63 Parks Traveler started with a simple goal: to visit every U.S. national park. Avid backpacker and public-lands nerd saved up, built out a tiny van to travel and live in, and hit the road, practicing COVID-19 best safety protocols along the way. The parks as we know them are rapidly changing, and she wanted to see them before it鈥檚 too late. The Dry Tortugas is her 57th park visit.

A strong wind whipped the tops of the palms into a frenzy as I boarded the in Key West, Florida. is one of the country鈥檚 few island-centric national parks, and getting to its remote location, 70 miles due west, would be a challenge, even in good weather. I gritted my teeth and zipped up my wind shell as the boat rocked and rolled for nearly two and a half hours.

Like a mirage, the park appeared, a small series of islets surrounded by glittering, aquamarine seawater, with its main attraction鈥攖he Civil War鈥揺ra 鈥攕itting squat in the middle of Garden Key, massive and rust red.

Given the gales, as soon as I disembarked, I sprinted to the shelter of the fort for a guided tour. The hexagonal structure was enormous鈥攂uilt on 47 acres, with over 16 million handmade bricks, the project took over 30 years to complete鈥攁nd it inspired daydreams of pirates and frigate ships as I stood in its center. Our guide, a long-haired Floridian in cargo shorts and wraparound shades, led the group around the surprisingly green, overgrown fields within the citadel, past historic cannons and hallways that reminded me of an M.C. Escher drawing.

The Dry Tortugas were first discovered by Ponce de Le贸n on an expedition in 1513, named for their lack of fresh water and an abundance of delicious sea turtles, which sailors ate. Pirates frequented the area throughout the 1700s, often using the small islands as a base and attacking merchant ships en route to and from the Gulf of Mexico. But real development didn鈥檛 commence here until after the War of 1812; the U.S. government acquired the Dry Tortugas from Spain and decided to build a string of coastal forts from Maine to Texas, with Fort Jefferson to be the grandest of them all. The reasoning was that, as a budding superpower, it needed the Dry Tortugas to defend one of the most strategic deep-water anchorages in North America. Later, when the Civil War commenced, it was this fort that helped blockade southern shipping routes, strengthening the Union Army.

Wandering around with only a few dozen tourists behind me, it was hard to imagine that this bastion once housed nearly 2,000 men and women, many of whom were enslaved people tasked with the backbreaking labor of erecting the huge fortress.

When the tour concluded, I shuffled off with an armful of , bobbing up and down in the choppy, azure waves as I tried to make out the odd bit of coral or sea sponge. The park was the first marine area ever designated as a national monument, and with its abundance of Technicolor tropical fish, nesting sea turtles, and vast colonies of seabirds, it was easy to see why. I was adrift in an oasis of life.

I boarded the return ship feeling spacey and blissed-out, as though I鈥檇 just been tumbled through an ocean of time itself. The return trip was arduous, freezing, and unsteady, with salt water spraying over the ferry鈥檚 hull for hours. But I didn鈥檛 care. Lost in daydream, the long ride made me realize just how remote the park was and how much more remarkable that made it.

63 Parks Traveler Dry Tortugas Info

Size: 47,125 acres

Location: Southwest Florida, 70 miles from Key West

Created In: 1935 (Fort Jefferson National Monument), 1992 (Dry Tortugas National Park)

Best For: Boating, history buffs, snorkeling, diving, birding, lounging on the beach

When to Go: June through November (70 to 92 degrees) is considered hurricane season in this region, and ferry service is regularly canceled when storms strike. December (67 to 76 degrees) to May (75 to 86 degrees) are the most temperate months to visit and less prone to foul weather.

Where to Stay: Before and after your trip, you鈥檒l likely want to bask in the quirky beach town of Key West, home to , , and, of course, infinite slices of .

Mini 国产吃瓜黑料: All aboard the ! This high-speed catamaran jets up to 175 visitors per day to and from the park during high season. An is one of the best and most family-friendly ways to enjoy the Dry Tortugas; lunch, snorkeling gear, and a guided walking tour of Fort Jefferson are all included.

Mega 国产吃瓜黑料: To really enjoy the soul of a park, you often have to stay the night. Though reservations book up quickly, Dry Tortugas does offer for adventurous souls who want to bed down among the sand and surf. Stargazers will be rewarded: the Milky Way springs to life, as very little light pollution reaches this far-flung outpost.

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Two years ago, when the pandemic hit and the world went into lockdown, the cruise industry was devastated by COVID-19 outbreaks, as some ships were stranded for weeks offshore with sick passengers. Almost overnight, the industry, with millions of workers and customers, was shut down, the boats dropping off the face of the earth like a cartoon schooner sailing over the edge of the planet. For the first time in a generation, many ports of call woke up and discovered they had suddenly been thrust back into a time most residents had never known鈥攅ra BCS: Before Cruise Ships.

Without this primary source of tourism income, some port communities suffered, with layoffs rippling through economies dependent on the dockings. that ports in Florida lost more than $22 billion in 2020, thanks to COVID interruptions and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention鈥檚 ban on cruise ships. But in some places, like Key West, that ban allowed locals to envision a future without the industry dominating tourism.

鈥淚t was a stroke of luck,鈥� says Key West mayor Teri Johnston, of the CDC鈥檚. 鈥淚t gave our residents a chance to see what Key West would look like without the disembarkations鈥攕ometimes 10,000 people a day. We鈥檝e never seen cleaner waters, cleaner skies, and our overnight visitors have had the rare opportunity to take a leisurely walk down the street.鈥�

Liking what they saw, some Key West residents attempted to make the reprieve permanent. In November 2020, they voted on and decisively passed limiting cruise-ship traffic to just the smallest ships and those with the cleanest environmental records. (Two of the measures were approved by of voters and the other by more than 80 percent.) Less than a year later, the Italian government followed suit, from entering Venice鈥檚 fragile lagoon, declaring the area in front of the iconic St. Mark鈥檚 Square a national monument. In September 2021, French Polynesia also zeroed in on the industry, that cruise ships carrying more than 3,500 passengers would no longer be allowed at its ports of call, including those in Bora Bora and Tahiti, which relied on cruise ships for more than a third of its visitors.

Even today, as the cruise industry ramps up to full steam ahead, efforts to ban the mega ships continue. Overtourism is once again a top-of-mind concern in destinations around the globe, and the ships are an easy target for curbing visitor numbers.

Yet while a few countries and islands have been able to limit cruise ships, most have not. Even in Key West, a return to the BCS era was short-lived. That鈥檚 because, , state governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill with that effectively overturned the city鈥檚 voter-approved measures. The legislation, , was amended at the last minute by the Florida legislature to include a provision preventing ballot initiatives from regulating commerce in ports, rendering the will of Key West voters moot. Endeavors to ban cruise ships to the island have been a heated political battle, marred by lawsuits, threats of more lawsuits, personal insults, and controversial actions that have led all the way up to the Florida governor鈥檚 office.

Indeed, the never-ending drama in Key West鈥攁 proudly rebellious island that seceded (for a few minutes) from the U.S. in the 1980s鈥攑erhaps best exemplifies the global reevaluation of the cruise industry, one that could shape the future of tourism. But as the fight there demonstrates, corralling the cruise industry is like trying to subdue a hundred-pound tarpon on light tackle: once you hook it, you鈥檙e never really in control.

鈥淲hat options are we left with if the cruise industry won鈥檛 listen to our concerns and the Florida politicians simply overrule our demands?鈥� says captain Will Benson, a fishing guide in the Keys who helped campaign for the measures to limit big cruise ships on the November 2020 ballot. 鈥淢aybe the only recourse we have left is to pull off some pirate shit, secede from the U.S. again, and become a real Conch Republic this time.鈥�

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There鈥檚 real adventure out there. You just need to know where to look. We asked our editors and writers for their all-time favorite drives鈥攁nd tips on how to pack as much riding, paddling, climbing, and running into them as possible.

Lake Superior Circumnavigation

Miles: 1,300
Activities: Kayaking, wreck diving, mountain biking

Bring a bike, because there鈥檚 plenty of riding in hubs like Ontario鈥檚 and Copper Harbor, Michigan, as you circle the greatest of the Great Lakes. Begin your trip in Duluth, Minnesota, on the lake鈥檚 far southwestern corner, where hundreds of miles of flowy, technical, purpose-built singletrack parallels the 26-mile-long city and offers views of Superior. On the lake鈥檚 northwestern shore, Ontario鈥檚 receives fewer than 15,000 visitors annually, and even fewer attempt its challenging 37-mile Coastal Hiking Trail. Experienced divers can explore hundreds of shipwrecks preserved by Superior鈥檚 famously frigid water, including the Bermuda, a 150-foot schooner that sank in 1870 near Michigan鈥檚 . Finish your epic seven-to-ten-day circuit by paddling Wisconsin鈥檚 Apostle Island National Lakeshore, a 21-isle archipelago just a few dozen miles east of where you started.

