The New Rules of Adventure
Chapter One: Maine
Little known fact: There are hundreds of water-accessed first ascents to be notched along the eastern seaboard. And Maine—whose sinuous coastline is home to thousands of craggy islands and inlets with faces that are rarely, if ever, climbed—is an epicenter. No one knows this better than renowned adventurer and author Mark Synnott, who has been pioneering boat-accessed climbing in the region. This past summer, he invited his old friends Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington Downeast to see what it’s all about—and we tagged along for the adventure.
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From exploring boat-accessed climbing in Maine to touring the country’s first backcountry ski resort in Colorado, there’s never been a better time to be a modern adventurer
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COMING SOON
Emily Harrington is one of the most successful and versatile professional climbers in the world. She’s a five-time national sport climbing champion, and was runner up in the 2005 Sport Climbing World Championships. Since shifting her focus away from competition, Emily has completed numerous first female ascents. This past November, Harrington became the first woman to climb El Capitan’s Golden Gate route, becoming the first woman to achieve this feat and the fourth woman ever to free-climb El Capitan in a day.
Emily Harrington
Adrian Ballinger is a world-class mountaineer, skier, and business leader. As the founder and lead guide of Alpenglow Expeditions, Adrian’s focus on small groups, speed ascents, education, and safety is changing the way big mountains are climbed. As a professional athlete, Adrian is the only American to have completed three 8,000-meter peaks, was the first person to ski Manaslu, the eighth tallest mountain in the world, and, in 2019, became the fourth American to climb K2 and Everest without supplemental oxygen.
Adrian Ballinger
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Being in Maine has been about so much more than just the climbing. Being on the water, eating great food, and just exploring.
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Boat-accessed climbing opens up a whole new world of possibilities. What Mark has shown us here in Maine is just a taste.
Mark Synnott is a New York Times bestselling author, elite big wall climber/mountaineer, and one of the most prolific adventurers of his generation. His search for unclimbed and unexplored rock walls has taken him on more than 30 expeditions around the world. Based out of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, where he runs Synnott Mountain Guides, he has been pioneering boat-accessed climbing in the Northeast. His next book, The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest, is due out in April of 2021.
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For years now, I've been cruising all over the coast of Maine, searching for rocks that can only be accessed by boat.
Mark Synnott
Chapter Two: Utah
Chapter Three: Florida
Chapter Three: Florida
Chapter One: Maine
Chapter Two: Utah
Find Your Adventure
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The Northeast, from upstate New York to New England, is the geographic ideal for the new era, with spacious world-class experiences everywhere—whether you crave cycling singletrack, gravel-grinding country roads, surfing off the Atlantic coast, or savoring a solitary, off-the-grid getaway. COVID restrictions vary by state and individual business, so be sure to do your homework to ensure you’re abiding by all local guidelines.
New Rules of Adventure: The Northeast
It’s “the most fun you can have at two miles per hour,” says David Nunn, director and certified off-road instructor for the Land Rover Experience Center in Equinox, Vermont. He’s speaking of the adrenaline rush of putting the 2020 Defender through its extremely capable paces at a comprehensive one-day COVID-modified class, during which instructors lead in a separate vehicle and get out to spot and advise drivers on the most challenging terrain. The day culminates in a summit of 3,855-foot Equinox via rugged backroads. In keeping with the stealth theme, stay at the Reluctant Panther, a luxurious inn in Manchester Village.
Off-Road Like a Pro
Land Rover Experience Center
Equinox | Vermont
The Arnold House is tucked into one of coolest corners of the Catskills and spreads out on 80 acres over Shandelee Mountain, 116 miles northwest of New York City, with 14 rooms of varying sizes in three separate buildings. Fly-fish on the iconic Willowemoc Creek or bring Fido and play fetch in the surrounding meadows. With packaged breakfasts, a thoughtfully prepared picnic lunch, and extra outdoor seating around the hotel, there’s no need to go inside. But if you must warm up, the downstairs Tavern, with more-spacious reconfigured seating, is an inviting spot to sip hot cider and play billiards. In February, don’t miss the annual Ice Fishing Derby accompanied by an oyster bar and cocktails around a fire.
Livingston Manor | New York
The Arnold House
escape to the catskills
DIY home-improvement projects have skyrocketed in popularity, but Grain Surfboards, a sustainable-surfboard company based in York, Maine, takes it to the next level, offering four-day wooden-surfboard-making workshops. With a class size limited to four people (50 percent of its normal capacity), a set of tools for each participant, and ample cleaning supplies at each station, Grain will send you home with a chest full of pride and an exquisitely shaped board. “So far it’s feeling very safe,” says founder Mike Lavecchia. “Our shop is pretty open-air, and we work outside as much as possible.” Stay at the elegant waterfront Stonesthrow Boutique Hotel overlooking Long Sands Beach.
York | Maine
Grain Surfboards
Craft a Sustainable Surfboard
Need something to look forward to? What could be better than a six-day custom cycling trip through coastal beach communities between Portland and Kennebunkport next summer in search of the world’s best lobster roll? “One of the great things about Maine,” says Norman Patry, founder of luxury-tour operator Summer Feet Cycling, “is that we can eat locally sourced food year-round. The state has got such a rich farming, livestock, and fishing tradition that we can easily find farm-to-table restaurants, eat outside, and meet the chefs who will tell us what the food is and why they chose it.” Spoiler alert: per Patry, the world’s best lobster roll can be found (and consumed at a picnic table) within view of Portland’s iconic Head Light.
Maine Coast
Summer Feet Cycling
Eat Your Way Through Maine
The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, New England’s only national marine sanctuary, is just 25 miles east of Boston, at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay. And at 842 square miles, it offers plenty of open space. “There really isn’t any sheltered water—this is out on the open ocean with several species of whales, dolphins, and sea birds,” says Anne Smrcina, the sanctuary’s education and outreach coordinator. It also happens to be one of the best places in the world to watch humpback whales migrate south through the end of October. Reserve a spot for 2021 on a high-speed Boston Harbor Cruises catamaran whale-watching trip—the season starts back up again in March. The New England Aquarium naturalist on board will explain the giant beasts’ fascinating behaviors. Stay at The Green Turtle, a houseboat moored at the historic Charlestown Navy Yard. Its COVID precautions include ozone sterilization between guests.
Boston Harbor | Massachusetts
Stellwagan Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Spot Large Mammals
“If you can’t go to Tuscany, go to New England,” says Lauren Hefferon, the founder of U.S.-based Italian cycle-tour company Ciclismo Classico which is now booking trips for Spring 2021. “New England is very similar to Italy in that it has microeconomies. Every little village tells a story.” Applying the same attention to detail and luxury that she did for the guests on her cycling routes across the Atlantic, Heffernon has turned to her hometown of Keene, New Hampshire, and surrounding countryside to craft a cycling tour that includes riding through rolling landscapes along lazy rivers; visiting beekeepers, maple-sugar farms, and other cottage industries; and ending the 30-mile day with the best local cuisine.
Keene | New Hampshire
Ciclismo Classico
Take a European-Style Cycling Tour
“People come here to let the outside world melt away,” says Elsa Schultz, the general manager of Highland Lodge in Greensboro, Vermont, “our cabins have no cell service or Wi-Fi, as we seek to create a bubble of peace and quiet and calm.” This historic B&B and its surrounding private cabins with kitchenettes sprawl across 123 acres on the shores of Caspian Lake, in Vermont’s storied Northeast Kingdom. A spidery network of quiet gravel roads, many of which are used by the 70- and 100-kilometer Rasputista Spring Classic gravel races, are right out the door. The 100 miles of East Burke’s Kingdom Trail singletrack network are a 40-minute drive away, and open for fat-biking, snow-shoeing, and cross-country skiing. The lodge is also connected to the nordic trails of Craftsbury Outdoor Center, which also grooms separate fat-bike and snowshoe loops.
Greensboro | Vermont
Highland Lodge
Fat Bike and cross-country ski
A half-mile from Mount Greylock, the Berkshire peak celebrated by Thoreau and Melville, stands the Tourists Boutique Hotel, 48 chic rooms on the banks of the Hoosic River. Since opening in 2018, it’s been a magnet for guests who like to play hard by day and return to the comfort of a cozy bed by night. As an extra precaution, the hotel is open Thursday to Sunday nights (to take time for cleaning), has a three-night minimum stay, and has closed all indoor common spaces to guests. But the five roomy suites are oases unto themselves, with sunny rooms and private decks overlooking thick forest. Each one is an ideal spot from which to set out for a wintery hike or snowshoe on the Appalachian Trail or snuggle in and finally finish Moby Dick.
North Adams | Massachusetts
Tourists Boutique Hotel
Snowshoe the appalachian trail
“Maine has all these adventures you can do, all of which are spectacular unto themselves,” says Noah Kleiner, owner of Equinox Guides. “Just doing one would be epic, but the next day you can do something completely different.” In this case, spend a day learning the basics of ice climbing, from how to use the tools and crampons to how to tie knots and belay on mellow ice falls in Camden State Park. The next day, ski the town-owned slopes of Camden Snow Bowl, which is so close to the Atlantic it feels you might just ski into the ocean. Stay in hip new 16 Bay View boutique hotel. As Kleiner says, “Maine hasn’t changed much because of Covid. The Maine way is to be outside.”
Camden | Maine
Equinox Guides
Ice Climb and Alpine Ski
“Mount Washington is the iconic peak of the Northeast,” says Mark Synnott, renowned mountaineer, author, and owner of Synnott Mountain Guides. His company offers a one-day Intro to Backcountry Skiing course at Tuckerman Ravine or the Gulf of Slides, both on the slopes of Mount Washington. There’s no better time than now to learn the essentials of backcountry skiing, when many lift-served ski resorts have COVID rules that limit ticket sales or require advanced reservations. Synnott’s one-day course covers skinning up and kick-turning down, avalanche awareness, and taking care of gear. Synnott recommends staying in North Conway at the one-of-a-kind Adventure Suites, which has themed rooms, such as a Flintstones-esque “cave” and a Haunted Castle suite.
White Mountains | New Hampshire
Synnott Mountain Guides
Learn to Backcountry Ski on the Everest of the Northeast
One of Stowe’s newer luxury hotels also happens to be one of its hippest. Field Guide Lodge, in the heart of downtown Stowe, has every accommodation style from double-occupancy lodge rooms to eight-person cottages . And the surrounding Green Mountains offer a slice of alpine heaven for everyone: mountain-bike Stowe’s seemingly endless network of singletrack, hike or run one of dozens of trails, or slow down and take a naturalist-guided birding expedition with Audubon Vermont. When the snow flies, Stowe’s 150 kilometers of groomed nordic trails and internationally acclaimed Stowe Mountain Resort are just steps away. Nice touch: to keep it real during COVID, the hotel allows cancellations up to 24 hours prior to check-in without penalty.
