While the federal government shutdown has furloughed federal employees and canceled programs at national parks across the country, all programs and areas of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) remain open and available, and the park is fully staffed. That鈥檚 due to a unique coalition of local groups that has stepped in to fund the park, ensuring it stays ready to welcome visitors during its busiest season.

first reported the story.

GSMNP is a protected area on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountains. It鈥檚 also home to some of the most ancient mountains in the world.

Following the October 1 shutdown, many of the park鈥檚 most visited areas were initially closed. However, a coalition led by Tennessee鈥檚 Sevier County, a portion of which lies within the park, quickly raised over $ 2 million to cover operational costs. The move allows the park鈥檚 275 employees to remain fully paid, and was driven by a desire to keep the local tourism industry afloat.

If GSMNP were to be closed, Sevier County Vice Mayor Bryan McCarter told NPR that there are still many things for people to do in the area.

鈥淏ut the perception amongst a lot of folks is, well, then Sevier County must be closed. And so we have to make sure [the park stays open] to drive that economy,鈥� said McCarter, adding that local tourism was already hit hard by Hurricane Helene in 2024 and is down ten percent this year.

Servier County Mayor Larry Waters said in a that it was 鈥渄isappointing that the federal government has once again failed to prevent a shutdown that puts our national parks and communities at risk.鈥�

The coalition is collectively donating $61,703 per day to keep the park running normally.

鈥淭he park is a vital part of our regional economy,鈥� Waters added, 鈥渁nd closing it during peak fall season is simply not an option. We are proud to welcome the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will come to enjoy the Smokies in the weeks ahead.鈥�

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which spans over 500,000 acres, has been the most visited national park in the U.S. for decades. Its accessibility, free entrance, and major highways through its boundaries attracted more than 12 million visitors in 2024 alone, more than double the nearly 5 million who visited the next most popular park, Utah鈥檚 Zion National Park.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans also drive through the Great Smoky Mountains each year as part of regional travel, and their visits are counted even if they don鈥檛 get out of the car. (This is also part of the reason why the park .) Even if many of the park鈥檚 visitors are only passing through, the park remains a vital economic resource for the nearby communities. The National Park Service (NPS) that GSMNP 鈥減rovides an economic hub generating over $2.2 billion in 2023 and supports 33,748 jobs in surrounding communities.鈥�

Sevier County says all areas that were closed early in the shutdown are now open and operational, including Sugarlands Visitor Center, Chimneys Picnic Area, and Cades Cove Loop Road, Visitor Center, and Picnic Area. The financial support also ensures 鈥渟taff are on duty to service restrooms, respond to visitors in need, and provide essential services to protect wildlife during this peak visitor season.鈥� The funding is limited, however, and if the shutdown , the park will resume operations with limited resources.

Donors backing Sevier County include Blount and Cocke County, the towns of Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Pittman Center, the state of Tennessee, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, and a local nonprofit, .

Jim Matheny, Friends of the Smokies spokesperson, said that the organization chipped in because even though Great Smoky Mountains鈥攍ike all other U.S. parks鈥攚as technically open to the public regardless of the shutdown, 鈥渢here’s a big difference between it being accessible and being fully staffed.”

He compared visiting a national park with no rangers to visiting Disney World without Mickey Mouse.

Not all areas of the park are open due to other factors unrelated to funding, such as regular seasonal road closures and rehabilitation work. Visitors can see the GSMNP’s current conditions on the .

The post These Locals Have Stepped in to Keep Country’s Most Visited National Park Fully Open appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Anyone who knows Tennessee knows about its abundance of freshwater. Anglers in particular can thank the varied geography and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) history of hydroelectric development for its verdant waterways and winding miles of shoreline both natural and manmade. The Volunteer State also has another treasured resource when it comes to fishing: Bill Dance. Known as 鈥渢he world鈥檚 most-loved angler,鈥� the pro bass fishing legend and longtime TV personality recently partnered with the state to continue introducing generations of outdoor adventurers to the joy of fishing.

The Bill Dance Signature Lakes program now showcases 14 world-class lakes across Tennessee, each selected and enhanced to provide top-tier fishing and recreation opportunities. The initiative combines habitat improvement, intensive fisheries management, stocking, access upgrades, and ongoing conservation to make Tennessee a leading destination for freshwater fishing across all skill levels. To date, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has already stocked over 13.1 million fish into the 14 Bill Dance Signature Lakes!

And though Dance is a true believer in these recreational opportunities, having long represented the state in his signature University of Tennessee ball cap, he is eager to explain exactly why these lakes (often adjacent to amenity-packed state parks) are so beloved. We recently sat down with Dance for a deeper look at Tennessee鈥檚 top lakes for premier fishing and summer trip planning.

国产吃瓜黑料: What inspired you to partner with Tennessee on this initiative?

Bill Dance: Tennessee is family to me. It鈥檚 home鈥攎y people, my places. And we all go above and beyond for what we love. I am a native, my family are all Tennesseans. There鈥檚 a love and loyalty here, as I suspect it is with other regions, but it is hard for me to imagine it anywhere else, because all I know for sure is Tennessee. Also, we have been a partner with Tennessee Tourism for nearly 20 years.

What specifically about Tennessee separates it from other states?听

Can there be a better place for fish-related projects than the Volunteer State? We have miles of water, from creeks, to rivers, to state park lakes, to TVA reservoirs. We literally have more species of fish than any other state (350 or so). Think about that for a minute: can there be a better place for a fisherman to be, than Tennessee?

And I do wear this T cap. True, I started wearing it because I thought it was lucky. But it鈥檚 funny, over time I wear it proudly for the love for this wonderful place I call home.

Which lake holds your most memorable fishing experience?

Hands down, it鈥檚 Pickwick Lake. I鈥檝e always listed this lake as my home waters. Pickwick is where I learned (through the inspiration of veteran angler Glen Andrews) to fish deep, open water鈥攁nd I mean 25-35 feet. I knew to be successful at tournament angling on the big stage, I鈥檇 have to learn to do this. The pursuit of this knowledge at my training ground of Pickwick led to tournament success, which led to TV shows, and so many more of my other accomplishments in the world of fishing.

The bottom line? Pickwick is simply a great place to fish, and that鈥檚 on the lake or in the tailrace below its dam. There鈥檚 something to fish for year-round. One can鈥檛 go wrong visiting Pickwick.

How has this initiative helped shape the future of fishing in Tennessee?

Few are the people that do not enjoy fishing. And honestly, I believe those that don鈥檛 enjoy it, have never been. The initiative is all about the opportunities fishing offers. True, it provides and enhances great places to go fishing. If you go to these lakes, you’ll catch fish and lots of them. But the complementing layers to the initiative are many; it will likewise boost economies in the area, and provide added recreational opportunities as well. People need added recreation in a hurried world. Together time is a big deal for family and friends. And few things can do this like the sport of fishing. I can only imagine the memories this initiative will spawn and the legacy it will have.

What advice do you have for first-time anglers visiting these lakes?

To begin, look for the specific areas that have marinas with guides. A guided trip is worth the money because novice anglers can learn so much in a very short amount of time. Another route could be to research the area via the Internet. With a little time on your laptop or phone, you鈥檇 be amazed what you can know about a new body of water before you ever make that first cast. Of course, actually calling someone (yes, I鈥檓 old school), isn鈥檛 a bad idea, either. A knowledgeable contact is a winning strategy, whether it鈥檚 sound advice at nearby chambers of commerce, visitor centers, or any other local contacts. They鈥檙e out there if you dig.

And once you鈥檙e at the lake?

Pick the brains of locals! Though all fishermen tell tales, my experience shows rare are the anglers who are not willing to help other newcomers to public waters catch fish鈥specially families. This is why the phrase, ‘What are they biting?’ is so woven into the fabric of fishing. We help each other.

What makes Tennessee stand out as a fishing destination in comparison to other states?

Variety. We have more fish species than any other state. It obviously comes from our geographic locale as well as our diversity of waters. On one end, Tennessee has the Mississippi River, one of the largest in the world, and Reelfoot Lake, the famed Quake Lake [created by early 1800s earthquakes]. As you move eastward, you find diverse oxbows, rivers and creeks, many -managed lakes, huge TVA Reservoirs, and mountain streams, in the east. An angler only has to ask, 鈥榃hat do I want in the way of freshwater fishing,鈥� and Tennessee has it.

Beyond fishing, what activities make these lakes a regional draw for weekend adventures?

Again, Tennessee offers diversity in fishing opportunities, with so many geographical changes. Likewise, each area surrounding the lakes has its own regional charm. This includes the people, the dining, the lodging, the history, and cultural experience. Opportunities abound with a surprising number of added activities available if you research the areas you plan to visit. For example, maybe there鈥檚 a state park golf course you want to try, or a local diner that鈥檚 especially unique to the area. Off the water, ramble around and see exactly why so many of us love Tennessee.

What other off-water developments or lakeside curiosities would you consider must-do?听

There鈥檚 so many. Picking just a few would do the others an injustice. It鈥檚 hard to go wrong with the in affordability, lodging, food, etc. Our parks always seem to be a win-win. But don鈥檛 let me sway you. Do your research. Go and ramble about. That鈥檚 part of the fun: exploring. And sometimes fishing for the side-trips, especially on family outings, can be the most fun part of your angling adventure as well.

Bill Dance Signature Lakes is a collaborative effort between Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee State Parks and Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to improve and enhance Tennessee Lakes, increase visitation and honor Dance鈥檚 legacy. Tennesseans will benefit from increased stocking, habitat and fisheries management, as well as improved access for fishing and boating at 14 designated lakes across the state. This multi-agency partnership has committed more than $25.4 million to improvements both above and below the water at lakes bearing Tennessee icon Bill Dance鈥檚 stamp of approval. For more information, visit 听

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The good news is that you can now see the Nolichucky River sooner.

Since my first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2019, I鈥檝e often thought about a cliff edge just above Erwin, Tenn., where the woods open to reveal the Nolichucky rushing from a gorge below. It is one of the AT鈥檚 pure postcard moments, a spot for which I even advocated . More than once, I鈥檝e seen it in my dreams.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I was dropping into Erwin along the AT in April and saw the wide brown river roaring through the valley floor nearly a half-mile ahead of that memorable vista. I shouldn鈥檛 have been shocked: In the last 140 miles since leaving Newfound Gap in I had seen hundreds of ways that Hurricane Helene had altered the trail. So many trees had fallen between where I stood and Erwin that less of them simply blocked the view. It was gorgeous, and it was sad.

But that was, after all, why I was there, to see how the trail had changed and was still changing after Helene. Before the flood waters even receded from Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee last fall, handwringing about the state of the trail in 2025 and the concomitant thru-hiking season were rampant. In the days after the catastrophe, I saw videos about how 500 miles of the trail were 鈥渙bliterated鈥� and read reports about how people intended to forego the AT in years to come.

In the months since, though, I had read very little about how the trail was doing and how passable it might be come spring. I lived for many years along the parts of the trail that Helene hit hardest and consider the area one of the country鈥檚 most wondrous expanses. So I asked the trail family I formed back in 2019 if they wanted to have a reunion, to walk 140 miles together and see how our old friend was faring. Two said yes鈥攎y wife, Tina, and our best friend, Ben. They joined me for the first three days, or until we reached Hot Springs, NC. I continued to Erwin solo, hoping to cross the Nolichucky and then go home.

So how is the AT right now? The short answer: As of April 2025, the AT in the Southern states is like a horrific multi-car pileup on the interstate that happened hours ago, just long enough that the wreckage has been moved to the side of the road to allow for cars to pass. The way is mostly clear, but the work is far from done. The very long answer follows, in the form of my trail diary for those six days.

Wednesday, April 2 (Northbound Mile 208.0鈥�223.7)

On a northbound trek of the AT, there鈥檚 no early landmark as critical as Newfound Gap, on the Tennessee border. When hikers reach it, they鈥檝e arrived at their third state line, crossed the 200-mile mark, and passed the halfway point of one of the journey鈥檚 most arduous stretches through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The weather can be terrible, the climbs severe, the resources limited. At Newfound Gap, folks often hitch northwest down U.S. 441, toward their first day off in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Some get lost in that tourist trap town and never return to trail.

Newfound Gap, then, felt like the natural start of our journey. After reading so much about and consternation about whether or not the season would happen, I knew it would offer an instant read on the trail and how Helene had changed people鈥檚 plans. Would there be hikers there at all?

Before we could even park the car, we saw two of our kind鈥攁 tandem ripping open Priority Mail boxes of groceries atop a stonework fence and stuffing them into their already-swollen Hyperlite packs. Tourists stopping for pictures at the cloud-shrouded pass peppered them with questions about when they had started and when they might finish. Elsewhere, families posed with a sign that read, 鈥淜atahdin Maine 1972.0,鈥� grinning like that was the silliest fact they鈥檇 ever seen. Yes, it seemed, thru-hiking season was on.

Our original itinerary involved an ambitious first day: 23 miles from Newfound Gap to Cosby Knob Shelter, with several thousand feet up and back down. But a park ranger had warned us against it: A five-mile expanse of fallen trees had slowed even the , the trained professionals who shuttle along the trail to (sometimes overzealously) educate hikers about safety and Leave No Trace practices. 鈥淵ou should do a shorter day, 15 miles,鈥� she said. 鈥淪pend the night at Tri-Corner Knob.鈥� We agreed, deferring to the expert.

Perhaps it was the sheer adrenaline of three thru-hikers reuniting on the AT, but we soon knew we鈥檇 make our destination long before sundown. We raced through the first 10 miles, the air perfectly cool as the clouds closed in tight on the thin ridges the trail follows through the Smokies. The trees on trail first seemed like a nonissue, only slightly worse than any other year. There were a few blowdowns and freshly busted logs, their splinters cast across the trail like confetti. A few dead trees were suspended high above the trail, too鈥攖oo high for a saw to get, a problem for the future. Maybe twice during those first 10 miles, we had to navigate somewhat tricky sets of blowdowns by stepping a few feet off trail, climbing down and then up to avoid some imposition. Still, if it slowed our pace, I didn鈥檛 notice.

It was the wind that finally made the peril clear. All day long, the breeze was intense, even blowing the usually surefooted Tina off a rock and to her knees. A half-dozen times, the wind gusted, and we noticed the earth heave from the trail, gaps of several inches sometimes appearing near our feet. Just below the catwalks we traversed, dozens of trees had been lifted out of the ground on all sides but one, a quarter of their root balls clinging on for dear arboreal life. As the wind roared and they swayed, you could watch their connection get evermore tenuous, like a piece of wire you repeatedly bend until it breaks. These were not our problem at the moment, but after a few severe summer thunderstorms, they would become a hazard for other hikers. It wasn鈥檛 hard to imagine the AT sliding off the face of, say, Raven or Katalsta ridges.

When we reached our shelter around 5 p.m., we again saw that thru-hiking season was indeed on. Tri-Corner Knob has two wide sleeping levels, meaning it can hold two-dozen hikers each night. The park prefers that thru-hikers stay in shelters to minimize impact and bear encounters. Folks had started claiming space for the night three hours earlier, hoping to escape the wind and threat of rain, and we were the last three to find some room that wasn鈥檛 just the ground. People traded tales of their first 200 miles like baby stories, proudly detailing the origins of their trail names or what gear they鈥檇 already sent home. Every now and again, someone would pass a video of a tree 鈥測awning鈥� in the day鈥檚 wind鈥攖hat is, the roots separating from the soil. It was wild to see, maybe even funny, but I couldn鈥檛 help but wonder how much post-Helene damage had still yet to manifest itself, more than six months after the storm had passed.

Thursday, April 3 (Northbound Mile 223.7鈥�244.1)

Boy, did I eat it.

When you leave the Smokies, you drop 3,500 feet in less than 7 miles, setting up a racecourse of sorts to Standing Bear Farm, a famously rowdy hostel with fridges full of cold beer for hikers who have just endured one of the AT鈥檚 great gauntlets. I love elevation changes in either direction, so I was locked in with the work of my quads as I began the great descent. And then, the sensation of my ankle twisting too far to the left jolted me from that flow, followed in short order by the thud of my body hitting the ground.

After more than 11,000 miles of hiking, I believe , able to reorient myself just before impact. But this year, the AT鈥攆orever and always, a series of roots and rocks stretching out to trip you like the feet of a grade-school bully鈥攆eels different. Just yesterday, Tina, who once patrolled these woods as a park ranger, called it 鈥渏unky.鈥� The water moved so fast during Helene that the roots and rocks now feel more ubiquitous, making each step a negotiation. That鈥檚 compounded by shattered logs and fallen branches, debris too small (or too new) for any trail crew to fix. The trail simply seems more hazardous right now, and my ankle wanted a brief word鈥攚ith me or with the trail, I can鈥檛 really say.

This morning, at least, the obstacles were a little more conspicuous. When we left the shelter, the clouds still cloaked the ridges, reducing visibility to a few hundred yards. But it didn鈥檛 take much to see the graveyards of trees that lined and occasionally still covered the AT. Only an hour into the day, we encountered a section where a hundred trees seemed to have fallen in a few hundred yards. Some leaned cattywampus across the trail, root ball and all, while others jutted shattered-end first onto the treadpath like swords. Climbing up, over, and through a thicket of damage, I caught a shin on several branches that had turned into natural shivs and spent the rest of the day trickling blood from my war wounds.