Pro Tip: Camp within a stone鈥檚 throw of the water at any of the dozens of state, provincial, and national parks that line the lake. 鈥擲tephanie Pearson

Great Basin National Park to Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Miles: 400
Activities: 颅Hiking, hot springs, petroglyphs

Despite its nickname, U.S. 50鈥斺€攊s never boring. Start in eastern Nevada at . (That way you can finish the trip with a well-earned dip in Lake Tahoe.) From its 4.6-mile round-trip , you can take in the park鈥檚 Wheeler Peak Glacier, one of the southernmost ice fields in the country. (It鈥檚 predicted to disappear in as little as 20 years.) Stop off in Ely, 66 miles west of the park, to play a few hands of blackjack at , a prohibition-era gambling hall that, at six stories, was once the state鈥檚 tallest building. From there it鈥檚 a 125-mile drive to the hiking, camping, and rock art at Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area. The road-weary will enjoy a soak and the stunning views of the Toiyabe Range at before making the final push for Carson City. Once you arrive at Lake Tahoe, detour from Highway 50 and take Highway 28 north to swim at Skunk Harbor, Whale Beach, or Secret Cove (if public nudity isn鈥檛 your thing, avoid the last one).

Pro Tip: Get gas whenever you see it, and pack plenty of water. 鈥擱uben Kimmelman

Miami to Key West, Florida

Miles: 171
Activities: 颅Saltwater fly-fishing, reef diving, conch fritters

The drive from Miami International Airport to Key West makes for a bona fide tropical road trip, with dozens of state parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and plenty of roadside seafood shacks. Get out of the city fast, stopping only to load up on conch fritters at Alabama Jacks on County Road 905A. Once you cross the sound to North Key Largo, hike under the sea grape trees and mahogany mistletoes of . After switching over to famed Route 1, snorkel among the angelfish at and dive to a Spanish shipwreck at Cannon Beach. , in the village of Islamorada, has bounced back from 2017鈥檚 Hurricane Irma with $25 million in restorations and renovations, and it鈥檚 still one of the region鈥檚 best base camps from which to prowl the backwater flats for snook, bonefish, and tarpon. Once you鈥檝e caught your limit, it鈥檚 on to Key West and mile marker zero. Connect with the folks at Southernmost Sailing School, who can show you your bowline from your clove hitch and take you out to see the dolphins.

Pro Tip: US-1 Radio gives you traffic, island news, and lots of classic rock. 鈥擳im Neville

Bentonville to Mount Magazine State Park, Arkansas

Miles: 211
Activities: 颅Paddling, climbing, leaf peeping

Pack a trail bike, a canoe, and a pair of hiking shoes for this tour of America鈥檚 most overlooked mountain range: the Ozarks. Start by exploring Bentonville, home to Walmart, the world-class , and hundreds of miles of the best mountain biking between the Appalachians and the Rockies. From there, it鈥檚 just an hour drive east on U.S. 62 to funky Eureka Springs for a dose of classic Victorian structures, hip art galleries, and the Thorncrown Chapel, an architectural gem of soaring glass and timber set in the surrounding woodland. Veer south to Scenic Byway 7 and head for the 听to float easy rapids below its 500-foot-tall limestone bluffs. Climbers should make a detour to nearby Horseshoe Canyon, a dude ranch with over 400 established routes and the site of the 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell climbing competition, held every autumn. After crossing the Arkansas River, it鈥檚 a short jaunt east to the Ouachita Mountains and hang gliding, backpacking, and camping at Mount Magazine State Park.

Pro Tip: The park lodge sits atop the state鈥檚 highest point (from $218). 鈥擭icholas Hunt

Carlsbad, New Mexico, to Buena Vista, Colorado

Miles: 635
Activities: Sand sledding, peak bagging, summer skiing

Skip the overcrowded Carlsbad Caverns National Park in favor of New Mexico鈥檚 rugged , which has remote trails that wind through cacti, agaves, and soaptree yuccas. Then it鈥檚 140 miles north through Lincoln National Forest to the gypsum dunes of . It鈥檚 too hot in summer to camp, but there are six miles of trail for trekking and plenty of sand for sledding. Join up with U.S. 285, your route for the rest of the journey, and head north to Santa Fe and the ample hiking and biking in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Range. End the day with a soak at , a southwestern take on a classic Japanese onsen. Continuing north, be sure to climb the gentle volcanic slopes of San Antonio Mountain immediately off the highway on the New Mexico side of the state border, then hit up Calvillo鈥檚 restaurant in Alamosa, 50 miles farther north, for amazing Colorado-style huevos. 国产吃瓜黑料 Salida, click into your backcountry skis for a late-season skin up Monarch Ski Area, or ride the 36-mile for some of the best singletrack in the country. Then just 25 miles north of Salida, you鈥檒l find the small town of Buena Vista, a prime location for bagging fourteeners and kayaking the Arkansas River. Stop by Brown Dog Coffee for a strong brew: you鈥檒l need it to get up Colorado鈥檚 highest peak, nearby 14,440-foot Mount Elbert.

Pro Tip: Don鈥檛 miss the homemade malted milk balls at New Mexico鈥檚 retro Clines Corners truck stop. 鈥擜xie Navas

Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Boone, North Carolina

Miles: 193
Activities: Paddleboarding, trekking, boiled peanuts

It would take two weeks to do justice to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile, two-lane byway with endless Appalachian views and easy access to some of the South鈥檚 best adventures, but you can knock out its stunning North Carolina section in a handful of days. First up? Trekking to LeConte Lodge, a hike-to backcountry inn that sits at 6,400 feet in the heart of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Be sure to stop and enjoy the 80-foot cascades along the Rainbow Falls Trail as you head out. From there, follow the parkway into Asheville to paddleboard or fly-fish the mellow French Broad River before sipping a few pints at some of the city鈥檚 30 craft breweries. If you have the legs, the region is home to some of the best singletrack in the East, like the jump-heavy in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. From town, head north past 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell鈥攖he tallest peak east of the Mississippi鈥攖o the Roan Highlands, where the Appalachian Trail crosses a series of treeless peaks covered with native grasses. Knock out the 5.5-mile hike along the trail to the , an old barn with a sleeping loft that鈥檚 a favorite of through-hikers.

Pro Tip: Look for roadside stands selling boiled peanuts, a southern delicacy, on the country roads just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. 颅鈥斅璆raham Averill

Quebec City to Saguenay Fjord and Back

Miles: 448
Activities: Tubing, via ferratas, cycle touring

With its hilltop ch芒teaus and charming old-world-style streets, is a worthy road trip, but it鈥檚 even better as a jumping-off point for a 450-mile lollipop-shaped route through the province鈥檚 intense glacial-carved topography. Head north on Quebec 175 to Saguenay, population 145,949, stopping along the way to rent a tube and float among the hardwoods lining the calmer sections of the Jacques-Cartier River that cuts through 260-square-mile . Then it鈥檚 on to the showstopper鈥攖he road-and-ferry loop known as the , a 187-mile lap around the beluga whale-filled waters and 1,000-foot-high granite walls of Saguenay Fjord. Three via ferratas race along the cliffs in the 123-square-mile Saguenay Fjords National Park, including La Grande Dalle, a 656-foot-high ramble across a gigantic vertical slab. Before heading back to Quebec City, stop at the Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux campground, on the fjord鈥檚 northern bank, to cast for Atlantic salmon, and spend the night in the camp鈥檚 20-foot-diameter glass dome tucked among the pines high over the water (from $198).

Pro Tip: The Route du Fjord makes for a spectacular bike tour, too. 鈥擳.N.