Stowe | Vermont
Field Guide Lodge
Base Camp in style
Because the ski terrain is spread across 600 acres and is accessible by one single and three double chairlifts, Vermont’s legendary steep and deep skier-owned mountain is an ideal spot to social distance while skiing this winter. But the management is taking Covid very seriously: “We want to stress that we expect full compliance from our visitors in regards to the Vermont travel restrictions,” says marketing and events manager Ry Young. “Believe it or not, not everyone knows those restrictions are in place and getting that message across is paramount.” Because the mountain is prioritizing pass holders over lift-ticket holders, it may even make sense to invest in a $769 pre-season adult season pass. Get on it before the deal ends October 15.
Fayson | Vermont
Mad River Glen
Ski It If You Can
Not all adventures have to be epic. Gilded, a stylish luxury boutique hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, celebrates the finer things in life, with designer guest rooms fit for Gatsby, grab-and-go breakfasts featuring savory treats and fresh baked goods, and a bring-your-own-spirits mixer bar, so you have no excuse for not crafting the perfect drink (and no bartender from whom to contract COVID). Considering this is the renowned sailing hub of Newport Harbor, get on the water and take a sailing lesson through the end of October with Newport Sailing School and Tours. Or keep it simple and take in the stunning coastal views and Gilded Age mansions while strolling the 3.5-mile Cliff Walk, a few blocks from the hotel.
Newport | Rhode Island
Gilded
Sneak in a late-season sail
From backcountry ski resorts and a new via ferrata to secluded solar-powered huts and a grand loop through beloved hot springs, the state remains on the cutting edge of modern adventures—many of which are within striking distance of Denver.
New Rules of Adventure: Colorado
The cliffs of Ouray, ice-climbing capital of the world, are the fitting home to Colorado’s newest via ferrata—850 iron rungs of airy traverses, staircases, and vertiginous gorge crossings on the exposed walls of Uncompahgre Canyon. “The crux is what we call the Sky Stair,” says Mark Luppenlatz, whose San Juan Guides provide gear and guides for a half-day outing. “You walk a 75-foot span of the gorge that rises at a 35-degree angle, with cables a-wobbling.” The via ferrata was put in by local rock and ice farmers—“people who like to hang from ropes all day and drill holes.” Meaning it shows off the beauty of the place while serving up challenges and pulse-racing exposure. Best of all it’s free, if you have the right gear. Or rent a kit from San Juan Guides at their shop in town. The route will open up again next Spring when the ice melts.
Ouray | Colorado
Ouray Via Ferrata
Climb Colorado’s Newest Via Ferrata
If COVID has you queasy about jammed gondolas, or if you’re just tired of the big ski areas, a mom-and-pop resort like Wolf Creek in southwest Colorado could be your ticket. It’s almost never crowded, and there’s plenty of room to roam over 1,600 acres (and lots of backcountry too). And the snow: this place boasts the most snow in Colorado and got its first foot a week after Labor Day. The ski area has been running since 1939, and in the same family, the Pitchers, for 41 years. And while a down-home feeling pervades the resort, it’s not all retro vibes—Wolf Creek recently became the country’s first all-solar-powered ski area.
Wolf Creek Pass | Colorado
Wold Creek Ski Area
Ski Colorado’s Snowiest Resort
“I tell people, come for the mountains, stay for the dark skies,” says Charley Ellison of Dark Skies Vacations. But more often these days, it’s the other way around. Charley rents out a collection of secluded rural cabins with views of the Sangre de Cristos by day and dazzling skies by night. They’re all in the vicinity of Westcliffe (about three hours south of Denver), the first certified Dark Sky Community in Colorado. Lack of city lights, low humidity, and 300 clear nights a year all add up to superb atmospherics. The hot tip is to book an architectural showcase called Rancho Bendito, which has its own 17-inch telescope, but bring your own scopes to savor celestial showtime at any of the properties. Or head into Westcliffe’s Bluff Park and gawk through the scope at Smokey Jack Observatory. Spend daytime hiking, fishing, riding, or just gazing at the Sangres while waiting for the sun to go down
Westcliffe | Colorado
Dark Skies Vacations
Book a Dark-Sky Rental
They look so cool in the magazines. Could you live in one? Our bet is yes. Certainly for a few days at Powderhorn, a little gem of a ski area out west on the edge of the Grand Mesa. “Hey, we’re a small western ski resort,” says marketing guy Ryan Robinson. “Why not have lodging that suits our aesthetic?” The lilliputian cottages are right out of Dwell, sleep four to six (if you belong to a friendly bubble), and are fully equipped. Choose from six of them in the Tiny Homes Village, right at the base of the resort.
Powderhorn | Colorado
Powderhorn Tiny Home
Check Out a Tiny Home
Gravity Haus has a visionary notion of what a mountain lodge should be—base camp, yes, but with overtones of a coworking space, a sense of community (it offers memberships for discounts and perks), a great fitness center, and, of course, a do-everything-in-the-mountains setting. The newest iteration is 20-room Vail Haus, a renovated classic Vail Village property freshly instilled with all of the above, including the huge Vail Athletic Club, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, sauna, speedy Wi-Fi (so you can pretend you’re at the office between ski runs), an upscale bistro, and a killer haus coffee called Unravel.
Vail | Colorado
Gravity Haus
Stay In-Haus in Vail
It may be time to rethink the word “hut.” This off-the-grid gem, called Thelma Hut, is a dazzling blend of modern-rustic architecture and jaw-dropping views of the San Juans. The hut, which is a half-mile ski or snowshoe in from the road, comes with private chefs who do your bidding for breakfast and dinner. And did we mention afternoon soup service? Managers/chefs Bob and Allison Kingsley are passionate about sharing their backyard. “We’re grateful to help others pause and reconnect with the natural world through skiing, hiking, stargazing, or watching the surrounding wildlife,” says Allison. The backcountry ranges from low-angle slopes right out the door to nearby thirteeners.
Ophir | Colorado
Thelma Hut
Meet the country’s first in-bounds backcountry ski area: Bluebird Backcountry, with 1,200 acres of supreme B.C. terrain and many of the trappings of a downhill ski area. While there are no chairlifts—everything is human-powered—Bluebird provides ski patrol, guides, gear rentals and lessons, a lodge and warming hut, and avalanche courses. The in-bounds, avalanche-evaluated, yet totally ungroomed terrain comprises much of 9,845-foot Bear Mountain on the Continental Divide, with 1,245 feet of vertical and seven marked skin tracks. The main area abuts another 3,000 acres of guided-only, out-of-bounds terrain. The mountain is super COVID-aware: contactless check-in, and only 200 guests permitted a day. There’s no on-site lodging, but you’re allowed five nights of free camping, and Bluebird is just 30 minutes from Steamboat.
Kremmling | Colorado
Bluebird Backcountry
Ski Backcountry…In-Bounds
Colorado is a hotbed of hot springs, hot-springs resorts, and towns built around, you guessed it, hot springs. Five of those locales have banded together to create the 720-mile Historic Hot Springs Loop—scenic highways that connect 19 facilities, including the world’s largest hot-springs pool, Glenwood Hot Springs, in Glenwood Springs. Others range from family-friendly to indulgent-spa to clothing-optional. Besides Glenwood, the loop connects Chaffee County, Pagosa Springs (home of the world’s deepest thermal spring, supplying three resorts), Steamboat Springs, and Ouray. All are ski towns and hike/bike meccas by summer, so you’ll have no problem earning your dip at the end of the day.
Glenwood Springs | Colorado
Hot Springs Loop
Who doesn’t have a soft spot for vintage motels? Beyond their nostalgic appeal, they let you bypass bustling lobbies and walk straight from your car to your room. Loge’s strategy is to buy and fix up forgotten motels, and that’s what it’s done at Loge Breckenridge. The digs are just north of Breck’s cool Victorian downtown and on the edge of everything to do here, from downhill and nordic skiing in the winter to hiking and mountain biking in the summer. The small but spruced-up rooms feel much more mountain-lodge than motel—tailored for outdoorsy types with touches like bunks and hammocks.
Breckenridge | Colorado
Loge Breckenridge
Base Camp in a Vintage Motel
Rent a Solar-Powered Backcountry Hut in the San Juans
Soak Your Bones, Drive, Repeat
Colorado
Denver
the Northeast
Check out the Defender Adrian and Emily drove in Maine
The Defender's ClearSight Ground View technology, which features a specific towing mode and allows you to see parts of the road that are usually obscured, made it much easier to navigate Vinalhaven's narrow roads and tight boat ramps.
Smart and super handy: a button in the trunk lowers and raises the air suspension to meet the height of the trailer hitch.
Learn more and build your own
Learn more and build your own
Watch now
Maine
Ice Climb and Alpine Ski
Eat Your Way Through Maine
Craft a Sustainable Surfboard
Massachusetts
Snowshoe the Appalachian Trail
New Hampshire
Spot Large Mammals
New york
Learn to Backcountry Ski
Take a Cycling Tour
Escape to the Catskills
Vermont
Off-Road Like a Pro
Base Camp In Style
Fat Bike and Cross-Country Ski
Ski Backcountry...In-Bounds
Soak Your Bones, Drive, Repeat
Stay In-Haus in Vail
Base Camp in a Vintage Motel
Check Out a Tiny Home
Book a Dark-Sky Rental
Rent a Solar-Powered Backcountry Hut
Climb Colorado's Newest Via Feratta
Ski Colorado's Snowiest Resort
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Surrounded by sculpted rock faces and unmistakable red mesas, the “town” of Virgin, Utah, just outside Zion National Park, is often referred to as the birthplace of freeride mountain biking. And while the area is home to two of the sport’s most extreme downhill competitions, you don’t have to be an expert to ride there. Case in point: last fall, we joined four pro riders—Lindsey Richter, Michelle Parker, Katie Holden, and Samantha Soriano—to explore the region’s epic terrain and see how e-mountain bikes are transforming the sport.
Watch now
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“One of the really cool things about Virgin, Utah, is that it’s OK here to find your own line and explore new ways to ride your bike.”
Lindsey Richter is the founder of Ladies AllRide, a movement to expand the community of female mountain bikers across the globe. The former pro mountain biker now spends most of her time traversing North America in a Sprinter van, inspiring women to face their fears.
Lindsey Richter
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“E-mountain bikes are an incredible tool to explore new types of terrain—you can cover so much more ground and ride a lot more than ever possible.”
