From Alaska to Maine, these spots offer a walk on the wild side for fans of everything from windsurfing to fly-fishing. You can even try the luge.
For MSN City Guides
In choosing the “101 Best Outdoor Towns: Unspoiled Places to Visit, Live & Play” (The Countryman Press, 2007), authors Sarah Tuff and Greg Melville researched access to national and state parks, major bodies of water, hiking and mountain biking trails, and ski and snowboard terrain; population; affordability; and such downtown resources as gear shops, brewpubs and coffee houses.
This top 10 is adapted from the book; these towns have not only back doors to some of the country’s best adventure terrain, but also lively, livable communities that are dedicated to playing in and preserving the great American playgrounds.
Lake Placid, New York
The numbers speak for themselves: 6 million acres of the surrounding Adirondack Park, 2,000 miles of trails, 3,000 lakes and ponds and five Olympic Rings. Lake Placid has hosted the Games twice, and somehow still glows with an inimitable, warm-fuzzy feeling about winter sports. Hockey fans can check out the 1980 Miracle on Ice site at the in-town Olympic Center, also home to the Olympic Speed Skating Oval (518-523-1655), which is open to the public all winter. Then venture to the toboggan run on Mirror Lake for a plummet down a track and a skitter across the ice; if you’re even braver, try the bobsled and luge runs at the Olympic Sports Complex (518-523-4436), just outside of town. In the summer, hikers hit 5,344-foot Mount Marcy while triathletes compete in the Ironman; year-round, you can refuel with the legendary UBU ale and refresh at the rustic Adirondack Loj (518-523-3441).
Hood River, Oregon
Wind—check. Water—check. White stuff—double check. Sitting along the breezy Columbia River Gorge and within a short drive of Mount Hood’s many ski resorts, Hood River is blessed with the ideal conditions for outdoor action. Kiteboarders and windsurfers flock here for the 20 to 30-knot winds that pump through the Gorge; the Big Winds shop (541-386-6086) has lessons, rentals and sales. Those with a drier sensibility hop in the saddle for a cycling tour around the 35-mile Fruit Loop or off-road rides in the Mount Hood National Forest (Discover Bicycles, 541-386-4820). At 11,235 feet, Mount Hood is home to five ski areas, including Timberline Lodge (800-547-1406), which boasts a National Historic Landmark as its bunkhouse and the longest ski season in North America. In town, consider staying at the stately Hood River Hotel (800-386-1859), built in 1913.
McCall, Idaho
Glance inside the garage of a McCall local, and you’ll start to get an idea of the head-spinning selection of adventure sports here. Those fly rods are for fishing the Payette River, the Horse Thief Reservoir, and dozens of alpine lakes that speckle the next-door wilderness (Fly Fish McCall, 208-634-1324). Those chalk bags are for the rock climbing routes and bouldering problems surrounding town while the hiking boots and mountain bikes help tack the 2.3 million-acre Payette National Forest (Gravity Sports, 208-634-8530). That quiver of cross-country, alpine and backcountry skis is for gliding, carving and climbing in the terrain of nearby Brundage Mountain Resort (800-888-7544), Tamarack Resort (866-649-6903) or Jughandle Mountain (Winter Carnival is a premier event here). And that snow shovel helps clear the yearly 300 inches of snow for a path to a craft beer at the McCall Brewing Company (208-634-1010).