Fayetteville to Snowshoe, West Virginia

Miles: 256
Activities: Rafting, climbing, bluegrass

West Virginia has some of the wildest terrain in the mid-Atlantic, and this 256-mile trek takes it all in. Start in the paddling haven of Fayetteville, a mile away from the New River Gorge. Rafting season on the Class II鈥揤 New River runs from early spring through fall, but the best whitewater can be found in autumn on the Gauley River, one of the toughest commercially rafted waterways in the country. North of Fayetteville, Dolly Sods Wilderness Area is full of red spruce, cold creeks, and massive views of the Allegheny Mountains. Grab a pint at and a room at the , which has complimentary afternoon libations. Drive south and sign up for a two-day trad-climbing course with Seneca Rocks Climbing School, or tackle the multi-pitch routes that rise several hundred feet from the valley floor on distinctive rock fins on your own. Cap off the journey at Snowshoe Mountain Resort鈥檚 lift-served bike park, which will host a World Cup Downhill race this summer.

Pro Tip: The Purple Fiddle, in the town of Thomas, attracts some of the best touring bluegrass musicians in the country. 鈥擥.A.

Glacier National Park, Montana, to Jackson, Wyoming

Miles: 476
Activities: Car camping, day hiking, hot springs

Sometimes called the National Parks Highway, U.S. 89 runs due south from the Canadian border to Flagstaff, Arizona. But if you鈥檝e only got a week, start at the icy peaks of northern Montana and end at the boiling waters and mountains of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The trailhead for the 11.8-mile 鈥攚hich will treat you to alpine meadows and views of the Livingston Range鈥攊s just off Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier. Buffalo Joe鈥檚 Eatery and Saloon, in Dupuyer, has amazing burgers and a friendly eight-room motel around back. Wake up and hike the Watchable Wildlife Trail at the nearby Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, where there鈥檚 a good chance you鈥檒l spot elk and golden eagles. After that, you can fish for big browns on the Missouri River. The town of White Sulphur Springs is your midway point. Make a pit stop at its hot springs, or plan your trip for July鈥檚 rootsy . From there, it鈥檚 on to Yellowstone and the Tetons, both of which need no introduction.

Pro Tip: Join a guided dinosaur dig at the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center in Bynum, Montana. 鈥擟harlie Ebbers

Fernie to Revelstoke, British Columbia

Miles: 378
Activities: Mountain biking, craft beer, small towns

Let the hordes have western British Columbia鈥� in the east are loaded with hundreds of miles of new, empty singletrack, lift-served bike parks, and hip, blue-collar mountain towns. Kick off the trip in Fernie, in far southeastern B.C., and earn a free beer and a medal from Fernie Brewing by completing the , where you鈥檒l attempt to bag three of Fernie鈥檚 toughest peaks by foot or bike in just 24 hours. Then head northwest to Bootleg Mountain, outside Kimberley, where a handful of downhill trails like Atlas Shrugged and NIMBY offer up to 2,000 feet of descent. From there, it鈥檚 on to , one of the best bike parks east of Whistler, Radium Hot Springs, at least 124 miles of cross-country trails overlooking Golden, and the high-alpine biking in Revelstoke, where its namesake resort will open its first gondola-served trail this summer. Finish up by heading south on B.C. Highway 23 toward Naksup and use your all-wheel-drive vehicle and sturdy hiking boots to reach the rugged Halfway River hot springs, a 40-minute drive north of town.

Pro Tip: Kimberley Centex Market looks like a gas station (and it is), but it also has the best coffee and cold-pressed juice in the province. 鈥擥.A.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, to Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Miles: 550
Activities: Fly-fishing, wildlife, history

If you think the Dakotas are only for flying over, you鈥檙e dead wrong. This 550-mile meandering drive winds from the grasslands and canyons of North Dakota鈥檚 Theodore Roosevelt National Park to the state鈥檚 southern twin and the buttes and spires of . Start by mountain biking the Maah Daah Hey Trail, 144 miles of rugged singletrack, river crossings, and precipitous ridge climbs just outside South Billings. Across the border, Custer State Park has herds of bison, and rainbow trout lurk in nearby Spearfish Creek, a cold-water fishery just off the road in the Black Hills. Take a break from the sun and explore a few of the 147-plus miles of mapped caverns in Wind Cave National Park, before ending your journey at the 60-foot-tall mugs of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt at Mount Rushmore.

Pro Tip: Got kids? Stay the night in a brand-new, impressively plush covered wagon at the Wagons at Rushmore Shadows, which includes a cowboy hot-dog dinner served around a fire (from $154). 鈥擲.P.

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On September 10, 2017, as Hurricane Irma drowned the Florida Keys with a five-foot storm surge and shredded houses with 130 mph winds, David Vaughan, a 65-year-old marine biologist, and Frank Slifka, a 67-year-old maintenance man, huddled inside the and hoped for the best. There were not many places to hide on the tiny spit of sand called Summerland Key, but the research center was one of them. The $7 million facility was built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and resembles a cinder block on burly concrete stilts. From the second floor, Vaughan peered into the storm to check on his house and boat next door. All he could see was the wind itself, a roaring wall of gray.

When the storm鈥檚 eye passed directly overhead, the wind died and the storm surge sucked back out to sea. Vaughan could see that his house鈥檚 roof had begun to collapse. His boat had smashed into his Prius. He had 40 minutes to save what he could before the back wall of the hurricane hit and another storm surge rushed in.

He and Slifka rushed downstairs, turned their backs on everything Vaughan owned, and got to work in the laboratory鈥檚 ground floor, rescuing thousands of tiny plaster plugs capped by dark dots the size of a pencil tip鈥攇enetically hacked coral polyps that the storm threatened to wash away. Without them, Vaughan knew, the Florida Keys might not survive the next century.

When I drove into Summerland Key three months after the storm, debris still lined the main road, piled almost as high as the three-axle trucks rumbling in to retrieve and burn it. Just 20 miles east of bustling Key West, the island remained a ghost town. Boats and trailers sat marooned on front lawns, their carcasses spray painted with the redundant tag 鈥渢rash.鈥� Many residents hadn鈥檛 returned to clean up.

The Elizabeth Moore Center's parking lot, however, was packed with cars. The building had survived the storm. Inside its thick concrete walls, offices and dorm rooms thrummed with the paperwork doldrums of scientific life. Down in the open-air ground floor, the plastic holding tanks that had overturned in the storm once again brimmed with the corals Vaughan and Slifka had saved, plus thousands of others, submerged in bubbling seawater. Grad students slowly circulated among them, staring down into the troughs, gliding suction hoses along their bottoms.

When I wondered aloud about their job, one perked up and removed his headphones. 鈥淲e鈥檙e removing detritus from the bottom,鈥� he said.

鈥淪nail shit,鈥� said another.

Suctioning snail shit is where the rubber meets the road for the facility鈥檚 main mission: saving coral from extinction via a groundbreaking technique of genetic modification and cloning.

Corals are strange creatures, invertebrate organisms made up of individual tentacled polyps that, under a microscope, each look like a miniature Sarlacc pit. Inside each polyp are tiny marine plankton that photosynthesize food, giving the polyp enough energy to build a calcium carbonate reef structure around itself and its neighboring polyps.

They鈥檙e also fragile. Without grad students to suction up snail shit at this stage of their lives, the polyps would be strangled by too much algae. Without carefully monitored water temperatures, the polyps would overheat and expel all their algae and bleach, a much greater danger that leads to wide-spread die offs.

Vaughan, the executive director of the Elizabeth Moore Center, has a graying castaway鈥檚 beard and cloudy blue eyes. He commutes to work every day by paddling a canoe 50 yards across Summerland Key鈥檚 canal from the dock at the back of his house, which is still standing. 鈥淧eople say, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e the best low-carbon-footprint commuter,鈥欌€� Vaughan said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 even know that I hold my breath going across, so I鈥檓 not emitting anything at all.鈥�

Vaughan giggles鈥攈e does that鈥攂ut he鈥檚 getting at something. Since the 1970s, the greenhouse effect from the atmosphere鈥檚 absorption of carbon dioxide has raised average ocean temperatures by almost two degrees Fahrenheit. In the next 100 years, that temperature could rise by between two and six degrees more. Worse, the sea has absorbed about half of humanity鈥檚 total CO2 output, which has chemically reacted with the main substrate of the ocean, calcium carbonate鈥攁 compound that all sea animals with exoskeletons, like crabs, shrimp, clams, and coral, depend on to live鈥攖o make oceans 30 percent more acidic than they were in the 19th century. That higher acidity makes it harder for coral to build its reef structure. If ocean acidity continues to increase into the next century, it could mean reefs will begin eroding faster than they are being built鈥攐r, literally, start melting away.