The ranger鈥檚 warning that this would slow us down, though, felt like a cautionary dose of old-fashioned AT fearmongering; this looked like fallout from meteorological microbursts, not the aftereffects of a sustained storm marching up the trail. The larger concern, once again, were the trees alongside the trail whose roots had largely been ripped from earth and now pointed down the mountain, ready to slide given the right squall. We made a sport of climbing into some of the city-bus-size craters those hulks had left behind.

Just before you begin the big drop that leads out of the Smokies, there is a final steep climb, like the last boss of the video game, from an intersection with the aptly named Low Gap Trail to the top of Mount Cammerer. It was the day鈥檚 most dangerously mangled expanse, with a dozen trees and innumerable branches crowding an already-thin bit of trail bordered by a rather precipitous drop. In 2,200 miles, the AT offers little in the way of rock-scrambling, but this felt like tree-scrambling, as I held onto branches while looking for places to plant my feet.

Just as I made it over the last hurdle, I spied a , three pale yellow flowers balanced above three brilliantly speckled leaves. A few miles later, I met a hiker from Indiana who, while taking a smoke break, spotted two morels, some of the first of the season. 鈥淭hese won鈥檛 be showing up at home for a few weeks,鈥� he said, holding them in the palm of his hand. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to be here. I鈥檓 going to try to go all the way.鈥� He鈥檇 have more logs to climb than I did in 2019, but I assured him he could, then headed north again.

Friday, April 4 (Northbound Mile 244.1鈥�267.8)

Soon after I turned 21, I participated in a collegiate bacchanalia called the Hillsborough Hike. It was an end-of-semester bar crawl for students at N.C. State, all stumbling from one end of our university鈥檚 main drag to another. I don鈥檛 remember how the night ended, but I do remember my phone waking me up sometime early the next afternoon. I was four hours late for my Saturday morning record-store shift, but I was there, green and groggy, 15 minutes later.

鈥淕rayson! Well, how the hell are ya?鈥� the store鈥檚 owner, Mike Phillips, said to me with a smirk later that afternoon. 鈥淚 heard you were out a little late, son.鈥� Twenty years later, the tone of voice he used that day still stings from memory.

Imagine my terror, then, when I heard the exact same sound a mile south of , one of the most iconic balds in the Southern Appalachians and arguably the most beautiful place in all of North Carolina. 鈥淕rayson! Is that you?鈥� a man in a tennis ball-colored shirt exclaimed from beneath the low brim of a baseball cap. 鈥淲hat the hell are you doing, son? Are you doing this shit again?鈥�

It was, indeed, Mike Phillips, who retired long ago from record-store life to manage triathlons and eventually join the , a largely volunteer-powered nonprofit that maintains 94 miles of the AT. I鈥檇 actually been thinking about Mike all morning, wondering if he was responsible for any of the sawdust I鈥檇 seen on trail. Not long after we slipped out of last night鈥檚 creekside campsite, I began to notice that the trees that had fallen on the trail had been cut so recently that the air still smelled like pine or poplar. Deep Gap had looked like a log graveyard, pines spilling across and above and alongside the trail in every direction. But the trees had been bullied aside enough to make room for whoever passed that way. Thanks, Mike and friends.

鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 been too bad,鈥� said Ron, the first member of the Carolina Mountain Club I saw that morning, minutes before I encountered Mike. He鈥檇 put down his axe (labeled 鈥淩ON鈥�) to cut a little rut for runoff, hoping to prevent more topsoil from washing far below the trail. 鈥淚t will get really bad when you get just south of Erwin, though. For every one tree left standing, you鈥檒l see 20 that are down.鈥�

All two-dozen members of the Carolina Mountain Club I saw in a 2-mile stretch were digging in the dirt. Mike was shoveling a rut like Ron. Two other men sat directly in the trail, cutting errant roots with oversized shears. That was a good sign, as Mike told me: 鈥淲e just finished clearing our 94 miles of trail of trees. There were a lot,鈥� he told me. Now it was time to tend to the trail itself, to manicure and maintain it like they would do every year.

Our trio rendezvoused on Max Patch in time for lunch, the bald rimmed perfectly by stratus clouds in every direction. As we ate, families crisscrossed the mountaintop, easily accessible from a parking lot a mile below, while two young lovers made out on a picnic blanket. A string of thru-hikers said hello as they ambled past. And when we finally left, we ran into four men in their early 30s鈥攁ll wearing all-camouflage everything, like they鈥檇 just raided an Army surplus store鈥攚ho were a day away from finishing their first section of the AT. 鈥淲e鈥檝e loved it,鈥� one of them said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never done anything like this.鈥�

We made camp that night in a grove of rhododendron bushes, having climbed 6,000 feet and descended 6,000 feet in 23 miles. The sun had set long before we sat down to eat in a semicircle amongst our tents. It struck us how normal our day had seemed, how much of it mirrored what we鈥檇 done on our first AT thru-hike. In fact, the whole day鈥攆rom the trail crew tending to the dirt to the section hikers who seemed so supercharged by their new hobby, from our big miles to the long lunch in the sun鈥攆elt like it was trending toward normalcy, a welcome commodity on the AT in 2025.

Except seeing Mike. That was weird.

Saturday, April 5 (Northbound Mile 267.8鈥�281.1)

A decade ago, turned me into an AT hiker. It was June 2014, my first wedding anniversary. I鈥檇 started running to shed pounds for the ceremony and accidentally become obsessed with endurance. The idea of climbing mountains had become a long-distance daydream. So when Tina and I found ourselves in a remote cabin near Hot Springs, NC, one of the few towns the trail bisects, we had to get on the AT, on top of its old mountains. On our last day there, we climbed into a dirty van outside of Bluff Mountain Outfitters for a nauseating, hairpin shuttle to the top of Max Patch, then hiked 23 miles back to town. It felt like climbing K2. Four years later, we moved to Hot Springs; a year after that, we thru-hiked the AT.

It felt like a personal tragedy, then, seeing Bluff Mountain Outfitters on the national news, its rugged old brick frame ripped open by the rise and rush of Spring Creek, just feet away. It also made me worry for budding thru-hikers, since it鈥檚 an essential depot for supplies and intel from Wayne Crosby, who landed in Hot Springs after bailing on his own AT trek decades ago. How would newbies fare without him?

Turns out, they wouldn鈥檛. After a gargantuan breakfast at the steadfast Smoky Mountain Diner, which rode out the storm like biscuits atop a raft of gravy, I was shocked to see the Bluff Mountain Outfitters insignia atop the old library building. I was more surprised to see how fresh and inviting it was inside, the cramped but lovable old store transformed into an airy space chockablock with more shoes and hiking food than I remembered at the former location. Crosby showed me how little bits of the old building, likely slated to be demolished, had been incorporated into the architecture鈥攖he salvaged counter used for storage, the rescued dressing room door. He鈥檇 spent the winter building this new space and reopened only in mid-March, just in time to usher the Class of 2025 northward. He exuded the pride of a single parent who had found a way to make life work.

That is the spirit I encountered time and again in Hot Springs, a town I left two years before the floods but feels sacred to me, nevertheless. There was the library, tucked temporarily beneath a former Methodist church, and the artisanal grocery store and sandwich shop in a pine outpost next door. There was Vinyl Pies Pizza, where a construction crew worked on rebuilding inside until they lost their Saturday evening daylight. Spring Creek Tavern had left its Halloween decorations clinging to the building where its porch once stood, before the waters swept it away. 鈥淒amn鈥e miss you,鈥� read a note in the window of the Iron Horse Station, where I鈥檇 inhaled a mountain of fries after that formative 2014 hike. Like so much of Hot Springs, that message felt like an act of resilience, a promise to come back.

When Covid-19 decimated the 2020 thru-hiking season, the worry was that potentially sick hikers could overrun a town like Hot Springs, where resources are low and hospitals are an hour away. That is not the worry now. Every business owner or employee I spoke to said some variation of the same thing, from the bartender at the recently reopened Big Pillow Brewing to Big Kat, a thru-hiker who is running the hostel this year: Send everyone, and tell them to bring their money. That鈥檚 what we need to continue rebuilding.

Sunday, April 6 (Northbound Mile 281.1鈥�302.1)

There was little rush to get out of Hot Springs on this stormy Sunday morning; overnight, the wind whipped the rain so hard that Left Field, the one hiker who had opted to spend the night camped on my hostel鈥檚 porch, retreated inside just before sunrise. Indeed, one of the hardest lessons that first-time thru-hikers must learn, especially somewhere as perpetually moist as the AT, is when to forge through the rain and when to take a day off. Today, at the start of two days of expected downpours, almost everyone decided to take the latter option.

Not me: I was too eager to see how the trail functioned after to sleep in, so I caught a ride to Tanyard Gap above Hot Springs just after 8 a.m. The AT is almost always rooty or rocky, uncountable footsteps during the last century having kicked away much of its topsoil. Helene inarguably made that worse, turning parts of the trail into a rushing little river and sweeping whatever dirt remained into gaps and creeks and streams. While moving uphill, as I did leaving Tanyard Gap bound for the Rich Mountain observation tower, that was barely a problem.

Dropping down into the aptly named Hurricane Gap, though, I proceeded with extra caution, grabbing the occasional rhododendron branch to balance myself on particularly onerous sets of roots and sometimes trying to find the edges of my Topo shoes like they were downhill skis, slowing my slide . Someone had passed that way on horseback the night before, it seemed, the horse鈥檚 hooves exposing just how vulnerable the trail remains鈥攅ach print resembled a crater, especially along the softest shoulders.

As with my march into Hot Springs, the trail itself was remarkably clear of debris, thanks to the Carolina Mountain Club鈥檚 recent efforts. Trees, though, don鈥檛 fall only during a storm; they fall for months or even years afterward, compromised roots finally giving way with time, wind, or rain. The volunteers hadn鈥檛 gotten to some new ones.

And that鈥檚 the real danger when the trail is wet鈥攃limbing over, under, or around fresh deadfall when going downhill on slippery ground. More than once, I grabbed a branch, clambered over a fallen tree, and simply let my feet give way until my rump met the dirt, almost like I was creeping down a slick snowfield without spikes. Given the way the AT winds around valleys and gaps in slow semicircles, one side often offers a long drop into the woods below. Avoiding those took a little forethought.

The folks who stayed in town made a mistake, though. After the overnight downpour, occasional showers drifted through the hills, keeping the trail skiddy but not making the day miserable. It was cloudy and cool, perfect for big miles into and over several steep gaps. Indeed, in one such gap, a neon pink paper sign pointed to the Southern Cookie Lady, a retired Ohioan named Peggy who settled into these woods three years ago. Most days, she sits on her porch and listens to hiker tales while serving up bagged apricot cookies and warm cobbler. The first cookie is free, but money from anything else goes to the , still in the process of rebuilding after losing thousands of volumes in the flood. Peggy only lost power and a few trees in Helene, but she was using the good fortune of her relatively calm quarters to help her community, tucking all donations into a Cool-Whip jar.

It wasn鈥檛 the only thing that reaffirmed the trail鈥檚 spirit for me today. With a new wave of storms expected overnight, I stopped at Jerry鈥檚 Cabin, a shelter perched in an idyllic clearing at 4,000 feet. In 2019, it was the first place my class of thru-hikers encountered Sovereign, a man who went on to stab a fellow hiker to death a few hundred miles up trail. I was feeling anxious until Thunder Lizard鈥攁 25-year-old musician from Vermont who forages for ramen garnishes while he walks鈥攂egan playing a few songs on his ukulele. He did some serviceable Dead and Vampire Weekend before playing by an old friend of mine called the Mountain Goats. It鈥檚 a song that鈥檚 kind of about the last tendrils of desperate hope in very desolate hours. Thunder Lizard鈥檚 shouted rendition felt a little like a hug and a lot like the kind of necessary magic the AT can deliver with suspicious regularity.

Monday, April 7 (Northbound Mile 302.1鈥�327.7)

Today, a tree almost fell on top of me.

I was 10 miles into an aspirational trail marathon, my start slowed by torrents of rain that kept everyone in their sleeping bags until the hour started to feel absurd. I worried that I鈥檇 run out of daylight, and I had also run out of water. I climbed out of Devil鈥檚 Fork Gap鈥攊n spite of the name, an absurdly bucolic patch of farmland and forest on the North Carolina/Tennessee border鈥攗ntil I reached the last point where the trail crosses Sugarloaf Branch, just above its first little waterfall. I was dumping electrolytes into a bottle of perfectly cold water when the woods ruptured.

My first thought was that some wild animal was bounding through the branches. But as I scanned the brush, I watched a tree 20 feet away explode, its 20 feet of solid wood bursting into a half-dozen bits on contact with the earth. I had a little moment of gratitude for sitting here, not there, kept drinking and then continued climbing.

There is no real way to know, of course, if that tree had been damaged by Helene, hanging around through six months of limbo, just waiting to interrupt my water break. Trees fall, and blaming each one on the last big storm is like blaming every summer rain on climate change. But it did reinforce the vague feeling I had so many times during these 140 miles鈥攖hat the woods were slightly more dangerous now, from the broken branches that snagged my bare calves to the extra patches of exposed roots that threatened my ankles. I made an extra note to check above my tent for any potential deadfall (always the right idea, anyway) and, in the meantime, to move swiftly, staying aware of big falling sticks.

That rain stuck around all day, bands shuttling across the ridges and into the gaps every hour or so. But I was heartened to see a group of a half-dozen hikers with daypacks, smiling as they climbed out of the gap while I descended into it. I wondered if perhaps AT guru Warren Doyle was around, leading them through a that allows beginners to knock out a chunk of trail efficiently. Doyle was fiercely critical of early efforts to keep people off the trail after Helene, insisting that reports of damage were overblown. (He was, I believe now, at least half-right.) I knew that Doyle himself would be near the trail come hell or, well, high water. But if others trusted trail conditions enough to join him, I thought it must be another sign that the trail was coming back online.

That鈥檚 not to say, of course, that everything was copacetic. I passed several spans where the sawdust of the Carolina Mountain Club was again fresh, relics of their work to bring some order to the chaos Helene had left behind. What鈥檚 more, I encountered a half-dozen dead trees in the span of a few miles that bore the AT鈥檚 signature white blaze, a 2-inch-by-6-inch strip of white paint. A hiker, it seemed, was carrying a Sharpie, maybe to turn roadside trash into hitchhiking signs every time they needed to get to town or graffiti their names onto shelter walls. On the blazes that belonged to those fallen trees, they鈥檇 drawn little frowns, black eyes peering up from the side of some wounded oak. The first time I saw it, I chuckled; I鈥檓 not ashamed to admit that, the sixth time I saw it, I got all verklempt.

I finished the marathon, rolling into Bald Mountain Shelter鈥攁t more than 5,000 feet, a relatively high one for the East Coast鈥攋ust after 7 p.m. I鈥檇 crossed Big Bald, an exquisite bit of trail, in a cloud, the wind whipping against my headphones as I listened to Godspeed You! Black Emperor鈥檚 first album. Some bit of political news had inspired the choice, and I鈥檇 wanted to hear its spoken-word prologue:

It felt good to know, at least, that people were taking care of the Appalachian Trail, whether or not they were being paid to do so. As I fell asleep that night, I thought about how lucky I was to be there, nestled in bed alongside a half-dozen other hikers. It is the country鈥檚 trademark trail and, I think, still its best鈥攁 resource worth all the work.

Tuesday, April 8 (Northbound Mile 327.7鈥�344.5)

I began this 140-mile sprint with one very specific goal: to cross the Nolichucky River in Erwin, TN. During my first thru-hike, in 2019, my mother-in-law scooped me and my wife outside of , the legendary hostel along that wide river鈥檚 banks, for a funeral in Indiana. She dropped us off several days later on the bridge across the Nolichucky; that was the last time we鈥檇 see family for months, and I always saw it as a pivot point in our hike, the moment we cut the cord of possibility that we could just head home.

Helene decimated that bridge, sweeping it downriver in gargantuan slabs that are still stuck there like roadblocks. When people spoke of the potentially dashed chances for a 2025 hiking season, that was a point of consistent concern: How would hikers get across the river? There was the promise of a long road detour or the prospect of a dangerous railroad crossing. And then, as Uncle Johnny鈥檚 worked to rebuild, they hatched a plan alongside the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to , operated by river guides out of work due to Helene鈥檚 aftermath. It鈥檚 how hikers in Maine cross the Kennebec River, anyway, so why not here?

But there was no boat to be found beneath the vinyl 鈥淎.T. Hiker Ferry鈥� banner, its schedule disrupted for the day by a river that was raging a little too hard. When I asked Terry Wise, the long-distance hiker who bought Uncle Johnny鈥檚 in 2021, about the ferry, he vented about the U.S. Forest Service鈥檚 refusal to put the launch pad on their land, a parcel that offered a safer ride even on rough days. A cavalcade of dump trucks doing road repairs rolled by constantly, making it clear how perilous the road walk was. The best thing hikers could do, he thought, was wait until tomorrow.

But my trip was done, and my ride was waiting in the Uncle Johnny鈥檚 parking lot. As I moseyed toward an old friend鈥檚 car and, in turn, to a , I realized there were worse fates for the AT hikers of 2025 than waiting for tomorrow. That morning, I鈥檇 passed through the most severely damaged sections of trail I鈥檇 encountered, half-mile spans in which the Carolina Mountain Club had cut hundreds of trees and forced the remnants just off the trail. It often felt like walking through endless cords of firewood, the gap between the logs barely wide enough to offer safe passage.

