''Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure'' was the longest-running outdoor "how-to" adventure public television series. It aired in the USA on non-commercial public television stations, distributed first by American Public Television, Boston, and later by National Educational Telecommunications Association, Columbia, South Carolina.
Overview
''Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure'' was a six-time
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-nominated series that brought the outdoors to millions of viewers each week. The series premiered in 1993 and, at its peak, was available to over 80 million households via
Public Television
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
as well as the
Outdoor Life Network
OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language Category A specialty channel. OLN primarily broadcasts factual-based and adventure-related reality programming aimed at male audiences. OLN is wholly owned by Rogers Sports & ...
. Internationally, ''Trailside'' was seen on NHK in Japan, TSN in Canada and NBC's Super Channel in 32 European countries.
Episodes were originally produced by New Media, Inc., based in Westport, Connecticut (Seasons 1–3). In seasons 1 and 2, the series was partnered with Rodale Publications' ''Backpacker Magazine'' and hosted by John Viehman, ''Backpackers editor. Eventually, Rodale wanted a greater ownership in the series, and failing that split off to create their own ''Anyplace Wild'' program.
Mountaineer Peter Whittaker took over hosting duties, as the series continued to team him up with guest experts providing the audience information with tips and advice on popular outdoor activities. Going into the fourth season, New Media was taken over by TLN Productions based out of
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Under TLN's executive producer Steven Vocino's direction, the series found new sponsorship opportunities around the world.
The series was underwritten by
Chevy Trucks, L.L. Bean and Hi-Tec apparel in Seasons 1 and 2. Other sponsors over the following two years included Chevy Trucks, Weider Nutrition and Michelin Tires. Additional sponsors included local, regional, State and international tourism agencies.
External links
Archive of official website
PBS original programming