The combination of warming and acidification has been devastating to coral. Since the 1970s, scientists estimate 20 to 40 percent of the world鈥檚 coral has been killed off by bleaching events caused by high water temperatures. In certain areas, it鈥檚 been worse. In 2015, 22 percent of the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world鈥檚 largest living structures, died off in a mass bleaching event. A 2008 study estimated that only 2 percent of Florida鈥檚 native staghorn and elkhorn corals remain alive. And bleaching events worldwide are happening more often as earth鈥檚 average temperature climbs. Florida鈥檚 reefs have experienced bleaching events in 12 of the past 14 years.

The effects of this mass extinction are catastrophic. Never mind that reef tourism generates $5 billion annually in Florida and $36 billion worldwide. Across the globe, hundreds of millions of people depend on fish stocks that are supported by the coral reef ecosystem, without which they鈥檒l starve.

What鈥檚 more, if reefs disappear, millions of people living in these low-lying coastal regions, including the Keys, could be displaced鈥攐r drowned鈥攂y megastorms like Irma, which the听National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) believes听will only get stronger in coming years due to warming ocean surface temperatures. These communities depend on fringe and barrier reefs, where corals rise like a wall from the seafloor, beating back the strength of incoming waves like defensive linemen breaking up an oncoming blitz. A study during Hurricane Wilma in 2005 found that barrier reefs attenuated 99 percent of the height of the storm鈥檚 42-foot waves before they hit the shoreline. But the reefs pay a price for their work. Before Irma smashed into the Keys, many of its fringe and barrier reefs had been covered in hard and soft corals. Now, said Robert Nowicki, a postdoc research fellow at the , the organization that runs the Elizabeth Moore Center, some of them had been 鈥渟coured almost to nothing, like the surface of the moon.鈥� If there鈥檚 no new coral to replace the old, life as we know it along the world鈥檚 tropical coasts will almost certainly change.

鈥淭wenty-five-to-30-foot waves were hitting our reef during Irma,鈥� Vaughan told me. 鈥淚f those waves had not been smashed on the reef, then they would have smashed on our island, right here. I think our tallest buildings are 33 feet. So where would anybody run to?鈥�

In the past five years, all these disastrous consequences for reefs have pushed coral reef restoration to the forefront of marine science. The field is expensive and controversial, but today, it鈥檚 considered the tip of the spear in the fight to help coral survive into the next century.

Scientists like Ruth Gates, director of the , have recently made major strides in identifying and crossbreeding the genotypes, or genetic families, of each coral species that can survive the higher temperatures and acidification we can now expect in the coming years鈥攖emperatures and pHs that will kill and then dissolve many of the world鈥檚 less-hardy corals. The goal is to create a 鈥渟uper coral鈥� that will survive an increasingly inhospitable ecosystem.

Vaughan and his team are part of this search for genetically superior corals. But their main contribution is what Vaughan calls his microfragmentation program, which both clones corals and hacks the mechanisms for their growth rates. 鈥淲e can fix things that we thought impossible ten years ago,鈥� Gates told me when I asked her about Vaughan鈥檚 work. 鈥淩eally, his techniques are at the center of the question, 鈥楬ow do we build a reef?鈥欌€�

Vaughan鈥檚 technique is absurdly simple:听He uses a saw to chop healthy hard coral pieces into much smaller fragments; these grow back extremely quickly atop small concrete plugs and are then replanted in the sea. In essence, he鈥檚 created a sea-life version of Mickey Mouse鈥檚 broomsticks in the . Smash them up, then watch them come roaring back with a vengeance.

The technique is a vital one for the field. Coral鈥檚 biggest problems might be warming seas and rising acid levels, but those are magnified by a sad fact of life for corals: They aren鈥檛 very good breeders. 鈥淲e actually didn鈥檛 know how corals reproduced until the 1980s,鈥� Vaughan said. That鈥檚 because, as if adhering to some dirty fairy tale, corals breed only a few days a year, en masse, for around 30 minutes, shortly after the full moon in August, when they simultaneously fill the sea with their white, snowy-looking gametes in a single, very unkinky orgy.

Because of this sex tactic, only one in a million potential baby corals is successfully fertilized and survives to become a juvenile. That means it takes some corals 25 or even 50 years to successfully reproduce. Given the rate of the ocean鈥檚 decline, that鈥檚 not going to produce the genetically superior corals nearly fast enough. 鈥淲e鈥檝e probably got 50 to 100 years to act with these resistant strains of coral,鈥� Vaughan said. 鈥淚f we still don鈥檛 change in 100 years, and it keeps getting hotter and hotter鈥攖here鈥檚 certainly a limit to everything.鈥�

Vaughan stumbled on his procedure five years ago when he accidentally broke a piece of coral in his lab and left it in the bottom of the tank. When he returned two weeks later, it and the other fragments had regrown to their original size. He鈥檚 still not sure exactly why this happens, but his closest analogy is our skin cells, which regrow quickly to cover a fresh wound but otherwise lay dormant.

Using jewelry saws, Vaughan and his team started fracturing their lab-fertilized corals. Within three to six months, they could turn a single coral into 60 to 100 new organisms the same size as the original. The fractured corals continued to grow between ten and 40 times faster than coral in the wild, depending on their species.

Then Vaughan made a much more important discovery. Because the polyps were technically all part of a single organism before they were fragmented, they were clones鈥攁nd they would willingly reconstitute back into a larger organism, skipping ahead into maturity. 鈥淯sually, when corals touch each other, they start fighting, and they can kill each other,鈥� Vaughan said. 鈥淏ut when we put 100 of the fragmented pieces next to each other that had come from a single original piece, they didn鈥檛 fight. They recognized each other as themselves. And they would actually start to fuse together, like skin grafting.鈥�

A piece of coral the size of a golf ball, fractured into 20 pieces replanted side by side, could produce a single large coral the size of a pizza just four to five years later. It worked in the wild, too. In four years, Vaughan could have a sexually mature coral the size of a football or a table鈥攄epending on how many individual pieces of coral he decided to combine鈥攚hich would have taken a natural coral 25, 50, or even 100 years to grow.

These quick-growing fragmented corals could be planted near one another in the wild to cross-breed and create uber-corals resistant to high water temperature, ocean acidification, and disease. When paired with the work of genetics-focused scientists like Gates, it would be like replanting a rainforest that could continue to proliferate, with offspring that grew bark strong enough to break a logger鈥檚 chainsaw.

Vaughan set a goal to plant a million corals before he retired. He and his team grew their coral output exponentially, planted multiple offshore nurseries, began making their reef-growing techniques cost-efficient, and started working to score the major state grants needed to rebuild Florida鈥檚 reef industry.

Then the hurricane hit.

Working quickly, Vaughan and Slifka saved the vast majority of the coral plugs outside the Elizabeth Moore Center鈥攕ome 5,000 out of nearly 7,000. Inside the lab, another 14,000 corals rode out the storm, along with a gene bank holding the most promising genotypes of all 28 coral breeds found in the Keys.

Out in the field, acres of wild corals were sandblasted by the storm鈥檚 waves. One of the lab鈥檚 field nurseries for lab-fractured elkhorn and staghorn corals鈥攎ore fragile, branching corals that look like antlers and are endangered in Florida鈥攚as almost entirely wiped out. 鈥淚t was pretty disheartening,鈥� said Erich Bartels, a staff scientist. 鈥淭hat coral was the result of 500 hours of work per person, per year, for seven years.鈥�

But another field nursery for the lab鈥檚 elkhorn and staghorn farther south fared much better, with only minimal losses. And the lab鈥檚 hardier boulder corals also had a higher survival rate. 鈥淎ll we can do is plant as many good corals as we can,”听said Nowicki,听“use the numbers game, and spread everything out so that a single storm can鈥檛 destroy everything we鈥檝e done.鈥�

Vaughan still says he won鈥檛 retire until he plants his million corals worldwide. Upscaling the process is beginning to pay off. The cost per coral has dropped from around $1,000 a piece to only $20 a piece, thanks to more efficient methods. The lab already has grants to plant between 25,000 and 50,000 corals in 2018, and by spreading his techniques to local coral restoration labs worldwide, Vaughan hopes to quickly catapult those numbers into the hundreds of thousands per year. He and his team are hoping to change the public鈥檚 attitude toward saving reefs, which, since the Great Barrier Reef鈥檚 die-off in 2015, has shifted toward hopelessness.