When I first saw the way the trail wove through those seemingly endless debris fields, especially above the deep drop of Spivey Gap, I thought of it as a miracle, an act of divine intervention. And then, of course, I realized that such an idea undermined the exhausting and dangerous work of the volunteers, like my old boss Mike, who had done what no government or god had bothered to do: save the 2025 AT season by putting their own lives on pause.

The feeling was reinforced several miles later at Temple Hill Gap, a relatively high slit in the ridge. In every direction, the trees were scattered like carcasses in a slasher film, covering nearly every square inch of the holler below. I had just left the jurisdiction of the Carolina Mountain Club, and I suddenly saw what Ron, that volunteer I鈥檇 met nearly a hundred miles earlier, meant when he said, 鈥淔or every one tree left standing, you鈥檒l see 20 that are down.鈥�

Here was that scene of near-total devastation, where the woods were a little more than a jumble of matchsticks. I stood there for a long time, trying to remember that wonderful bit of forest as it had been in 2019 and trying to imagine it as it would become鈥攄ebris at best, landslides and forest fires at worst. I was thankful for the present passage and anxious for what was to come. I turned and headed for Erwin and the Nolichucky, toward a river I would not be able to cross, at least not today.

The post Hurricane Helene Turned the Appalachian Trail Into a Highway Pile-Up. I Hiked it to Survey the Recovery. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Summer doesn鈥檛 officially kick off until June 20 at summer solstice. But let鈥檚 be honest: if you haven鈥檛 dialed in your summer plans by then, you’ll be behind everyone else already dialing in their plans.

To help you single out a few long weekend summer destinations, I put together a list of can鈥檛-miss trips that will satisfy just about everyone, no matter their preferences. This year, we鈥檙e focusing strictly on homegrown adventures鈥攆or a few reasons. First, the this year, because of their dislike of 鈥ou know who. This means fewer tourists in many of the country鈥檚 most popular spots, like national parks. It could also translate to cheaper bookings. What’s more,听considering the seemingly intractable divide inside our own borders, there may be no better time to take a chance to reacquaint ourselves with our neighbors.

Now is the time to start planning your next outdoor adventure. Here’s our list of the best weekend summer trips to plan for in 2025. Consider this your guide to your greatest听summer yet.

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon and Washington

Why now: Cutting through the Cascade Mountains for 80 miles, The Gorge, as it is known, is the in the U.S. It has it all, including the undisputed windsurfing capital of North America, Hood River. It鈥檚 also home to an increasing number of craft breweries, farm-to-table restaurants, boutique wineries, and all the other gastronomic offerings that helped make Portland, at the western end of the gorge, a foodie capital. In short, for a multisport destination in the heat of the summer, the Gorge is hard to beat.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: For hiking, , which reopened in 2021 after a 2017 fire, is one of the most popular trails in the area鈥攁nd with good reason. It courses through the temperate rainforest, past tall basalt cliffs, and over a narrow gorge 150 feet above the creek at High Falls. For mountain biking, , on the Oregon side of the gorge, offers everything from beginner to advanced cross-country rides. For water activities, Hood River serves as the obvious鈥攁nd best鈥攂ase area, with kitesurfing and kayak rentals and lessons available along the waterfront.

Pro tip: A is required for accessing many of the hiking areas in the national scenic area.

Where to stay: This spring, glamping company unveiled its new camp, set on a stunning 120-acre property in Washington鈥檚 White Salmon River Valley, with views of Mount Hood (from $229).

Anywhere on the Appalachian Trail

Why now: America鈥檚 legendary offers practically endless section-hiking opportunities come summer, and this year thethe nonprofit devoted to protecting and managing the trail, celebrates its centennial. Festivities are planned along the trail鈥檚 entire length, including in popular AT communities like Harrisonburg, Virginia (), and Hot Springs, North Carolina (May 2-3). But the primary event听is the ATC鈥檚 in Washington, D.C., on June 11, which is bringing together long-time supporters, partner organizations, and public officials to raise funds to protect the , the world鈥檚 longest hiking-only trail.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: For a weekend trip, the only practical way to hike the AT is to tackle sections, and the trail is intentionally routed away from towns, so camping is really the only option if you鈥檙e overnighting it. That is unless you decide to stay at a sort of base-camp town near your route鈥攁 place like Highlands, North Carolina, or Weston, Vermont. Highlands, roughly 30 minutes east of the AT and situated within the, is the quintessential southern mountain town, with stellar swimming, fishing, and paddling nearby. Weston, a small village on the east side of , is full of country charm and easy access to adventure opportunities, including four nearby ski resorts.

Pro tip: If you want to hike significant portions of the trail and avoid carrying a tent, the ATC has good recommendations for .

Where to stay: In Highlands, opt for the new , a 14-room boutique hotel full of Appalachian charm and adventure bonafides, not to mention a front porch that鈥檚 perfect for relaxing after a day鈥檚 hike (from $169). In Weston, it鈥檚 hard to beat the recently-opened , a 9-room retreat that鈥檚 owned by the family behind some of the world鈥檚 most iconic hotels, like New York City鈥檚 The Carlyle (from $450).

Big Sky, Montana

Why now: For years, Big Sky was basically a winter-only destination, in large part because the alpine valley didn鈥檛 offer much in the way of tourist infrastructure or nighttime fun. That鈥檚 all changed in recent years as the resort has attracted a raft of new and upgraded lodging options, including the upscale and the upcoming , which opens in November. Along with the lodging came new restaurants, coffee shops, and added amenities for year-round adventures. The combined effect has turned Big Sky into a legitimate year-round destination.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: Staying in the valley means it鈥檚 easier to take advantage of the nearby adventure options, including fly-fishing on the Gallatin River, lift-accessed mountain-biking from the base village, and touring nearby Yellowstone National Park. One of the best day hikes in the area is the 5.4-mile out-and-back Lava Lake Trail, which ends at an alpine lake with stunning views of the Spanish Peaks.

Pro tip: It鈥檚 usually most convenient to stay in , slightly down valley from the ski area, because it offers walking access to great coffee shops like Blue Moon Bakery, the farmer鈥檚 market (every Wednesday night June through September), and good restaurants like The Rocks Tasting Room and Liquor Store.

Where to stay: , which opened in 2019, is in the heart of the town center and has 129 suite rooms with full kitchens, a living area, and a workspace (from $274).

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Why now: Wrightsville Beach, a tiny hamlet on a barrier island, has quietly emerged as a world-class water-sports capital with a few upgraded lodging options that make it worthy of a long weekend stay. There鈥檚 excellent surfing, SUPing, and lounging on five miles of wide, sandy beaches. Fishing is central to the culture here, as is surfing, and there are waves for riders of all levels, meaning it鈥檚 a great place for lessons and surf camps.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: With multiple waterways and miles of wild terrain, paddling is one of the most popular summertime activities at Wrightsville Beach. An excellent, if remote, paddling destination is , the largest undisturbed barrier island along North Carolina鈥檚 southern coast. The Reserve, as locals call it, is across the channel from Wrightsville Beach and can only be reached by boat. But once there, trails connect the bayside to the ocean, and hiking them is a good way to spot one of the island鈥檚 rarer bird species, like the American oystercatcher or the Least terns.

Pro tip: If you鈥檙e looking for nightlife and cultural activities, Wilmington, just 10 minutes away, is full of museums, boutique shops, and a historic downtown.

Where to stay: In January, outdoor-focused hotel brand opened , a reimagined beach resort set on 3.5 acres of oceanfront property. As one of few hotels on the East Coast with both beach and sound access, every room has a water view.

The Erie Canal, New York

Why now: This year marks the of the waterway that transformed the Eastern Seaboard, and yet few people even know where the canal is located. As it happens, it courses through 365 miles of amazing New York scenery鈥攔olling hills, winding river valleys, lush farmland, and historic towns鈥攆rom Lake Erie in the West to the Hudson River in the East. To commemorate the bicentennial, the state is holding a series of , many of which include recreational opportunities.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: The is full of outdoor adventures, including the , 450 miles of canals and interconnected lakes and rivers with more than 140 access points. There鈥檚 also an equally amazing bike path along the canal, the , with 360 miles of mostly pathway riding. For cyclists, it doesn鈥檛 get much better, or quainter, than this ride, with sections through the Finger Lakes region and Mohawk Valley.

Pro tip: One of the most unique experiences to be had on the water is kayaking through the Waterford Flight, a series of five locks that lift vessels from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River, bypassing Cohoes Falls, with a total gain of 169 feet in just over 1.5 miles.

Where to stay: The NYS Canal Corporation offers along the canal for hikers, bikers, and paddlers during the summer (fees vary on location). For access points and campsites, the state offers an excellent .

Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

Why now: This year, Voyageurs park, 218,000 acres of pristine lakes and North Woods forests, is celebrating its 听 听As part of the celebration, it鈥檚, where you can learn about the park鈥檚 landscapes and history. It鈥檚 also where you can pick up your permits when venturing into the park鈥檚 interior, which is exactly what you should do.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: The park is a patchwork of land, water, and wetlands, and paddling is a mandatory experience, as is camping. At night, the stars come out, and the occasional auroras. As a designated International Dark Sky Park, there is no light pollution to diminish the view. Voyageurs is famed for its campsites, and it has (and over 270 total) located shoreside. They all require a watercraft to get to, and they鈥檙e all great for experiencing the Milky Way.

Pro tip: One of the more unique experiences you can have in the park is sleeping on a . With the boat as your base camp, you can motor to remote coves and then use kayaks or a canoe to fish for walleyes and explore the area by manual, then return to an actual bed come nightfall.

Where to stay: There are various houseboat rental companies , but 360-square-mile Rainey Lake, on the border with Canada, is usually the best bet for a true wilderness experience while on a houseboat.

Sonoma County, California

Why now: California鈥檚 Sonoma County, roughly an hour north of San Francisco, gets plenty of attention for its wineries but [[it]] often gets overlooked for its commitment to adventure. Case in point: This year is helping expand by that will help connect all of its protected land from the Russian River to the Pacific Ocean. In the future, the new land acquisition will feature hiking and mountain biking trails through ancient redwood forests. In the meantime, Sonoma still has plenty of hiking opportunities鈥� across the county鈥檚 park system.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: Sonoma County has it all鈥攈iking in the redwood forests, paddling and tubing down the Russian River, even SUPing along the coast on Bodega Bay. It鈥檚 also become one of the best destinations in the state for road cycling, and one of the area鈥檚 more popular rides is a around Healdsburg, with rolling roads that go past many of the area鈥檚 wineries.

Pro tip: The town of Healdsburg has dozens of hotels, most of which cater to Bay Area folk coming up for wine tastings. Instead, book in Guerneville, a rustic hamlet on the shores of the Russian River surrounded by towering redwood trees.

Where to stay: , a glamping resort set in a redwood grove, opened this Memorial Day. It’s a welcoming mashup between a national park campground and a private Soho House-style members club (from $315).

Denver, Colorado

Why now: The Mile High City has always been a great jumping off point for Rocky Mountain fun, but it continues to evolve as a world-class urban adventure hub in itself. This year, the city bolsters that reputation with the . The private golf course, which closed up shop in 2018, is the largest addition to Denver鈥檚 park system in more than a century. on how to best use the site overall, but this summer the city will restore portions of it with native plant species and walking trails, even a dog park, until it finalizes how to reimagine the site overall.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: Denver delivers more than 850 miles of paved, off-street biking and walking trails, including the slopestyle MTB course, dirt jumps, and pump tracks at . For paddlers, , at the intersection of Cherry Creek and the South Platte, is just minutes from downtown and has man-made kayak chutes for playboating.

Pro tip: Denver鈥檚 River North Arts District (RiNo) has transformed itself over the last decade into a world-class creative hub. It also offers easy access to the city鈥檚 many outdoor adventures, including walking access to the 32-mile long . Book here if you鈥檙e staying in town.

Where to stay: , a combination boutique hotel, artisan market hall, and creative hub, is a good base camp in RiNo, with sparse but comfortable rooms, and even a free beer at check-in (from $224 per night).

Nantucket, Massachusetts

Why now: This island, 26 miles off Cape Cod, is known more for its popped-collar crowd than its outdoor adventures, but it鈥檚 full of outdoor fun come summer鈥攆rom paddling in Nantucket Harbor to sailing on the open Atlantic. Until the last few years, the island鈥檚 hotels were fairly, well鈥tale. Not anymore. The historic underwent a massive refresh recently (from $645), as did the , which offer complimentary access to bicycles, fishing rods for kids, and shuttles to the beach (from $570 per night). So now there鈥檚 great adventures and great places to stay.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: One of the best ways to experience Nantucket’s rugged side is by hiking in the , over 1,100 acres of beach dunes covered with bayberry bushes, heather, and beach grass. There are 16 miles of over-sand vehicle routes, but walking on the eastern beaches offers an easy way to get a taste of the island鈥檚 remoteness.

Pro tip: The island鈥檚 windswept beaches and sharp points make landing a trophy striped bass, bluefish, or false albacore a real possibility. Many people even fly-fish for them from shore. Great Point, in the shadow of the , is one of the most popular areas for surfcasting. Book a guide at .

Where to stay: The 65-year-old , which reopened in May after a multi-year renovation from a down-and-out motel into a retro-chic hotel, has听91 hotel rooms, a courtyard pool, and a new lobby, bar, and restaurant.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Why now: Glacier Bay National Park, with its 3.3 million acres of mountains, glaciers, rainforest, and fjords, is celebrating 听its centennial this year. Established as a , the park is as wild as it gets, with opportunities to witness calving glaciers, paddle in the same waters as puffins and whales, and hike through old-growth forests dripping with lichen and moss.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: Getting on the water is essential if you want to experience the park鈥檚 true majesty鈥攚hether it鈥檚 a boat tour, kayaking in the fjords, river-rafting, or fishing in the bay.

Pro tip: The park鈥檚 glaciers, over 1,000 of them, are worth seeing up close, and the best way to do that is with a in the backcountry. Of course, if you want to stretch your legs on land, the relaxed are worthwhile.

Where to stay: Not many people stay overnight in the park, as most are visiting on cruise ships. But if you want to crash for a night or two inside Glacier Bay鈥檚 boundaries, the best option is the historic , in Bartlett Cove (from $274). The rooms are basic, but you鈥檙e right in the park itself, so you can explore on foot, plus the lodge offers a daily boat tour on its highspeed catamaran.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Why now: In April, Chattanooga was named North America’s first National Park City for its commitment to integrating nature and urban life. The recognition was the final cherry on top of a long, dramatic transformation for a city that was one of the most polluted in the U.S.in the 1970s. Today, it鈥檚 a top outdoor destination.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: Chattanooga, population 185,000, sits in the foothills of the Southern Appalachians, so outdoor adventures are never far. There鈥檚 kayaking and SUPing on the Tennessee River, which winds through downtown, and 100 miles of singletrack within 20 miles of town. This includes 92-acre , a wooded wilderness inside city limits with 6 miles of flowy singletrack. The area has also become a hotbed of rock climbing, and the most popular crag for out-of-towners is , a bouldering area 20 miles north of downtown with 400 problems on high quality sandstone.

Pro tip: 听For traditional climbers, the in Prentice-Cooper State Forest is widely considered one of the best climbing areas in the country.

Where to Stay: For those looking for a little comfort and access to Chattanooga鈥檚 cultural side, the (from $165) is an unpretentious but upscale hotel located in the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo district. The hotel even has renovated Pullman train carriages from the early 20th century that you can book for an overnight stay.

Maui, Hawaii

Why now: Since wildfires ravaged the island in the summer of 2023, Maui has labored mightily to recover. There is still much work to be done, but increasingly the island needs tourists to help it return to a sense of normalcy. The has gone so far as to say that 鈥渢he best way to support Maui is through travel.鈥�

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: Hawaii may not be a top-of-mind destination come summer, but the temperatures are nearly perfect, ranging from the mid-70s to upper-80s. The rains have ceased, and the ocean is calmer, making way for more snorkeling and paddling opportunities. Hiking in Haleakal膩 National Park is still great. And all the amazing farm-to-table restaurants, empty stretches of sand, and vibrant towns鈥攍ike Wailuku, P膩驶ia, and Makawao, welcome fewer guests than in the high season.

Pro tip: To help encourage tourists to come back and visit meaningfully, the Hawai鈥檌 Tourism Authority created the , where people signing up for a dedicated volunteer opportunity can qualify for special discounts at participating hotels. A list of opportunities is available .

Where to stay: For a heavier dose of adrenaline, look toward the eastern, windward side of the island. It鈥檚 a remote, rugged, and lush landscape that鈥檚 full of waterfalls and vivid green hues. Hana is the main town on this side of the island, and one of the better upscale lodging options is the Hana-Maui Resort, a historic inn recently upgraded into a full-service resort with an off-the-grid vibe (from $450).

