59 of the Best Outdoor Adventure Movies: From Real to Fiction & Everything in Between

On the days when you can't make it outside, try the next best thing — an outdoor adventure movie! If you need some inspiration, here is a big list of our favorite outdoor adventure films.

1. Into the Wild – Stream on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and Apple TV​
   For a lot of folks, Into the Wild is the definitive outdoor adventure movie. Who hasn’t dreamt of leaving society behind to start a new life in the wilderness?
   
   Based on Jon Krakauer’s excellent book, this tale of adventure and the search for happiness continues to resonate through the years.
   


2. 127 Hours – Available on Prime Video, Google Play, and Apple TV​
   This is probably the movie your mother worries is happening to you when you’re out backpacking. But it’s more than just a cautionary tale about the dangers of leaving the grid without telling anyone your plans.
   
   127 Hours is a gritty, intense look at one man’s fight for survival, with the odds stacked against him. It’s riveting and excellent.
   
   
3. The Revenant – Available on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, and Kanopy
   ​Before we had through-hikers, FKTs, and backpacking-specific toothbrushes, we had explorers. The Revenant is based on the real-life experiences of Hugh Glass, a mountain man who survived a grizzly bear mauling in the 1820s.
   
   This isn’t the movie to watch if you’re worried that every rustle outside your tent is a bloodthirsty bear, but there’s a reason this film was so well received.
   
   
4. Wild – Available on Disney+, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video​
   Wild is another film loosely based on a book, loosely based on reality. It chronicles a new backpacker’s solo journey on the Pacific Crest Trail.
   
   This star-studded film explores the solace hiking brings, along with the introspection, and motivation to deal with personal issues that the wilderness brings.
   
   
5. Tracks – Stream on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play​
   If you like camels, dogs, and Adam Driver, Tracks might be the movie for you. It chronicles one woman’s journey to cross the continent of Australia with four camels and her dogs. A National Geographic reporter, played by Driver, documents.
   
   Tracks delivers a great combination of adventure, drama, and an examination of our relationship with nature and arbitrary goals.
   
   
6. The Way – Available on Peacock, Vudu, and Apple TV ​
   The line between a hike and a pilgrimage is easily blurred, and The Way explores that nuanced relationship. It chronicles the journey of a bereaved father on Camino de Santiago, a historic pilgrimage route.
   
   Our experiences are shaped by those who surround us, and The Way is a reminder that we all bring our own backgrounds and baggage to the mountains, for better and worse.
   
   
7. Kon-Tiki – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play​
   Kon-Tiki is the tale of a grand adventure in the service of science. Five friends set sail on a balsa raft to prove that Polynesian people were capable of sailing thousands of miles, subsiding off the sea.
   
   Who hasn’t wanted to sail off with a loose plan and your best friends? Kon-Tiki was shot simultaneously in Norwegian and English, so choose whichever language you prefer.
   
   
8. Everest – Available on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video​
   Everest leverages a star-studded cast to retell the story of one of the storied peak’s most notorious disasters. It’s set in 1996 and follows the drama of failed summit attempts, unpredictable weather, rescue, and failure.
   
   Everest is a great mainstream portrayal of high-altitude mountaineering that will leave you more worried than ever about the dangers of frostbite.
   
   
9. Rescue Dawn – Stream on Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV, and Roku​
   Rescue Dawn is part war movie and part survival epic. When an American pilot is shot down during the Vietnam War, he must survive inhumane conditions as he attempts to escape and make it home to his family.
   
   If you’re looking for a celebration of grit, determination, and teamwork, Rescue Dawn has you covered.
   
   
10. The Perfect Storm – Available on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Google Play​
    At its most basic, The Perfect Storm is a film about a fishing trip gone terribly, fatally wrong. But in service to that story, it brings an impressive cast, starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, and a unique take on the “man vs. nature” genre.
    
    This film is a great reminder that even with all of our modern technology and preparation, we are tiny ants in comparison to the might of the ocean.
    
    
11. Gorillas in the Mist – Available for rent or purchase on platforms like Apple iTunes, Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Vudu, and YouTube​
    
    So much scientific research sits at the uneasy intersection of advocacy, political turmoil, and wilderness survival. That’s especially true when you’re trying to study endangered gorillas in the Congo, despite the best efforts of poachers.
    