鈥淥ne of the things that disheartens me the most is people saying, 鈥極h, we鈥檙e screwed. Planet鈥檚 over. There鈥檚 nothing we can do,鈥欌€� Nowicki said. 鈥淭here are things we can do. But you have to have the courage and the resources to go out and try.鈥�

On my last day at the lab, I found Frank Slifka, the maintenance man who stayed behind to weather Irma with Vaughan. Slifka was working in the bowels of the facility, where the tidal surge had swept through during the storm, cleaning up and keeping track of diving equipment in metal wire cages.

鈥淧eople ask why we stayed behind,鈥� Slifka told me, shaking his head. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 trying to be brave or heroic or anything like that. We just decided that if we were really here to save the coral, then that鈥檚 simply what we needed to do.鈥�

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Nine days after Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Lower Keys on September 10, staking out the region as one of the most vulnerable to climate change in America, I drove like hell to Will Benson鈥檚 house on Lower Sugarloaf to beat the dusk curfew still in place. Passing through Key Largo on my way down, I noted that restaurants were already open鈥攈otels, too. People walking alongside the towering piles of debris waved when I passed. Farther down the road, I saw a sign that read, 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 drown a Conch.鈥�

In the Conch Republic鈥攖he region of islands extending from Key Largo down to Key West鈥攁 certain kind of resilience seems omnipresent, quintessentially Southern yet distinct. Hurricanes aren鈥檛 exactly foreign around here, and most Conchs, as residents call themselves, will start rattling off differences between Georges (1998) and Wilma (2005). But unlike previous storms, most residents evacuated for Irma, especially those with families. When I first visited Benson, his wife and two kids were still camped out in Costa Rica, waiting to return. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been through this before, and we鈥檒l go through it again,鈥� he told me. 鈥淲e learn a bit every time. It鈥檚 part of living here.鈥�

But with the storm crimping the principal economy of tourism, you鈥檇 expect some concern for the region鈥檚 short- and long-term prospects. If hurricane seasons like this one are the new normal鈥攁nd they are鈥攈ow will the Keys survive?

In Monroe County, 54 percent of its workforce , which is a $2.7 billion industry here. Of that, recreational fishing contributes , according to a study published by the Bonefish Tarpon Trust in 2012, with the flats fishery totaling $465 million alone. According to the county, Irma , 465 of them on Big Pine Key alone. Following that assessment, it deemed more than 10,000 structures affected. And in light of the storm, Monroe County Mayor George Neugent hazarded that they of the population due to relocation.

Benson, a fly-fishing guide for the past 18 years who grew up on Sugarloaf, sat in his truck with a big grin when I pulled into the driveway鈥攈is house still standing. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to Fishcamp for dinner. You want to go?鈥� he asked. Fishcamp is actually his parents鈥� place. The last time I鈥檇 seen him had been July, when we celebrated Benson being crowned grand champion guide at the Del Brown Permit tournament. Now, two months later, we caught up as the last arcs of light fell away that night. At dinner, the living room was humming with people preparing cocktails and telling stories after a long day. Benson introduced me to a crew from outdoor gear brand Costa Del Mar, along with some of his clients who鈥檇 flown down to help. We ate rice, beans, chicken, and steak on paper plates, drank, and laughed. I looked out over the reticulated chain of islets and basins falling off into the Gulf, thinking the place hadn鈥檛 lost any of its charm. But also, what would follow?

The next morning, just before 7:00, we drove down U.S. 1 toward Key West. The air was still; the road empty. The stench of rotting, salt-laden flora after the storm hung in the air like humidity. Benson and Shane Smith, a local guide who lives on Sugarloaf, quipped of the storm, 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 even taken my [plywood] boards down yet.鈥� And Smith asked, 鈥淲hy would you? She鈥檚 throwing strikes right now,鈥� of Cape Verde鈥檚 accuracy during the 2017 hurricane season.

Out the window, lakes of shallow water began to appear as the first bits of light poured through the scorched mangroves. All the leaves were gone. But signs of life returned with every mile we drove from the path of Irma鈥檚 eye, the water clearing up day by day.

We were joined by a crew made up almost entirely of fishing guides听who pursue permit鈥攖he most challenging, difficult, and maddening of saltwater species鈥攁nd headed to Justin and Loren Rea鈥檚 house. (Justin is a guide, and Loren manages the Del Brown, March Merkin, and Cuda Bowl tournaments.) Everyone quickly broke into groups of three or four, with one person felling trees and the others hauling limbs out to the road. What was once a verdant garden hemming the place in had turned into a brown, moribund remnant of Hurricane Irma. The number of trees down and the absence of green gave the Keys a strange, unsettling feeling, maybe the starkest hangover of the storm, followed by the smell. 鈥淣ow I got to think about walking around the house naked,鈥� Rea joked.

Work that seemed insurmountable was reduced to mere hours with this number of people. Tacking on another person or two at each house, the group swelled to 20, and we headed east to triage home after home. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense that we鈥檒l be back on our feet before too long. A lot of chainsawing, hauling, a lot of nasty stuff,鈥� Benson laughed, 鈥渂ut you can see a little bit of green on the trees.鈥� With a 15-inch predicted by 2045, according to the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Benson added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e a test case for the rest of the world. I think the Keys are going to be ground zero in the climate battle.鈥�

Before I left in September, Benson and I hopped in his skiff and ran 20 miles from Key West out to the Marquesas, circumventing a submarine graveyard and a constellation of surface debris. Benson wanted to see how the fishery fared, as this is the resource so many down here derive their livelihood from; it鈥檚 the thing many residents鈥� lives revolve around.

The anticipation nearly palpable, we pushed across the first flat鈥攖otally alone鈥攁nd the water was clear. The sea grass even looked healthier than a few weeks before, with significantly less stagnant benthic algae. But maybe most promising, the fish were there. We doubled up on a handsome pair of bonefish, saw a few permit, and the buzz of chainsaws alongside Irma鈥檚 stench fell away for a little while.

Now, more than three months after Irma, the routine hasn鈥檛 changed much for many residents, who continue to replace shingles with tin roofs and repair foundations. Some are rebuilding entirely. Folks are still living in tents all along the Lower Keys, with nowhere to go.

While 鈥淜ey West is as clean as a whistle,鈥� the pile of debris Benson and I amassed outside his house on Lower Sugarloaf three months ago is still sitting pretty. Due to a contractual dispute over waste removal in the Lower Keys, U.S. 1 and residential streets are still lined with debris. 鈥淭here are more and more piles showing up every day between Sugarloaf and Big Pine,鈥� Benson told me. To date, of debris have been extracted since Irma, but the rotting banks of debris flanking the road are growing along with the smell. Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi explained that while 8,500 trucks were necessary to clean up the Keys, only 3,500 were available statewide.

Fortunately the tourism industry that鈥檚 so vital to the islands has begun to pick up. 鈥淭he clients were the first ones back and happy to go fishing. The support has been tremendous,鈥� said Benson when I talked to him in late November. (Even still, he estimated he鈥檇 lost about $15,000 in income due to Irma.)听

Turnout at this year鈥檚 annual Lower Keys Guides Association Tournament, held in November, dwarfed that of previous years, and it seemed as though Irma only strengthened the Keys. 鈥淭he fish are here,鈥� Benson said. It took about six weeks for the water to clear up, but the flats got a good 鈥渟crubbing鈥� in the process.

On November 30, Benson called me as he stepped off his skiff that evening. There was a tenor of optimism in his voice鈥攈e鈥檇 brought the first permit to hand since the storm for one of his clients. 鈥淥ne of the biggest permit I鈥檝e ever guided to in my life,鈥� he told me. It also happened to be the last day of the Atlantic hurricane season.

Benson laughed and said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 timely, the conversation.鈥�

After a lifetime waiting for a storm just like Irma, he believed Conchs had a way of looking at the best of it and said, 鈥淭he Keys are an inkling of how we live with a changing climate.鈥� Eighty days after Irma, the overarching takeaway for Benson was, 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 the last hurricane. We鈥檙e going to get more, and we鈥檒l be just fine when it happens. We鈥檙e survivors down here. We鈥檝e always had an independent spirit.鈥�

But in light of Irma鈥檚 path that altered the Lower Keys鈥� ecosystem, which rose out of the ocean floor almost 12,000 years ago, Benson noted, 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing the seeds of life. Everything was wiped clean, and now you see new islands and flats form鈥攏ew spots open up.鈥�

If anything, Benson believes the storm will have a positive effect on the fishery. The spark in his voice reminded me of the run back home from the Marquesas during that reconnaissance trip in September. We felt refreshed after washing off the dust by stretching some line. But more important, I remembered how mountains of purple clouds built up over Key West Harbor as we crossed the Northwest Channel, and I thought to myself: You can鈥檛 drown a Conch.

