2024 Midwest Adventure Holiday Gift Guide

November 6, 2024

Looking for the best gifts for the midwest adventurer in your life? From gear tailored to adventures you can find near home and afar to local gifts and experiences, here are the best holiday gifts for midwest outdoor lovers:

Why this blog? Hi there! I’m Maddy, and I’ve been spending the last six or so years exploring the midwest as a wilderness guide! I’ve focused mostly on Northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. This past year since moving to Northern Wisconsin, the Porkies have become one of my favorite places to visit and hike. I’m happy to show you around.

oh hey there! this blog uses affiliate links. That means if you choose to make a purchase based on my recommendation, I make a small kickback at no additional cost to you.

from left to right: Sauna Camps near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Car camping in the Shawnee National Forest. Exploring the Keweenaw Peninsula in the winter.

Best Gift Ideas for Midwest Adventure Lovers:

From midwest adventure experiences to outdoor gear, here are the best gift ideas for Midwest hikers, skiers, and adventure lovers:

1) Gift an experience

More and more, people value experiences over material items. Gift the adventure of a lifetime to someone you love! Here are some adventures to consider:

2) A top-notch day pack

Nothing says “have a great adventure” like gifting a hiking day pack! Check out the Cotopaxi Luzon Del Dia 18L for a ultra-packable option, the Gregory Nano 18 for a pack with a 3L water bladder and specialized compartment for keys, or the REI recycled 18L ruckpack for a sleek, minimalist option.

Left: Gregory day pack in a slightly larger size day hiking in the North Cascades . Right: Cotopaxi Luzon while hiking in Olympic National Park.

3) Adventure Guidebooks & Maps

Inspire an adventure by gifting a guidebook and setting your loved ones up for their next adventure! Check out these midwest adventure resources:

note! hiking guidebooks cost money due to printing costs and to compensate writers, editors and researchers. at the same time, i believe that access to the outdoors should be as free as possible. check out all the free, detailed trail guides to many of these regions in my full blog archive.

4) A Puffy Jacket

One of the nicest, more expensive gifts to give your midwest outdoor lover is a puffy jacket. Puffy jackets are thin but very warm jackets designed for the cooler months as a quintessential layer. These jackets are perfect for everything from layering winter camping to meeting friends after work at the bar.

Left: Hiking in the Hoh Rainforest in the Patagonia Nano Puff. Winter hiking and morning coffee in the Stio Pinion Pullover. These are fairly comparable jackets in function, but the Patagonia is a thinner shoulder season layer or midlayer, while the Pinion is down filled and a little warmer with more loft. The photos above really illustrate their different uses accurately.

Check out the wildly popular, top-of-the-line Patagonia Nano Puff for the most classic and sought after puffy, or check out the Helly Hansen Lifaloft for a nearly half as expensive alternative (this is what I own!). Also check out the Fjallraven Expedition X-Latt, the Kari Traa Down Jacket, or the Cotopaxi Capa (several colors deeply discounted!).

I recommend sizing slightly up in a puffy jacket to allow for best fit while layering.

5) Locally-made functional art

One of the most thoughtful gifts to give is locally-made functional art. Here are a few of my favorites for your Midwest adventure lover:

  • check out my etsy shop for handknits from nordic mittens to sweaters 🙂 Use the code GIFTGUIDE for 30% off all my handknits

6) Sauna Experience Gift

Gift a sauna adventure to your Midwest friend who is learning to love the winter! Things like sauna time, cross country skiing, cabin stays and embracing hygge can turn winter from dreaded dark months to someone’s favorite time of year. Start here:

Most beautiful Sauna in Minnesota

Left to right: Sauna Camps, St. James Social, Sisu and Loyly

7) A Bucket-List Cabin Stay

Give the gift of a getaway and book your partner, best friend, mother, or sister a cabin stay! Here are some dreamy getaways you have to check out:

Summer only cabins:

ely log cabin wood fire stove "cabin porn" book

Left: Ely Log Cabin Ely, MN Right: Escape-in-a-frame, Waukesha, WI

Year-round cabin getaways:

8) Gift a tent for Adventures

One of the best gifts you can give to open up a whole world of adventures is a tent for camping! Gifting a tent opens up all sorts of possibilities from hike-in to car camping. Here’s a quick quick guide to choosing the right tent for your Midwest outdoor lover:

image of a campsite at sunrise in the porcupine mountains wilderness state park, michigan

My Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 ultralight backpacker tent I’ve had for years and love! It’s a super light and very small but great for someone looking for something reliable for solo adventures. [CURRENTLY 30% OFF]

Entry-level, budget-friendly, most uses:

The Kelty Late Start 2 is a great budget choice for adventurers looking for the best all around tent for everything from car camping to backpacking on a budget. This is a small tent, best for one person (and maybe a dog).

The next step up both in price and size would be the REI Half Dome 2+. The only reason I would recommend the half dome over the Late Start is if you know the person you’re buying for will want to share their tent with another hiker.

Pricier, top-of-the-line tents:

Big Agnes Copperspur 2 or Copperspur 3, depending if you are a solo camper or want room for a partner. The Copperspur is the perfect tent and I feel very strongly about this.