A former national- and World Cup–level racer, Holden helped to create the women-only freeride event Formation and to launch the Grow Cycling Foundation, whose mission is to increase diversity and inclusion in cycling.
Katie Holden
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“Virgin is a utopia for biking. You almost feel like you’ve entered into a different world—there are so many different ecosystems. You’ve got the tundra and the desert and super-red dirt.”
Professional mountain biker Samantha Soriano can ride just about anything. One of sport’s rising stars, she began her career as a BMX rider before transitioning to cross-country and downhill racing and then shifting into her latest discipline: freeriding.
Samantha Soriano
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“Getting to explore Virgin and roam around the desert looking for new places to ride with such a rad group of women is basically a dream come true.”
A renowned pro skier turned multisport athlete, Michelle Parker has appeared in over a dozen ski films. These days, you’re just as likely to find her biking on red dirt as skiing in white stuff.
Michelle Parker
Chapter One: Maine
ALL CHAPTERS
Upper Midwest
Dogsledding might be the closest you can come to flying without actually leaving the ground. On the plains of Minnesota and Wisconsin, many kennels offer half-day and full-day dabbles in a form of transportation thousands of years old. But for an exhilarating, multi-day journey full of modern comforts, head to Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge in Ely, Minnesota. Each night, you’ll sleep either in a cushy camp set up by your guide or in one of Wintergreen’s cozy lodges, complete with saunas, which are prime for social distancing as each couple gets its own floor of a cabin.
Ely | Minnesota
Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge
Dogsled from Cabin to Camp
Outside of Alaska, the best place to watch for bald eagles stateside is southern Illinois. From January to late February, about 3,000 of them live in the state. Quite a few boutique hotels and B&Bs offer eagle-season deals, like the Beall Mansion in Alton, just across the state line from St. Louis. And it has quite an unusual amenity: an around-the-clock chocolate buffet, stocked with classics and chocolate-covered goodies. Pere Marquette State Park, which stretches to the banks of the Mississippi River, is the hot spot for eagle viewing.
Alton | Illinois
Pere Marquette State Park
Watch Bald Eagles
The 21 islands making up the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, at the northernmost tip of Wisconsin, provide a striking array of adventures that change with the seasons. In winter, dramatic icicles can form over the entrances to the “sea caves” on the mainland, making for a bucket-list-worthy trek over the frozen surface of Lake Superior. Check the park’s website before setting off, as the park closes the routes to hikers when the ice conditions aren’t right. Too cold? Summer brings the chance to dive a handful of shipwrecks and kayak, cruise, or take a water taxi to island camping and bouldering sites you can’t reach on foot.
Bayfield | Wisconsin
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Explore “Sea” Caves
Along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, surfers can catch some real waves. But that’s not the only kind of surfing you can do at the Great Lakes. For a unique experience, sign up for a sandboarding lesson with Third Coast Surf Shop, which will teach you how to ride the dunes the way you’d snowboard down a mountain. Third Coast offers rentals and surfing lessons too, all one-on-one or in small private groups so you can limit your exposure to strangers. In the winter, take a quick hop across the state border to cross-country ski and sled the dunes at the nearby Indiana Dunes State Park.
New Buffalo | Michigan
Third Coast Surf Shop
Surf Waves and Dunes at Lake Michigan
Minnesota is the land of 11,842 lakes—and in the winter, many of them freeze well enough for pickup ice hockey and long meanders on skates. Just south of Minneapolis, the city of Edina grooms a ten-acre lake daily so that people can skate and pull children on sleds. Centennial Lakes Park isn’t offering rentals at the moment as a COVID precaution, so bring your own, along with an insulated mug of cocoa or coffee brewed at home. Book a Whitetail Woods Camper Cabin in Dakota for a base camp in the woods with treehouse vibes or, for a cozy culinary adventure, book a room at the Hewing Hotel in nearby Minneapolis. On weekends, the Hewing is creating private restaurants by delivering upscale seven-course meals, from an ever-changing secret menu, directly to some of its rooms.
Edina | Minnesota
Centennial Lakes Park
Skate for Miles
Fat biking may once have seemed like a funny winter fad, but it’s grown so popular that manufacturers can’t churn the rigs out fast enough. Once you’ve got your hands on one, head for the snowy Northwoods of Wisconsin. There you can find trails groomed specifically for fat bikes, like those at the Minocqua Winter Park—which also has trails for skijoring, or dog-powered cross-country skiing—and the seven-mile Enterprise Winter Trail near Rhinelander. Keep your eyes peeled in and out of town for the Hodag, a mythical creature rumored to sport the head of a frog, the tusks of an elephant, and the back of a dinosaur.
Oneida County | Wisconsin
Enterprise Winter Trail
Fat Bike Through the Northwoods
Camp Aramoni, a brand-new glampground in Illinois, is now taking reservations for this summer, bringing ultra-plush safari tents to the forests about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. Camp Aramoni has been built out of the bones of a former brickyard beside the lush Vermilion River. Each of its 11 socially distanced luxury tents has space for six people to socially distance amid the deer, eagles, and blue herons of the surrounding forest. Just ten minutes north, you’ll find Starved Rock State Park, a year-round destination for hiking and a popular spot for ice climbers to scale frozen waterfalls when conditions cooperate.
Tonica | Illinois
Camp Aramoni
Be the First to Glamp in Illinois
It’s hard to beat a good old-fashioned walk in the woods, but Whiting Forest, part of Michigan’s Dow Gardens botanical paradise, just might have done it. The canopy walk here is the longest such path in the United States, stretching 1,400 feet and reaching heights up to four stories. On a snowy day, enjoy a quiet wander among the tall pines, stare up at the trees while reclining on one of the walk’s giant cargo nets, then warm up with a cup of hot chocolate. Visitation is limited currently because of COVID, so be sure to book your time slot in advance.
Midland | Michigan
Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens
Walk Among the Treetops
When Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail is finished, it will connect about 1,200 miles of trails in a slanted Z-shape from the western border of the state, close to the southern border with Michigan, and up the Door Peninsula in the east. The trail zigs and zags through quite a few small towns, so you can easily spend several days hiking from inn to inn rather than winter camping. You’ll likely want snowshoes for winter hikes, but consider coming back in the fall—the autumn colors here may not enjoy the same fanfare as the forests of New England, but especially in the Sturgeon Bay area they’re a sight to behold.
Sturgeon Bay | Wisconsin
Ice Age Trail
Hike a Long Trail In Progress
Full of scenic woodlands and more lakes than you can count, the Midwest is vastly underappreciated as a haven for modern adventure. From dogsledding between lodges and luxe winter base camps to hot spots for bald eagle watching rivaled only by Alaska, the Midwest is teeming with all-season excitement.
New Rules of Adventure: Upper Midwest
In the forests of Ohio’s Mohican Valley, about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus, lies The Mohicans, a luxury treehouse resort unlike any other. Choose from a handful of rentals nestled among the trees, turn off your phone, and settle in for a quiet weekend retreat. You won’t find a more picturesque place to read, reflect, and romp than the woods on the property or the nearby Mohican-Memorial State Forest. The resort will expand its Treehouse Provisions catering company to deliver to cabins starting this spring, so ask about having your meals cooked by an expert chef when you book.
Loudonville | Ohio
The Mohicans Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue
Sleep In the Trees
Mid-Atlantic
Instead of firing snow cannons over its groomed cross-country ski trails, the folks at White Grass Ski Touring Center farm their flakes. With a few miles of mobile snow fencing, they catch snow at higher elevations in the Canaan Valley and bring it down to their trails for a more eco-friendly way of keeping trails under plenty of cover. To explore more terrain, start at Canaan Valley Ski Resort next door, buy a one-way ski pass, and ski mostly downhill right into White Grass. Climbers will want to scope out the nearby Seneca Rocks. If the roads are clear, take a swing through the Dolly Sods Wilderness, too, whose landscape is far more similar to southern Canada than to the rest of West Virginia.
Davis | West Virginia
White Grass Ski Touring Center
Ski Farmed Snow
Some scenic railroads will let backpackers hop off mid-trip for better access to the mountains. The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad goes one step further: it’ll leave you the whole caboose when it drops your crew in a remote area by the Greenbrier River, “several miles from the nearest encroachment of the modern world,” with no cell service to bother your off-grid vacation. The scenic-train company has renovated two cabooses into mini apartments complete with space for six, a full bathroom with shower, and a range for cooking. Castaway Caboose booking for this year opens up in February.
Elkins | West Virginia
Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad
Ride the Rails
A visit to Delaware gets you incredible access to all of the state’s 350 miles of coastline, but your goal is to just skim the surface. At Dewey Beach, AlleyOop gives private skimboarding lessons, where you can learn how to skate across the shallow waters on boards a bit shorter and rounder than surfboards. Unlike surfers, a skimboarders generate their own propulsion, meaning you’ll have to earn your right to stay afloat. If you want to let nature do a bit more of the heavy lifting, sign up for a private kiteboarding lesson from Got Wind? Kiteboarding School, which launches from several of Delaware’s gorgeous shores.
Dewey Beach | Delaware
AlleyOop and Got Wind?
Skim the Surf or Catch Some Air
In the mountains along the western edge of Virginia, the town of Hot Springs is aptly named—it’s where some of the very few thermal waters east of the Rocky Mountains come of the surface. The Omni Homestead Resort has rooms with fireplaces and is an ideal place to relax after a day of outdoor adventure. Take advantage of the on-site ski school if you want to work on your turns, then unwind at the two-acre water park with outdoor soaking and swimming pools fed by natural springwater year-round.
Hot Springs | Virginia
Omni Homestead Resort
Soak in Style
Herds of feral horses run wild on Assateague Island, a 37-mile-long island spanning the waters of Virginia and Maryland. To this day, it’s unclear exactly how, when, or why they got there. You can drive to the island from the mainland, but a better day trip is to book a boat or paddling tour with an operator like Assateague Adventures, whose insight might get you a better shot at spying wildlife. Back on land at Assateague Island National Seashore, sink a line and try your hand at catching your own blue crabs. In Virginia, the season opens in mid-March.
Maryland | Virginia
Assateague Island
Spot Wild Horses
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal runs 236 miles from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, parallel to the Potomac River. The path winds through quite a few towns, making it easy to hop on and off the trail for day rides and hikes. But for a family-friendly—and COVID-safe—modern bikepacking or backpacking trip, plan ahead and book consecutive nights at some of the C&O Canal Trust’s Canal Quarters. These former lockhouses, once home to the families who opened the canal’s locks to let boats pass, have been renovated recently into vacation rentals. There are seven available for overnight stays between miles 5 and 108 of the trail.