    Gorillas in the Mist is an intense retelling of one woman's journey to dedicate her life to saving the primates she studied.


12. Togo – Available to stream on Disney+, as it’s a Disney Original film​
    Before the Iditarod, there was the Race of Mercy when sled dog teams worked to bring diphtheria antitoxin to stem an outbreak in Nome, Alaska. While Balto, the lead sled dog for the last leg of the journey, typically gets all the credit, Togo led his team through a longer, and arguably more arduous section.
    
    Togo follows this journey, as well as Togo’s relationship with his owner, in a touching story of resilience in the wild.
    
    
13. North Face – Rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes​
    North Face is a dramatic retelling of an attempt to climb the Eiger’s north face in 1936. Inter-group dynamics, weather, and natural hazards lead to drama, and ultimately death.
    
    North face is a riveting tale, and a great reminder of how far climbing tactics and technology have come.
    
    
14. Alive – Stream on services like Max, or rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, and Vudu​
    
    When a plane carrying the Uruguayan rugby team crashes in the Andes, the team must survive the bitter winter as they seek out rescue.
    
    This one isn’t for the faint of heart, as they eventually resort to cannibalism before rescue efforts can reach them.
    
    
15. The Lost City of Z – Available on platforms like Max, and for rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu​
    
    The Lost City of Z chronicles a team of British explorers’ attempts to find a mythical lost city in the Amazon jungle. Each attempt yields promising clues but is thwarted.
    
    This film deals with the thorny issues of colonialism and the classic trope of wealthy lost civilizations deep in the jungle.
    
    
16. Adrift – Stream on Max, or rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, and Apple TV​
    
    When a hurricane damages their boat and cuts off contact with the outside world, a couple must beat the odds to survive and make it back to port.
    
    This film dives deep into the psychology of loss and survival in an unforgiving environment.
    
    
17. Jungle – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu for subscribers, and for rent or purchase on Amazon, Google Play, and Apple TV​
    
    If you’ve ever gone on a bad hiking trip with an unknown leader, Jungle might hit close to home. It chronicles the story of a group of explorers who try to contact a local tribe and instead are hit with setback after setback, leaving them to survive in the titular jungle.
    
    
18. A Walk in the Woods – Rent or buy on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu​
    
    If you’re looking for a lighter film, A Walk in the Woods brings plenty of comedy, along with an exploration of our complicated relationship with outdoor pursuits.
    
    Come ready to laugh, and marvel at how long the Appalachian Trail truly is.
    
    
19. Amundsen – Rent or purchase through Amazon Video, Google Play, and Apple TV​
    
    Amundsen follows the life of Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian who was the first man to reach the South Pole. However, his journeys in the Antarctic and later Arctic are fraught with drama, turmoil, and challenges.
    
    The history of polar exploration is fascinating, and Amundsen is one of its most polarizing players.
    
    
20. Free Solo – Available on Disney+ and Amazon Prime.
    
    If your non-outdoorsy friends have seen one climbing movie, it’s probably this one. And honestly, if you’re only going to watch one, Free Solo is pretty excellent.
    
    Alex Honnold’s feat is chronicled beautifully in this intense and immersive film.
    
    
21. The Dawn Wall – Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.
    
    The Dawn Wall chronicles another legendary Yosemite climb, although this one is less about all-out exposure and more focused on the teamwork and dedication that makes big wall climbing possible.
    
    If you like the nitty-gritty, the scrappy minutia of climbing big walls and establishing new routes, the Dawn Wall is for you.
    


22. Meru – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.
    
    So much of high altitude mountaineering is chronicled in books and articles, static photos, not HD video. But the star-studded cast of Meru did an incredible job documenting their attempts to climb this iconic peak.
    
    Come for the beautiful cinematography, stay for the high-stakes, high-altitude climbing.
    
    
23. The Alpinist – You can watch this on Netflix.
    
    Marc-André Leclerc represented many of the best attributes of hardcore climbers. He was humble, dedicated, driven, and so talented. While he mostly flew under the radar outside of climbing circles during his life, The Alpinist chronicles some of his best climbs, as well as his untimely demise.
    
