Skip To Main Content
Melanie Haiken on Muck Rack

Melanie Haiken

(She/Her)
Marin County, San Francisco
As seen in: CNN Travel, Forbes, MSN, MSN Australia, BBC, Business Insider, Business Insider Singapore, Aol, National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler and
Covers:  Travel, Sustainability, the Outdoors, Science, and the Environment
Doesn't Cover: Executives, human interest, employment, beauty, city lists, book publications
Freelance journalist covering science, environment, travel, health, and food Bylines @natgeo @BBC MelanieHaiken.com & Health-Conscious-Travel.com

Get in touch with Melanie

Contact Melanie, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Melanie Haiken’s Biography

Read Full Bio →

Melanie Haiken is an award-winning San Francisco Bay Area-based journalist specializing in travel, science, food, wine, sustainability, the environment and the outdoors. Her work appears regularly in more than 30 publications, including  National Geographic, BBC, Parade, CNN, Condé Nast Traveler, Sierra, AFAR, Lonely Planet, Marin, Diablo, and AARP. Formerly an executive-level editor for magazines as diverse as San Francisco, The Industry Standard, Parenting and Health, she operate on two simpl…

Melanie Haiken’s Journalist Portfolio

See all →
Kanaye Nagasawa: The samurai who forever changed California

Kanaye Nagasawa: The samurai who forever changed California

The wine country of Sonoma County owes much of its success to Kanaye Nagasawa, whose stranger-than-fiction st…

View article →
It's the world's newest whale species-and it's already endangered

It's the world's newest whale species-and it's already endangered

Scientists just discovered a new species, Rice's whale, and there are only 51 of them left in the world. The …

View article →
Meet the Women Who Are Revitalizing Jordan's Art and Craft Traditions - Hemispheres

Meet the Women Who Are Revitalizing Jordan's Art and Craft Traditions - Hemispheres

From mosaics to weaving, to artisanal food, the craft traditions of Jordan are experiencing a Renaissance and…

View article →
The Winery Bringing Back Venice's Lost Golden Grape

The Winery Bringing Back Venice's Lost Golden Grape

An ancient grape thought lost, found growing in a graveyard, and reintroduced to create a rare and coveted It…

View article →
Following in the Footsteps of J.R.R. Tolkien in Switzerland's Mystical Lauterbrunnen Valley

Following in the Footsteps of J.R.R. Tolkien in Switzerland's Mystical Lauterbrunnen Valley

The Swiss Alps inspired writer J.R.R. Tolkien to create the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Everything you need…

View article →
The Rise of Indigenous Travel: How to Spend Your Tourism Dollars to Benefit Native People

The Rise of Indigenous Travel: How to Spend Your Tourism Dollars to Benefit Native People

In the American southwest, on the American plains, and in British Columbia, three places where Indigenous peo…

View article →

Articles

These 11 National Parks Have the Most Spectacular Fall Foliage in the U.S.

|
By Melanie Haiken
| AFAR Verified
This article originally appeared online in August 2018; it was most recently updated on August 10, 2026, to include current information. Erika Owens and Danielle Hallock contributed to the reporting of this story. With the glowing golds of aspens and hickories, the burnt orange of sumac, and the vermilions and plums of oaks and maples, the turning of the leaves in the United States every autumn is one of nature’s most spectacular displays.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

The Sound of Silence: Gear Review of QuietOn Noise-Canceling Ear Plugs |

|
By Melanie Haiken
| health-conscious-travel.com
Last week I spent four days at an enormous music festival in central New York, sleeping in a trailer and grateful - but deafened - for the generator that kept our 80s-vintage trailer cool in 85-degree heat and dripping humidity. The week before that, on the opposite side of the country in the cool of Northern California, I was tucked in a canvas tent in a hip family-friendly new glamping resort on the Russian River surrounded by the shrieking of happy free-running children.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

5 Charming Swiss Towns for Fondue, Medieval Castles, and Alpine Lakes

|
By Melanie Haiken
| AFAR Verified
This article was originally published in 2022 and most recently updated on July 21, 2026, with current information. Travel around Switzerland and you’ll pass one perfectly picturesque village after another. In winter, chalets with scalloped eaves and half-timbered houses plastered in bright pastels are dusted with snow; in spring and summer, plazas ringed by buildings bedecked with flower boxes hum with visitors.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 376 licensed articles (385 Total)

Interview

See all →

What was your first job as a journalist?

I worked as a features writer for the Newhall Signal - today the Santa Clarita Signal. And wrote the obituaries.

What tools and software do you use to do your job?

Wordpress, Otter, Google Docs, Apple Voice Memos, numerous content management systems (CMS,) the phone, and my endless curiosity.

Who do you wish followed you?

Jon Krakauer