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park | Maryland
Canal Quarters Lockhouses
Bike Between Former Lockhouses
What was once an abandoned railway tunnel is now one of Virginia’s newest—and perhaps coolest—hikes. In late 2020 the Crozet Tunnel Greenway opened to the public, a path for hikers and cyclists (and bat lovers) through a nearly mile-long, 170-year-old brick tunnel deep beneath the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the epitome of scenic drives, so be sure to leave yourself time to enjoy the mountain roads and all their turnoffs. The two-mile out-and-back Humpback Rocks trail just off the parkway makes for an epic sunrise mission. Following an afternoon hike, designate a driver and hit the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail, which connects over a dozen local breweries.
Nelson County | Virginia
Crozet Tunnel Greenway
Hike 700 Feet Below the Blue Ridge Mountains
Head for the open sea from Ocean City, Maryland, where you can catch your own dinner on a chartered fishing trip. When the winter winds cooperate, you can set off in search of tautog and black sea bass. But the best time to fish is generally May through September, when you’ve got a better shot at catching a marlin or tuna. Quite a few boats set sail from the Bahia Marina, some steering for deep-sea angling among the wrecks and reefs along the coast. Here’s how good the fishing is there: the annual White Marlin Open, in August, offers millions in prize money for the big ones that didn’t get away.
Ocean City | Maryland
Bahia Marina
Catch Your Own Dinner off Ocean City
Harrisonburg is a gem among small American cities. It’s a short drive from the ski slopes at Massanutten Resort and from Shenandoah National Park, where you can wind through the mountains along Skyline Drive (check for winter road closures before departing) and hike the Appalachian Trail. Though it’s only a mile long, the park’s Bear Fence Mountain Trail is a worthy detour—you won’t find better panoramic views in the park without braving the crowds at Old Rag, the park’s most popular hike. In town, stay at the historic Joshua Wilton House, a restored Victorian beauty, and sample the goods from as many local restaurants as you can. Walkabout Outfitters is your place for supplies and hiking advice, and the many local bike shops will be eager to point you toward quiet country roads for idyllic cycling.
Harrisonburg | Virginia
The Appalachian Trail
Base Camp in a Trail Town
West Virginia’s New River Gorge, near Fayetteville, enjoys status as a national park as of January 2021. But while the bridge is worth a gander from the trails on both sides of the river, it’s also a thrilling adventure in itself. Bridge Walk offers guided tours across the 3,031-foot catwalk underneath the bridge, rising 876 feet above the river. Daredevils should hold out for October. Once a year on Bridge Day, BASE jumpers are allowed to leap from the bridge and rappelers can ascend and descend from the catwalk. Spectators can gather on the bridge to watch the thrills from above. ACE Adventure Resort offers cozy cabins adjacent to the park. In warmer months, sign up for one of ACE’s whitewater tours to catch your thrills right on the river.
Glen Jean| West Virginia
New River Gorge National Park
Trek Across the Newest National Park
In spite of being a busy urban region, there’s no shortage of outdoor opportunity in the mid-Atlantic. Within a few hours of Washington, D.C., you can downhill ski or spot wild horses on a barrier island as easily as you can catch a train or order shawarma.
New Rules of Adventure: The Mid-Atlantic
Take a closer look at the Defender we used in Utah
Learn more and build your own
Learn more and build your own
A nod to the past, the Defender’s ‘Alpine Lights’—narrow slivers of glass located in the side edges of the roof—help bathe the cabin in light and provide a view to the outside.
The Defender's Configurable Terrain Response feature allowed Lindsey and Michelle and crew to fine-tune the set-up of the vehicle to suit the precise off-road conditions they encountered in Utah, which ranged from dry and dusty here to rocky and loose elsewhere.
Personalization: The Defender offers owners the ability to personalize their Defender with a wide array of color, wheels, contrast roof and accessory options. Lindsey and Michelle and crew used two vehicles to explore Utah—an Eiger Grey 110 with the Adventure Pack and a Tasman Blue 110 with contrasting white roof shown here.
Back to Top
Surrounded by sculpted rock faces and unmistakable red mesas, the “town” of Virgin, Utah, just outside Zion National Park, is often referred to as the birthplace of freeride mountain biking. And while the area is home to two of the sport’s most extreme downhill competitions, you don’t have to be an expert to ride there. Case in point: last fall, we joined four pro riders—Lindsey Richter, Michelle Parker, Katie Holden, and Samantha Soriano—to explore the region’s epic terrain and see how e-mountain bikes are transforming the sport.
Watch now
Chapter Two: Utah
“
“
“One of the really cool things about Virgin, Utah, is that it’s OK here to find your own line and explore new ways to ride your bike.”
Lindsey Richter is the founder of Ladies AllRide, a movement to expand the community of female mountain bikers across the globe. The former pro mountain biker now spends most of her time traversing North America in a Sprinter van, inspiring women to face their fears.
Lindsey Richter
Take a closer look at the Defender we used in Utah
Learn more and build your own
Learn more and build your own
A nod to the past, the Defender’s ‘Alpine Lights’—narrow slivers of glass located in the side edges of the roof—help bathe the cabin in light and provide a view to the outside.
The Defender's Configurable Terrain Response feature allowed Lindsey and Michelle and crew to fine-tune the set-up of the vehicle to suit the precise off-road conditions they encountered in Utah, which ranged from dry and dusty here to rocky and loose elsewhere.
Personalization: The Defender offers owners the ability to personalize their Defender with a wide array of color, wheels, contrast roof and accessory options. Lindsey and Michelle and crew used two vehicles to explore Utah—an Eiger Grey 110 with the Adventure Pack and a Tasman Blue 110 with contrasting white roof shown here.
all chapters
Denver
UPPER MIDWEST
Explore “Sea” Caves
Surf Waves and Dunes at Lake Michigan
Fat Bike Through the Northwoods
Hike a Long Trail In Progress
Dogsled from Cabin to Camp
Skate for Miles
Watch Bald Eagles
Be the First to Glamp in Illinois
Walk Among the Treetops
Dogsledding might be the closest you can come to flying without actually leaving the ground. On the plains of Minnesota and Wisconsin, many kennels offer half-day and full-day dabbles in a form of transportation thousands of years old. But for an exhilarating, multi-day journey full of modern comforts, head to Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge in Ely, Minnesota. Each night, you’ll sleep either in a cushy camp set up by your guide or in one of Wintergreen’s cozy lodges, complete with saunas, which are prime for social distancing as each couple gets its own floor of a cabin.
Ely | Minnesota
Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge
Dogsled from Cabin to Camp
The 21 islands making up the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, at the northernmost tip of Wisconsin, provide a striking array of adventures that change with the seasons. In winter, dramatic icicles can form over the entrances to the “sea caves” on the mainland, making for a bucket-list-worthy trek over the frozen surface of Lake Superior. Check the park’s website before setting off, as the park closes the routes to hikers when the ice conditions aren’t right. Too cold? Summer brings the chance to dive a handful of shipwrecks and kayak, cruise, or take a water taxi to island camping and bouldering sites you can’t reach on foot.
Bayfield | Wisconsin
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Explore “Sea” Caves
Outside of Alaska, the best place to watch for bald eagles stateside is southern Illinois. From January to late February, about 3,000 of them live in the state. Quite a few boutique hotels and B&Bs offer eagle-season deals, like the Beall Mansion in Alton, just across the state line from St. Louis. And it has quite an unusual amenity: an around-the-clock chocolate buffet, stocked with classics and chocolate-covered goodies. Pere Marquette State Park, which stretches to the banks of the Mississippi River, is the hot spot for eagle viewing.
Alton | Illinois
Pere Marquette State Park
Watch Bald Eagles
Minnesota is the land of 11,842 lakes—and in the winter, many of them freeze well enough for pickup ice hockey and long meanders on skates. Just south of Minneapolis, the city of Edina grooms a ten-acre lake daily so that people can skate and pull children on sleds. Centennial Lakes Park isn’t offering rentals at the moment as a COVID precaution, so bring your own, along with an insulated mug of cocoa or coffee brewed at home. Book a Whitetail Woods Camper Cabin in Dakota for a base camp in the woods with treehouse vibes or, for a cozy culinary adventure, book a room at the Hewing Hotel in nearby Minneapolis. On weekends, the Hewing is creating private restaurants by delivering upscale seven-course meals, from an ever-changing secret menu, directly to some of its rooms.
Edina | Minnesota
Centennial Lakes Park
Skate for Miles
Camp Aramoni, a brand-new glampground in Illinois, is now taking reservations for this summer, bringing ultra-plush safari tents to the forests about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. Camp Aramoni has been built out of the bones of a former brickyard beside the lush Vermilion River. Each of its 11 socially distanced luxury tents has space for six people to socially distance amid the deer, eagles, and blue herons of the surrounding forest. Just ten minutes north, you’ll find Starved Rock State Park, a year-round destination for hiking and a popular spot for ice climbers to scale frozen waterfalls when conditions cooperate.
Tonica | Illinois
Camp Aramoni
Be the First to Glamp in Illinois
Fat biking may once have seemed like a funny winter fad, but it’s grown so popular that manufacturers can’t churn the rigs out fast enough. Once you’ve got your hands on one, head for the snowy Northwoods of Wisconsin. There you can find trails groomed specifically for fat bikes, like those at the Minocqua Winter Park—which also has trails for skijoring, or dog-powered cross-country skiing—and the seven-mile Enterprise Winter Trail near Rhinelander. Keep your eyes peeled in and out of town for the Hodag, a mythical creature rumored to sport the head of a frog, the tusks of an elephant, and the back of a dinosaur.
Oneida County | Wisconsin
Enterprise Winter Trail
Fat Bike Through the Northwoods
When Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail is finished, it will connect about 1,200 miles of trails in a slanted Z-shape from the western border of the state, close to the southern border with Michigan, and up the Door Peninsula in the east. The trail zigs and zags through quite a few small towns, so you can easily spend several days hiking from inn to inn rather than winter camping. You’ll likely want snowshoes for winter hikes, but consider coming back in the fall—the autumn colors here may not enjoy the same fanfare as the forests of New England, but especially in the Sturgeon Bay area they’re a sight to behold.
Sturgeon Bay | Wisconsin
Ice Age Trail
Hike a Long Trail In Progress
It’s hard to beat a good old-fashioned walk in the woods, but Whiting Forest, part of Michigan’s Dow Gardens botanical paradise, just might have done it. The canopy walk here is the longest such path in the United States, stretching 1,400 feet and reaching heights up to four stories. On a snowy day, enjoy a quiet wander among the tall pines, stare up at the trees while reclining on one of the walk’s giant cargo nets, then warm up with a cup of hot chocolate. Visitation is limited currently because of COVID, so be sure to book your time slot in advance.