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If you鈥檙e looking for the seclusion of a private beach with the affordability of a state park, but want to do more than kick off your flip-flops and sunbathe, these are the five Florida beaches for you.

Sanibel Island

The beaches on this Gulf Coast island are the real versions of those you daydream about: white sand, turquoise waters, palm trees swaying in the breeze, a lone beach chair beckoning from the shore. After you鈥檝e taken in the scenery, gone for a swim, and lounged a bit, more awaits: Sanibel Island鈥檚 Tarpon Bay, in the is a must-see stop on , a 190-mile marked canoe and kayak trail that follows a centuries-old 鈥渉ighway鈥� once used by the Calusa Indians along the Caloosahatchee River and between several coastal islands.听

Playalinda Beach

This Atlantic barrier island beach sits on the southern edge of the , with access to the adjacent . These protected lands, of course, have natural value aplenty, but they also provide a buffer around the Kennedy Space Center, located to the south. Perhaps because access is restricted during launch periods, the shores here are off the radars of most beach seekers. On Playalinda, and along the seashore, nesting sea turtles are in more abundance than people鈥攂ut be aware that the humans you encounter may be sunbathing topless (that鈥檚 either a bonus or a deterrent, depending on your perspective). The national wildlife refuge counts more than a thousand species within its borders, including the microscopic, bioluminescent water organisms that make this area a destination for .

Santa Rosa Beach

Set along the Emerald Coast in northwest Florida, this fine beach鈥檚 proximity to other ones helps make it a top pick. Santa Rosa itself boasts soft sand, clear waters, and few visitors. The beach segues to , which offers ten miles of hiking and biking trails. Just eight miles from Santa Rosa, has pristine sands and a nature trail through magnolia stands. At Dune Allen, you can explore three coastal dune lakes, which exist in only a few other places on the globe.

Caladesi Island State Park

This Gulf Coast island has three miles of wide, undeveloped beaches. These aren鈥檛 manicured (raked and cleared), which means that they have more marine vegetation, like seaweed, than usual. On the other hand, they offer an authentic experience. Once part of Honeymoon Island, until a 1921 hurricane split the stretch in two, Caladesi Island, made up primarily of the , is now accessible via from its sister island. You may see dolphins en route. Once on land, you can check out the three-mile nature trail and the marked kayak trails through shaded mangrove mangles before heading to the ocean, at the ready for snorkeling in its clear, calm waters.听

Bahia Honda Key

Most visitors to the Florida Keys, an archipelago connected by the Overseas Highway, zip past Bahia Honda Key on their way to the more famous Key West to the south. But this other key, home to an , is an off-the-beaten path destination you don鈥檛 want to miss. For swimming and sunbathing, there are three beaches to choose from. And the Bahia Honda cay, which boasts a variety of sea life in the shallow coral reef just a few hundred feet from land, is known for its near-shore snorkeling. For longer snorkeling excursions, boat to the .

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Unfortunately, the evolutionary process chose not to bless humanity with that wonderful part of the life cycle known as hibernation. Bears have all the luck, don’t they? Instead, we’re cursed to wait out the winter months scuttling back and forth from our offices, shoulders hunched, trying desperately to hide from the bitter chill, sheltering faces in the prickly musk of snot-encrusted scarves. Should you feel like taking a break from the winter grind, you might consider some of these quick getaways:

• Montreal, Quebec
• Kauai, Hawaii
• Key West, Florida
• Santa Cruz, California
• Scottsdale, Arizona
• Grand Cayman Island
• Crested Butte, Colorado

: Montreal, Quebec

If Richard Branson were to build an igloo, it might look something like , which is constructed entirely of 10-foot-thick snow walls and located in Jean-Drapeau Park, an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. Temperatures hover around 20 degrees in the 25-room hotel, pub, and restaurant, where you can sip wine in a fur-draped ice chair while dining on elk stew and caviar. By day, drive an hour to for downhill laps through the trees and natural jumps on Sous-Bois, one of the mountain鈥檚 most challenging runs (lift ticket, $53). Back at your frosty digs, order up a nightcap at the ice bar before getting some rest in your private room (think Superman鈥檚 boudoir in the Fortress of Solitude). And be grateful for the toasty, minus-22-degree-rated Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag and Literie Laurier mattress (from $159 per person).

: Kauai, Hawaii

Surfing gets most of the ink where Hawaii is concerned, but Kauai delivers a trio of adventures without the chest rashes and humiliating wipeouts. And thanks to direct flights to Lihue from Los Angeles (a six-hour hop), San Francisco, Denver, and Portland, Oregon, it鈥檚 an easy trip. Check into the new , with its lava-rock-surrounded pool (from $269). Connect with for a daylong paddle from Golden Coast at Poipu past the Spouting Horn, a volcanic-rock formation that blasts ocean water straight up through narrow tunnels created by crashing waves, and keep your eyes peeled for humpback whales and sea turtles ($145). The next day, trek the 11-mile Nualolo-Awaawapuhi Loop over slender ridgelines for pristine views of the fluted cliffs along the . Before heading back to the mainland, take a Zodiac tour with Captain Andy鈥檚, who鈥檚 been guiding the coast for nearly 30 years ($185). The six-hour expedition darts in and out of sea caves, plunges beneath cascading waterfalls, and lands you on Nualolo Kai, a remote Na Pali beach where you can hike, snorkel, and feast on Hawaiian barbecued chicken and pork in an 800-year-old fishing village.

: Key West, Florida

February in the Keys means flocks of snowbirds, fishermen, and Parrotheads. But the right guide can get you away from the crowds and on to trophy-size fish. Enter , who鈥檚 been leading clients in search of bonefish, tarpon, barracuda, and sharks for 21 years (day trips from $650). After an hour-long tug-of-war with a 125-pound tarpon (a 鈥渃ircus fatty,鈥� in these parts), you鈥檒l be ready for a bowl of shrimp bisque and the sweet corn-dusted diver sea scallops at downtown鈥檚 . And if you spend a little too much time swapping big-fish stories, the beds are a quick stroll away (doubles from $300).

: Santa Cruz, California

Winter is the best time to hit Santa Cruz鈥檚 10 miles of famous breaks, for a few simple reasons: between November and March, storms produce consistent swells, from two-foot rolling waves to barrelling 10-footers; the 50-degree air keeps summer crowds away; and flights from most major cities to San Jose (just 35 minutes to the north) fall to around $300. Drop your bags at the eco-chic (doubles from $165) and head to the for a four-millimeter wetsuit ($10) and six-foot shortboard ($25), ideal for these conditions. Then make your way to two-to-four-foot waves at the Hook, a point break located at the end of 41st Avenue. To tackle larger swells, head to Steamer Lane (where winter waves average six feet) or get a lesson from ($85 per person). When you鈥檙e done, treat yourself with a lobster quesadilla at , and chase it down with one of the legendary margaritas.

: Scottsdale, Arizona

The Sonoran Desert surrounding Scottsdale is a sandbox full of undulating terrain, decomposed granite, and saguaro cactus under a 70-degree winter sun. In other words, it鈥檚 the perfect place to go mountain biking. Sign on with for a three-day survey of the 50-plus miles of singletrack in McDowell Mountain Regional Park. The outfitter has your gear needs covered (Trek Super-fly full-suspension 29er, helmet, gloves, and camping gear), provides a short shuttle ride to showers, and cooks up veggies, chicken, beef, and quinoa for a hearty campsite dinner ($600). Your first day calls for a 15-mile twisting ride, so you can acclimate to loose sand beneath your wheels. Follow it up with a day of laps on the park鈥檚 trio of racing trails鈥攐ne-way tracks with big downhills and hard corners where riders reach top speeds of 30 miles per hour.

: Grand Cayman Island

New nonstop from New York鈥檚 JFK and Boston鈥檚 Logan airport to Grand Cayman (from $350) make the Caribbean snorkel and scuba hot spot more accessible than ever. Even better: the island recently added two new dive sites. guides clients through the Kittiwake, a 251-foot decommissioned U.S. Navy ship sunk two years ago to create an artificial reef, as schools of horse-eye jack and goliath grouper flutter nearby (from $95). For a more advanced dive (and to escape the resort crowds), join Red Sail for a 15-minute trip to Lost Wall, where a 100-foot plunge down a sheer wall puts you face to face with turtles and reef sharks. Snorkelers head to Stingray City, where 10-foot stingray are tame enough to touch. At night, settle into the Seven Mile Beach Resort and Spa (doubles from $429).