    This is a great movie about an incredible force in climbing.
    
    
24. Mountain – Available on Amazon Prime.
    
    Mountain is a wide-ranging film about the relationships climbers and other recreationalists have with the peaks they inhabit. Its cast is a who’s-who of mountain sports, from skiing, to climbing, to mountain biking, and the film takes a close look at the motivations of these legendary athletes.
    
    
25. North of the Sun – Streaming options can vary; check Amazon or local rental platforms.
    
    What happens when two young men move north of the Arctic Circle to live simply and surf? North of the Sun covers a Norwegian winter spent surviving, thriving, and surfing frigid waves during the big dark.
    
    It’s a surfing movie with a cold, dark, wintery twist.
    
    
26. Touching the Void – Available on Amazon Prime Video and sometimes Netflix.
    
    Touching the Void chronicles a climbing accident on Siula Grande in the Andes, and its victims’ unlikely survival story. It’s gripping, intense, and all true. This is an iconic climbing documentary, and a timeless story of survival.
    
    
27. Valley Uprising – Watch it on Amazon Prime or RedBull TV.
    
    The Yosemite Valley is home to some of the most iconic climbing in the world. Valley Uprising tells the story of the early years of hippies and climbers establishing routes, and climbing culture, in the national park.
    
    Valley Uprising lays the groundwork for every modern climbing movie set in Yosemite, and is a must-watch for climbers.
    
    
28. The Endless Summer – Available on HBO Max and Amazon Prime.
    
    Endless Summer is the action sports travel movie. It defined the nascent genre. It follows a group of Californian surfers on their quest to skip winter and surf the best waves around the world for a year.
    
    The poster, the soundtrack, and the story are all legendary for a reason, and this is a great watch for surfers and non-surfers alike.
    
    
29. Grizzly Man – Available to stream on Amazon Prime.
    
    Werner Herzog knows how to direct a documentary. Grizzly Man follows the story of Timothy Treadwell who dedicated much of his life to spending time with bears in Alaska. Unfortunately, Timothy and his partner were later killed and eaten by the bears he loved.
    
    Grizzly Man combines found-footage from the hundreds of hours Treadwell shot, along with interviews with people close to the story to tell a compelling tale of a misguided relationship with one of nature’s biggest predators.
    
    
30. Chasing Ice – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV for rent or purchase.
    
    Chasing Ice chronicles the efforts of a photographer to quantify the effect of climate change on glaciers around the world. It’s incredibly beautifully shot, and emotionally moving as these beautiful glaciers calve and disintegrate.
    
    This film does a really good job of bringing visuals to the climate change narrative, and displaying the fragility of the natural world.
    
    
31. Riding Giants – Available on Amazon Prime Video and sometimes YouTube Movies for rent.
    
    There’s surfing, and then there’s big wave surfing. Riding Giants chronicles the history of surfers chasing down and riding the biggest waves possible. It includes legends of the sport, along with incredible footage from some of the scariest waves in the world.
    
    Riding Giants is a beautiful, intense story of big waves, and the people who love them.
    


32. The Barkley Marathons – Available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Tubi (free with ads).
    
    The Barkley Marathons are probably the least traditional running race in the world. Their history is shrouded in secrecy, and the course is fluid, incredibly hard, and again, secretive. To put this event into context: in the first 25 years of the Barkley Marathons, only ten racers even finished the event.
    
    Get ready for a deep dive into the weird, culty, incredibly challenging world of underground ultra running.
    
    
33. Fire of Love – Available on Disney+ and Hulu (U.S.).
    
    Fire of Love chronicles one couple’s journey to document volcanic eruptions. The footage in this film is incredible and overwhelming; for most of us, volcanoes exist as an abstract concept, and this movie makes them very real and concrete.
    
    It’s also the story of their relationship, both with each other, and with the volcanoes that eventually killed them.
    
    
34. My Octopus Teacher – Streaming on Netflix.
    
    This is a film for everyone who dreamed of being a marine biologist growing up. It chronicles one man’s relationship with an octopus, but it also offers a compelling commentary on the nature of intelligence, the intelligence of nature, and the human condition.
    
    This is one of those movies that you don’t expect to hit you emotionally like a ton of bricks, but somehow it does.
    
