Other activities in USA
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Oakland Raiders
With three Super Bowl championship wins, the notorious bad boys of the NFL have had their ups and downs over the years, but they have the staunchest, rowdiest fans in the western US. The team ungratefully moved to Los Angeles for 12 years, but returned in 1995, the prodigal football club, to Oakland's open arms. It's been football bliss in Oakland ever since, unlike in SF, where in 2009 the 49ers were in final negotiations with Santa Clara County to build a new stadium and leave SF behind. Given the choice between a 20-minute BART ride to Oakland and a 40-mile drive to Santa Clara…well, we wish the 49ers luck.
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Wildlife Education Center
West of town, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge engulfs almost 74,000 acres of marshes on the northeastern shores of the Great Salt Lake. The best time for bird-watchers is during fall (September to November) and spring (March to May) migrations. Birds banded here have been recovered as far away as Siberia and Colombia. Cruising along the 12-mile, barely elevated touring road feels like you’re driving on water. You can hear the replicated migratory calls year round at the Wildlife Education Center. The center is just after the I-15 intersection; the driving tour is 16 miles west.
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Los Rios River Runners
- Taos, USA
- Activities › Other
The major summertime attraction is white-water rafting in the Taos Box, the steep-sided cliffs that frame the Rio Grande. Busloads of rafters from Santa Fe go up to Pilar, which can become a flurry of sunburned and screaming tourists. The best time to go is in May and June, when snowmelt keeps the rivers rapid, but it’s warm enough to enjoy the splash. In town, contact Los Rios River Runners, which runs trips for around $100. It also does half-day trips on the slightly less rabid Racecourse ($50) – make it more exciting by running it in an inflatable kayak where you’re the sole driver.
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Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
West of Brigham City, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge engulfs almost 74,000 acres of marshes on the northeastern shores of the Great Salt Lake. The best time for bird-watchers is during fall (September to November) and spring (March to May) migrations. Birds banded here have been recovered as far away as Siberia and Colombia. Cruising along the 12-mile, barely elevated touring road feels like you’re driving on water. You can hear the replicated migratory calls year round at the Wildlife Education Center. The center is just after the I-15 intersection; the driving tour is 16 miles west.
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Working Bikes Cooperative
If you’re going to need a bike for more than a few days, consider buying a recycled two-wheeler from Working Bikes Cooperative. The nonprofit group trawls local landfills and scrap yards for junked bikes, then brings them back to its warehouse and refurbishes them. Half get sold in the storefront shop; proceeds enable the group to ship the rest to developing countries. WBC now recycles 10,000 bikes annually this way. It’s a great deal – you’ll get a sturdy, well-oiled machine for the bargain price of about $50 or so. When you’re finished, you can donate the bike back. Note you will have to factor in the cost of a lock and a helmet.
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Tallahassee–St Marks Historic Railroad State Trail
The ultimate treat for runners, skaters and cyclists is the Tallahassee–St Marks Historic Railroad State Trail – with 16 miles of smooth trails shooting due south to the gulf port town of St Marks and not a car or traffic light in sight. It’s easy and flat for all riders, sitting on a coastal plain and shaded at many points by canopies of gracious live oaks. Though the rail trail begins 4.5 miles north of the main trailhead, the city section is not so scenic, and it’s best to start at the main trailhead (with parking), 100yd south of the intersection of Capital Circle and Hwy 363. You’ll find plenty of jumping on and off points with water and restrooms.
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Sin City Scuba
To dive in Lake Mead you will need to present expert technical diving certification. If you have the right card, however, this is one of the most interesting dives in America. Above the dam at Lake Mead, divers can explore the fuselage of a mostly intact B-29 bomber that crash-landed into Lake Mead in 1948 but was only located in 2001. Visit Sin City Scuba in Vegas to hook up either trip. It costs $465 to dive the bomber (www.divethebomber.com) – yes, it’s expensive, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relive this region’s Cold War history – and a National Park Service–preserved site. River dives start at $150.
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Jack Daniel's Distillery
The irony of the Jack Daniel's Distillery being in a 'dry county' is lost on no one - local liquor laws dictate that no hard stuff can be sold within county lines, thus the distillery cannot give out samples of its famous whiskey. But it can give hour-long free tours, where visitors are encouraged to take long sniffs of the golden brew. It's the oldest registered distillery in the US: the folks at Jack Daniels have been dripping whiskey through layers of charcoal then aging it in oak barrels since 1866. The distillery is located off Hwy 55 in the diminutive town of Lynchburg, which freely admits that all visitors are either here to see the distillery or they are lost.
