Best area of USA for outdoor activities

bluecollarfrench

I do love that everyone says that it rains too much here in seattle, BUT every person posting on here from seattle all agrees that it doesn't rain anywhere near the amount people think. Unless you go out to Forks, aka twilight land. Tough to beat the greater seattle area for everything you are looking for.

farmgirlsuz

Thanks to EVERYONE for your wonderful input! It is fun to see how people react to their "hometowns" and I can tell by the postings that people are very passionate about where they live!

I have gotten a few more places that we will definitely have to check out on our vacations before we can definitely make up our minds. In the meantime I am loving exploring all the suggestions via the internet. Gives me something to do instead of watching TV and EATING!

Thanks again for all your input!

xraychick77

Western NC

california_peach

Not to sound like a broken record, but California. I live near the Bay Area and the weather is AMAZING. No humidity. It can get hot in the summer, but with the humidity it is not all that bad, really it isn't. We don't get snow, but you easily drive to the Sierras for a snow fix.

Elizabeth_C34

I great up in Knoxville, TN. As far as outdoor activies go and having 4 distinct seasons, you can't beat it. It's not a large city, but the downtown offers some great activities. The entire downtown has undergone a massive renovation in the last 5 years, and it is a blast down there. Lots of bars, great food, theaters (movie and stage), and there's quite a bit of festivals and other things. The best part about living there for me was the ability to travel. You're right in the middle of the east coast, and you can drive nearly anywhere within 9 hours. I used to do road trips all the time with my friends on the weekends. It's only 3.5 hours to Atlanta and Nashville, both really fun towns. Plus you have the beautiful Smoky Mountains.

One other big bonus. The cost of living in E. Tennessee is really low. I had a beautiful 1 bedroom apartment in college with 10 ft. ceilings, private balcony that was bricked in and concrete with a wonderful view of the entire city, 900 sq ft of living space, walk-in closets, etc. for $450 per month.

amerr

Southern Utah, anywhere in Utah really, but up here in the north we do get quite a bit of snow.

spicypepper

I'm recommending my city, Austin, TX!!!! Yeah so were in the middle of our worst drought since 1920's, yeah so we had over 70+ days of 100 degree heat this summer with a pretty good humidity level, but damn I couldn't see exercising in a more beautiful place! tons of outdoor places to workout, a very health conscious city/life style, you can virtually work out or play 360 days a year (minus those freak ice storms).

It's October and were averaging 90 during the day.

vaderandbill

New England!!! From Boston I can get to the following:

Skiing - 1-3 hrs
Ocean/Cape Cod - 15 min - 1 hr
NYC - 4 hrs
ME - 2 hrs
VT - 2 hrs
Northern ME where there is nothing - 3-4 hrs
Montreal - 6 hrs

In the last 2 years I have been: skiing 30+ times, ocean kayaking, hiking, hang gliding, to the Cape multiple times, river kayaking, ice climbing, been a tourist in Boston, ATV riding, zip lining, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, apple picking, hot air ballooning, etc., etc.

Plus with a good sized airport you can get out of town pretty easy as well.

I lived in OH for 10 years (Columbus actually) and found that the people were just not that outdoorsy. Much happier in New England.

I second ^^this. I am from North Central Mass. Ocean less than an hour. White Mtns 2 hrs. Skiing 10 minutes. White water rafting 1/2 hour - 3 hours. Biking everywhere (Longsjo Classic runs through town). Green Mtns under 2 hours. hiking everywhere. sky diving 15 minutes.

i_love_vinegar

Not to sound like a broken record, but California. I live near the Bay Area and the weather is AMAZING. No humidity. It can get hot in the summer, but with the humidity it is not all that bad, really it isn't. We don't get snow, but you easily drive to the Sierras for a snow fix.

That is what I was thinking when people were mentioning places like New York state and Florida.
I'm from Southbay ^^

sunkisses

I live in South Florida, and in terms of the number of days in the year you can do things this place is excellent. There is no true winter. The coldest it gets is like 35 degrees *maybe* three mornings out of the entire "winter". I can garden year-round. If you're big on aquatic activities (fishing, surfing, snorkeling, scuba, kayaking, etc.) again, excellent here.

However, it's flat. Everywhere is just pure flat. Hiking sucks, summers are more miserable than you could even imagine because of the humidity. Imagine being your absolute hottest and then imagine there isn't a breath of wind and your sweat can't dry. Socially, things are weird here. People are mostly estranged, no tight-knittedness unless you find some kind of a cluster some how. So finding buddies to be fit with means you'd better bring them with you when you come.

BUT I've been visiting Southern California lately, and it has all of the things South Florida has offered me in terms of climate and outdoor fitness and MUCH more. I will be moving there myself in 2012. You can still do all of the aquatics, plus the terrain is mountainous and there are beautiful and challenging places to hike. Dry rocky mountains, mountains with big green trees and waterfalls. Things that make you WANT to get to the top of something.

The people there are much more in tune with nature-fitness than in south FL. And the culture is so that you could probably find friends and partners for activities easily. Here people can be doing the same thing and not even look each other in the eye as they pass.

So my vote's for SoCal too.

UTDodger

St George ,Utah

Arches
Canyonlands
Zions All National parks
Bryce Canyon is also near. (The coolest place ever)
Close to Las Vegas and Moab as well as Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon
Tuacahn Amphitheater for concerts and Shows
Many hiking and biking trails- Great golf and fishing areas
Mild temperatures and a population just over 100,000

DizzieLittleLifter

Santa Cruz Ca,

jimmydetectors09

Among all the detecting activities, gold detecting is the most interesting one. It can not only relax both our mind and body, but also give us a big fortune if we are lucky enough. Next time when you feel bored, you can pick up a gold detector and have a try.

http://www.detectorall.com/categories/Metal-Detectors/