Boise, Idaho

Why now: Idaho鈥檚 capital has long been considered one of the mountain West鈥檚 most accessible outdoors hubs. Now an influx of investment dollars, along with coastal transplants since the pandemic, has helped turn downtown into a thriving locus of cultural, gastronomic, and commercial energy. New hotels, shops, and restaurants have added dynamism to a city that could often feel one-note. It鈥檚 ripe for a long weekend trip.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: The parallels the river for 25 miles right through the heart of the city, offering tree-lined paths for walking and biking. At the , just downstream of downtown, three engineered waves create one of the West鈥檚 great urban whitewater playgrounds. And the river also makes for great flatwater SUP outings come summer.

Pro tip: The city鈥檚 Ridge to Rivers Tail System, a vast network of over 190 miles worth of interconnected hiking and biking trails in the Boise Foothills, is getting two new trails. The 2.9-mile Curlew Connection Trail was completed last fall and construction on the 2-mile Sideshow Trail, a downhill-specific mountain bike trail, began this spring.

Where to stay: (from $171) is one of the newest and best entrants on the scene, with 122 rooms, a rooftop lounge called The Highlander, and the Baraboo Supper Club, a chophouse-style restaurant that feels more like a neighborhood joint.

Traverse City, Michigan

Why now: Traverse City, in northwest Michigan, is home to sandy beaches, award-winning vineyards, great restaurants, eight historic lighthouses, and . It鈥檚 also been on a bit of a development spree in the last few years, with a number of name brand hotels opening or breaking ground. The hotels鈥擣airfield by Marriott Inn & Suites, Hyatt House, etc.鈥攁re all standard fare, but together they demonstrate a bullish outlook investors have in the city鈥檚 year-round tourism potential.

国产吃瓜黑料 intel: Summer is the busiest time of year, and it鈥檚 hard to beat, with all of the classic Michigan adventures, like biking through wine country on the 17-mile . For water enthusiasts, there鈥檚 excellent sailing and paddling options on Lake Michigan, with plenty of rental kayaks along the waterfront.

Pro tip: One of the most popular trail networks in this area of the state is the , which is maintained for both summer and wintertime activities. The multi-use trail has a series of loops (3K, 5K, 10K, and 25K) that includes cross-country options through the hardwood forests for both serious mountain bikers and neophytes alike.

Where to stay: If you want to avoid the chain hotels, one of your best bets is , a 32-room boutique property set directly on the shores of the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay (from $190). The rooms are simple but comfortable. Of course, the reason you鈥檙e staying here is not the room itself but the soft-sand beach below your balcony.

Ryan Krogh is a writer and editor based in Austin, Texas. He writes frequently about the outdoors and travel. This summer he has trips planned to Montana, Dominica, Costa Rica, and Paris, France. He also has plans to paddle on the Erie Canal in August, the only trip coinciding with this list of ideas, although he fully endorses all of these destinations based on previous adventures.听听

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Chattanooga is not like other cities. While some towns can boast about being close to the outdoors, adventure is seamlessly woven through the fabric of this city, from the Tennessee River that wraps around downtown to the towering cliffs and lush mountains that rise from the edge of its neighborhoods.

鈥淎 lot of cities are gateways to the outdoors, but with Chattanooga, it鈥檚 all right here within the city limits,鈥� says Brian Smith, communications director for Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors. 鈥淵ou can be mountain biking and hiking or kayaking or climbing within the city limits, and then go directly to a restaurant downtown. It鈥檚 amazing.鈥� That means a long weekend in Chattanooga can feel like a week of fun and adventure鈥攜ou can simply do more when you鈥檙e not spending hours driving between activities, amenities, and lodging.

Thanks to its unparalleled access to nature and the outdoor culture that pervades the city, Chattanooga recently earned the distinction of being North America鈥檚 first , a new designation that celebrates communities that protect their natural resources for generations to come. It鈥檚 a global movement celebrating a community-driven approach to conservation and the values, places, and culture that can make urban centers uniquely livable.

Ready to discover Chattanooga for yourself? Use this guide to plan the perfect three-day weekend in one of America鈥檚 most adventurous cities.

Day 1

Biking/Walking/Running

You could spend all weekend exploring the 16-plus-mile , a paved pedestrian and bike path that runs along the southern banks of the Tennessee River from Chickamauga Lake through downtown to the Incline Railway. If you want to explore the entire path, check out a bike from one of 鈥檚 public bike stations, which are scattered along the path. (Running is also a great way to see a big chunk of the route.) The Riverwalk is mostly flat, with gorgeous views of the Tennessee River and plenty of opportunities for refueling at a variety of restaurants. ( has great lattes!) If you want to walk a shorter section, the two-mile stretch from Battery Place to Ross鈥檚 Landing cruises through downtown. You鈥檒l pass by the Bluff View Arts District, which has sculpture gardens and unique architecture; the Hunter Museum (check out the view from the backside of the museum overlooking the river); and the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge.

Climbing

Stop for lunch at the 鈥攖he oysters are a staple, but you also can鈥檛 go wrong with the roasted chicken sandwich. Next, head to the northern edge of Lookout Mountain, where , a 100-foot-tall sandstone cliff within Point Park鈥攑art of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park鈥攈as been attracting rock climbers for decades. You鈥檒l find a mix of traditional and top-rope routes, all of which offer stunning views of the Tennessee River Valley below. Even if you鈥檙e not a climber, the mile-long access trail is a beautiful hike.

Eating

For dinner, head to Chattanooga鈥檚 Southside neighborhood, which has one of the most vibrant food scenes in the South. has wood-fired pizzas and sandwiches. Check out the 2 AM Burger, which has eggs and hash browns smashed into the situation. If you鈥檙e looking for something more refined, offers hand-crafted Italian dishes like gnocchi with local chicken and mushrooms.

Listening

Stay in the neighborhood and wander over to , where local bands occasionally play on the stage and you can always find an incredible selection of vinyl.

Day 2

Mountain Biking

Fat tire fans have plenty of trails to choose from. The trail system is world class, with 30 miles of fast, flowy singletrack just 15 minutes from downtown. Most of the trails are for intermediate or advanced riders, with plenty of rocks and root gardens and some steep climbs. Want something even closer? Ride , a seven-mile system of singletrack on the edge of downtown that鈥檚 loaded with easier trails.

Caving

If you鈥檙e not interested in pedaling, go subterranean with a tour of , where miles of caves wind beneath the surface. You can take it easy with a guided stroll through the Crystal Palace, where the rooms are larger but still packed with stalagmites and stalactites, or get dirty on a Wild Cave Tour that will have you squeezing through tight channels and sliding down muddy chutes.

Paddling

Grab lunch at , in the eclectic North Shore Neighborhood, then rest your legs and kayak the downtown stretch of the Tennessee River.

You can rent kayaks or standup paddleboards at , near Coolidge Park, and paddle the broad Tennessee beneath downtown Chattanooga鈥檚 four bridges. The river is slow enough to travel in both directions, so you can choose your mileage and create an out-and-back through town, ogling the tall, gray cliffs that rise from the water beneath the Hunter Art Museum. Look for great blue herons and other waterfowl as you paddle a circle around McClellan Island, a sanctuary managed by the Audubon Society.

Eating

For dinner, head back into downtown, which has undergone a foodie revival in recent years. offers classic cocktails and thoughtful takes on comfort food like chicken schnitzel and beet ravioli. , at the base of the Walnut Street Bridge, takes Appalachian cuisine upscale with standout dishes like their chicken pot pie and bone-in pork chop.

Spectating

If you hit the schedule right, catch a baseball game at AT&T Field, home to the , a AA affiliate team for the Cincinnati Reds.

Day 3

Bouldering

Ready to squeeze in one more quick adventure before heading out of town? Check out , a bouldering area next to Chattanooga鈥檚 St. Elmo neighborhood that offers the closest climbing to downtown. You鈥檒l find roughly 30 boulders scattered throughout the area, with something for beginners and hard chargers alike.

Splurging

Spent from bouldering or not, make sure you grab a scoop (or two) of handcrafted ice cream from . They have all the traditional flavors, plus rotating options like Blueberry Lookout Lavender.

Hiking

Get one last look of the Tennessee River Valley from the top of , which played a pivotal role in the Civil War. Today, it鈥檚 the jumping-off point for the Cumberland Trail and other hiking trails within the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Hike a 2.9-mile section of the beginning at Signal Point, passing waterfalls and unique rock formations along the way before hitting Edwards Point, which offers a long-range view of the Tennessee River Gorge below.

Chattanooga Tourism Co. is the official destination marketing organization for Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dedicated to promoting visitation and showcasing the city’s unique attractions, vibrant culture, and outdoor adventures, Chattanooga Tourism Co. works to inspire travel and enhance the visitor experience. For more information and to plan your Chattanooga getaway, please visit .

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No adventure compares to driving across the United States. I鈥檒l never forget my first coast-to-coast drive. It was two friends and me, post college, in a beat-up Subaru loaded with everything I owned. We took the long way home, starting in the farmlands of Vermont and making out-of-the-way pitstops for hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains听of Tennessee, dining at legendary barbecue spots across Mississippi, and listening to live music in New Orleans. We drove west, climbed the highest peak in Texas, ate green chile in New Mexico, and stared into the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Most nights, we slept in a tent and dreamed of where the next day would take us. When we finally crossed the California state line toward our final destination, I remember feeling like I wanted to stay on the road forever.

The cross-country road trip is an American rite, a true pilgrimage where you can plan only so much; the rest will unfold wherever the road goes. These three epic journeys have starting and ending points, as well as some spots that may be worth pulling over for along the way, but what you make of the trip鈥攁nd what you ultimately take away from it鈥攊s up to you.

We鈥檝e picked three routes on major highways that cross the country (for a Southwest specific guide, explore our seven best road trips of that region), but along the way, we鈥檝e provided suggestions for detours and byways that get you off the beaten path and out of your car to stretch your legs, experience local culture, and see the sights you鈥檒l be talking about all the way to your next stop. You鈥檒l pull over for things like meteor craters, giant art installations, and donuts. With visits to roadside national monuments, waterfalls, and hot springs鈥攁nd with stays at unique hotels, campsites, and cabins along the way, these road trips aren鈥檛 just a long drive, they鈥檙e an incredible adventure waiting to happen.

The Music Lover鈥檚 Journey: Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington

Route: Interstate 90

Distance: 3,051 miles

This northern route across the U.S. follows Interstate 90 from east to west, passing by major cities like Cleveland, Chicago, and Minneapolis. But you鈥檒l also touch on some of the country鈥檚 coolest wild spaces, like the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Inspire your road trip playlist by checking out the outdoor music venues and festivals throughout this route.

Pitstop: The Berkshires, Massachusetts

Hop on Interstate 90 in Boston and point it west. Your first stop is the Berkshires, a mountainous region filled with charming small towns 120 miles west of Boston. Go for a hike in , then pick up a tangleberry pie or farm-fresh apples from market in Great Barrington. In Stockbridge, the is worth a stop to learn more about American painter Norman Rockwell, who lived in the area, or check the performance calendar at , home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, for major touring acts in this pastoral outdoor music venue. It鈥檚 worth the 30-mile detour off the highway to North Adams to post up for a night or two at (from $194), a revamped motor lodge that hosts guided hikes, live music, and pop-up dinners.

Must See: Niagara Falls, New York

Peel off the highway in Buffalo, New York, for a visit to , America鈥檚 oldest state park and home to its three namesake waterfalls. Grab a yellow poncho and a ticket ($14) to view the falls from below at the observation decks.

Pitstop: Saint Charles, Iowa

Take a detour to visit Saint Charles, Iowa, home to the four-day held each August on a 350-acre plot of grassland. This year鈥檚 headliners include Tyler, the Creator, Kacey Musgraves, and Lana Del Ray. You can camp on site during the festival and hop a free shuttle into nearby Des Moines. If you can鈥檛 make the show, Des Moines still delivers, with 800 miles of trails to explore on foot or bike, including the paved 25-mile , a converted rail-trail with an iconic bridge that鈥檚 lit up at night over the Des Moines River valley. rents bikes.

Pitstop: Black Hills, South Dakota

There鈥檚 tons to see in the Black Hills of South Dakota, including famous highlights like and , as well as lesser known gems like the third longest caves in the world at or the annual buffalo roundup each September in . Grab donuts for the road from , a famed roadside attraction. Stay in a canvas tent among ponderosa pines at (from $179), outside the town of Keystone.

Stretch Your Legs: Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

It鈥檚 not far off I-90 to reach , a geologic monolith with deep roots to indigenous cultures in the northern plains and the country鈥檚 first national monument. Parking and trails can be crowded here, so skip the main lot and hike the 1.5-mile instead鈥攊t鈥檚 less busy and still has good views of the tower.

Pitstop: Bozeman, Montana

Post up at the (from $189) in downtown Bozeman, which has on the property. Stroll Main Street, then take a walk up through Burke Park, a few blocks away, for a nice view of town. It鈥檚 about an hour and 20 minutes drive to reach the north entrance to , known for its geysers and 2.2 million acres of wilderness. If you鈥檙e on the road for music, the in nearby Big Sky takes place in early August.

Pitstop: Coeur d鈥橝lene, Idaho

Home to Lake Coeur d鈥橝lene as well as dozens of smaller lakes, you鈥檒l want to stop in Coeur d鈥橝lene, Idaho, for a swim or a paddle. rents kayaks and paddleboards. on the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille has cabins and campsites (from $48), a , and access to 45 miles of trails for biking and hiking.

Must See: The Gorge Amphitheater, Washington听

Music听breaks up the drive, and there鈥檚 no better place to see live music outdoors in this part of the country than the in Quincy, Washington. There鈥檚 on-site camping during shows and an upcoming lineup that includes Billy Strings and Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Stretch Your Legs: Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

Hike to stunning alpine lakes on Snoqualmie Pass, just an hour outside of Seattle on I-90. You鈥檒l need a $5 to access most of the hikes in this area. The 2-mile follows the Snoqualmie River to a 70-foot waterfall. For a more stout climb, the 8.5-mile roundtrip hike to in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a real gem.

Final Stop: Seattle, Washington

Celebrate the end of an epic journey by watching the sunset over the Olympic Mountains and dipping your toes into Puget Sound from Seattle鈥檚 . Stay in the heart of downtown at the (from $189) and you can browse fresh produce and maker鈥檚 stalls outside your door. The 10-mile paved sits right along the waterfront. Want more live music to cap off your trip? The is downtown Seattle鈥檚 coolest music venue.

The Best National Parks Road Trip: San Francisco, California, to Washington, D.C.

Route: Interstate 80 and Interstate 70

Distance: 2,915 miles

Travel across the heartland of the U.S. on this iconic route along I-80 and I-70, passing through stunning western mountain ranges like California鈥檚 Sierra Nevada, Nevada鈥檚 Ruby Mountains, Utah鈥檚 Wasatch, and Colorado鈥檚 Rockies. You鈥檒l visit the great national parks across southern Utah听and hit cities like Denver, Colorado; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, and Columbus, Ohio, before landing in the country鈥檚 capital.

Pitstop: Lake Tahoe, California

Depart San Francisco on Interstate 80 heading east, leaving the shores of the Pacific Ocean to begin a steady climb toward the mountains of the Sierra Nevada range.听, in the roadside town of Auburn, has good burgers and homemade pies for the road. Lake Tahoe is your first stop, a short but worthy departure from the highway. Stay at the new听 (from $138), which opens in March, and you鈥檒l be steps from the lake. Rent bikes at听 to pedal the world-class singletrack along the听 or grab a paddleboard from听. Don鈥檛 miss dinner at the newly opened, featuring eclectic dishes and locally-sourced ingredients.

Pitstop: Ruby Mountains, Nevada

听There鈥檚 not much on Interstate 80 as you cross Nevada between Reno and Salt Lake City鈥攅xcept for the Ruby Mountains, which spike straight up from the desert floor of the Great Basin. In the winter,听 offers heli-ski access to 200,000 acres of rugged terrain. In the summer, there鈥檚听. Stay at Ruby Mountain Heli鈥檚听 or one of their two mountainside yurts (from $190).

Must See: Great Basin National Park, Nevada

For a national park detour, consider visiting听, which has one of the darkest skies in the world for stargazing. Near the entrance to the park, the听 make for a great overnight stop and snack resupply station.

Pitstop: Moab, Utah

In Salt Lake City, you鈥檒l say goodbye to Interstate 80 and head south to meet up with Interstate 70, but not before spending time to explore the Mighty Five national parks that made southern Utah famous: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. You could spend weeks here鈥攐r just a couple of days. Be sure to book a self-guided or ranger-led hike in the slot canyons of the in Arches National Park and get a permit to hike the exposed rocky cliffside of in Zion National Park. (from $129) makes for a great base camp, or there鈥檚 .

Stretch Your Legs: Glenwood Canyon, Colorado

Get back on I-70 and make your way into Colorado, where scenic Glenwood Canyon makes for a stunning drive along the Colorado River. The paved parallels the highway for over 16 miles, making for an easy biking or running destination. Afterward, stay for a soak in the . A new 16-suite boutique hotel called Hotel 1888 is opening near the hot springs this summer.

Pitstop: Breckenridge, Colorado

Spend the night at (from $320), which opened in early 2025 at the base of Peak 9 at, home to skiing and snowboarding in the winter and biking and hiking come summer. Stroll the charming Main Street of downtown Breck and don鈥檛 miss a visit to the , a 15-foot-tall wooden art installation now located on the town鈥檚 Trollstigen Trail.