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Chico Hot Springs
Twenty miles south of Livingston, off US 89 en route to Yellowstone, unpretentious Chico Hot Springs has garnered quite a following in the last few years - now attracting celebrity guests from Hollywood. They, along with many regular folks, come to this relaxed place to soak in the two suave open-air mineral pools (admission for nonguests $8.50). The larger pool is the perfect temperature for floating (93°F or 34°C); the smaller pool is hotter (103°F or 54°C), but still not too hot to stay in long enough for wrinkles. The lively bar hosts swinging country-and-western dance bands on weekends. The on-site restaurant (mains $20 to $30) is known for fine steak and…
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Maine Windjammer Association
Although traveling by schooner largely went out of style at the dawn of the 20th century, adventurers can still explore the rugged Maine coast the old-fashioned way: onboard fleet sailing vessels known as windjammers. A dozen of these multi-masted vessels anchor at Rockland and offer trips ranging from three to 11 days around Penobscot Bay and further up the coast.
Powered by the winds, travelers will explore towns and islands along the way, stopping for hiking, sightseeing, or shopping. They also take their meals on the boat (expect sunset dinners and plenty of lobster - meals are generally excellent). For a complete list of schooner companies and the rundown on vessels,…
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The Summit at Snoqualmie
The Summit is a network of four ski areas that lie 50 minutes due east of downtown Seattle on Interstate 90. Alpental is a smaller mountain best for advanced and expert skiers; it is known for its steeps, extensive backcountry and limited but challenging tree skiing. Summit West is the main area of the Summit; it’s for beginners and families and has gear rentals and the most developed lodge and dining facilities. It is possible to ski from Summit West over to Summit Central, which is for beginners and intermediates and is home to the Summit’s largest terrain park. Summit East is the smallest of the areas and is good for intermediates. It’s the location of the Nordic…
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East Potomac Park
Physically a stone’s throw from the National Mall, as tourists go, East Potomac Park may as well be in Siberia. A very pleasant, green, cherry-blossom-lined Siberia that is a lovely spot for walking, fishing and general gamboling (not that you can’t do any of that stuff in the real Siberia). A 5-mile paved trail, great for cycling or in-line skating, runs around the park’s circumference, paralleling Ohio Dr. The center of the park is the East Potomac Park golf course. The park sits on a finger of land that extends southward from the Tidal Basin into the Potomac River. On foot, you can access it by following trails that lead from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial under…
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Haunted St Augustine
For a serious – and scientific – exploration of area hauntings, try Haunted St Augustine. After a careful explanation of the various types of spirits, Dr Harry Stafford provides each participant with an electromagnetic field meter to detect spikes in energy (caused by passing spirits...?). Then, for the next two hours, you’ll tour the northern quadrant of town – circling the fort, passing darkened cemeteries, testing for electromagnetic spikes and trying to isolate floating orbs. Throughout the evening, Stafford entertains questions, debunks myths and encourages you to employ your senses and think critically about hauntings. Not designed to frighten – but rather to…
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Born-n-Raised on the San Juan River, Inc
Trout are jumpin’ and visitors are floating. Navajo Lake, which stretches over 30 miles northeast and across into Colorado, was created by damming the San Juan River. At the base of the dam, there’s world-class trout fishing from late June through September. You can fish year-round (although you’ll need a permit), but catch-and-release regulations protect the stocks. The tiny community of Navajo Dam has several outfitters providing equipment, information and guided trips. Talk to the folks at Born-n-Raised on the San Juan River, Inc, based at Abe’s Motel & Fly Shop; the guy who started these personalized trips – he now has guides working for him – has been fishing…
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Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour
Speidel was a local historian (he wrote the book Sons of the Profits) who relished stories of Seattle’s sordid past: the good old days of hard-drinking politicians and hard-working ‘seamstresses,’ as the bordello girls were called. This famous ‘underground’ tour, which takes you through the tunnels and sidewalks hidden beneath the streets of Pioneer Square, might get a little corny at times, but it delivers the goods on historic Seattle as a rough and rowdy industrial town. The tour starts at Doc Maynard’s Public House, named after one of the city’s founding fathers and quite a character. An Ohio native, Maynard was divorced when he arrived in the city and was out for a…
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WaterFire
Particularly during summer, much of downtown Providence transforms into a carnivalesque festival thanks to an exceedingly popular public art installation called WaterFire (401-401-272-3111; www.waterfire.com). At this event, 100 flaming braziers anchored into the city's rivers illuminate the water, viewed by thousands of pedestrians strolling on bridges and finely landscaped riverside parks.