9) Bedrock Clogs

Okay hear me out. I know they seem a little silly, but think of these as your Birkenstocks on steroids. The Bedrock Clog is your perfect chilly weather meets traction bottom, ideal for days where you might hit the trail between errands (which is my ideal version of life but very much not real for me).

Looking out over islands at a rocky overlook in Ely Minnesota

They’re the shoes you throw on when you’re done with your long hike before you go walk the rocky shore to watch the sunset. They’re the shoes you throw on when you finish up your paddling trip and finally get dry socks on. They’re the shoes you throw on on the way to the grocery store. You get it.

10) Patagonia Black Hole Duffle

The Patagonia Black Hole Duffle is the perfect gift for the travel lover in your life. I’ve had my duffle for seven years and still use it regularly, for everything from international travel to car camping.

11) A Wintergreen Jacket

Gift the classic, Ely, Minnesota-made Wintergreen Jacket. These beautiful jackets are specially designed for harsh winter conditions and make the perfect heirloom-ready gift.

12) Cold-weather Down Sleeping Bag

Give the gift of an extended camping season with a cold weather-ready down sleeping bag. Check out the Nemo Disco 15, the Sea to Summit Ascent 15, or custom order an Enlightened Equipment (Midwest-based!) down sleeping quilt.

13) Wintery cozy sweaters

No gift hits quite light a cozy sweater. Here are some of my 2025 winter sweater picks to dial in the hygge:

a hiker on a trail near Kawishiwi Falls, Minnesota, Ely

14) Socks (no for real though)

For some reason a good pair of socks actually makes for a truly excellent gift, whether as a stocking stuff or something thoughtful and small for a close friend. Here are the best cozy sock choices for anything from winter hiking to lounging:

Just me and my darn toughs hiking in the red river gorge!

15) Luci Lights

A fun present for the frequent car camper in your life, Luci solar-powered string lights might seem a little silly at first, but they are actually a super fun thing to add to your camp.

I used these as a light in my Subaru while I was solo car camping this spring, and while living in a canvas tent to basecamp while guiding all summer, a set of Luci solar-powered string light near the screen of the tent to charge during the day made it feel like we had light features all year in the tent. These have also been super fun to break out at women’s hiking meet ups and big group camping when we’re setting up basecamp.

16) Coffee Subscriptions & Luxury-Granola Bars

Give a year round gift that cuts grocery expenses in gifting a coffee subscription to the coffee lover in your life. Personally, I love Minnesota-based Ember Coffee Co for rich, full-bodied coffee.

a cup of hot coco at sunset in porcupine mountains wilderness state park, michigan

morning coffee while backpacking the porcupine mountains!

Gifts like coffee subscriptions and edible treats that go beyond groceries make a really wonderful gift on two fronts– your giftee is saved the expense of buying their own coffee, while also getting something perhaps a little nicer than they would buy for themselves. Along the same vein also check out Olympia Granola, Gluten-free delicious granola bars made in Wisconsin.

17) Toe Socks: simultaneously a gag gift and a real gift

I simultaneously love these and think they’re hilarious. When it was chilly this summer I’d wear them with my bedrock sandals and they were basically a jump scare. It was excellent.

18) Shop Wild Brush Handmade Packs

Gift a handmade backpacking bag, hip belt, or chalk bag from Wild Brush, (aka @wyldjules on Instagram). Julianne makes absolutely awesome, beautiful gear that makes for the perfect gift for the outdoor adventurer who loves art and is looking for something a little more special than what you can find at REI.

19) Madi Stitches National Park Sweaters

Give the gift of a thoughtful sweater inspired by your favorite national park! Feel like there’s never any good Midwest merch? Check out Madi Stitches’ national park sweaters for Sleeping Bear Dunes, Isle Royale, Mammoth Cave, and Cuyahoga Valley! Or check out the Madi Stitches T-shirts here.

20) Trekking poles

Looking for a life-improving gift for the hiker in your life who loves to go a distance? Check out a set of trekking poles. Trekking poles make a huge difference on tricky terrain and are pretty much essential for any backpacker with knee problems (me).

21) Snowshoes

Snowshoes are the perfect gift for someone looking to get into winter outdoor sports. Snowshoeing is a great workout, and allows you to get out into the winter without necessarily having to learn to ski or ice skate. Check out…

A few quick things to keep in mind when buying snowshoes:

If you plan to snowshoe on ice, you’ll want to make sure there are decent studs or spikes in the bottom, some sort of metal hardware for traction. Microspikes might be a better choice for frequently hiked trails. In general, the larger/longer the snowshoe, the more “float” you’ll have in snow. Snowshoes are best used for breaking trail or hiking in heavy snow areas. I use snowshoes for hiking on frozen lakes and exploring the land near my grandparents house where there are no trails in the winter.

When hiking on the North Shore, however, most trails are well broken within two miles of a trailhead and microspikes make for a better choice.

Love reading about gifts for midwest adventure lovers? Check out these midwest adventures:

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