Joel Balsam

Read the latest articles by Joel Balsam at Thrillist

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Travel

Explore adventure guides and design a custom itinerary for the destination of your choice in and around the city.

Best Travel Guides, Cool Hotels and Interesting Events - Thrillist

While airports across the world remain complete and utter chaos, it might be time to travel somewhere closer to home.

Canada's Epic Wilderness Has Glamping Trip Written All Over It

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Calling Ontario massive is an understatement.

The Most Beautiful Places in Ontario You Never Knew About

Photo courtesy of Destination Canada

Imagine everything that makes Alaska so epic (Northern Lights included); multiply it across a country six times as large; add cities with rich food, wine, and music; and you get Canada.

The Most Beautiful Places in Canada

Rerouting

Photo courtesy of Montana Office of Tourism

“Anymore,” as locals here tend to start proclamatory sentences, “Missoula isn’t what it used to be.”

This Montana Mountain Town Is an Outdoorsy Paradise

Photo courtesy of Destination Toronto

Back during the 2016 election, many Americans joked that they’d move north if Trump was elected.

How to Move to Canada, You Know, Just in Case

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National parks might be “America’s best idea,” but that idea—and the vast swaths of epic nature it preserves—doesn’t end at the border.

The 8 Best National Parks in Canada

Hidden Gems

With Hidden Gems, we’ll seek out the kitschy, bizarre, creative, oddly beautiful gems around the world.

Hidden Gems: Uncovering Under-the-Radar Local Spots Near You

Photo by Stephanie Foden

Pick a town or small city in rural USA for your summer road trip and you’re bound to get a lot of the same.

Discover Louisiana's French Roots in the Heart of Cajun Country

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JOHN DENVER WAS ON TO SOMETHING when he declared West Virginia "almost heaven" in “Country Roads," despite never having been there when he sang it: the state is a place of dizzying beauty.

America’s Newest National Park Is Packed with Scenic Wonder and Eerie Ghost Towns

Photo by Stephanie Foden for Thrillist

At a warehouse in an industrial area of New Orleans, 400 screaming fans boo and cheer simultaneously as Jassy—an evil capitalist real estate “invest-her”—gets dragged to the wrestling ring by her gigantic fake breasts.

Watch Drag Queens Smack Down at New Orleans’ Wildest Event of the Year

pisaphotography/Shutterstock

After a two-year hiatus, America’s most legendary street festival is back, baby: Mardi Gras.

Yes, Mardi Gras Is Happening This Year: Here's What to Expect

This Mexican Surf Town Is Heaven for Beach Bums and Digital Nomads

John Fowler/Unsplash

New Mexico ranks in the top two weirdest states, and it sure as hell isn’t number 2.

Joel Balsam’s Recent Articles

Canada's Epic Wilderness Has Glamping Trip Written All Over It

Escapism without the survival-ism.

The Most Beautiful Places in Ontario You Never Knew About

Time to move beyond Niagara.

The Most Beautiful Places in Canada

Niagara Falls is just the start.

This Montana Mountain Town Is an Outdoorsy Paradise

Missoula—AKA Zootown—might be Big Sky Country's best-kept secret.

How to Move to Canada, You Know, Just in Case

Everything you need to (legally) move north.

The 8 Best National Parks in Canada

When you’ve exhausted Zion and Yosemite, it’s time to go north.

Discover Louisiana's French Roots in the Heart of Cajun Country

Find some joie de vivre here—and po' boys.

America’s Newest National Park Is Packed with Scenic Wonder and Eerie Ghost Towns

New River Gorge finally gets its due.

Watch Drag Queens Smack Down at New Orleans’ Wildest Event of the Year

At this drag wrestling show, the phrase “slay, queen” gets taken literally.

Yes, Mardi Gras Is Happening This Year: Here's What to Expect

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

This Mexican Surf Town Is Heaven for Beach Bums and Digital Nomads

Come for the surf, stay for the fish tacos.

New Mexico Might Just Be the Trippiest State in the U.S.

Art, tent rocks, and aliens are everywhere.