    
35. 180° South – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    The best climbing trips aren’t about the climb, and 180° South focuses on that journey to the mountains. It chronicles a wild sailing trip from Ventura, California to Patagonia, Chile, to climb the Corcovada volcano.
    
    180° South also serves as a homage to one of the most iconic climbing trips of all time, so if you like climbing history, sailing, and big mountains, this one is for you.
    
    
36. The Wildest Dream – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    The Wildest Dream weaves together the story of George Mallory, who died on Mount Everest, and Conrad Anker, who found his body decades later. The question of whether or not Mallory summited Everest remains unanswered, but this film does a great job of exploring the feasibility of that feat and Mallory’s journey.
    
    
37. Art of Flight – Available for purchase on Apple TV and sometimes on Red Bull TV.
    
    Art of Flight is the snowboard movie. It follows Travis Rice and friends as they take on some of the world’s biggest terrain. Every aspect of production, from the visuals to the soundtrack, to the locations is perfectly chosen.
    
    If you like big lines, big tricks, and big mountains, this is the snowboarding movie for you.
    
    
38. Pedal the World – Available on Netflix in some regions and Amazon Prime Video.
    
    What happens when you leave home to just ride your bike for a year? Pedal the World chronicles one man’s journey to discover the world from the seat of his bicycle. This film isn’t about setting some arbitrary record or racing some set route. Instead, it’s a continent-hopping story about the magic of the bicycle.
    
    
39. Solo – Available on Apple TV for rent or purchase.
    
    While Alex Honnold is synonymous with free solo climbing to many people, he’s far from the only practitioner of the genre. Solo follows Jordi Salas on his journey to climb without ropes or other protection.
    
    This is an intense look at a man’s relationship with the mountains, and himself.
    
    
40. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – Available on Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
    
    The Secret Life of Walter Mitty might just be the best mainstream portrayal of dissatisfaction with the status quo of everyday life leading to increased outdoor recreation. This movie is the “mountains please” bumper sticker of Hollywood, so it should come as no surprise that it resonates with anyone who loves the outdoors.
    
    
41. The Beach – Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Apple TV.
    
    What do you get when you combine a bunch of Hollywood’s hottest actors, a mythical tropical island, and a cannabis farm? Lots of drama, steamy sex, and a survival story.
    
    Is this a surfing movie? No, but it’s got surfers, and Leonardo DiCaprio, so that’s close enough.
    


42. Cast Away – Available on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and Apple TV.
    
    Cast Away might be the most popular “lost on a desert island” movie ever, for good reason. The plot is just believable enough to be compelling, and Tom Hanks delivers an absolutely incredible performance.
    
    This isn’t just a good outdoors movie, it’s a good movie, period.
    
    
43. The Grey – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    Alaska is a popular setting for survival stories, and The Grey focuses on a group of oil refinery workers who must survive in the frozen wilderness while they’re hunted by a pack of wolves.
    
    Liam Neeson is always a compelling protagonist, especially when he’s pitted against the bitter forces of nature.
    
    
44. The Call of the Wild – Available on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
    
    The Call of the Wild might be the definitive Alaskan survival story. This film adaptation follows a domesticated dog which is taken to Alaska where it must survive the harsh winters and a multitude of dangers. It’s a great movie about dogs, about Alaska, and about the nature of dog-human relationships.
    
    
45. The Edge – Available on Starz, or for rent on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu.
    
    The Edge is the spiritual sibling to The Revenant. It follows a group of men after their plane crashes in the bush of Alaska. They’re hunted by a relentless grizzly bear as they try to survive and make it back to civilization.
    
    The Edge is notable for its use of Bart the Bear, a domesticated Kodiak bear, instead of any sort of animated stand-in.
    
    
46. The Lord of the Rings (Series) – All three films are available on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
    
    Is The Lord of the Rings an outdoors movie? Yes. 100%. It’s a movie about one of the gnarliest multi-sport backpacking trips in all of fantasy. Who needs to survive wolves and bears in Alaska when you’ve got Wargs and Orcs in Mordor?
    
    The Lord of the Rings is also shot in some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, in New Zealand, so even if elves and balrogs aren’t your jam, it’s got plenty of real-life eye candy.
    