: Crested Butte, Colorado

Skiers wanting to splurge on one big trip usually look to high-end resorts like Aspen, Park City, or Jackson. This winter consider Crested Butte. The funky mountain town has one of the best (if priciest) all-inclusive ski packages around, based at the six-bedroom, 13,500-square-foot . Groups of 12 get meals cooked by a private chef (try the elk tenderloin), an indoor salt-water pool, and endless fresh tracks. Each morning, local outfitter CS Irwin ferries up to a dozen guests to the West Elk Mountains via a pimped-out cat with roomy leather seats and a flatscreen TV. From there, powder skiing is guaranteed鈥擲carp Ridge has private access to 1,000 acres of drops ($12,500 per night for up to 12 people).

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North America鈥檚 Top 10 Beginner SUP Spots

From a stand-up paddleboard in Mexico鈥檚 Banderas Bay, a hundred yards to shore can look like miles, especially when you don’t have any idea what you’re doing. But that’s why I was there with Jeri Grant, a SUP instructor based in Puerto Vallarta. 鈥淛ust stand up and paddle,鈥� she told me, as three-foot waves rolled under my board. Right. Simple, except that I felt about as coordinated as the pelicans lumbering overhead. Still, there has to be something beyond the beginner awkwardness鈥攕tand up paddleboarding is America鈥檚 fastest growing water sport.

Paddleboarding, like surfing, has its roots in Polynesia. It stayed there, more or less, until 2008, when celebrity surfer Laird Hamilton hyped stand up paddleboarding to Good Morning America鈥檚 four million weekly viewers. More than a million people have started stand up paddling boarding since last year. Despite its unwieldy acronym, the sport is gaining traction in surprising ways. Shops now cater to whitewater junkies in central Colorado and fishermen on Lake Michigan’s southern shore. I thought I’d SUP in a place that made the most sense to me: the 86-degree water of Mexico鈥檚 Banderas Bay.

Per Grant鈥檚 instructions, I stroked from my knees to gain momentum, popped up on the board, and promptly face planted. Two hours later鈥擨 couldn鈥檛 believe it鈥擨 was up and wobbling my way around the bay. By afternoon鈥檚 end, I surfed a beach break to shore and fell backward into knee-deep water before a family of six. No matter. I still wanted more.

Want to SUP? Here are the top ten beginner-friendly places to paddle in North America.

South of the Border

SUP Puerto Vallarta on Mexico鈥檚 Wild West Coast

Puerto Vallarta鈥檚 ideal for stand up paddleboarding for the same reason it’s rife with pudgy beachcombers: 86-degree water and the wind-sheltered Banderas Bay. Take a covered boat six miles offshore to Las Islas Marietas, a protected wildlife sanctuary, and spend an afternoon paddling above coral reefs, floating by the arid coastline, and scoping endangered sea birds perched on rock pinnacles. ($90/person w/ boards;听)

Yoga Paddling

Yoga on Your SUP in Mission Bay, San Diego

Mission Bay Aquatic Center takes beginner paddlers a hundred feet into San Diego鈥檚 4,235-acre Mission Bay and teaches them to downward dog (plus a whole series of yoga positions) on their boards. Bring a sense of humor鈥攊t’s as fun as it is ridiculous鈥攁nd expect to swim, which is fine, since the water is 65 degrees in summer. ($39;听)

Rip Curled

SUP Classic Surf on Half Moon Bay

Surf classic waves in California鈥檚 Half Moon Bay鈥攊t’s home to Maverick鈥檚 big-wave surf contest, but that’s not the reason you鈥檙e going鈥攂y heading to the bay鈥檚 northern corner in summer or fall. A steady northwest wind blows in lazy six-foot rights that are perfect for mortal SUP surfers. Rent a board with fins from Half Moon Bay Kayak Co. ($50/day;听) and beat the crowds by catching the morning high tide, when the wind is gentle and the waves are still glassy.

Desert Multiday

SUP Colorado River Caves and Canyons

Escape Lake Mead鈥檚 motorboats and frat boys on Desert 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 two-day SUP trip. You鈥檒l join four paddlers and a guide at Hoover Dam on the lake鈥檚 southern shore and paddle 12 miles down the Colorado River鈥檚 Black Canyon, a 600-foot deep cleft in the basalt of Nevada and Arizona鈥檚 desert. Camp gear is strapped to boards and nights are spent on secluded beaches. The highlight: paddling to the back of Emerald Cave, a green-water cavern barely big enough for four boards. ($339, all-inclusive;听)

Hot Springs

SUP to Hot Springs on Lake Tahoe

The secret to cold-water stand up paddleboarding? Hot springs, like those on Lake Tahoe鈥檚 north shore. Pick up boards from Tahoe Paddle & Oar ($90/person guided tour and rental;听) and from Kings Beach State Recreation Area, paddle 30 minutes east along ponderosa forest to the granite-rimmed Crystal Bay. On the return trip, stop to warm up by the 120-degree Brockway Hot Springs, a three-pool cascade that warms the lake鈥檚 frigid waters.

Floating and Fishin鈥�

Fish from your SUP on Minnesota鈥檚 Lake Nisswa

You can SUP on most of Minnesota鈥檚 10,000 lakes. The trick is picking the one with the biggest fish. Try central Minnesota鈥檚 Spider Lake. Rent a board with a rod holder from MN Surf Co ($65/person;听) and paddle three quarters of a mile to the lake鈥檚 sheltered south shore. Most boats overlook its narrow entrance. But from a board you can fish the cove鈥檚 pine-lined shallows for eight-pound bass, northern pike, and walleye. Bring your own rod.

Air Time

SUP Downwinders on Maui鈥檚 North Coast

It鈥檚 not sailing, but with a steady 30-knot wind blowing parallel to Maui鈥檚 north shore, the eight-mile trip from Maliko Gulch to Kanaha Beach Park will feel like it. Go in October or March, when the waves are smaller than seven feet, and spend a day cruising along the white-sand beaches. Before you go, organize a shuttle鈥攖he trip is one way鈥攆rom Kelly Moore ($10,听) and rent boards from the Naish Maui Pro Center ($45/day;听).

Island Hopping

SUP Mangroves in the Florida Keys

The best SUP trip for wildlife in the Florida Keys is between Stock Island and Key West, the two westernmost flecks of land in the 822-island chain. The mile-long Cowkey Channel tunnels through mangrove forest interwoven with hundreds of tidal creeks and passageways just wide enough to paddle through. Expect to see barracudas, octopus, rays, manatees, and more birds than you’ll believe. Rent boards and take a two-hour guided tour with Lazy Dog ($40/person;听), launching from their dock in Hurricane Hole Marina.

Rapid Rush

A Whitewater SUP School on California鈥檚 Salmon River

At Otter Bar Lodge’s all-inclusive whitewater SUP school in California, beginner paddlers move from flat-water ponds to Class III whitewater in a week. Up to 14 guests stay in the western-style lodge along a Class II section of the Cal-Salmon, one of six rivers within an hour’s drive of the resort. Go in August, when the daytime temperatures rise into the mid-90s. 听($1,990 all-inclusive;听).

Urban Escape

SUP New York鈥檚 Jamaica Bay

The real beauty of New York鈥檚 Jamaica Bay is that it鈥檚 a 90-minute subway ride from Times Square. That you can paddle between grass islands and estuaries within sight of the NYC skyline is just a great bonus. Call Ed Lindh, the owner of New York鈥檚 only SUP-specific shop, and book a three-mile loop out of Marina 59. Afterwards, stop at Rockaway Beach鈥檚 Elegante Restaurant for a slice of New-York style pepperoni pizza. ($100/person,听).