Midland | Michigan
Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens
Ski Backcountry… In-Bounds
Along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, surfers can catch some real waves. But that’s not the only kind of surfing you can do at the Great Lakes. For a unique experience, sign up for a sandboarding lesson with Third Coast Surf Shop, which will teach you how to ride the dunes the way you’d snowboard down a mountain. Third Coast offers rentals and surfing lessons too, all one-on-one or in small private groups so you can limit your exposure to strangers. In the winter, take a quick hop across the state border to cross-country ski and sled the dunes at the nearby Indiana Dunes State Park.
New Buffalo | Michigan
Third Coast Surf Shop
Surf Waves and Dunes at Lake Michigan
Full of scenic woodlands and more lakes than you can count, the Midwest is vastly underappreciated as a haven for modern adventure. From dogsledding between lodges and luxe winter base camps to hot spots for bald eagle watching rivaled only by Alaska, the Midwest is teeming with all-season excitement.
New Rules of Adventure: Upper Midwest
Sleep in the Trees
In the forests of Ohio’s Mohican Valley, about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus, lies The Mohicans, a luxury treehouse resort unlike any other. Choose from a handful of rentals nestled among the trees, turn off your phone, and settle in for a quiet weekend retreat. You won’t find a more picturesque place to read, reflect, and romp than the woods on the property or the nearby Mohican-Memorial State Forest. The resort will expand its Treehouse Provisions catering company to deliver to cabins starting this spring, so ask about having your meals cooked by an expert chef when you book.
Loudonville | Ohio
The Mohicans Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue
Sleep in the Trees
Mid-Atlantic
Ski Farmed Snow
Ride the Rails
Catch Your Own Dinner off Ocean City
Trek Across the Newest National Park
Skim the Surf or Catch Some Air
Soak in Style
Spot Wild Horses
Bike Between Former Lockhouses
Hike 700 Feet Below the Blue Ridge Mountains
Base Camp in a Trail Town
In the mountains along the western edge of Virginia, the town of Hot Springs is aptly named—it’s where some of the very few thermal waters east of the Rocky Mountains come of the surface. The Omni Homestead Resort has rooms with fireplaces and is an ideal place to relax after a day of outdoor adventure. Take advantage of the on-site ski school if you want to work on your turns, then unwind at the two-acre water park with outdoor soaking and swimming pools fed by natural springwater year-round.
Hot Springs | Virginia
Omni Homestead Resort
Soak In Style
Some scenic railroads will let backpackers hop off mid-trip for better access to the mountains. The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad goes one step further: it’ll leave you the whole caboose when it drops your crew in a remote area by the Greenbrier River, “several miles from the nearest encroachment of the modern world,” with no cell service to bother your off-grid vacation. The scenic-train company has renovated two cabooses into mini apartments complete with space for six, a full bathroom with shower, and a range for cooking. Castaway Caboose booking for this year opens up in February.
Elkins | West Virginia
Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad
Ride the Rails
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal runs 236 miles from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, parallel to the Potomac River. The path winds through quite a few towns, making it easy to hop on and off the trail for day rides and hikes. But for a family-friendly—and COVID-safe—modern bikepacking or backpacking trip, plan ahead and book consecutive nights at some of the C&O Canal Trust’s Canal Quarters. These former lockhouses, once home to the families who opened the canal’s locks to let boats pass, have been renovated recently into vacation rentals. There are seven available for overnight stays between miles 5 and 108 of the trail.
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park | Maryland
Canal Quarters Lockhouses
Bike Between Former Lockhouses
Herds of feral horses run wild on Assateague Island, a 37-mile-long island spanning the waters of Virginia and Maryland. To this day, it’s unclear exactly how, when, or why they got there. You can drive to the island from the mainland, but a better day trip is to book a boat or paddling tour with an operator like Assateague Adventures, whose insight might get you a better shot at spying wildlife. Back on land at Assateague Island National Seashore, sink a line and try your hand at catching your own blue crabs. In Virginia, the season opens in mid-March.
Maryland and Virginia
Assateague Island
Spot wild Horses
What was once an abandoned railway tunnel is now one of Virginia’s newest—and perhaps coolest—hikes. In late 2020 the Crozet Tunnel Greenway opened to the public, a path for hikers and cyclists (and bat lovers) through a nearly mile-long, 170-year-old brick tunnel deep beneath the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the epitome of scenic drives, so be sure to leave yourself time to enjoy the mountain roads and all their turnoffs. The two-mile out-and-back Humpback Rocks trail just off the parkway makes for an epic sunrise mission. Following an afternoon hike, designate a driver and hit the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail, which connects over a dozen local breweries.
Nelson County | Virginia
Crozet Tunnel Greenway
Hike 700 Feet Below the Blue Ridge Mountains
West Virginia’s New River Gorge, near Fayetteville, enjoys status as a national park as of January 2021. But while the bridge is worth a gander from the trails on both sides of the river, it’s also a thrilling adventure in itself. Bridge Walk offers guided tours across the 3,031-foot catwalk underneath the bridge, rising 876 feet above the river. Daredevils should hold out for October. Once a year on Bridge Day, BASE jumpers are allowed to leap from the bridge and rappelers can ascend and descend from the catwalk. Spectators can gather on the bridge to watch the thrills from above. ACE Adventure Resort offers cozy cabins adjacent to the park. In warmer months, sign up for one of ACE’s whitewater tours to catch your thrills right on the river.
Glen Jean | West Virginia
New River Gorge National Park
Trek Across the Newest National Park
A visit to Delaware gets you incredible access to all of the state’s 350 miles of coastline, but your goal is to just skim the surface. At Dewey Beach, AlleyOop gives private skimboarding lessons, where you can learn how to skate across the shallow waters on boards a bit shorter and rounder than surfboards. Unlike surfers, a skimboarders generate their own propulsion, meaning you’ll have to earn your right to stay afloat. If you want to let nature do a bit more of the heavy lifting, sign up for a private kiteboarding lesson from Got Wind? Kiteboarding School, which launches from several of Delaware’s gorgeous shores.
Dewey Beach | Delaware
AlleyOop and Got Wind?
Skim the Surf or Catch Some Air
Harrisonburg is a gem among small American cities. It’s a short drive from the ski slopes at Massanutten Resort and from Shenandoah National Park, where you can wind through the mountains along Skyline Drive (check for winter road closures before departing) and hike the Appalachian Trail. Though it’s only a mile long, the park’s Bear Fence Mountain Trail is a worthy detour—you won’t find better panoramic views in the park without braving the crowds at Old Rag, the park’s most popular hike. In town, stay at the historic Joshua Wilton House, a restored Victorian beauty, and sample the goods from as many local restaurants as you can. Walkabout Outfitters is your place for supplies and hiking advice, and the many local bike shops will be eager to point you toward quiet country roads for idyllic cycling.
Harrisonburg | Virginia
The Appalachian Trail
Walk Among the Treetops
Head for the open sea from Ocean City, Maryland, where you can catch your own dinner on a chartered fishing trip. When the winter winds cooperate, you can set off in search of tautog and black sea bass. But the best time to fish is generally May through September, when you’ve got a better shot at catching a marlin or tuna. Quite a few boats set sail from the Bahia Marina, some steering for deep-sea angling among the wrecks and reefs along the coast. Here’s how good the fishing is there: the annual White Marlin Open, in August, offers millions in prize money for the big ones that didn’t get away.
Ocean City | Maryland
Bahia Marina
Catch Your Own Dinner off Ocean City
Instead of firing snow cannons over its groomed cross-country ski trails, the folks at White Grass Ski Touring Center farm their flakes. With a few miles of mobile snow fencing, they catch snow at higher elevations in the Canaan Valley and bring it down to their trails for a more eco-friendly way of keeping trails under plenty of cover. To explore more terrain, start at Canaan Valley Ski Resort next door, buy a one-way ski pass, and ski mostly downhill right into White Grass. Climbers will want to scope out the nearby Seneca Rocks. If the roads are clear, take a swing through the Dolly Sods Wilderness, too, whose landscape is far more similar to southern Canada than to the rest of West Virginia.
Davis | West Virginia
White Grass Ski Touring Center
Ski Farmed Snow
In spite of being a busy urban region, there’s no shortage of outdoor opportunity in the mid-Atlantic. Within a few hours of Washington, D.C., you can downhill ski or spot wild horses on a barrier island as easily as you can catch a train or order shawarma.
New Rules of Adventure: Mid-Atlantic
Explore the Defender Brooks drove in Florida
Learn more and build your own
Learn more and build your own
Expedition Roof Rack: With a dynamic load capacity of 291 pounds, the Defender’s Expedition Roof Rack can handle everything from a couple of surfboards and bikes to a rooftop tent or fully loaded cargo box.
Wade Sensing: Not sure how deep that water crossing is? The Defender has a wading depth of 35.4 inches and an exclusive Wade Program in Terrain Response—a 3D surround Camera with Wade Sensing uses ultrasonic sensors in the door mirrors to alert you when water approaches the vehicle’s maximum wading depth.
Exterior Side-mounted Gear Carrier: The 6.3-gallon Exterior Side-mounted Gear Carrier allows you to store items safely and securely outside of the vehicle. Both waterproof and lockable, it makes storing equipment easy and safe.
If you know where to look, Florida is the ideal spot to combine conservation and adventure. Which is exactly what former professional hockey player turned adventurer Brooks Laich and his dog Koda did this past Fall. First they off-roaded into a remote wildlife area to rehabilitate some endangered and native animals before heading to the Keys to go scuba spearfishing for lionfish, the exotic invasive species that has been decimating the reefs—and can only be hunted individually by spear underwater.
Watch now
Chapter One: Maine
Chapter Two: Utah
Surrounded by sculpted rock faces and unmistakable red mesas, the “town” of Virgin, Utah, just outside Zion National Park, is often referred to as the birthplace of freeride mountain biking. And while the area is home to two of the sport’s most extreme downhill competitions, you don’t have to be an expert to ride there. Case in point: last fall, we joined four pro riders—Lindsey Richter, Michelle Parker, Katie Holden, and Samantha Soriano—to explore the region’s epic terrain and see how e-mountain bikes are transforming the sport.
Watch now
Chapter Three: Florida
Back to Top
“
“
Florida will surprise you. If you’re willing to explore and off-road a bit, the state is way wilder than you think.
