If you haven鈥檛 discovered at least a dozen hidden gems in your backyard and hometown since the start of the pandemic, you鈥檝e been doing it all wrong. But don鈥檛 worry, there鈥檚 still time to build that list. For those of us living in cities, there are plenty of weekend-long detours that will make you feel as if you鈥檝e escaped the grind, without having to had to travel very far at all.
If You鈥檙e in Seattle or Portland聽
Go to Sisters, Oregon. The聽聽(from $125), three hours from Portland or five from Seattle, has everything you want in a quick summer getaway: a lake with kayaks, canoes, and SUPs on loan, a bar serving up lakefront cocktails, mountain bike trails nearby in聽, and musicians playing music around the campfire most nights. Stay in one of 11 newly restored lodge rooms or 16 rustic cabins on Suttle Lake.
If You鈥檙e in San Francisco or Los Angeles聽
Go to Mammoth Lakes, California.聽It鈥檚 a six-hour drive from San Francisco, or聽five hours from Los Angeles. 聽is staying open for skiing through Memorial Day; then the resort offers lift-accessed mountain biking, hiking trails, and scenic gondola rides. Need a camping rig?聽聽has rental campervans you can pick up in L.A. or San Francisco. Or check in to the聽聽(from $169), which has independent chalets.
If You鈥檙e in Boston or New York聽
Go to North Adams, Massachusetts. A聽three-hour drive west of Boston and a 3.5-hour haul from New York City,聽the northern Berkshires in the spring is a good place to be: the summer crowds haven鈥檛 arrived yet and hiking on a stretch of the Appalachian Trail is good to go. For birdwatchers, you鈥檒l find plenty of action at the Audubon Society鈥檚 in Lenox, which has seven miles of hiking trails. Stay at , 1.5 miles from downtown North Adams, which has 100 lakeside and wooded sites for RVs, campers, and tents (from $25). Pick up barbecue and a growler of craft beer at in town.
If You鈥檙e in 础迟濒补苍迟补听
Go to Ellijay, Georgia. Less than two hours from Atlanta, this is a mountain biker鈥檚 dream spot, but there鈥檚聽plenty to do here鈥攆rom hiking to fly-fishing through聽鈥攊f you don鈥檛 ride聽bikes. Stay in a cabin or park your van or RV at聽聽(from $70 per person) and you鈥檒l have miles of singletrack and gravel riding from your door.
If You鈥檙e in Chicago
Go to , Illinois.聽Its waterfalls and wildflowers come alive in the springtime, and the park鈥檚 campground and lodge see relatively fewer crowds. Hike into the sandstone canyons or scenic bluffs via 13 miles of marked trails or fish for white bass and walleye in the Illinois River. Less than two hours by car from Chicago, the park has a sprawling (from $25) and a (from $120), built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.