Anderson // An ultra-hiker overcomes fear, and thirst, on the Pacific Crest Trail

The Salt Path by Raynor Wynn // Raynor and her terminally ill husband lose their home and hike 630 miles around England

Wildlife

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Shadow Mountain by Renee Askins // A memoir of a mission to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald // A beautiful memoir of loss and falconry

Wesley the Owl by Stacey O’Brien // A woman and her beloved rescued barn owl

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery // A journey into the life and consciousness of an octopus

Rare Bird by Maria Mudd Ruth // Pursuing the mystery of the marbled murrelet

How To Be A Good Creature by Sy Montgomery // Life lessons from animals told in thirteen stories

Spineless by Juli Berwald // A scientist follows her passion to study jellyfish

The Breath of a Whale by Leigh Calvez // The science and spirit of Pacific Ocean giants

Cold Places

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Polar Dream by Helen Thayer // First solo expedition by a woman to the north pole

The Way Winter Comes by Sherry Simpson // Gorgeous short stories about life in Alaska

Alone in Antarctica by Felicity Aston // Memoir of skiing alone across Antarctica

Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube by Blair Braverman // Trials and perils of self-discovery as a sled dog runner

Fast into the Night by Debbie Clarke Moderow // A woman’s perspective of racing the Iditarod trail

It Happened Like This by Adrienne Lindholm // Finding community and meaning in Alaska

The Accidental Explorer by Sherry Simpson // What it means to be a woman adventurer in Alaska

The Sun is a Compass by Caroline Van Hemert // A 4000-mile journey across Alaska

Hard Work

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Dirt Work by Christine Byl // Life as a traildog working trails in America’s National Parks

Lives in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson // A woman’s perspective on the field of archaeology

Ranger Confidential by Andrea Lankford // The real lives of National Park Rangers

A Mile in Her Boots by Jennifer Bove // A compilation of stories from women who work in the wild

A Hunger for High Country by Susan Marsh // Reflections of a female working in the Forest Service in the 1970’s

Now Go Home by Ana Maria Spagna // A trail worker in North Cascades searches for belonging

Pickets and Dead Men by Bree Loewen // A young woman proves herself worthy as a guide on Mount Rainier

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren // The enthralling life journey of a female geobiologist

Found by Bree Loewen // A life in mountain rescue in the Pacific Northwest

Eating Dirt by Charlotte Gill // Memoir of a Canadian tree-planter

Wildfire by Heather Hansen // On the front lines as a female wildfire fighter

Go Find by Susan Purvis // A ski patroller trains her dog to find avalanche victims

Desert

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Canyon Solitude by Patricia C McCaren // A solo river journey through the Grand Canyon

Walking the Gobi by Helen Thayer // A 1600-mile trek through Mongolia’s Gobi desert

Pure Land by Annette McGivney // True story of a young female hiker’s brutal murder in the Grand Canyon

The Turquoise Ledge by Leslie Marmon Silko // Indigenous woman’s memoir of life in the desert of Arizona

The Anthropology of Turquoise by Ellen Meloy // Absorbing essays describing an artist’s travels in the Southwest

Downriver by Heather Hansman // A deep-dive into the future of water in the west

The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin // A classic memoir of living in Death Valley and appreciating first peoples written in the early 1900’s

Water

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

North of Hope by Shannon Huffman Polson // A daughter floats the Alaskan river where her parents were killed by a grizzly bear

Spirited Waters by Jennifer Hahn // A solo kayak trip through the Northwest Passage in Alaska

Paddlenorth by Jennifer Kingsley // Memoir of a 54-day paddling adventure in the northern Arctic

The Fish Ladder by Katharine Norbury // A mother follows a river to its source to find a sense of belonging

Reclaimers by Ana Maria Spagna // Women reclaiming their ancestral lands and rivers

Swell by Liz Clark // 20,000 miles of sailing for surf and enlightenment

Paddling My Own Canoe by Audrey Sutherland // Solo adventure on the coast of Molokai

Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth // A life of diving in the world’s most dangerous caves

History

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery // First woman to hike the Appalachian Trail alone at age 67

Women on High by Rebecca A Brown // Remarkable stories of Victorian-era lady mountaineers

The Accidental Adventurer by Barbara Washburn // Memoir by the first woman to climb Denali

Tatoosh by Martha Hardy // A summer spent as a lady lookout near Mt Rainier in 1943

A Woman’s Place Is At The Top by Hannah Kimberley // A comprehensive biography of Victorian mountaineer Annie Smith Peck

Bold Spirit by Linda Lawrence Hunt // The true story of Helga Etsby who walked across America in 1896

A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird // A collection of letters during a remarkable journey into the American West in 1872

Rural Hours by Susan Fenimore Cooper // Classic nature writing in the vein of Walden and written four years earlier in 1850

Nature

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Phenomenal by Leigh Ann Henion // A new mother travels the world to find natural phenomena and a sense of wonder

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer // An indigenous biologist’s take on the science of nature

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey // An ailing woman finds comfort in closely observing a snail

The Hour of Land by Terry Tempest Williams // An unexpected and diverse take on exploring National Parks

Wild Comfort by Kathleen Dean Moore // Essays of finding solace in nature after loss

The Nature Fix by Florence Williams // The science behind why nature makes us happier and healthier

Nature Obscura by Kelly Brenner // Discovering the nature of the urban world

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil // Gorgeous essays of everyday life steeped in nature

Living Wild

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard // A classic rumination of life in nature

Upstream by Mary Oliver // A prolific poet’s essays on finding beauty in nature

The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd // Meditations on our relationship with nature in the Cairngorms of Scotland

Rough Beauty by Karen Auvinen // A solitary writer rebuilds her work and community after losing everything in a fire

She Explores by Gale Straub // Stories of life-changing adventures on the road and in the wild

Trace by Lauret Savoy // Essays on how America’s history and race leave marks on the landscape

Erosion by Terry Tempest Williams // Powerful essays on the erosion of public lands and democracy in recent years

The Word for Woman is Wilderness by Abi Andrews // A novel based on a female version of Into the Wild

The Way Through the Woods by Long Litt Woon // A memoir of getting lost in mushroom hunting after losing her husband

Miracle Country by Kendra Atleework // Life in a troubled family in the remote Owens Valley, California

Writing Wild by Kathryn Aalto // A collection of 25 women authors who have defined nature writing

There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather by Linda Akeson McGurk // A Scandanavian mom’s practical advice for raising kids in the outdoors

Fiction

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey // A wife finds independence while her husband is exploring Alaska in 1885

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert // A sprawling epic revolving around a female naturist in the turn of the century

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden // A winter fairy-tale based in the medieval Russian forest

The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens // Four strangers lost in the woods must work together to survive

The Middle of Somewhere by Sonja Yoerg // A troubled young widow hikes the John Muir Trail

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center // A beginner hiker signs up for a wilderness survival course and finds love

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens // A young “marsh girl” lives by herself off the land until she is accused of murder

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield // When a young girl found dead in the river Thames comes back to life, the town stirs with stories

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey // A young couple in Alaska builds a snow child who comes to life after unsuccessfully having their own child

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy // A women determined to follow the global migrations of the last of the arctic terns confronts her secrets

*This post contains affiliate links. However, I always encourage finding books at your local library or favorite indie book store.