After a successful career as a professional hockey player, Brooks Laich traded in his skates for his passport. These days, you’ll find the avid adventurer, creator, and entrepreneur exploring the mountains or oceans, and most likely with his beloved husky, Koda.
Brooks Laich
Chapter One: Maine
Chapter Two: Utah
Chapter Three: Florida
Chapter One: Maine
Chapter Two: Utah
Chapter Three: Florida
Florida
There’s only one place in North America where you can legally swim alongside manatees, and that’s Florida’s Crystal River. In the winter, wild manatees thrive in the warm inland springs and can be easy to spot on boat, paddling, and snorkeling tours and even from boardwalk trails like the one at Three Sisters Springs, which is just 90 minutes north of Tampa. Prime manatee season here is from November to the end of April, when colder weather drives the manatees toward the dozens of offshore springs in the area. Follow them out on a trip with Fun 2 Dive for a plush pontoon boat ride and guided semi-private snorkel tour. Starting in July, it also offers scalloping tours so you can forage for your own dinner.
Crystal River | Florida
Fun 2 Dive
Swim with Manatees
If cave diving is on your bucket list, head to central Florida’s Blue Grotto Dive Resort, where you can reach depths of about 100 feet in a massive, crystal-clear underwater cavern, accessible even to beginner divers. Certified cave divers will want to level up and book a guide to visit the cave side of the grotto, which is full of relatively undisturbed scenery. The resort has on-site cabins and also offers scuba lessons.
Levy County | Florida
Blue Grotto Dive Resort
Cave Dive
For anyone who’s serious about fishing, angling for a tarpon could be the ride of a lifetime. These massive saltwater fish can weigh 280 pounds. Book a tour in the Tampa Bay area with a charter like Captain Dustin. While you’re in town, hit Tarpon Springs, too—it’s one of the best places in the world to dive for natural sponges. Yes, sponges, as in the things you use in your kitchen and shower. The history of sponge diving here runs deep, rooted in Greek immigrants who have made the community one of the best places in the U.S.A. for Greek restaurants and culture.
Tampa Bay | Florida
Captain Dustin Fishing Charters
Reel in a Tarpon
Sanibel Island and nearby Captiva are known as the seashell capital of the world, and for good reason: on their pristine Gulf Coast beaches, you can find hundreds of varieties of shells washing ashore from the Caribbean and beyond. So long as there’s no sea creature inside, you can keep whatever you find for your own collection. For the best luck, grab a bucket and go shelling at low tide, especially during a full or new moon in spring months. Keep your eyes open for the brown-spotted junonia—you’ll get your photo in the local newspaper if you find one.
Sanibel Island | Florida
Sanibel Island and Captiva
Seek Seashells by the Sanibel Seashore
Treasure hunters have long been lured to Dry Tortugas National Park by rumors of riches sunk beneath the clear waters around the southernmost point of the lower 48, but the wildlife here is the real bounty. Visit this cluster of pristine islands by seaplane or ferry and don’t forget your dive or snorkel gear—green and loggerhead turtles live around the islands named after them, and sharks, octopuses, squid, and hundreds of other marine species frequent the protected artificial reefs. There are no hotels or restaurants within the park, so bring a tent and all your own food for a proper off-the-grid adventure.
Florida Keys | Florida
Dry Tortugas National Park
Dive for Treasure
Hop in a transparent kayak and paddle through mangrove tunnels with Get Up and Go Kayaking. The outfitter runs trips all over the Sunshine State, but if you can head to Shell Key Preserve, you stand a chance to float alongside manatees and bottlenose dolphins foraging among the mangroves. On shore, stay at St. Pete Beach’s Don CeSar Hotel. Also known as the Pink Palace for its striking pastel shade, this historic hotel was built in 1926 and has hosted quite a few famous names over the years. Make time to explore the streets of St. Petersburg, too—the city has so many murals it’s like a giant outdoor art museum.
Tampa Bay | Florida
Get Up and Go Kayaking
Go Crystal Kayaking
If theme parks are all that Florida brings to mind, think again. Ninety minutes south of Orlando, Westgate River Ranch offers up a totally different experience. This glamping resort is the largest dude ranch east of the Mississippi, packed with activities like fishing, archery, swamp-buggy rides, horseback riding, and weekly rodeos. It even has a mechanical bull for those daring enough to risk their pride. Stay in a massive, 500-square-foot deluxe canvas tent, a kitted-out Conestoga wagon, or your own cabin.
River Ranch | Florida
Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo
Be a Floridian Cowboy
Along the Florida Panhandle, a collection of shipwrecks has morphed into diverse habitats for marine wildlife. The Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail is a collection of 20 wrecks from Pensacola to Port St. Joe, like the Three Coal Barges, which were runaway cargo ships the Coast Guard sank in 1974 to keep them from running aground amid rough seas. Other wrecks in the collection were intentionally sunk to create artificial reefs. Grab your GoPro, buy a souvenir passport book, and collect stamps from local dive shops after each of your missions. Dive Pros, in Pensacola, offers wreck diving and specialty courses like underwater photography.
Pensacola | Florida
Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail
Get Wrecked
The Everglades are a wildlife enthusiast’s dream, teeming with manatees, alligators, crocs, and over 300 species of birds. After exploring the park on foot, book yourself a houseboat from Flamingo Adventures. Steer your crew of up to four adults through Whitewater Bay and sleep out on the water under the stars each evening. Everglades National Park allows crabbing and both fresh- and saltwater fishing, so savvy (and patient) anglers might even be able to catch and cook dinners right on board. When you make it back to shore, take a day to explore the nearby Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida’s largest contiguous panther habitat.
Everglades National Park | Florida
Flamingo Adventures
Sleep in the Everglades
The Florida Keys are blessed with crystal-clear water that supports North America’s only living barrier coral reef. It’s a great place to snorkel and scuba dive—or, for an added challenge, learn how to spearfish. Forever Young is the only operator in the Florida Keys that specializes in both freedive and scuba spearfishing charters—and Captain Tony Young is the perfect guide if you want to hunt lionfish, the exotic and invasive (and venomous) species that is wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem. The best part: Young’s staff will fillet your catch and package it up so you can cook it at home or bring it to a local restaurant to prepare for you.
Islamorada | Florida
Forever Young Charter Company
Spear a Lionfish
From shipwrecks that have grown into artificial reefs to mangrove tunnels calling out to be kayaked, Florida’s far wilder than its theme-park reputation might have you believe.
New Rules of Adventure: Florida
california
At Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, you might get the best sleep of your life suspended above the forest floor. This luxurious resort has worked with a sleep doctor to develop a program new for this spring to help guests destress and recharge. It’ll be hard to hold on to stress here anyway: you can choose among accommodations with a range of views, from a private treehouse complete with fireplace, an ocean-view home with a deck suspended over the edge of a cliff, or a ridgetop cabin with floor-to-ceiling views of the mountains. On-site activities include visits to the resort’s private art galleries, guided hikes, yoga, and spa treatments and soaking pools with sweeping views of the coast.
Big Sur | California
Post Ranch Inn
Sleep in the Trees
Deep in the mountains of Los Angeles County, the historic “Bridge to Nowhere” has become a popular spot for thrill-seekers to dive into the abyss of the evening. This bridge over the San Gabriel River, built in 1936, found itself stranded after a flood washed away the road it was meant to connect, and it’s now accessible only via a ten-mile round-trip hike. Bungee America offers multi-jump packages for anyone wild enough to want to dive off the bridge not just once but maybe even five or more times. For the ultimate adrenaline rush, book the camping package to jump both during the day and into the depths of the pitch-black night.
Mount Baldy | California
Bungee America
Dive off the Bridge to Nowhere
Right along the southeastern border of California lies the state’s largest expanse of sand dunes. You may not have heard of Imperial Sand Dunes, but it’s likely you’ve seen it—scenes from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and many other movies were filmed here. Snag a permit and rent an ATV from Jet Rent in nearby Yuma, Arizona, to zip around the dunes, or simply go for a hike. Sunset here is spectacular. The dunes are a great pit stop on the five-to-six-hour road trip between Los Angeles or San Diego and Phoenix—or a great day trip from any of those cities.
Imperial County | California
Imperial Sand Dunes
Race Around Sand Dunes
Escape to the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe for kayaking, mountain biking, skiing, and wildflower-season hiking in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. There you’ll also find Wylder, the ultimate glamping destination, complete with brand-new cozy yurts, vintage cabins, and all the gear rentals you need. Wylder’s staff will even handle trailhead drop-offs and pickups. The on-site Sorensen’s Cafe serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner Thursdays through Sundays and plenty of hot drinks in between
Hope Valley | California
Wylder Hope Valley
Get Wyld
Leave the city lights behind and head to Death Valley to see the Milky Way with your naked eyes from one of only a handful of parks to receive Gold Tier darkness status from the International Dark-Sky Association. By day in the cooler months of spring and fall, hop in your four-wheel drive for a rough-and-tumble ride to Racetrack Playa, the dry lakebed known for its mysterious “moving” boulders. You’ll want to pack a few gallons of water and a satellite phone, as you’ll be well out of reach of cell service. Stay at The Oasis, the park’s hotel with rooms, campsites, and private casitas.
Lone Pine | California
Death Valley National Park
Spy the Milky Way
Snowshoeing is hot at Lassen Volcanic National Park, where you can chase winter weather well into April and May around an active volcano. Also hot: the hydrothermal highlights around the park, including steam vents and bubbling pits of boiling mud. Lassen has 100 miles of trail open to equestrian use, so in the summer months you can meander the park on horseback and camp overnight along the way. Drakesbad Guest Ranch offers lodge rooms, cabins, secluded camping sites, and guided horseback tours right within the park from June through October. Big day of hiking? Ease your muscles in the lodge swimming pool, which is naturally heated by the area’s hot springs.
Red Bluff | California
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Snowshoe Across Volcanoes
California’s Lost Coast Trail lies at the end of steep mountain roads far from major cities and immune to most cell service. This 25-mile coastal stretch takes you across black-sand beaches, past tide pools, and into prime locations for viewing wildlife like sea lions. Starting in late June, Lost Coast Adventure Tours—which runs custom guided trips—plans to resume its shuttle service to drop you off and pick you up at either end of the trail. Get some well-earned rest post-trail at the Harbor House Inn, a few hours south, which offers high-end, secluded coastal cottages and guided fishing, sea-kayaking, and horseback-riding trips.