All the gazing and making out is accompanied by live (and canned) music, outdoor stages hosting theatrical performances, public ballroom dancing (you can join in) and a few ostentatious gondolas that drift by the pyres. Even cynical readers will have to admit the spectacle is both…
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Wekiwa Springs State Park
The best way to explore this state park is by paddling along the tranquil, still waters of the Wekiva River, one of Florida’s two federally designated ‘Wild and Scenic Rivers’. You can take a two-and-a-half-hour guided tour. Alternatively, canoe or kayak about five hours to Katie’s Landing (canoe 2/3 people $35/40, single/double kayak $30/40, children under six free) and hop a shuttle back (included in the trip price), or rent a boat (canoe $15 per two hours, single/double kayak $15/20 per two hours, two-hour minimum hire, $3 each additional hour) and simply toot around. To really get away from it all, book a campsite through the state park and spend a night or two…
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Bayou Barn
Below New Orleans, the Mississippi River flows 90 miles to the bird’s-foot-shaped delta, where river pilots board ships entering from the Gulf. The 20,000-acre Barataria Preserve, a unit of southern Louisiana’s Jean Lafitte National Historic Park, offers hiking and canoe trips into the swamp. It’s a good introduction to the wetlands environment. Though not a pristine wilderness, as canals and other structures offer evidence of human activity, wild animals and plants are still abundant. Even a brief walk on the boardwalks that wend their way through the swamp will yield sightings of gators and egrets. Ranger-led walks along the Bayou Coquille Trail are offered daily at…
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Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce
On just two days a year (the first Saturday in April and October), the public is permitted to tour the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, 35 miles west of Carrizozo. The eerie tour includes the base camp, the McDonald Ranch house where the plutonium core for the bomb was assembled, and ground zero itself. The test was carried out above ground and resulted in a quarter-mile-wide crater and an 8-mile-high cloud mushrooming above the desert. The radiation level of the site is ‘only’ 10 times greater than the region’s background level; a one-hour visit to ground zero will result in an exposure of one-half to one millorentgen (mrem), two…
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Mt Washington Cog Railway
Purists walk, the lazy drive, but certainly the quaintest way to reach the summit of Mt Washington is to take this cog railway. Since 1869 coal-fired, steam-powered locomotives have followed a 3.5-mile track up a steep mountainside trestle for a three-hour round-trip scenic ride, with two daily departures (weekend departures only from late April to late May). Reservations are highly recommended. On weekends from late November through March the train runs a shorter, one-hour round-trip up to Kroflite Kamp at 4100ft (adult/child $31/26). Instead of having drive wheels, a cog locomotive applies power to a cogwheel (gear wheel) on its undercarriage. The gears engage pins…
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Great Falls National Park
Fourteen miles upriver from DC’s Georgetown, where the central Piedmont meets the coastal plain, the normally placid Potomac cascades 77ft down a series of beautiful, treacherous rapids known as Great Falls. The Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal was constructed to allow barges to bypass the falls. Today there are parks on both sides of the river providing glorious views of the falls, as well as hiking, cycling and picnicking spots. (The entry fee is good for three days at both parks.) The Maryland side hooks up to Georgetown via the C&O Canal Towpath, which is an excellent route for a cycling trip (it’s not paved). On the Virginia side, the falls lie in the 800-acre Great…
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Fort Sumter Boat Tour
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Trusty Tushy Run to UnAlaska
- Alaska, USA
- Activities › Other
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Cap'n Fish's Boat Trips
Cap'n Fish's Boat Trips offers four-hour whale-watching trips (adult/child aged six to 10 years $38/25).
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Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park
- Austin, USA
- Activities › Other
Disc golf is big in Austin. One place to putt is the Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park, a South Austin fave just over a mile west of I-35 (exit Slaughter Lane).
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