Must See: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

It鈥檚 not exactly on the way, but this adventure clearly detours for national parks, so make the trek north to Rocky Mountain National Park, a quiet, snowy paradise in the winter and a fishing and backpacking mecca in the warmer months. The short hikes to and Cub Lake are popular among families. For experienced mountain travelers, Longs Peak is the park鈥檚 most famous 14er鈥擟olorado Mountain School leads guided treks to the peak. Stay overnight in Denver before you head into the plains: (from $189), the country鈥檚 first carbon positive hotel, opened in Denver鈥檚 Civic Center Park late last year.

Stretch Your Legs: Monument Rocks, Kansas

There鈥檚 a on an 80-foot easel鈥攐ne of three in the world鈥攙isible from the highway in the town of Goodland, Kansas. Then, pull over for 50-foot-high fossil rock outcroppings and limestone spires on the Kansas prairie at , which is on private land that鈥檚 open to the public south of Oakley, Kansas, right off I-70. 国产吃瓜黑料 of Topeka, you can visit the , a former school site that commemorates the historic end of racial segregation in public schools.

Pitstop: St. Louis, Missouri

Next stop on your national park tour? The of St. Louis. You can ride a tram 630 feet to the top of the arch, walk the palatial grounds beneath the architectural wonder, or admire the arch from a riverboat cruise along the Mississippi River. The (from $149) is housed in a historic shoe company building and has a rooftop pool and restaurant overlooking the city. is a public market with a food hall, retail shops, and live music, and don鈥檛 miss brunch amid a plant nursery at the city鈥檚 .

Pitstop: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio听

Ohio has but one national park and it鈥檚 worth the detour to visit: has paddling along the Cuyahoga River, 20 miles of multi-use pathways along the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, and 125 miles of hiking trails through woodlands and wetlands. There鈥檚 no camping within the national park but has tent camping (from $40) nearby or the (from $200) is within the park and on the National Register of Historic Homes.

Final Stop: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Maryland

End your national parks tour of the U.S. with a visit to the . The C&O Canal follows the Potomac River for 184 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, to Washington, D.C. It makes for a great walk or bike ride. Pitch a tent at one of the free hiker or biker campsites or pull your car up to one of a handful of drive-in sites (from $10). Or you can stay in a (from $175) along the canal.

The History Buff鈥檚 Tour of the U.S.: Los Angeles, California, to Charlottesville, Virginia

Route: Interstate 40

Distance: 2,696 miles

This pilgrimage sticks to one highway only for most of the way: Interstate 40, which starts in the Mojave Desert of California and crosses the southern portion of the U.S., over the Rocky Mountains and through the Great Plains and the Appalachian Mountains. It traverses Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Much of the western route parallels the historic U.S. Route 66, so it feels like a throwback to another era, a perfect journey for those who love learning about our nation鈥檚 past.

Pitstop: Mojave National Preserve, California

听You can watch a drive-in movie, visit a ghost town, or hike through lava tubes in . You can鈥檛 miss a visit to , an hour away, for stellar stargazing, rock climbing, and 300 miles of hiking trails. Stay in an adobe bungalow at the centrally located (from $195), which has an on-site farm, restaurant, and picnic lunches to go.

Stretch Your Legs: Lake Havasu, Arizona

will deliver you a kayak or paddleboard to explore the waters of the , once a major tributary on the lower Colorado River and one of the last ecologically functioning river habitats in the southwest.

Pitstop: Flagstaff, Arizona

Post up at the (from $109) in Flagstaff, Arizona, and then go explore the sights around Flagstaff, including , an hour and a half north. The 3-mile , along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, makes for a mellow stroll. The on Route 66 in Flagstaff used to be a historic taxidermy shop and is now a popular bar for country music and line dancing.

Must See: Meteor Crater National Landmark

Yep, you鈥檙e pulling off the highway to see this: The most preserved meteorite impact site on earth is right off I-40 near Winslow, Arizona. For a $29 admission at the , you can sign up for a guided hike of the crater鈥檚 rim.

Stretch Your Legs: Continental Divide Trail; Grants, New Mexico

听You鈥檙e passing from one side of the Continental Divide to the other: Might as well get out of the car and go for a trail run or hike along the Continental Divide Trail, which crosses Interstate 40 near the town of Grants, New Mexico.

Pitstop: Santa Fe, New Mexico

Take a detour off I-40 in Albuquerque to spend a night or two in Santa Fe, the highest elevation capital city in the U.S., which sits at 7,000 feet in the high desert. Splurge on a night at (from $645), a full-service retreat in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos. For art and history buffs, the and the are well worth a visit.

Must See: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas

You鈥檝e already seen the actual Grand Canyon, so now it鈥檚 time to see the Grand Canyon of Texas, in , 25 miles outside of Amarillo. The park has camping and cabins, an 800-foot-deep canyon, mountain bike trails, and an outdoor stage where actors perform a Texas musical.

Pitstop: Hot Springs, Arkansas

You鈥檒l come to Hot Springs for the historic bathhouses and modern-day spa resorts. At , you can soak in one of two original bathhouses. Want to learn about some of the country鈥檚 most infamous criminals? , in downtown Hot Springs, has exhibits on Al Capone and Owen Madden. The (from $169) is housed in a centrally located historic building. Don鈥檛 miss: is the only brewery in the world that uses thermal spring water for its beers.

Must See: Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas

If you鈥檙e into geologic history, add a visit to Arkansas鈥� , where you can dig for minerals and gems in a 37-acre field on an eroded volcanic crater. (And yes, notable diamonds have been discovered here.)

Pitstop: Nashville, Tennessee

From the music scene to the foodie paradise, you might never want to leave Nashville. Stay in one of eight suites in a 19th century mansion at (from $306), where wood-fired pizzas are served in the backyard. The currently has exhibits on Luke Combs and Rosanne Cash. Go for a walk or run in or take a guided bike tour of the city鈥檚 murals and street art with .

Pitstop: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, you can hike to waterfalls like Mouse Creek Falls or Mingo Falls, fish for brook trout, or bike the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road, which is closed to cars on Wednesdays from May through September. The coolest place in the park to sleep? The (from $189), located atop Mount Le Conte and accessible only via foot. Open from March through November, the lodge requires at least a five-mile hike to reach. Bookings for this year are mostly snatched up already, but you can get on the waitlist or plan ahead for next year.

Final Stop: Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

Your trip finale comes in the form of ditching Interstate 40 in exchange for a meandering drive along the , a 469-mile stretch through the Appalachian Mountains and one of the most scenic roadways in America. You鈥檒l stop to see Whitewater Falls, the east coast鈥檚 tallest waterfall at 411 feet, and the rugged Linville Gorge Wilderness. Stay nearby at (from $175), which opened in the mountain town of Highlands in 2024 with a supper club and Nordic spa. They鈥檒l also book you outdoor excursions, ranging from rock climbing to fly fishing.

Megan Michelson is an 国产吃瓜黑料 contributing editor who loves long drives, even when her two children are whining in the backseat. She has recently written about Airbnb treehouses, the most beautiful long walks in the world, and the 10 vacations that will help you live longer.听

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I鈥檝e spent the last two decades exploring Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and have become utterly fascinated by its听duality. On the one hand, GSMNP is the epitome of a 鈥渄rive through鈥� park, with a scenic road and bevy of easy nature trails. On the other, it鈥檚 a rugged expanse of wilderness packed with steep cliffs, remote hollers, and wild trout streams. Some of the park鈥檚 gateway towns are packed with waterslides and chain restaurants, while others have quaint main streets. Over the years, I鈥檝e sat in traffic jams inside the park, but also crawled through dense backcountry forests. I鈥檝e fished streams and hugged massive old growth trees and spotted elk at dusk and climbed some of the tallest peaks in the eastern U.S. all within the borders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

What I鈥檝e discovered is that you need time to fully appreciate this landscape. You need to spend days on end here, fishing and hiking and picnicking your way through these impressive mountains. That means you鈥檒l need a place to lay your head and recover from the day鈥檚 adventure. While camping inside GSMNP is great, sometimes you need a few more amenities, like a hot tub or game room, to truly round out your vacation.

For this sort of trip, I usually turn to Airbnb, which has hundreds of cabin options you can rent for a night or more, within a stone鈥檚 throw of the park. Here are six properties I鈥檇 recommend that hit the sweet spot of perks, location, and high reviews from other travelers. Any one of these would make the perfect basecamp for exploring Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Know Before You Go: Last September, Western North Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Helene. I wrote about my experience in the storm at the time, but I want readers to know that the region is healing, and many communities are open to tourism again. Great Smoky Mountains National Park did not receive the brunt of the storm, and most gateway towns saw minimal damage compared to other communities. But keep the storm and its lasting impacts in mind when you鈥檙e traveling to the region. Some roads might still be closed, and some areas will still look scarred.

Creekside Chalet

Why We Love It: The A-frame, ski-chalet vibes

Price: From $190 per night

Built into the side of a mountain in the sixties, this kitschy A-frame chalet has been completely remodeled into a modern gem that sits just outside the hustle and bustle of downtown Gatlinburg. The two-bedroom cabin has a large living room that makes the most of the A-frame design with towering vaulted ceilings and floor to ceiling windows, but I also love the front porch, which has its own hot tub. The cabin feels secluded, thanks to the surrounding forest of hardwoods, but it鈥檚 actually on the edge of Ober Gatlinburg, a family-friendly ski resort that鈥檚 the perfect place to take your first turns. You鈥檙e also just ten听minutes from the Gatlinburg entrance to the park, with quick access to the trails off of Newfound Gap Road, which cuts through the center of the park. Plus, it perfect for larger crews, as it sleeps up to six people with two bedrooms, a sleeper sofa, and has two baths.

Cabin in the Clouds

Why We Love It: The epic view from the hot tub

Price: From $250 per night

I like the quieter North Carolina side of the park and this new, two-bedroom mountain-top cabin near Bryson City makes the most of the area thanks to a wall of glass and expansive porch that takes in the surrounding mountains. The living room is the definition of 鈥渁iry,鈥� with vaulted ceilings and an exterior wall full of windows, which leads onto the expansive deck where a hot tub sits in the corner. Soaking in the tub while you enjoy mountain vistas by day, or starry skies by night, has to be the highlight here, although I also like the firepit complete with a built-in national park-style charcoal grill. From here, you鈥檒l have quick access to Lake Fontana and the Deep Creek area of the park, which is packed with waterfalls and adventurous tubing. The home sleeps up to six people, with two bedrooms and two baths.

Riverfront Glass House

Why We Love It: The fire pit right next to a world-class trout stream

Price: From $299 a night, 2-night minimum

This large home sits on a peninsula at the confluence of a small creek and the Little River, with steps leading down to a grassy 鈥渂each鈥� that鈥檚 perfect for lounging or casting for trout. There鈥檚 a shaded patio with a hot tub and a lounge area complete with an outdoor TV, not to mention an outdoor shower. Hardwoods throughout and big picture windows show off the surrounding forest and mountains from the inside of this updated home, but its location is the real draw. Not only will you have private access to the river, but the house, which sleeps up to six, is only two miles from the Foothills Parkway, a scenic two-lane road that wraps around the border of GSMNP, and the Airbnb is only 12 miles to the closest entrance to the park.

Clever Cubs Cabin

Why We Love It: The built-in game room and close proximity to family fun

Price: From $233 per night; 3-night minimum

You never know how your kids will respond to that five-mile hike you have planned, but I guarantee they鈥檒l love the full-sized arcade games, pool table, and karaoke machine that occupy the bonus room in this three-story cabin. Older kids will appreciate the photogenic murals crafted inside and outside of this home, and as an extra perk, the cabin is located near Sevierville, which is packed with family adventures, from zip line courses to gem mines. The wraparound porch has a putting green, and there鈥檚 a lower deck with a fire pit and a tiki bar for the adults. As for the cabin鈥檚 proximity to the park, you鈥檙e about 30 minutes from Sugarlands Visitor Center, where you can pick up the scenic Newfound Gap Road, which cuts through the heart of the Smokies, or break off to Cades Cove, a former farming community with historic buildings scattered throughout the valley. This cabin sleeps up to eight people.

The Smoky Mountain Treehouse

Why We Love It: The 40-foot swinging bridge

Price: From $275 per night

This custom-built tree house has story-book weekend written all over it, from the 40-foot long swinging bridge you need to cross to enter the home, to the architectural details that make the cabin one-of-a-kind. The kitchen is compact, but a rolling ladder leads to a loft, live edge countertops grace the bathroom and kitchenette, and you get views of the surrounding mountain from your king bed. The outside living space is even better, with an outdoor shower, cedar hot tub, and a hammock built into the floor of the deck. The location is prime, as this treehouse sits just off the Foothills Parkway on the western border of the park, close to the Abrams Falls and Goldmine Trailhead. It can sleep up to four, but this perch is best for a romantic couple鈥檚 getaway.

Eagle鈥檚 Landing

Why We Love It: The view from the porch of the lake below

Price: From $225 per night

Is it crazy to rent a cabin just for the view? Depends on what you鈥檙e looking at. Eagles Landing is a two-bedroom cabin that sleeps up to six perched on a bluff overlooking a quiet corner of Lake Fontana, a finger-lake body of water that forms the southern border of GSMNP. The firepit and front porch have the best views of the vistas below, showing off green slopes that rise directly from the water. Head down the mountain to paddle Fontana in search of rope swings, jumping rocks, and waterfalls (all of which can be found nearby). If you鈥檙e looking for land-based activities, the Appalachian Trail crosses Fontana Dam and climbs to Shuckstack Tower, a decommissioned fire lookout with views of Lake Fontana.

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national parks columnist. He鈥檚 been exploring Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the surrounding area since he was a kid. In those days, his family camped, which is great, but he definitely appreciates a cabin with a hot tub and pool table. He has recently written about the best national parks for spring break, and the ones that you can enter for free this year.

The post Headed to Great Smoky Mountains National Park? Book One of These 6 Airbnbs. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Traveling itself is believed to help boost longevity, but what if your next getaway had even more long-term benefits?

Picture a reboot that鈥檚 good for you. We鈥檙e not talking about rigid health camps鈥攚e all deserve to enjoy our hard-earned vacations, after all鈥攂ut rather, trips to beautiful places where mindfulness, wellness, community, and longevity are top priorities.

Wellness travel is booming. Between 2020 and 2022, wellness trips grew by 30 percent annually, according to research by the Global Wellness Institute, which also reported that in 2022, 819.4 billion wellness trips were taken in the U.S. and internationally, making up about 7.8 percent of all tourism.

Clearly, these types of vacations are resonating, with good reason. These are my 10 favorite wellness trips in North America.

1. Soak in Natural Hot Springs

Ojo Caliente in New Mexico

Soaking in natural hot springs makes for easy relaxation and rejuvenation. Mineral baths have been shown to reduce stress, lessen joint pain, improve circulation, and naturally detoxify. At , a spa resort in northern New Mexico, you can soak in any of nine communal pools (with minerals like lithia and iron), which include a mud bath and a silent pool, or book a private tub. Access to the steam room and sauna come with your stay, and you can add on yoga classes or spa treatments like sound healing or anti-inflammatory massage.

Dating back to 1868 and located amid desert cliffs near the banks of the cottonwood-lined Rio Ojo Caliente, the place is one of the country鈥檚 oldest health resorts, and open for both overnight and day use. Lodging options include adobe suites with hammocks on the patios or restored vintage trailers. (Day passes for the pools start at $45; rooms from $239 a night.)

Check Availability

听2. Check Into a Wellness Resort

YO1 in Monticello, New York

You鈥檒l get personalized treatments and a custom therapeutic plan when you book at , an Ayurvedic longevity resort that opened in the Catskills in 2018 with a focus on Eastern medicine and holistic therapies. This place is for dedicated self-care travelers looking for a total reboot, a concentrated wellness plan, or programs designed to treat specific issues like stress, depression, diabetes, infertility, or insomnia. Visit for the day or stay for a week.

Not sure where to start? Try the three-night wellness program, which includes individual consultations, mud baths, and acupuncture. You鈥檒l stay at a 131-room lodge overlooking Baileys Lake on a 1,300-acre property in pine forests and surrounded by hiking and biking trails鈥攁ll just two hours from New York City. Access to an infrared sauna, hot tub, group meditation, a reflexology walkway, fitness room, and Olympic-sized swimming pool are included. (Day pass, which includes meals and all-day programming, for $500; overnight accommodations start at $185.)

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3. Stay In a Communal 国产吃瓜黑料 Lodge

Campfire Ranch Little Sugar in Bella Vista, Arkansas

If community is what you鈥檙e after, consider , a new adventure lodge opening in or around May 2025 with out-the-door access to 40 miles of world-class mountain-bike trails surrounding Bentonville, Arkansas, with singletrack loops over rolling hills and through stands of redbud, dogwood, and mulberry trees. The eight-room lodge comes with access to a communal fire pit, outdoor cooking space, gear storage, bike-wash stations, and breakfast service. Campfire Ranch鈥檚 adventure concierge can help plan your outings and connect you with local bike rentals and guides. Rent a single room or, if you鈥檙e with a group, book out the whole place. (Rates from $250.)