Mattole | California
Lost Coast Trail
Get Lost (and Found) on the Coast
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing at all. Enter forest bathing—known as shinrin-yoku in Japan, where the concept originated—where the point isn’t to do as much as you can, but to slow down and fully experience everything around you. Book a private experience through Redwood Adventures in Orick, and certified forest-therapy guide Justin Legge will take you into the woods for a stress-relieving saunter. Sister company Elk Meadow Cabins offers lodging nestled amid the Redwood National and State Parks, fully outfitted so you can cook all your own meals without the need to eat out. Can’t get enough of the redwoods? Head 30 minutes north for a walk along the new Redwood Canopy Trail at Trees of Mystery, where sky bridges connect the trees 50 to 100 feet off the forest floor.
Orick | California
Elk Meadow Cabins
Bathe in the Forest
A grove of hammock-ready redwood trees might just be the coolest item ever to grace a list of lodging amenities. And at AutoCamp Russian River in Guerneville, that's just one of the possibilities. Here you can try a retro Airstream trailer on for size or stay in a luxury canvas tent outfitted with hardwood floors and cushy furniture. Bring a cooler packed with campfire-friendly ingredients or pick some up in the on-site shop: you’ll have access to a fire pit and all the cooking gear you need to let the open flames flavor your dinner after a day of kayaking along the Russian River or hiking through a thousand-year-old redwood forest.
Guerneville | California
AutoCamp
Glamp Among Redwoods
When you think of the iconic Quail Lodge and Golf Club, off-roading probably isn’t the first amenity that comes to mind. But because Land Rover has set up one of its experience driving centers here, it’s actually one of the best places to cut your technical off-road driving teeth. Hop behind the wheel of the all-new 2020 Defender and your instructor will coach you through steep two-track descents, technical log pile up-and-overs, and tight hairpin turns. Experiences range from one-hour to full-day affairs, so there’s something for every driver.
Carmel | California
Land Rover Experience Center
Learn to Drive Off-Road
It’s no joke that in California, you can ski and surf in the same day. From forest glamping sites to coastal backpacking trips and thrills to dazzle even the most serious adrenaline junkie, the Golden State has modern adventures lurking in all of its corners.
New Rules of Adventure: California
For an outdoorsy city break, head to Tallahassee. There are 700 miles of trails hiding around Florida’s capital, not to mention rivers to paddle. Mountain bikers—yes, you read that correctly—will want to check out Redbug Trail, 5.3 miles of rugged singletrack with steep climbs and step-ups. If you want to keep a little more distance from society, stay south of the city at The Lodge at Wakulla Springs, just outside the park of the same name, home to the world’s largest and deepest freshwater spring. There, keep your eyes peeled for manatees and alligators that linger in the spring’s temperate waters.
Elkins | West Virginia
The Lodge at Wakulla Springs
Hit the Trails in Tallahassee
Just off the coast of California, Channel Islands National Park is a welcome respite from the mainland. These five islands can be reached only by boat or plane and have campgrounds but no hotels, restaurants, or other signs of civilization. You can easily take a day trip from Ventura to kayak, scuba dive, explore tide pools, or keep your eyes peeled for seals, sea lions, dolphins, whales, otters, and foxes. But why not settle in for a while and let the sounds of the ocean lull you to sleep? If camping’s not your thing, book a trip for up to six people with Santa Barbara Sailing Center, which will bring you around the islands on a yacht for up to seven days packed with surfing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, sea-cave exploration, wildlife viewing, and any other adventures you’re craving.
Ventura County | California
Channel Islands National Park
Head Out to Sea
Back to Top
If you know where to look, Florida is the ideal spot to combine conservation and adventure. Which is exactly what former professional hockey player turned adventurer Brooks Laich and his dog Koda did this past fall. First they off-roaded into a remote wildlife area to rehabilitate some endangered and native animals before heading to the Keys to go scuba spearfishing for lionfish, the exotic invasive species that has been decimating the reefs—and can only be hunted individually by spear underwater.
Watch now
Chapter Three: Florida
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“E-mountain bikes are an incredible tool to explore new types of terrain—you can cover so much more ground and ride a lot more than ever possible.”
A former national- and World Cup–level racer, Holden helped to create the women-only freeride event Formation and to launch the Grow Cycling Foundation, whose mission is to increase diversity and inclusion in cycling.
Katie Holden
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“Getting to explore Virgin and roam around the desert looking for new places to ride with such a rad group of women is basically a dream come true.”
A renowned pro skier turned multisport athlete, Michelle Parker has appeared in over a dozen ski films. These days, you’re just as likely to find her biking on red dirt as skiing in white stuff.
Michelle Parker
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“Virgin is a utopia for biking. You almost feel like you’ve entered into a different world—there are so many different ecosystems. You’ve got the tundra and the desert and super-red dirt.”
Professional mountain biker Samantha Soriano can ride just about anything. One of sport’s rising stars, she began her career as a BMX rider before transitioning to cross-country and downhill racing and then shifting into her latest discipline: freeriding.
Samantha Soriano
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Florida will surprise you. If you’re willing to explore and off-road a bit, the state is way wilder than you think.
After a successful career as a professional hockey player, Brooks Laich traded in his skates for his passport. These days, you’ll find the avid adventurer, creator, and entrepreneur exploring the mountains or oceans, and most likely with his beloved husky, Koda.
Brooks Laich
Explore the Defender Brooks drove in Florida
Learn more and build your own
Learn more and build your own
Exterior Side-mounted Gear Carrier: The 6.3-gallon Exterior Side-mounted Gear Carrier allows you to store items safely and securely outside of the vehicle. Both waterproof and lockable, it makes storing equipment easy and safe.
Expedition Roof Rack: With a dynamic load capacity of 291 pounds, the Defender’s Expedition Roof Rack can handle everything from a couple of surfboards and bikes to a rooftop tent or fully loaded cargo box.
Wade Sensing: Not sure how deep that water crossing is? The Defender has a wading depth of 35.4 inches and an exclusive Wade Program in Terrain Response—a 3D surround Camera with Wade Sensing uses ultrasonic sensors in the door mirrors to alert you when water approaches the vehicle’s maximum wading depth.
Chapter One: Maine
Denver
Florida
Cave Dive
Reel in a Tarpon
Dive for Treasure
Seek Seashells by the Sanibel Seashore
Be a Floridian Cowboy
Get Wrecked
Sleep in the Everglades
Swim with Manatees
Go Crystal Kayaking
Spear a Lionfish
Along the Florida Panhandle, a collection of shipwrecks has morphed into diverse habitats for marine wildlife. The Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail is a collection of 20 wrecks from Pensacola to Port St. Joe, like the Three Coal Barges, which were runaway cargo ships the Coast Guard sank in 1974 to keep them from running aground amid rough seas. Other wrecks in the collection were intentionally sunk to create artificial reefs. Grab your GoPro, buy a souvenir passport book, and collect stamps from local dive shops after each of your missions. Dive Pros, in Pensacola, offers wreck diving and specialty courses like underwater photography.
Pensacola | Florida
Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail
Get Wrecked
For anyone who’s serious about fishing, angling for a tarpon could be the ride of a lifetime. These massive saltwater fish can weigh 280 pounds. Book a tour in the Tampa Bay area with a charter like Captain Dustin. While you’re in town, hit Tarpon Springs, too—it’s one of the best places in the world to dive for natural sponges. Yes, sponges, as in the things you use in your kitchen and shower. The history of sponge diving here runs deep, rooted in Greek immigrants who have made the community one of the best places in the U.S.A. for Greek restaurants and culture.
Tampa Bay | Florida
Captain Dustin Fishing Charters
Reel in a Tarpon
There’s only one place in North America where you can legally swim alongside manatees, and that’s Florida’s Crystal River. In the winter, wild manatees thrive in the warm inland springs and can be easy to spot on boat, paddling, and snorkeling tours and even from boardwalk trails like the one at Three Sisters Springs, which is just 90 minutes north of Tampa. Prime manatee season here is from November to the end of April, when colder weather drives the manatees toward the dozens of offshore springs in the area. Follow them out on a trip with Fun 2 Dive for a plush pontoon boat ride and guided semi-private snorkel tour. Starting in July, it also offers scalloping tours so you can forage for your own dinner.
Crystal River | Florida
Fun 2 Dive
Swim with Manatees
The Everglades are a wildlife enthusiast’s dream, teeming with manatees, alligators, crocs, and over 300 species of birds. After exploring the park on foot, book yourself a houseboat from Flamingo Adventures. Steer your crew of up to four adults through Whitewater Bay and sleep out on the water under the stars each evening. Everglades National Park allows crabbing and both fresh- and saltwater fishing, so savvy (and patient) anglers might even be able to catch and cook dinners right on board. When you make it back to shore, take a day to explore the nearby Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida’s largest contiguous panther habitat.
Everglades National Park | Florida
Flamingo Adventures
Sleep in the Everglades
Hop in a transparent kayak and paddle through mangrove tunnels with Get Up and Go Kayaking. The outfitter runs trips all over the Sunshine State, but if you can head to Shell Key Preserve, you stand a chance to float alongside manatees and bottlenose dolphins foraging among the mangroves. On shore, stay at St. Pete Beach’s Don CeSar Hotel. Also known as the Pink Palace for its striking pastel shade, this historic hotel was built in 1926 and has hosted quite a few famous names over the years. Make time to explore the streets of St. Petersburg, too—the city has so many murals it’s like a giant outdoor art museum.
Tampa Bay | Florida
Get Up and Go Kayaking
Go Crystal Kayaking
Sanibel Island and nearby Captiva are known as the seashell capital of the world, and for good reason: on their pristine Gulf Coast beaches, you can find hundreds of varieties of shells washing ashore from the Caribbean and beyond. So long as there’s no sea creature inside, you can keep whatever you find for your own collection. For the best luck, grab a bucket and go shelling at low tide, especially during a full or new moon in spring months. Keep your eyes open for the brown-spotted junonia—you’ll get your photo in the local newspaper if you find one.
Sanibel Island | Florida
Sanibel Island and Captiva
Seek Seashells by the Sanibel Seashore
If theme parks are all that Florida brings to mind, think again. Ninety minutes south of Orlando, Westgate River Ranch offers up a totally different experience. This glamping resort is the largest dude ranch east of the Mississippi, packed with activities like fishing, archery, swamp-buggy rides, horseback riding, and weekly rodeos. It even has a mechanical bull for those daring enough to risk their pride. Stay in a massive, 500-square-foot deluxe canvas tent, a kitted-out Conestoga wagon, or your own cabin.
