Illinois

An olive branch to Outdoor Retailer: An editorial from the Salt Lake City Tribune makes a case for the return of the industry’s largest trade show to Utah. [The Salt Lake City Tribune] A Colorado ski resort to reopen: Arapahoe Basin will resume limited operations for spring ...read more

The first time Dan Epstein visited his wife's family's outdoor store, Champaign Surplus, he left daydreaming about leaving his corporate finance job and one day wearing his favorite gear to work. The store was originally an appliance and surplus shop, opened in 1947 by Shira ...read more

A decade ago, hikers had dreams of building a 550-mile loop around the San Francisco Bay Area for millions of people to enjoy. With the support of REI, there’s less than 200 miles left to go. “You can imagine the wonder and sense of accomplishment when people go end to end on the ...read more

Vermont is doing the best at loving Mother Earth and West Virginia is doing the worst, according to a new survey by WalletHub that ranked all 50 states based on the current health of the environment and residents’ environmental-friendliness. "Without a doubt, the bar for being ...read more

With the closure of Alpine Shop’s only Illinois location, owners Lisa and Russell “Holly” Hollenbeck say the good far outweighs the bad. “Our entire focus will be on growing and expanding and not, ‘What happened to O’Fallon?’” said Lisa Hollenbeck. “It’ll free up cash to do ...read more

Champaign Surplus, the largest locally owned and operated specialty outdoor retailer in the central Illinois area, is rebranding and expanding after 71 years in business. Its name is changing to Champaign Outdoors and its one building will multiply to three, expected to open at ...read more