Check flights to Fayetteville, Arkansas

4. Run In Another Country

Aire Libre in Mexico City

, cofounded by Mauricio D铆az, a world-class ultrarunner from Mexico, specializes in transformational running and hiking retreats all over the world, from Costa Rica to Japan. These retreats focus on the intersection of movement, mindfulness, culture, and sustainability, enabling participants to connect with themselves and the landscapes and cultures they鈥檙e exploring.

The company鈥檚 ($1,800, including meals, lodging, and guiding) is a four-day running adventure where you鈥檒l jog through Mexico City along the gravel trails of Viveros de Coyoac谩n park and the plazas of the National Autonomous University of Mexico campus. You鈥檒l also leave the city to run trails across the volcanic landscape of the Continental Divide, then experience a guided indigenous temazcal ceremony in a sweat lodge. By night, enjoy communal meals and lodging in boutique hotels.

Check hotel availability

Check flights to Mexico City

听5. Spend Four Days Doing Yoga

Esalen in Big Sur, California

Even if you鈥檙e not a dedicated yogi or a holistic-retreat kind of person, you鈥檒l love being on the jagged cliffs of Big Sur at , a nonprofit retreat center and educational institute with a heavy yoga focus. You can do a self-guided exploration (read: stay on your own with limited formal instruction) or sign up for the center鈥檚 two- or four-night workshops on topics like hypnotherapy, storytelling, or astrology. This is the kind of place where your cell phone doesn鈥檛 work, so you might as well stash it away and focus on movement, nature, and real-life connection.

When you鈥檙e not learning about your conscious intentions, you can hike the trails within Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park amid 300-foot redwood trees, oak, and chaparral, and see an 80-foot waterfall plummet into the sea. You can also wander the beaches of Big Sur, or bathe in Esalen鈥檚 famously clothing-optional hot springs above the roiling Pacific Ocean. Accommodations range from bunks in communal rooms to private yurts overlooking the Pacific. (Rates from around $950 for multi-day workshops, including lodging, meals, and programming. Scholarships available.)

Check flights to Monterey, California

6. Sit in a Sweat Lodge Under a Full Moon

The Horse Shoe Farm in Hendersonville, North Carolina

You could come to the to stay in a well-appointed cottage and eat farm-to-table meals with ingredients sourced on site. Or you could make a trip here into a more broad-based wellness excursion. Just under 40 minutes from Asheville and situated between the verdant Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains with a view of Mount Pisgah, this health sanctuary has five energy vortexes (places believed to be centers of energy currents with spiritual effects), holistic spa treatments, an outdoor labyrinth for walking meditation, and a meditation tower.

The resort recently partnered with, a Cherokee wisdom keeper and ceremonialist from the Qualla Indian Boundary in the Great Smoky Mountains, to build a sweat lodge on the 85-acre property, where he hosts ceremonies on each full and new moon. Overnight accommodations include one-room lofts or three-bedroom homes, depending on your group size. (Rates from $399.)

Check availability

听7. Go Forest Bathing

Southall Farm and Inn in Franklin, Tennessee

Not all spas are created equal. 鈥檚 spa goes above and beyond, incorporating botanical ingredients and mindfulness in sessions like energy healing and detoxifying treatments to develop a deeper connection to self and nature. This working farm on a 425-acre plot in Tennessee has a 62-room lodge plus 16 private cottages that opened for guests in 2022. You can add treatments like sound-bath meditation, forest bathing, or a wellness consultation, depending on what you鈥檙e looking for. More than seven miles of hiking and biking trails surround the farm, and there鈥檚 canoeing and fishing on the private Lake at Southall. Or take guided tours of the orchard and apiaries that are home to some 8 million bees. (Rates from $695.)

Check availability

8. Build Something With Your Hands

Yestermorrow in Waitsfield, Vermont

This place isn鈥檛 a spa resort in the standard sense, but for people who find learning new skills and using their hands to build things are perfect ways to unlock a deep sense of fulfillment. is a green design-and-build school in Vermont鈥檚 Mad River Valley, with a small campus offering day classes and overnight lodging in the Green Mountain National Forest with its lakes and mountain hikes. You can take courses on building a coffee table, sustainable treehouse design, harvesting your own lumber, or basic carpentry. Classes last from two days to two weeks (with certification programs that go longer). Healthy-meal plans plus lodging鈥攄orms, cabins, or camping鈥攃an be added to your tuition. (Lodging from $10 to $55 a night; courses from $260, scholarships and sliding-scale tuition available.)

Check flights to Burlington, Vermont

9. Surround Yourself with the Ocean

Pebble Cove Farm in Orcas Island, Washington

Getting to is the first step: You鈥檒l need to take a ferry to reach Orcas Island, part of the dreamy San Juan Islands in upper Puget Sound, 100 miles north of Seattle. Once you鈥檙e here, you鈥檒l settle into a cozy cottage overlooking a quiet bay at this farm and animal sanctuary that hosts guests and offers wellness retreats. The inn rents out kayaks and paddleboards and has a garden and apple orchard you鈥檙e welcome to wander through. Rescued farm animals like horses, chickens, pigs, and goats, adopted from elsewhere, reside here. The garden and farm animals are closed off from November through April, but the cottages are open year-round. (Rates from $300.)

10. Ski With New Friends

The Ski Retreat in Palisades Tahoe, California; Sun Valley, Idaho; Breckenridge, Colorado

You want to spend a weekend playing outside in snow-covered mountains, but not to deal with figuring out logistics or finding a group of friends to go with. We get that. Enter , a women鈥檚 getaway in places like Lake Tahoe, Sun Valley, or Breckenridge for groups of six to 12. These trips, numbering five this winter, are about connection, friendship, relaxation, and play鈥攚ithout having to plan a thing. Your three-night retreat includes lodging at a slopeside cabin, morning yoga, gear demos, chef-prepared group dinners, fireside chats, art classes, and ski and snowboard adventures for a wide range of abilities. (Rates from $550 for local residents not including lodging; from $1,190, including lodging.)

Check flights to Reno, Nevada

Check flights to Hailey, Idaho

Check flights to Denver, Colorado

Megan Michelson, an 国产吃瓜黑料 contributing editor, lives in northern California. She鈥檚 hoping her occasional habits of drinking tea, practicing yoga, and sleeping 10 hours a night will lead to a long and healthy life. She recently wrote for us about buying a 1 Euro (yes, as in one dollar) home in Italy; how to travel to ski, hike, and bike in Jackson, Wyoming, on the cheap (hard to believe, but she knows of great deals); and why she and her family traded traditional Thanksgiving options for Campsgiving. Her list of great outdoor festivals extends into May 2025.

The post You Deserve Your Vacation. What if It Also Made You Live Longer? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Golf gets a bad rap. The sport has a reputation for being too expensive and too resource-intensive, which are true in some cases. There are private clubs so expensive you need to be a billionaire to join, and courses where the landscape was bulldozed to make way for overwatered and overfertilized fairways.

But not every golf course is that way.

A movement is afoot to make golf more accessible and sustainable. How do I know? I鈥檓 an avid golfer. I play twice a week, mostly on public courses that are cheap and built over repurposed farmland. Affordable golf is actually easy to find, but better yet is the sustainability movement that鈥檚 creeping into destination courses.

鈥淭he golf industry has made tremendous strides in the area of sustainability over the past 20 to 30 years,鈥� says Frank LaVardera, director of environmental programs in golf for , which operates America鈥檚 first and most comprehensive green-golf-course certification program. 鈥淭raditional courses use a significant amount of water and chemicals, but many courses are reducing their amount of managed turf鈥濃�攖he manicured lawns that require so much water and fertilizer鈥斺�渁nd creating native areas that require less water, while enhancing wildlife habitat.鈥�

What an Eco-Conscious Golf Course Means

Audubon International鈥檚 certification process can take years, and requires evaluation of a course鈥檚 impact on wildlife habitat, water quality and conservation, pest management, and energy efficiency. In turn, eco-minded course managers reduce the amount of turf, use recycled gray water to irrigate, emphasize walking over use of gas-powered carts, and create wildlife habitats with natural grasses and trees that attract birds, bees, and even the occasional bear. Since 2001, when the program was introduced, Audubon鈥檚 Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf has grown to include more than 2,000 certified courses in the U.S. and beyond.

The timing of this sustainability movement couldn鈥檛 be better, as America has rediscovered its love of golf. According to the (NGF), 3.4 million new people played golf in America last year. Each of the past 10 years saw more than 2 million beginners, with the past four topping 3 million.

Golf’s Changing Demographics

The that since the pandemic era, women and people of color have been flocking to the game; the biggest demographic jump has come from traditionally under-represented populations, with the number of Asian, Black and Hispanic golfers rising by 43 percent in the last five years. Of the 26 million people who play golf recreationally, 23 percent are people of color and 26 percent are women.

The demographic makeup of the Professional Golf Association (PGA) is still skewed (80 percent of pro golfers are white), but the game is changing from the ground up as recreational players trend toward being younger and more diverse. The most sought-after clothing brands in the sport, like Malbon and Eastside Golf, bring streetwear aesthetics to the golf industry, while many prolific and successful golfers on social media are women and people of color. If you鈥檙e not following on Instagram, you should be.

Part of the issue with diversifying the outdoors is access. There were 480 ski resorts in operation last year, with most of them located in remote, mountainous regions. Compare that to the 16,000+ golf courses scattered all over the country. I live in a southeastern mountain town that is not known for its golf, but I can play on any of 10 courses situated within half an hour of my home. There are three courses within three miles of downtown, and I play on two of them for under $20 a round. A program called enables members aged 18 and under to play any of its 2,133 enrolled courses across the U.S. for just $5 a round.

My 15-year-old son is a YOC member, and able to play half a dozen courses within 10 miles of our home. He and I can walk nine holes of golf for $20 combined, $35 if we want to play 18.

Why I Love Golf

As for the argument that golf shouldn鈥檛 be considered an outdoor sport because of its environmental impact, most things we do leave footprints. I鈥檝e been a dedicated skier since age 12, and I don鈥檛 love the fact that the ski industry has gotten cartoonishly expensive and is resource-intensive, especially in water use. But I do love skiing. I have the same relationship with golf. It鈥檚 not perfect, but I love it.

This surprises people because I make a living writing about adventure sports, and I have the scars and expensive-gear habit to prove it. People assume golf and surfing or mountain biking are a world apart, but look closely in my garage and you鈥檒l see a set of golf clubs tucked between my mountain bike and longboard.

When I play, I always walk, carry my bag, and try not to focus too much on my score. It鈥檚 a slow, meditative walk in the woods. I like the challenge of golf as well. I recently picked the sport up again after a 20-year-hiatus, and I鈥檓 consumed with the pursuit of getting better, but I also know that I鈥檒l never master golf. No matter how good I get at hitting a little white ball in the air, there will always be room for improvement.

Golf is cerebral and thought-provoking in a way that the other fast-paced sports I love are not. The game is 99.99 percent mental, allowing me to see how my thoughts impact my actions. Golf is a chance to clear your head and be outside.

Fortunately, there are certain destinations where golf and adventure go hand in hand. Some of the most sustainable golf courses in America are located in places that could be on any adventure-traveler鈥檚 radar, so you can play 18 holes one afternoon and go mountain biking or surfing the next morning.

Here are nine of the wildest, most sustainable golf courses in the world, each paired with a local adventure to round out the perfect weekend.

If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.

1. Bear Trace, Harrison, Tennessee

Fee: Starting at $41 for 18 holes

Even if you鈥檙e not a golfer, you know the name of Jack Nicklaus, one of the game鈥檚 most famous professionals. Not only was Nicklaus a legendary golfer, he was also a designer, creating courses all over the country, including this 18-hole masterpiece sits in the 1200-acre Harrison Bay State Park, 20 miles outside of Chattanooga. In the last two decades, managers have addressed every aspect of the course to minimize its impact, converting the greens from bentgrass to a less-thirsty Bermudagrass, removing 50 acres of turf to cede that area to natural grasses, and eliminating irrigation beyond the greens. The place has also purchased all-electric maintenance equipment, and installed mallard nesting tubes, wood duck boxes, and feeders for bluebirds and wild turkey.

As a result, as of 2008, Bear Trace is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, and restored the wildlife habitat to the point where the course was home to a pair of nesting bald eagles for a decade.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: Paddling on in Harrison Bay State Park makes for a fun afternoon (paddle boards are $8 an hour through the park). If you鈥檙e looking for something more adventurous, , 45 miles west of the state park, offers trips (from $50 per person) on class III-IV whitewater full of play spots and wave trains that formed the 1996 Olympic whitewater course.

听

2. Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, Missouri

Fees: 听Starting from $80 for the 13-hole short course

OK, is a behemoth. The brainchild of Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, the 4,600-acre retreat features five distinct public golf courses, all set amid a dramatic Ozark Mountains backdrop, with routing that regularly nears ancient limestone cliffs. In recent years, Big Cedar Lodge has become one of the country鈥檚 top golf destinations, regarded as the best public golf in the Midwest.

Big Cedar Lodge was the first golf resort in the world to receive Audubon International鈥檚 highest certification, the Signature Sanctuary status, given for all five of its courses. Water conservation and improving wildlife habitat are priorities, with more than 75 percent organic fertilizer used, while chemical runoff and water use are addressed through a water-recycling program with reclamation ponds, as well as moisture meters embedded in the ground to help minimize watering in general.

One of Johnny Morris鈥� founding principles is the notion of connecting people and the outdoors. On several holes his courses put the golfer between towering limestone cliffs, and, extra cool, those who play Big Cedar Lodge鈥檚 Buffalo Ridge course can spy herds of bison that roam and feed on the natural-grass prairies surrounding the fairways.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: You could spend your entire weekend playing different courses at Big Cedar Lodge, but bring your mountain bike, too. The resort is on the edge of , which has 11 miles of cross-country trails in a stacked-loop system that hugs the shoreline of Table Rock Lake. Or you could hit the gravity-minded , which has 10 trails and a pump track and skills area. The place has something for everyone, from the kid who鈥檚 just learning how to brake, to the adult who thinks he鈥檚 a kid sending gaps (day passes start at $45).

3. Streamsong Golf Resort, Bowling Green, Florida

Fees: Starting at $249 for 18 holes

This massive golf retreat 60 miles east of Tampa wins my vote for best use of scarred land. built its courses on 16,000 acres of land that was previously used for a phosphate strip mine. After the mining ended, sand dunes took over, and course designers used all of that bumpy elevation to create a whimsical playground where fairways wind through grassy mounds and small ponds.

Course designers used compost in the soil before grassing to reduce the need for fertilization, and limited the acreage of maintained turf, opting instead for natural grasses and dunes beyond the fairways. The resort has a water-treatment facility that captures rainwater, and reuses it for irrigation. Streamsong features three 18-hole courses, and a short course, called The Chain, that has no set tee boxes or suggested pars. This short course is a 鈥渃hoose your own adventure鈥� sort of experience.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: You can keep the reclaimed land theme rolling by driving 25 miles west to , 7,714 acres of surprisingly hilly terrain on a former phosphate mine, with more than 20 miles of mountain biking and hiking trails through a forest and alongside lakes and the banks of the Alafia River. Streamsong wasn鈥檛 impacted much by Hurricane Milton when it hit October 9, both because the courses were designed to manage water and the place had few trees for high winds to damage. But much of this area of Florida was devastated by the storm, so check with surrounding businesses and parks before exploring the area.

4. Chambers Bay, University Place, Washington

Fees: Starting at $85 for 18 holes

This 18-hole course is links-style, meaning that like Scotland’s St. Andrews, believed to be the oldest course in the world, it has little to no manipulation of the land, resulting in rugged terrain, with many dunes covered in tall grasses. Similarly set on a craggy shoreline of Washington, it might also be the pinnacle of sustainable design. was built on reclaimed mine land, turning a former gravel pit into a championship course that now enhances the landscape. Designers shaped the course with native plants and wildflowers like douglas iris, and sodded with drought-resistant fescue grass species.

The fairways are irrigated with recycled gray water and fertilized with treated bio-waste from the county鈥檚 wastewater plant. Chambers Bay doesn鈥檛 have golf carts; it鈥檚 a walking-only facility. (Some courses in the U.S. require golfers to use carts on weekends to maintain a quick pace of play.) Maybe the best part is that Chambers Bay is a municipal course, with affordable fees. It鈥檚 also located within a county park with trails adjacent to the links and coast, so you don鈥檛 have to play golf to enjoy the scenery.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: Chambers Creek Regional Park, which is home to the golf course, is a 930-acre preserve with two miles of shoreline and more than five miles of paved trails with views of Puget Sound. You should also drive 50 miles east to Mount Rainier National Park, where you can hike the 5.5-mile loop on , bagging copious views of the eponymous 14,411-foot active volcano in all its glaciated glory.

5. Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah

Fees: Starting at $300 for 18 holes

A 19-hole course that opened in May 2023, was built from the ground up with the surrounding environment in mind. The entire property is only 600 acres, with just 75 acres of turf, all irrigated with non-potable gray water, and the fairways are made from a drought-tolerant bentgrass species that needs less maintenance and fertilizer than many other common turf grasses. Almost 70 percent of the grounds are dedicated as protected open space, and sustainability was a factor throughout the property鈥檚 design, from having a low-voltage power infrastructure for the resort to using an irrigation system in a grid, where each section can be adjusted individually.