River Ranch | Florida
Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo
Be a Floridian Cowboy
The Florida Keys are blessed with crystal-clear water that supports North America’s only living barrier coral reef. It’s a great place to snorkel and scuba dive—or, for an added challenge, learn how to spearfish. Forever Young is the only operator in the Florida Keys that specializes in both freedive and scuba spearfishing charters—and Captain Tony Young is the perfect guide if you want to hunt lionfish, the exotic and invasive (and venomous) species that is wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem. The best part: Young’s staff will fillet your catch and package it up so you can cook it at home or bring it to a local restaurant to prepare for you.
Islamorada | Florida
Forever Young Charter Company
Walk Among the Treetops
Treasure hunters have long been lured to Dry Tortugas National Park by rumors of riches sunk beneath the clear waters around the southernmost point of the lower 48, but the wildlife here is the real bounty. Visit this cluster of pristine islands by seaplane or ferry and don’t forget your dive or snorkel gear—green and loggerhead turtles live around the islands named after them, and sharks, octopuses, squid, and hundreds of other marine species frequent the protected artificial reefs. There are no hotels or restaurants within the park, so bring a tent and all your own food for a proper off-the-grid adventure.
Florida Keys | Florida
Dry Tortugas National Park
Dive for Treasure
If cave diving is on your bucket list, head to central Florida’s Blue Grotto Dive Resort, where you can reach depths of about 100 feet in a massive, crystal-clear underwater cavern, accessible even to beginner divers. Certified cave divers will want to level up and book a guide to visit the cave side of the grotto, which is full of relatively undisturbed scenery. The resort has on-site cabins and also offers scuba lessons.
Levy County | Florida
Blue Grotto Dive Resort
Cave Dive
Full of scenic woodlands and more lakes than you can count, the Midwest is vastly underappreciated as a haven for modern adventure. From dogsledding between lodges and luxe winter base camps to hot spots for bald eagle watching rivaled only by Alaska, the Midwest is teeming with all-season excitement.
New Rules of Adventure: Florida
Hit the Trails in Tallahassee
For an outdoorsy city break, head to Tallahassee. There are 700 miles of trails hiding around Florida’s capital, not to mention rivers to paddle. Mountain bikers—yes, you read that correctly—will want to check out Redbug Trail, 5.3 miles of rugged singletrack with steep climbs and step-ups. If you want to keep a little more distance from society, stay south of the city at The Lodge at Wakulla Springs, just outside the park of the same name, home to the world’s largest and deepest freshwater spring. There, keep your eyes peeled for manatees and alligators that linger in the spring’s temperate waters.
Wakulla County | Florida
The Lodge at Wakulla Springs
Hit the Trails in Tallahassee
CALIFORNIA
Head Out to Sea
Dive off the Bridge to Nowhere
Race Around Sand Dunes
Get Wyld
Get Lost (and Found) on the Coast
Spy the Milky Way
Sleep in the Trees
Snowshoe Across Volcanoes
Bathe in the Forest
Glamp Among Redwoods
Learn to Drive Off-Road
Just off the coast of California, Channel Islands National Park is a welcome respite from the mainland. These five islands can be reached only by boat or plane and have campgrounds but no hotels, restaurants, or other signs of civilization. You can easily take a day trip from Ventura to kayak, scuba dive, explore tide pools, or keep your eyes peeled for seals, sea lions, dolphins, whales, otters, and foxes. But why not settle in for a while and let the sounds of the ocean lull you to sleep? If camping’s not your thing, book a trip for up to six people with Santa Barbara Sailing Center, which will bring you around the islands on a yacht for up to seven days packed with surfing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, sea-cave exploration, wildlife viewing, and any other adventures you’re craving.
Ventura County | California
Channel Islands National Park
Head Out to Sea
Deep in the mountains of Los Angeles County, the historic “Bridge to Nowhere” has become a popular spot for thrill-seekers to dive into the abyss of the evening. This bridge over the San Gabriel River, built in 1936, found itself stranded after a flood washed away the road it was meant to connect, and it’s now accessible only via a ten-mile round-trip hike. Bungee America offers multi-jump packages for anyone wild enough to want to dive off the bridge not just once but maybe even five or more times. For the ultimate adrenaline rush, book the camping package to jump both during the day and into the depths of the pitch-black night.
Mount Baldy | California
Bungee America
Dive off the Bridge to Nowhere
Right along the southeastern border of California lies the state’s largest expanse of sand dunes. You may not have heard of Imperial Sand Dunes, but it’s likely you’ve seen it—scenes from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and many other movies were filmed here. Snag a permit and rent an ATV from Jet Rent in nearby Yuma, Arizona, to zip around the dunes, or simply go for a hike. Sunset here is spectacular. The dunes are a great pit stop on the five-to-six-hour road trip between Los Angeles or San Diego and Phoenix—or a great day trip from any of those cities.
Imperial County | California
Imperial Sand Dunes
Race Around Sand Dunes
California’s Lost Coast Trail lies at the end of steep mountain roads far from major cities and immune to most cell service. This 25-mile coastal stretch takes you across black-sand beaches, past tide pools, and into prime locations for viewing wildlife like sea lions. Starting in late June, Lost Coast Adventure Tours—which runs custom guided trips—plans to resume its shuttle service to drop you off and pick you up at either end of the trail. Get some well-earned rest post-trail at the Harbor House Inn, a few hours south, which offers high-end, secluded coastal cottages and guided fishing, sea-kayaking, and horseback-riding trips.
Mattole | California
Lost Coast Trail
Get Lost (and Found) on the Coast
Escape to the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe for kayaking, mountain biking, skiing, and wildflower-season hiking in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. There you’ll also find Wylder, the ultimate glamping destination, complete with brand-new cozy yurts, vintage cabins, and all the gear rentals you need. Wylder’s staff will even handle trailhead drop-offs and pickups. The on-site Sorensen’s Cafe serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner Thursdays through Sundays and plenty of hot drinks in between.
Hope Valley | California
Wylder Hope Valley
Get Wyld
Leave the city lights behind and head to Death Valley to see the Milky Way with your naked eyes from one of only a handful of parks to receive Gold Tier darkness status from the International Dark-Sky Association. By day in the cooler months of spring and fall, hop in your four-wheel drive for a rough-and-tumble ride to Racetrack Playa, the dry lakebed known for its mysterious “moving” boulders. You’ll want to pack a few gallons of water and a satellite phone, as you’ll be well out of reach of cell service. Stay at The Oasis, the park’s hotel with rooms, campsites, and private casitas.
Lone Pine | California
Death Valley National Park
Spy the Milky Way
At Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, you might get the best sleep of your life suspended above the forest floor. This luxurious resort has worked with a sleep doctor to develop a program new for this spring to help guests destress and recharge. It’ll be hard to hold on to stress here anyway: you can choose among accommodations with a range of views, from a private treehouse complete with fireplace, an ocean-view home with a deck suspended over the edge of a cliff, or a ridgetop cabin with floor-to-ceiling views of the mountains. On-site activities include visits to the resort’s private art galleries, guided hikes, yoga, and spa treatments and soaking pools with sweeping views of the coast.
Big Sur | California
Post Ranch Inn
Sleep in the Trees
Snowshoeing is hot at Lassen Volcanic National Park, where you can chase winter weather well into April and May around an active volcano. Also hot: the hydrothermal highlights around the park, including steam vents and bubbling pits of boiling mud. Lassen has 100 miles of trail open to equestrian use, so in the summer months you can meander the park on horseback and camp overnight along the way. Drakesbad Guest Ranch offers lodge rooms, cabins, secluded camping sites, and guided horseback tours right within the park from June through October. Big day of hiking? Ease your muscles in the lodge swimming pool, which is naturally heated by the area’s hot springs.
Red Bluff | California
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Snowshoe Across Volcanoes
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing at all. Enter forest bathing—known as shinrin-yoku in Japan, where the concept originated—where the point isn’t to do as much as you can, but to slow down and fully experience everything around you. Book a private experience through Redwood Adventures in Orick, and certified forest-therapy guide Justin Legge will take you into the woods for a stress-relieving saunter. Sister company Elk Meadow Cabins offers lodging nestled amid the Redwood National and State Parks, fully outfitted so you can cook all your own meals without the need to eat out. Can’t get enough of the redwoods? Head 30 minutes north for a walk along the new Redwood Canopy Trail at Trees of Mystery, where sky bridges connect the trees 50 to 100 feet off the forest floor.
Orick | California
Elk Meadow Cabins
Bathe in the Forest
A grove of hammock-ready redwood trees might just be the coolest item ever to grace a list of lodging amenities. And at AutoCamp Russian River in Guerneville, that's just one of the possibilities. Here you can try a retro Airstream trailer on for size or stay in a luxury canvas tent outfitted with hardwood floors and cushy furniture. Bring a cooler packed with campfire-friendly ingredients or pick some up in the on-site shop: you’ll have access to a fire pit and all the cooking gear you need to let the open flames flavor your dinner after a day of kayaking along the Russian River or hiking through a thousand-year-old redwood forest.
Guerneville | California
AutoCamp
Glamp Among Redwoods
When you think of the iconic Quail Lodge and Golf Club, off-roading probably isn’t the first amenity that comes to mind. But because Land Rover has set up one of its experience driving centers here, it’s actually one of the best places to cut your technical off-road driving teeth. Hop behind the wheel of the all-new 2020 Defender and your instructor will coach you through steep two-track descents, technical log pile up-and-overs, and tight hairpin turns. Experiences range from one-hour to full-day affairs, so there’s something for every driver.
Carmel | California
Land Rover Experience Center
Spear a Lionfish
It’s no joke that in California, you can ski and surf in the same day. From forest glamping sites to coastal backpacking trips and thrills to dazzle even the most serious adrenaline junkie, the Golden State has modern adventures lurking in all of its corners.
New Rules of Adventure: California
Upper Midwest
Mid-Atlantic
Florida
California
Whether you’re looking to learn how to spearfish in Florida’s coral reefs or explore sand dunes in California straight out of Star Wars, there’s never been a better time to be a modern adventurer
Whether you’re looking to explore remote Utah trails by e-mountain bike or glamp at Illinois’s newest luxury resort, there’s never been a better time to be a modern adventurer
Whether you’re looking to explore remote Utah trails by e-mountain bike or glamp at Illinois’s newest luxury resort, there’s never been a better time to be a modern adventurer
Whether you’re looking to explore remote Utah trails by e-mountain bike or glamp at Illinois’s newest luxury resort, there’s never been a better time to be a modern adventurer
Whether you’re looking to scale rocky cliffs in Maine only accessible by boat or explore sand dunes in California straight out of Star Wars, there’s never been a better time to be a modern adventurer
Whether you’re looking to learn how to spearfish in Florida’s coral reefs or explore sand dunes in California straight out of Star Wars, there’s never been a better time to be a modern adventurer