    
47. White Fang – The 1991 film is on Disney+; the animated Netflix adaptation is available on Netflix.
    
    Jack London knew how to write a survival story, and White Fang is one of his best works. It follows the relationship of a wolf-dog hybrid and his master, as they survive the frigid wilds of Alaska.
    
    
48. The Secret of Roan Inish – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    Irish folklore is ancient, freaky, and downright unsettling. The Secret of the Roan Inish is a great fit if you like windswept shores, selkies, and myths about seal people. It’s a differently-paced movie with a moving story and visuals.
    
    
49. The Emerald Forest – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    If you like movies about children being raised by mysterious tribes, cannibals, and the conflict caused by dam building, The Emerald Forest might be your jam. It’s intense, violent, and beautifully shot, with a conservation message that’s still relevant.
    
    
50. Journey to the Center of the Earth – The 1959 classic and the 2008 remake are available on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
    
    We know more about the highest peaks than we do the deepest reaches of the sea, and we know even less about the inner core of the earth. So of course one of the greatest fictional adventures ever takes our protagonists deep beneath the earth’s crust.
    
    Based on the classic Jules Verne novel, this film is great for any lover of fanciful adventures.
    
    
51. Life of Pi – Available on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
    
    The Life of Pi is technically the story of a young man surviving while being trapped on a small boat with a tiger, but it’s so much more than that. It’s also an intense examination of spirituality, and how we cope with the human condition.
    
    Don’t watch this film expecting answers, instead it will leave you with weighty questions worth thinking over as you recreate in the mountains.
    


52. Swiss Family Robinson – The 1960 Disney version is available on Disney+.
    
    If you ever wanted to run away from home and build a treefort on a desert island, this movie is probably partially responsible for those urges. It’s a classic for a reason, and a must-watch for anyone who loves exploring the outdoors, and creating clever tiger traps for their enemies.
    
    
53. Anaconda – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    Is a giant, terrifying anaconda the ultimate horror movie villain? Maybe. Regardless, if you weren't scared of snakes before you watched this movie, you will be afterward. It’s got plenty of violence, deceit, and yes, terrifyingly large snakes to keep you entertained.
    
    
54. On the Road – Available on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi (free with ads), and Apple TV.
    
    The book On the Road is one of the defining works of the Beat movement, and the film adaptation does its best to pay homage to the original. Follow a group of young beats as they explore the country, their philosophies, and each other's bodies on a sprawling, epic road trip.
    
    Because at the end of the day, the most successful road trips are the ones that help remove writer’s block.
    
    
55. The Mountain Between Us – Available on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Apple TV.
    
    Not many survival movies are set in the mountains of Utah, but The Mountain Between Us is a refreshing take on the “plane crash in the wilderness” trope. Part of that is thanks to its incredible cast. If you’re looking for intense relationship drama coupled with the danger of cougars and dehydration, and trauma bonding, The Mountain Between Us has you covered.
    
    
56. The Secret Garden – Multiple adaptations are available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    The Secret Garden is a classic tale of chronic illness, and the power of nature and imagination to bring a family back together. No, it’s not a traditional outdoor movie, but its themes will resonate with anyone who feels healed when they spend time in nature.
    
    
57. All is Lost – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    All is Lost is a film of few words. Instead, it focuses on the visual drama of solo survival on the high seas. It’s a great take on the “lost at sea” genre, and is an intense, immersive tale about the trials and tribulations of trying to stay alive in one of the least hospitable environments on earth.
    
    
58. The Mosquito Coast – The 1986 film is on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV; the 2021 series adaptation is on Apple TV+.
    
    There’s a common trope that if we just returned to the land, and lived simpler in some sort of jungle utopia, all the troubles of everyday life would fade. The Mosquito Coast is a great reminder that no, wherever we go, there we are. Human nature shows through regardless of the stage. This film includes great acting performances, and a nuanced take on familiar themes.
    
    
59. Flight of the Phoenix – Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
    
    In most movies, when the plane crashes, that’s the end of that. However, the Flight of the Phoenix dares to ask the question “what if we built the broken plane into another plane?” This unconventional tale of survival in the desert, and makeshift engineering is great inspiration for model plane enthusiasts everywhere.