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BECAUSE YOU NEED TO GET OUT聴WAY OUT

KITZB脺HEL, AUSTRIA


Hahnenkamm


[January 18鈥�20]


Arguably the most technical and dangerous downhill course on the FIS World Cup circuit鈥攁nd the biggest bash. Austrians blow their horns, the Swiss clang their cowbells, and everybody crowds the course to taunt. Where to Be The Londoner, where tradition dictates racers tend bar for the town’s vigorous post-race party (and where “half the alcohol is in the air,” according to Daron Rahlves, 2003 champion). Expect Horse-drawn sleighs trotting past speaker stacks pumping European techno. Wild Card The crack of skis slapping the snow as racers may or may not land 100 feet of arm-flailing air from the legendary Mausefalle jump. Sightings Former Austrian champions like Franz Klammer and Hermann Maier.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL


Carnival


[February 2鈥�5]


A feverish, four-day party that culminates on Fat Tuesday, with Rio’s local samba schools competing in parades, each trying to outdo the others with elaborate floats and extravagant destaques, the feathered, sequined, and often topless dancers. Where to Be The drummers’ niche, at the Sambodromo, locus for the main parade, where drummers from every samba school work the crowd. Expect Half-naked dancers that make us Puritans blush鈥攖hen join in. Wild Card Whatever you want. We won’t tell. Sightings Politicians and celebrities mingle among 500,000 visiting foreigners.

HONG KONG, CHINA


Hong Kong Rugby Sevens Tournament


[March 28鈥�30]


A tournament with teams of only seven players, instead of the traditional 15, which allows individuals to shine. Where to Be The Sevens Village鈥攐pposite the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium鈥攈as a huge screen, a rollicking beer garden, and no entrance fee. Expect Hilarious mini-rugby, played between games, by children ages four to 11. Wild Card Take a high-speed ferry to nearby Macau to gamble in the enormous, lavish casinos of the Asian (and less cheesy) Las Vegas. Sightings Hong Kong’s favorite son, Jackie Chan, attended last year, as did former UK prime minister John Major.

Glastonbury, UK


Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts


[June 27鈥�29]


Europe’s largest music-and-performing-arts festival, held on 900 acres in the Vale of Avalon鈥攑ossible burial spot of King Arthur鈥攏ear the mystical town of Glastonbury, draws more than 175,000 revelers. Where to Be The hedonistic nighttime madness of the parties at Lost Vagueness eventually lure everyone. Expect Great music on six huge stages and numerous side venues. The final lineup won’t be available until May, but Amy Winehouse, the Killers, and Bj枚rk performed last year. Wild Card Stay out all night, then hike six miles to watch the sun rise at Glastonbury Tor. Sightings Kate Moss and fellow London hipsters.

PAMPLONA, SPAIN


Fiesta de San Ferm铆n


[July 6鈥�14]


An annual event that supposedly honors Christian martyr Saint Ferm铆n. In reality, it’s all about the crazies who run a barricaded course through the city with the six bulls to be fought that day in the ring. Where to Be Vuelta del Castillo at 11 p.m. for the nightly fireworks display. Expect Several thousand people running alongside 1,300-pound bulls. Wild Card Wear a red handkerchief for a week without being mistaken for an ascot fetishist. Sightings Local Spaniards dying (sometimes literally) to run with bulls.

Count Down

Rethink new year鈥檚 with these five unique blowouts

1. Havasu Falls, Supai, Arizona Hike two miles to this perfect turquoise pool, with year-round 72-degree water, in Havasu Canyon.

2. Johnson’s Shut-Ins, Reynolds County, Missouri Rock towers create dozens of small pools on the East Fork of the Black River.
3. Bass Lake, Point Reyes National Seashore, California Follow the Coast Trail two and a half miles to a freshwater dunk hole that stays sunny even on the foggiest days.
4. Calf Creek Falls, Utah The perfect desert oasis: a perennial waterfall and round, shaded pool.
5. Redfish Lake, Stanley, Idaho Laze on the south-shore beach and enjoy huge views of the Sawtooth Range.
6. Barton Springs, Austin, Texas A chilly 1,000-foot-long spring-fed pool in Austin’s Zilker Park.
7. Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts After an impressive preservation effort, our most literary pond is definitely worth a dip.
8. Big Bend, Petersburg, West Virginia Try a lazy float on this hour-long river loop, on the South Branch of the Potomac.
9. Oregon Creek, California A stair-stepping series of pools in the Sierra, north of Nevada City, with plenty of natural, water-carved Jacuzzis.
10. Peekamoose Blue Hole, Sundown, New York Rondout Creek rushes through a gap in the rock to form this refreshing forest pond.

The Wild-Water Life List

We know you want your fair share of life’s peak moments—and you want to get good and wet along the way—so we’ve thoughtfully prioritized our ten favorite liquid adventures in the United States

It’s number one! The Grand Canyon of the Colorado

1. Raft the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, Arizona Plunge into 277 miles of Class I-V whitewater and spectacular red rocks. Get on the 12-year waiting list for individual permits (800-959-9164, ) or sign up with an outfitter like Canyoneers Inc. (800-525-0924, ).
2. Paddle the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota Nearly a thousand interconnected lakes and streams dot this million-acre north-woods wilderness. For maps and permits, contact the BWCAW (877-550-6777, ).
3. Snorkel in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida Set sail for seven white-sand islets and miles of coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. Go with Ocean Voyages (800-299-4444, ).
4. Learn to Surf at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii It’s a kitschy and overdeveloped beach, yes, but punch your surf ticket on the slow rollers off Oahu’s leeward shore before braving Pipeline. Check out Hans Hedemann Surf School (808-924-7778, ).
5. Sea-kayak the San Juan Islands, Washington Island-hop among the orcas. Call Outdoor Odysseys (800-647-4621, ).
6. Paddle the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho Float 100 miles through the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. Check out Middle Fork Wilderness Outfitters (800-726-0575, ).
7. Sail the Maine Island Trail, Maine Explore spruce-shaded islands and craggy coastline on this 325-mile route from Portland to the Canadian border. For details, contact the Maine Windjammer Association (800-807-9463, ).
8. Raft and Fly-fish the Talkeetna River, Alaska Fish for king salmon, then hunker down for a 14-mile Class IV ride. Go with Keystone Raft and Kayak 国产吃瓜黑料s (907-835-2606, ).
9. Canoe the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia Float between gators in southeastern Georgia’s lush 400,000-acre wilderness. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (912-496-7836, ) can provide details.
10. Kayak the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin Paddle around 21 unspoiled Lake Superior islands. Try Piragis Northwoods Outfitting (800-223-6565, ).

The Sweetest Beaches

1. Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington One of the most remote wilderness beaches in the lower 48—it’s a 13-mile hike from Olympic’s Ozette River trailhead—these two miles of sand are studded with sea stacks, giant driftwood, and tidepools teeming with starfish.
2. Coronado Beach, San Diego, California Running along Ocean Boulevard, this wide, palm-lined strand is a great spot to set up a lawn chair, pop a lime in your Pacifico, and watch the pink-and-purple sun sink slowly into the sea.
3. Sanibel Island, Florida Periwinkles, whelks, calico scallops, and cockles abound on Sanibel, one of the best shelling grounds in the world.
4. Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii Watch for monk seals, sea turtles, and loads of flashy fish at Hawaii’s premier snorkeling spot.
5. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina Some of the best windsurfing, fishing, crabbing, clamming, and sand dunes on the East Coast can be found here.
6. Jasper Beach, Machiasport, Maine You’ll find bald eagles, sandpipers, and puffins at this bird-watching hot spot. 7. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan Enormous sand dunes hundreds of feet high provide spectacular views across Lake Michigan.
8. Agate Beach, Patrick’s Point State Park, California Search for petrified wood, agates, coastal jade, and other semiprecious stones.
9. Bandon Beach, Oregon Rent a cabin for the night and watch the clouds gather at the storm-watching capital of the United States.
10. Barking Sands Beach, Kauai, Hawaii Welcome to the world’s noisiest beach, where the sand squeaks with every step you take.

Pure Perfection

Purity done the Oregon way

Trying to determine which U.S. lake is the cleanest is a nearly impossible task—there are hundreds of variables and no official databases. But we decided to give it a shot. And the crown goes to Oregon’s CRATER LAKE. Our reasons? For one thing, there’s the water clarity. On its best days, 1,943-foot-deep Crater is as clear as a shot of Tanqueray: You can peer down 142 feet into its blue depths. And since there are no tributaries flowing into or out of the 13,760-acre basin—which is fed almost exclusively by the 533 inches of snow caught by its namesake crater each year—little sediment or contamination gets in. Added bonus: The lake’s remote location, in southwest Oregon, keeps weekend warriors away from this national park. You won’t find jet skis here; only six boats—four tour ferries and two research vessels—are allowed on the water. Visitors can hike down from the crater rim to the shore for an icy dip (the lake hovers around 50 degrees in the summer), but the best way to experience the lake is to find a warm rock overlooking the water and let the view clear your mind.

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