The coolest aspect of the course is that it鈥檚 become a haven for endangered fish species. The property managers partnered with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to relocate 400 Virgin River Chub, a kind of rare minnow, to the lakes on the golf course, so they can live and breed in a stable environment. The course itself is gorgeous, running through fields of black lava rocks with views of the surrounding red cliffs.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: Long-term plans for Black Desert include building several miles of hiking trails. Moreover, the resort sits nine miles north of St. George, just an hour (48 miles) west of Zion National Park. If it鈥檚 your first time to Zion, snag a ($3 plus a $6 registration fee) and hike , a 5.5-mile out-and-back that involves a bit of scrambling and ridgeline traversing and might just lead to one of the most iconic photo sites in our national-park system.

To dig deeper into the park, consider trekking through , a slot canyon where the walls of Zion Canyon rise 1,000 feet up while pinching to 30 feet wide at certain points. You鈥檒l be hiking through the river, so be prepared to get wet. The shortest route is a 9.5-mile out and back from the Temple of Sinawava, a red-walled natural amphitheater, to Big Spring, which is as far as you can go without a permit, but hits some of the skinniest portions of the gorge. Just don鈥檛 attempt it when there鈥檚 rain in the as flash floods are common and fatalities have occurred. Save it for a stellar day.

6. The Mountain Course at Spruce Peak, Stowe, Vermont

Fees: Starting at $165 for 18, and you need to stay at The Lodge at Spruce Peak to play (rooms start at $249).

Surrounded by 2,000 acres of preserved land, the rambles along the flank of the mountain it is named for, with views of the adjacent Mount Mansfield, Vermont鈥檚 tallest peak, to boot. Spruce Peak, which sits at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort, was designed with the environment in mind, input from Audubon International, and a focus on preserving local black-bear populations by routing around their preferred habitat of beech trees. Designers also created buffers around streams and ponds to protect water quality, and planted a mix of native flowers and grasses, like milkweed and false sunflower, around tee boxes.

Peregrine Lake serves as a water feature for golfers to admire and avoid, but also a reservoir capturing rainwater that is used to feed snowmaking operations at Stowe Mountain Resort. Course management hosts an annual field trip to teach a local fifth-grade class about the elements of water quality.

The course fits into the greater ecosystem of the Spruce Peak community, a resort and residential property at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort that was built around eco-sensitive principles like a property-wide composting program and a renewable energy program that provides more than 50 percent of its power.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: You鈥檙e close to Stowe, a town renowned for its ski culture (and beer). Sadly, ski season and golf season don鈥檛 overlap. But don鈥檛 fret; during the warmer months, there is plenty of hiking, fly fishing, and climbing nearby. Do it on your own or if you want a guide, Spruce Peak Resort offers hiking and fly fishing adventures. If you鈥檙e into climbing, runs trips on the granite walls around the Stowe area, from top-roping routes suitable for beginners to multi-pitch cliffs that will please experienced trad climbers (from $250 per person).

Check flights to Stowe, Vermont

7. Bandon Dunes, Bandon, Oregon

Fees: From $50 for the par 3 courses

has become one of the most coveted golf destinations in America, with seven public courses spread throughout the 2,525-acre coastal resort. All seven courses have earned Audubon International Sanctuary status, too, as the designers have kept Oregon鈥檚 coastal beauty and environmental harmony in mind throughout the process, from construction to management.

The course looks wild, thanks largely to the use of native plants and grasses, including the threatened silver phacelia, outside of the fairways, while for the turf on those mowed areas Bandon Dunes uses fescue, a type of grass that requires less fertilizer than others. And when fertilizer is applied, it鈥檚 organic and used sparingly. Roughly 85 percent of the resort鈥檚 energy is supplied by renewable resources, with more solar panels still to be installed throughout the property. The maintenance department has moved to electric-powered equipment.

Most of the resort鈥檚 landscape holds native plants that require no irrigation, but with six courses, roughly 600 acres that need to be watered. The resort鈥檚 own wastewater-management system supplies non-potable gray water for the job, recycling roughly 50,000 gallons of water daily.

One of the courses, Bandon Preserve, puts net proceeds directly to local conservation projects in Oregon鈥檚 southern coast through a , which has helped restore salmon fisheries and funded mountain bike trails. Bandon Dunes is working towards the lofty goal of becoming a completely carbon neutral resort.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: Bandon Dunes sits on Oregon鈥檚 southern coast, which is a multi-sport adventurer鈥檚 dream, with miles of singletrack and wild beaches punctuated by dramatic sea stacks. Go for a trail run at , where several miles of trail wind through a pine forest and access five miles of hard-packed beach.

The surfing is good too, with beach breaks found throughout this part of the coast. Head north for 25 miles to Coos Bay, where the bluffs of Yoakam Head hang over the breaks, which have something for all levels of surfers. Beginners should head to Bastendorff Beach for a wide, sandy-bottom break with a cool backdrop of rocky headlands. The water temperature is cold year round, but winter brings the most consistent waves, so in that case pack a thick wetsuit.

8. The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Fees: Starting at $110 for 18 holes

The a resort five miles south of Colorado Springs, is home to two of the most respected golf courses in the U.S., designed by legends Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones and hosting marquee tournaments like multiple U.S. Amateurs, U.S. Women鈥檚 Opens, and U.S. Senior Opens. At 6,250 feet in elevation, the course was the highest in America when it first opened in 1918, and several holes feature views of Pikes Peak.

The place has become significantly more eco-friendly with age. Managers have replaced more than 50 acres of turf with native grasses and wildflowers, and use gray water to irrigate the fairways and greens. Mulching mowers return grass clippings back to the soil, and the property uses no pesticides Over the years the resort has added bird-nesting boxes and habitats for bees and butterflies. All of the carts are electric, and otherwise the place promotes walking and its caddy program. Resort chefs harvest honey from the property鈥檚 own hives, and source meat from the Wagyu beef raised on the ranch. Even the resort鈥檚 cooking grease is recycled into biodiesel.

The Broadmoor participates in one of the most heartwarming recycling programs I鈥檝e ever heard of: all of their spent tennis balls are donated to local senior-citizen facilities to be used on the ends of walkers and canes.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: Colorado Springs offers so much to do. The 14,115-foot Pikes Peak, with trailheads six miles from town, has to be the most accessible fourteener in the U.S.; you can drive your car or take a train to the summit, but I say earn it by hiking the ($20-$37 parking fee, depending on day of week), a 13-mile one way trek that gains more than 7,000 feet on its way to the top. Don鈥檛 worry, you can take the down from the summit ($30). Or go explore the iconic red sandstone fins that rise from the center of Garden of the Gods Park. operates half and full day trips for all abilities (starting at $221).

9. Rising Sun Golf Course, Emigrant, Montana

Fee: Greens fees are included in the cost of your stay (one week minimum, and you must contact the for pricing).

It鈥檚 hard to beat Rising Sun鈥檚 location. The 18-hole course sits on the 17,000-acre Mountain Sky Ranch, within the aptly named Paradise Valley and with near-constant views of the surrounding Absaroka and Gallatin Mountains. This is the biggest splurge on this list, and for most, a once-in-a-lifetime situation at best, but the rest of us can dream, right?

Rising Sun is not an easy course to play, thanks to its remote location and the fact that tee times go only to guests of the ranch, but you couldn鈥檛 ask for a more beautiful setting, and the Rising Sun was the first course in Montana to be designated an Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary. The course was built on a hayfield with an emphasis on maintaining as much natural habitat as possible, converting dry pastures to prairie grass, and maintaining native plant buffers along bodies of water.

Course managers also installed bird-nest boxes to encourage multi-species nesting, and have put in bat houses. They regularly consult with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on issues concerning elk and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. Aided by a dry, cold environment, course managers use no pesticides for the turf and greens, and they鈥檝e limited water usage by keeping the irrigated acreage to only 52 acres, almost a third of the average 18 hole course in America. Maintenance crews regularly monitor the quality of water in the course ponds as well as Big Creek.

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: Mountain Sky Ranch is an adventure-minded 鈥渄ude ranch鈥� with a host of activities located on property. The resort also offers guided horseback tours in Yellowstone National Park, with an entrance just 30 miles south. But I say to pair a round of golf here with some fly fishing. If you鈥檙e new to the sport, Mountain Sky has a trout pond where pros can teach you the nuances of casting, but if you can hit the ground running, head to nearby Big Creek, which is loaded with cutthroat and rainbow trout. Or sign up for a of the iconic Yellowstone River, which offers opportunities for long, wide open casts that just might net a cutthroat or brown. (From $595)

Nearby 国产吃瓜黑料: Mountain Sky Ranch is an adventure-minded 鈥渄ude ranch鈥� with a host of activities located on property. The resort also offers guided horseback tours in Yellowstone National Park, with an entrance just 30 miles south. But I say to pair a round of golf here with some fly fishing. If you鈥檙e new to the sport, Mountain Sky has a trout pond where pros can teach you the nuances of casting, but if you can hit the ground running, head to nearby Big Creek, which is loaded with cutthroat and rainbow trout. Or sign up for a of the iconic Yellowstone River, which offers opportunities for long, wide open casts that just might net a cutthroat or brown (from $595).

Check flights to Bozeman, Montana

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national parks columnist and an avid golfer who is dying to play every course on this list. Follow his golf shenanigans on Instagram at @the_amateur_golf. Graham recently wrote 鈥�This Is What It鈥檚 Like to Live in Asheville After Hurricane Helene鈥� and answered some questions about it while standing in line at FEMA offices. He has also recently written 鈥�9 Most Underrated National Parks for Incredible Fall Foliage,鈥� 鈥�8 Surf Towns Where You Can Learn the Sport and the Culture,鈥� and 鈥�The 9 Most Fun 国产吃瓜黑料 Lodges in North America.鈥�

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Mountain towns in the Western U.S. get a lot of love. I鈥檝e written plenty of articles that highlight places like Jackson, Boulder, and Crested Butte, but these high-profile burgs aren鈥檛 the only badass adventure basecamps.

I鈥檝e lived in North Carolina in the Southern Appalachians for the last 20 years, and while the Southeast is often overlooked for adventure and mountain culture, we have a bevy of cities with quick access to the diversions we all crave. Not to mention downtowns so charming you鈥檇 think you were on a movie set.

These are my nine favorite mountain towns in the Southeast, ranked according to my experience and personal preferences, with special points given for bike rides that end at breweries.

1. Asheville, North Carolina

Population: 93,775

Best Known For: Breweries and Bike Rides

Am I biased because Asheville is my home? Yes, but there are reasons why I chose to settle here 20 years ago, and many more why I stay. Life here is too damn good for me to consider moving anywhere else.

Asheville is the cultural center of the Southern Appalachians, with one of the best food-and-beer scenes on the East Coast. The street art and local music rival that in bigger cities, too. The town itself is so fun you could easily forget that all this activity sits in a valley surrounded by 5,000- and 6,000-foot mountains that are perfect playgrounds for adventure athletes.

World-class road cycling begins and ends in town, while epic hiking and mountain biking options start within 20 miles in every direction. The French Broad River provides mellow daytime paddling options on the west side of downtown as well as multi-night adventures, thanks to developed campsites along the , while hardcore paddlers have flocked to Asheville for the prevalence of class IV and V creeks deeper in the mountains.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Asheville, North Carolina

• There are hundreds of miles of singletrack in the surrounding Pisgah National Forest, but for a quick post-work ride, I head 15 minutes west of downtown (12 miles) to , which has more than 20 miles of trails. is my favorite piece of singletrack, partly because of the long gravel climb to reach it, but mostly for the two miles of flowy, mildly technical downhill.
• Roadies should head straight for the Blue Ridge Parkway, which forms a half-circle around Asheville. I like the climb up Town Mountain Road, which leaves directly from downtown and heads north on the parkway until I either get tired or hit 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell 33 miles later. has both mountain- and road-bike rentals (from $85 a day).
• For an epic hike or trail run, drive south on the Blue Ridge Parkway for 30 miles to the 6,214-foot Black Balsam, a high-elevation bald with 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks. It鈥檚 my wife鈥檚 favorite spot for a scenic photo shoot. You can reach the summit in a .5-mile hike along the Art Loeb Trail, or you could knock out a bigger loop that takes in Black Balsam and neighboring Tennent Mountain, another 6,000-footer with its own tree-free summit views. A five- and 10-mile option each uses the same
  

  

Where to Eat and Drink in Asheville, North Carolina

• Everyone is going to have an opinion, but I like the vibe at Burial Brewing, where you can drink the potent Surf Wax IPA in a beer garden next to a mural of Tom Selleck and Sloth from Goonies.
• Asheville has its fair share of James Beard-nominated chefs, but I get excited about eating a Bibim Bap from El Kimchi, a food truck with shifting locations throughout town each night. Try to catch El Kimchi at New Belgium Brewery, which has a massive lawn above the French Broad River.

Where to Stay in Asheville, North Carolina

• Wrong Way River Lodge and Cabins has one-bedroom A-frame cabins, each complete with a record player and selection of vinyl, next to the French Broad River within walking distance of a climbing gym, greenway system, and the bars and restaurants within the River Arts District (from $198 a night).

2. Chattanooga, Tennessee

Population: 185,000

Best known for: Rock climbing and singletrack

Chattanooga is easily the largest city on this list, but don鈥檛 let the size dissuade you. The location is perfect, as Chattanooga sits in the foothills of the Southern Appalachians with the steep slopes of Lookout Mountain and the Cumberland Plateau rising from the edge of town. I鈥檓 always amazed by how close the adventure is to downtown Chattanooga.

The lush hardwood forests of the surrounding mountains hold expansive sandstone cliffs and boulders, making Chattanooga a hotbed of rock climbing, while recent years have brought an explosion of mountain-bike trail development. Meanwhile, the Tennessee River wraps around downtown, giving paddlers immediate access to endless miles of flat-water boating. I鈥檝e spent a lot of time paddling a SUP on the Tennessee River, in awe of the buildings and bridges that comprise downtown.

And the city has whole-heartedly embraced the outdoors, with leaders actively working to make it one of the first designated in the world, trying to apply a national park ethos to the entire city.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Chattanooga, Tennessee

• There are more than 100 miles of singletrack within 20 miles of downtown Chattanooga, and most have been purpose-built in the last decade for mountain bikers. , a city park with six miles of bike trails in town, offers a great quick spin, but I鈥檝e spent entire days geeking out on , eight miles from downtown, where roughly 30 miles of fast, technical single track unfold.
  

• Rock climbers might have more to choose from than mountain bikers around Chattanooga. The city opens up the , a 50-foot-tall limestone pier holding up a city bridge, to climbing occasionally, via toprope and on bolted-on holds. But the , a sandstone cliff hanging over the Tennessee River in Prentice Cooper State Forest, 15 miles from downtown, has to be the crown jewel. The T-Wall has more than 600 established routes, most of which require trad skills and gear. The routes range in difficulty from 5.5 to 5.13, with something for everyone.
  

  

• There are whitewater runs in the mountains surrounding town, and the runs for 45 miles through the Tennessee River Gorge, offering multi-day flatwater canoe trips. But I鈥檓 always drawn to the eight-mile-long Tennessee Riverpark, which has multiple access points for boaters downtown. Rent paddleboards at ($30), in Coolidge Park, and see town from the water.
• What you can see above ground is just the beginning; there are more than 7,000 caves within an hour鈥檚 drive of Chattanooga. Most are wild caves on private property that are closed to the public, but offers guided adventures through a network of chambers and tunnels that have streams and waterfalls (from $60).
  

Where to Eat and Drink in Chattanooga, Tennessee

• For years, my one complaint about Chattanooga was the prevalence of chain restaurants over local options, but recently the food scene has exploded with great one-of-a-kind options, especially in the Southside neighborhood, which is tucked into a revitalized industrial district. Check out , which serves well-crafted Chinese-inspired dishes with fun tiki drinks. I鈥檓 a sucker for tiki drinks.

Where to Stay in Chattanooga, Tennessee

• There are plenty of hotels throughout Chattanooga, but I have a soft spot for , an upscale hostel with private rooms (starting at $70) that caters to the adventurous, with a lobby stocked with local guidebooks and free crash-pads for guests who want to boulder.

3. Boone, North Carolina

Population: 19,756

Best known for: Appalachian State (go Mountaineers!) and 5,000-foot peaks

Nestled inside North Carolina鈥檚 High Country and surrounded by 5,000-foot peaks, Boone is the perfect blend of college town and adventure hub. Downtown blends with Appalachian State University鈥檚 sprawling campus, which absolutely bustles with life when school is in session, especially during football season in the fall.

But Boone would make it on this list even without all that youthful vibrancy, because the mountains that envelope the community are stacked with adventure, from cycling the winding blacktop of the Blue Ridge Parkway to climbing in the Linville Gorge. Boone has skiing in the winter, rock climbing from fall through spring, and plenty of hiking and road and mountain biking year round.

As for the town itself, it鈥檚 a mix of college-friendly dive bars, boutique shops, and high-end restaurants with elevated southern fare. I like Boone more and more every time I visit, and I鈥檓 secretly hoping my kids decide to go to college at App State so I can go more.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Boone, North Carolina

• Mountain bikers should head straight to , which boasts10 miles of purpose-built trails with features designed to help rippers progress through technical challenges as well as jumps and drops. A paved pump track has fast lines and great views of the surrounding mountains. To be honest, I鈥檓 jealous of this park.
  

