Stephanie Barnhart@missstephanieb
Less scrolling.
More living.
From city rooftops to mountaintop sunrises.
I’m a New York journalist and single mom who found the secret to happiness in the mountains. It wasn’t money. It was connection. Now I help families trade screen time for snow, trails and open water.
- The New York Times
- HuffPost
- Sports Illustrated
- NBC Nightly News
- NY Metro Parents
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The corner of the internet that tells you to log off. Skiing and snowboarding, hiking and biking, affordable family adventures, positive outdoor news and gear that’s actually worth buying.
Look for Three Good Things Outdoors, seasonal guides and stories from the road.
Hi, I’m Stephanie.
The city
I spent years as an editor in New York City, writing for outlets including The New York Times, HuffPost and Sports Illustrated. By 10, my son Max had seen more of the city than most people do in a lifetime.
The mountains
Then the mountains got us. The Catskills, the Adirondacks and the White Mountains of New Hampshire changed us. Now we live between New York and New Hampshire: rooftop cocktails one weekend, sunrise on a summit the next.
The secret
Raising a kid on my own in the most expensive city in the world taught me one thing, and it changed how we live.
Read my full storyA good life doesn’t take money. It takes connection. To nature, to the people you love, to yourself.
Ever look at your kid and worry?
Wonder if you’re doing enough, giving them what they really need? We’re all raising kids in a scary world, and nobody gets it perfect. Max is a typical kid. He loves his phone, and after too much screen time he can be downright nasty. So I made a call: we’re going outside.
It worked. Here’s what we found.
Skiing & snowboarding
How does a single mom in the most expensive city in the world get her kid 50-plus days on snow a season? Not with money. With the right passes, knowing where to find the deals, shared rides and a mountain community that shows up for each other. If we can do it, so can you.
Read ski stories on Save the StokeBackcountry
The first time Max skinned uphill, I watched my screen-loving kid turn into someone I barely recognized: focused, proud, alive. At 12, he carried his skis into Tuckerman Ravine and skied it down. We got there one careful step at a time, and your family can start the same way.
Read backcountry stories on Save the StokeHiking & biking
The day we hiked down barefoot. The January afternoon Max fell into an icy, rushing stream three miles from the trailhead. Mistakes happen out there. The mountains will teach you whether you’re ready or not. Go in humble.
Explore Great OutdoorsFishing & ice fishing
The same kid who could scroll all day sets his own alarm to walk to the pond at dawn. From lakers through two feet of Adirondack ice to salmon on the Salmon River, fishing is where Max slows down. Every kid has a reset button. Let’s find yours.
Read fishing stories on Save the StokeFamily adventure travel
Canada, Europe and a lot of long drives with a kid in the back seat. I’ll take you to the mountain towns, lake days and croissant stops worth crossing the border for, and show you how we pull it off on a real budget.
Explore travelNew York City
We never gave up the city. Playgrounds, museums, rooftops and the best free things to do with a kid in the five boroughs. The mountains are half of our balance. New York is the other half.
Explore NYCEats
Bagels before the drive north, diners on the way to the trailhead and the New York spots worth the wait. Good food is half the adventure.
Explore EatsGear & gift guides
I don’t baby my gear. It gets skied, soaked, frozen, dragged up mountains and packed for one more trip. Nobody tests gear harder than we do, so if it makes my list, it earned its spot.
Read gear picks on Save the Stoke
Work with me
Families trust me because I’m a journalist, not a billboard. I take your product up the mountain, onto the ice and across the border, then tell the story the way a friend would. That’s the kind of story people actually read, save and share.
Stories run across Save the Stoke on Substack and Instagram (@save_thestoke), my own Instagram @missstephanieb and my websites.
Think there’s an angle for a story or pitch? Let’s talk.
Media kit and rates available on request.
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