• If you prefer your adventures on two feet, take the opportunity to explore the Linville Gorge Wilderness, which protects 12 miles of the 2,000-foot-deep canyon of the same name. The terrain is steep, loaded with granite cliffs and boulders and shrouded in a dense hardwood forest. At the bottom of the gorge is the tumultuous Linville River. I鈥檝e scrambled around the gorge many times and am always blown away by the views and the solitude it offers. Most people just hike the short distance to Linville Falls, but check out the 2.4-mile , which requires a scramble to the top of a rocky outcropping, but delivers a view into the heart of the gorge, as well as of neighboring Shortoff Mountain and Hawksbill Mountain. You can extend your hike down to the river via the Linville Gorge Trail.
• When winter sets in, choose from among three downhill ski resorts: Appalachian Mountain, Sugar Mountain, and Beech Mountain. I like for the mountaintop bar and view from its 5,506-foot summit.

Where to Eat and Drink in Boone, North Carolina

• A lot of students survive on the massive burritos at Black Cat, and I鈥檝e certainly enjoyed my share of their All Nighter (eggs, sausage and potatoes smothered in melted cheese). But I鈥檓 also in love with the fried chicken and biscuits served at the slightly more refined Proper. Appalachian Mountain Brewing makes some of my favorite beer in the South, especially their Spoaty Oaty Pale Ale.

Where to Stay in Boone, North Carolina

• Grab a room in , a boutique hotel in a renovated 1960s-era roadside motel. The lobby bar makes great cocktails, and the lodge has recently partnered with the locally owned to offer guided fishing and hiking packages (from $130 a night).

4. Damascus, Virginia

Population: under 800

Best Known For: The Appalachian Trail

There鈥檚 small, and then there鈥檚 Damascus. Damascus has fewer people than my graduating high school class in the suburbs of Atlanta (go Harrison High Hoyas!). And yet this tiny hamlet in the mountains of southwest Virginia has become known as Trail Town USA.

Damascus is the crossroads for a handful of high-profile paths, most notably the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has its headquarters here, and one weekend every May, more than 25,000 people descend on the town for , a celebration of the world鈥檚 most famous footpath (I鈥檝e attended several times and can tell you that through-hikers like to party).

And the A.T. is just one option here. The 34-mile is one of the greatest rail-trail bike rides in the South because of its length and mountain scenery, and the is a rocky hike and bike trail with ridgeline views that was part of the Appalachian Trail until a reroute in the 1970s. But I like Damascus mostly for its proximity to Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which protects 200,000 acres of Virginia鈥檚 tallest mountains, boasting more than 400 miles of trail for hiking and biking.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Damascus, Virginia

• If your idea of a good time is riding a bike for 17 miles downhill without ever having to pedal (and really, who wouldn鈥檛 like that?), you should definitely do the Virginia Creeper Trail, part of which passes through the Mount Rogers rec area. I took my kids to ride the Creeper when they were in elementary school, and it was probably the only time they didn鈥檛 complain about the pedaling. Start at Whitetop Station and cruise the crushed-stone path back into town. There鈥檚 at least one ice-cream stop along the way. has bike rentals (from $15) and shuttles (from $24).
• To see the best of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, hike this on the A.T. that starts in Grayson Highlands State Park and crosses Wilburn Ridge, where a herd of wild ponies roam, and ends on top of the 5,729-foot Mount Rogers. I go for the above-treeline views, and I could spend an entire afternoon scrambling on the trail鈥檚 boulders, but it鈥檚 the feral ponies that make this hike so unusual and photogenic.

Where to Stay in Damascus, Virginia

• has 13 suites in the heart of downtown. The place partners with Speckled Trout Outfitters for stay-and-play packages that include guided hiking and fly fishing (from $157 a night).

Where to Eat and Drink in Damascus, Virginia

• The Wicked Chicken focuses on hot wings (dry rub and sauced) and burgers, served on a large outdoor patio. Appalachian Heritage Distillery and Brewery is located directly on the A.T. in downtown Damascus. It makes vodka, gin, and a variety of whiskies out of a pot still, and the bar serves classic cocktails and hosts live music and karaoke on weekends.

5. Davis, West Virginia

Population: 660

Best Known For: Skiing. Seriously. The skiing is great.

I mentioned Davis in my guide to West Virginia, but this tiny town deserves its own spotlight. Thanks to a duo of downhill resorts and a cross-country touring center, Davis is a ski town first and foremost, which is a rarity in the Southern Appalachians, but it has just as much to offer bikers and hikers.

The chain of mountains running along the border of West Virginia and Virginia make Davis hard to reach if you鈥檙e driving from the east, and the 100 miles that separate it from Harrisonburg can take more than two hours, but this journey of a thousand curves (a challenge to my motion-sick-prone stomach) is worth the effort.

Davis is small, but has just enough conveniences (a few restaurants, a brewery, cabins, and a couple of hotels) to make it comfortable, and it certainly has more than its share of outdoor adventures, from waterfalls to single track to the ski runs.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Davis, West Virginia

• There are almost 20 ski resorts scattered across the Southern Appalachians, but Davis might be the region鈥檚 only true ski town. Canaan Valley Resort and offer a combined 200 acres of lift-served terrain. Canaan Valley is great for beginners and intermediates, with long, usually uncrowded groomers, but I love Timberline鈥檚 steeper terrain and gladed runs, which will entertain even the best skiers. has rentals (from $35) and a full array of winter gear, such as the gloves you forgot at home. is the cultural hub of the town, not just for its 18 miles of groomed track and copious backcountry XC options, but for its lively apres vibe. I鈥檝e never had a bad time at Whitegrass. Never.

• The warm months are full of hiking and biking. protects 2,358 acres a mile south of downtown, including a chunk of the 1,000-foot-deep Blackwater Canyon. The hike to Lindy Point is only .3 of a mile, but you should do it, as a prominent rock outcropping gives you a bird鈥檚-eye view into the chasm.Blackwater Falls State Park, in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia, feature the 62-foot cascade of Blackwater Falls, and 20 miles of trails.
• Mountain bikers can pedal the 18-mile , a gravel and dirt forest road that traverses the valley, crossing streams, running through meadows and leading to a variety of singletrack options, like the , which connects with Canaan Loop Road, dropping 600 feet in under three miles of rocky, rooty fun. Check out for rentals (from $50 a day) and more local trail beta than you could ever possibly need.

Where to Eat and Drink in Davis, West Virginia

• brews a variety of beers in town, but is at its best when crafting an IPA. Try their Holy Citra double IPA if you don鈥檛 have to wake up early in the morning. has always had what I need to fix that double IPA fog, and is a town staple.

Where to Stay in Davis, West Virginia

• has lodge rooms and cabins, all renovated in the last few years (from $178.50), and you鈥檒l be able to pick up the trail system right out your door.

6. Harrisonburg, Virginia

Population: 51,000

Best Known For: Mountain biking and Shenandoah National Park

Harrisonburg sits in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley, sandwiched between Shenandoah National Park to the east and the Allegheny Mountains to the west. It鈥檚 one of the larger towns on this list with a busy downtown full of breweries and eclectic restaurants, all with a progressive vibe thanks in part to the presence of James Madison University and its college-student demographic.

Venture past downtown and you hit bucolic pastures quickly, as Shenandoah Valley is known for its patchwork of small farms. Outdoor adventure is also imminently accessible.

Harrisonburg is probably a bike town first, hosting a number of events, from the Shenandoah Mountain Bike Festival to the Alpine Loop Grand Fondo, and the town has earned Bronze Level Ride Center status from the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) for its quality of trails and events and prevalence of good bike shops. But there鈥檚 also downhill skiing 15 miles east of town at Massanutten Resort and hiking and fly fishing 25 miles east in Shenandoah National Park.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Harrisonburg, Virginia

• OK, I made a big deal out of the mountain biking around Harrisonburg, but if I have to pick a single ride to do in the area, it鈥檚 a road ride of , the 105-mile two-lane blacktop that runs through the center of Shenandoah National Park. This is bucket-list road-ride territory with dozens of overlooks, more than 10,000 feet of climbing if you do the whole thing, and national-park lodging, like , along the route so you can break it up into multiple days. I haven鈥檛 done it yet, but friends have told me it鈥檚 amazing.
• For a quick hike, head to the Hone Quarry Recreation Area, in George Washington National Forest, 20 miles west of town, and climb the steep but short one-mile out-and-back to a rocky outcropping with long-range views of the Allegheny Mountains. Several trails begin in the recreation area, so you can pick up others if you want to go longer, or hit the 5.5-acre Hone Quarry lake to fish for stocked trout.
• Mountain bikers will love , a stacked-loop system built by the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition in the 75-acre Hillandale Park, with short cross-country loops, jump lines, and a pump track. Stop into for tuneups or in-depth info about the local trails. The place also has beer on tap.

Where to Eat and Drink in Harrisonburg, Virginia

• Harrisonburg is home to half a dozen breweries, but is my favorite. Their downtown Collab House always has a small batch beer on tap that rotates weekly. has an upscale college-bar vibe with a great whiskey selection and southern fare, like the Wafflewich, which places fried chicken between two thin waffles.

Stay: Most of the lodging in Harrisonburg trends towards big chain options, but if you want something more historic, book a room at , a bed and breakfast in a restored Civil War-era home (from $159 a night).

7. Ellijay, Georgia

Population: 1,927

Best Known For: Mountain biking

Ellijay is the unofficial mountain-bike capital of Georgia, with some of the prettiest and most technical singletrack I鈥檝e ridden east of the Mississippi within 10 miles of the town. The mountains aren鈥檛 particularly tall (most peaks tap out below 3,000 feet), but the forest is dense and the trails are decidedly old school, with plenty of fall-line descents and climbs. Or go whitewater paddling or check out the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail close to town.

The town is just 75 miles north of downtown Atlanta, and has become a popular weekend getaway for adventure-minded city dwellers there. Ellijay is a little sleepier than many other mountain towns this close to the South鈥檚 biggest city, so you come here for the adventure, not the nightlife.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Ellijay, Georgia

• There鈥檚 plenty to do around Ellijay, but mountain biking is the main attraction. In general, the singletrack is technical with lots of roots and plenty of steep climbs, and you鈥檙e riding through a thick hardwood forest loaded with creeks to cross and waterfalls to see. The 22-mile loop is my favorite ride, because it combines choice pieces of the best downhills in the area on Bear Creek Trail and Pinhoti Trail with plenty of gravel road climbs.
• You can paddle or tube a three-mile section of the Cartecay River upstream from downtown Ellijay with class II-III whitewater. I grew up an hour from Ellijay, and this was the first whitewater I ever paddled. The rents out kayaks (starting at $30) and runs shuttles (starting at $7 per person).

Where to Eat and Drink in Ellijay, Georgia

• Climb up to the covered third-floor patio of The Roof Ellijay, which has southern comfort food, from boiled peanuts to shrimp and grits, with a view of downtown and the green slopes rising beyond. Cartecay River Brewing, a small operation on the outskirts of town, has a beer garden overlooking the river.

Where to Stay in Ellijay, Georgia

• is a mountain-bike camp with cabins and campsites on a property that has its own pump track, bike shop, hot tubs, and restaurant (rustic cabins start at $60 per person). It鈥檚 a very cool scene that attracts mountain bikers from all over the southeast; I try to hit Mulberry Gap at least once a year. The facility is 12 miles west of downtown, but you can ride straight from the property and hit some of North Georgia鈥檚 most storied trails.

8. Helen, Georgia

Population: 578

Best Known For: Its Bavarian-themed downtown

OK, let鈥檚 get the elephant in the room out of the way: Helen has a faux Bavarian vibe. Last time I was there, they were pumping polka music through outdoor speakers hidden in the bushes. Towns with themes aren鈥檛 for everyone. I鈥檓 not even sure they鈥檙e for me. But I still love Helen because the cheese factor is harmless and the location of the town is prime.

I鈥檝e used the Bavarian burg as a basecamp for road-cycling adventures, hiking excursions, and fly-fishing escapades for years. You can even (or fish) the Chattahoochee River right through downtown. Helen is surrounded by Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, within striking distance of North Georgia鈥檚 best hiking and rock climbing, while Unicoi State Park鈥檚 1,029 acres sit just two miles north of downtown.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Helen, Georgia

• Hikers should head six miles south of Helen to ascend Yonah Mountain, a 3,166-foot-tall knob with a granite face (located on one side, with the main area southwest-facing) that鈥檚 been attracting Atlanta-based climbers for decades. But the views from the top are just as sweet if you hike the 4.4-mile out and back , which rises 1,500 feet over a mix of dirt road and single track trail before delivering you to a grassy meadow at the granite-edged summit. On a clear day, you can make out the skyline of Atlanta 80-ish miles south.
  

• The mountains of North Georgia are loaded with high-quality fly fishing, from wide, floatable rivers to tight backcountry creeks. The Chatahoochee is the obvious draw for anglers visiting Helen, although the tubers do a good job of scaring away the fish in the section through town. For quieter water, I head to Smith Creek, within Unicoi State Park, where a mile-long section of the stream below Unicoi Lake is known for producing foot-long rainbow and brown trout. 听even offers an intro to fly fishing class if you鈥檙e new to the game.
• A number of classic road-cycling rides begin and end in Helen, including the classic , which takes in six iconic mountain climbs surrounding the town. I鈥檓 not always game for a century ride, so I typically choose the the , which is part of the annual Gran Fondo, a large group ride that focuses on camaraderie over racing, on a smaller loop through Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, but still climbing more than 1,700 feet.

Where to Stay in Helen, Georgia

• Unicoi State Park has a variety of lodging options, from lodge rooms to barrel cabins. Check out the , which are fully-furnished safari tents within walking distance of Smith Creek (from $149 a night).

Where to Eat and Drink in Helen, Georgia

• You鈥檙e in a cute facsimile of Germany, so you should probably get a bratwurst and pretzel at Hobfrauhaus, and then wander down the street to King Ludwig鈥檚 Beer Garden and have a German lager outside.

9. Travelers Rest, South Carolina

Population: 8,486

Best Known For: Greenway pedaling and the Great Blue Wall

The western border of South Carolina is defined by a string of mountains that rise steeply from the Piedmont in a dramatic fashion known as the Great Blue Wall. Travelers Rest sits at the base of that wall of peaks, making it the perfect basecamp for exploring the area鈥檚 lakes, waterfalls, and thick, jungle-like forests.

It would be easy to label Travelers Rest as just a bedroom community for the larger city of Greenville, South Carolina (you can ride your bike the ten miles between the two towns, after all). But Travelers Rest has its own small-town charm as well as access to the Upstate鈥檚 copious outdoor gems, from steep cycling routes to steeper rock climbing routes and everything in between.

I鈥檝e watched downtown Travelers Rest grow with new restaurants and breweries over the last several years, thanks largely to the development of the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 17-mile paved rail trail, popular with cyclists and runners, that begins on the edge of town and finishes in Greenville. There鈥檚 also downhill mountain biking, rock climbing, and plenty of hiking.

Best 国产吃瓜黑料s in Travelers Rest, South Carolina

• Travelers Rest offers quick access to a trio of public lands. Let鈥檚 start with Paris Mountain State Park, eight miles east of downtown, which has almost 20 miles of mountain-bike trails. The park is known for its technical climbs and fast, flowing downhill. A 10-mile lollipop loop, the , takes in the best trails, including Sulphur Springs Trail, which is loaded with sweeping, banked turns and drops.
• Higher up on that great blue wall, Jones Gap State Park and Caesars Head State Park combine to form the 17,000-acre Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, with more than 60 miles of hiking trails. The Middle Saluda River offers quintessential backcountry trout fishing, thanks to the tight corridor and steep nature of the stream, which drops 1,000 feet in four miles. Or hike the easy to Jones Gap Falls on Jones Gap Trail.
  

  

• A 2,684-tall granite dome, the Cherokee landmark Table Rock, is the centerpiece of Table Rock State Park, 20 miles west of town. It鈥檚 a beacon for climbers looking for a multi-pitch adventure with a long approach hike and mega exposure. Access is limited to certain sections of the monolith because of peregrine-falcon nesting, but the of the rock are open. has all the gear you could need, as well as bike and boat rentals (from $20 for a half day).

Where to Stay in Travelers Rest, South Carolina

• Splurge for a room at , a high-end lodge owned by the retired pro cyclist George Hincapie that draws inspiration from European chateaus in its architecture and cuisine. The inn also has an onsite sauna and cold plunge, as well as a fleet of rental bikes that come pre-loaded with Hincapie鈥檚 favorite training routes that begin from the property (rooms start at $378 a night).

Where to Eat and Drink in Travelers Rest, South Carolina

• The food scene in Travelers Rest has come a long way in recent years, so you can get everything from Caribbean fusion to street tacos. Check out Monkey Wrench Smoke House for BBQ staples like pulled pork and brisket, served on an expansive back lawn. Swamp Rabbit Brewery, which is known for its award-winning stout, sits in downtown.

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national-parks columnist. He鈥檚 lived in multiple mountain ranges and on both coasts, but settled down in the Southern Appalachians 20 years ago and has yet to regret it.

For more by this author, see:

The 10 Best Bike Towns in America, Ranked

8 Surf Towns Where You Can Learn the Sport and the Culture

The Best Ways to Get 国产吃瓜黑料 in West Virginia

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