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Great Late Summer Day Hikes, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

A mere 20 miles west of the Vegas Strip, desert hikers can strike pay dirt at Red Rock Canyon. This is the edge of the Mojave, where red and yellow sandstone cliffs stretch 7,000 feet into the Nevada sky and Joshua trees scatter across the desert floor. Many of the better day hikes branch out from the 13-mile loop road maintained by the Bureau of Land Management. The 4-mile round-trip Pine Creek Canyon Trail carves into the cliffs through a narrow canyon lined with ponderosa pines. The strenuous 14-mile round-trip Summit Trail begins in a typical desert plant community and ascends through canyons harboring willows and sycamores. Wildlife in Red Rock is as abundant and varied as the plant life. Coyotes, kit foxes, and bobcats all live in the canyon. 

 

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Don’t Swim After a Rainstorm

Even if the sun is shining and the sky is blue, if it rained recently, water quality at your favorite beach might have a high bacteria rate due to stormwater runoff. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, storm runoff is the main reason American beaches saw a 29% increase in closings last summer. Last week, the NRDC came out with its water quality ratings for 200 of the country’s most popular beaches. They include four beaches that have been given “Superstar Beach” status due to perfect test results the past three years. Those beaches are Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Dewey Beach, Delaware, and Park Point Lafayette Community Club Beach in Minnesota.
 

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Buy a Weekend at a Vermont State Park

Still not sure what to get for the holidays? Well, you’re in luck. Vermont State Parks is offering Holiday Gift Packages for next summer. The Weekend Getaway Package includes two nights of tent, RV, or lean-to camping, two VT State Parks water bottles, a bundle of firewood for your campout and a VT State Parks tote bag, all for $79. Sample two of my favorite state parks, Silver Lake and Button Bay. Just north of Woodstock, Silver Lake is open to non-motorized boating only. Thus, this gem of a lake is the perfect place to swim, canoe, or catch perch from the shores. The 47 campsites are in the woods, close to the lake. Located on the southern shores of Lake Champlain, all of the 72 sites at Button Bay have exquisite views of the Adirondacks across the lake. The exceptional biking through farmland that borders the lake is an added bonus.  Call 888-409-7579 or book online at www.vtstateparks.com.

 

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Salt Lake City’s Natural History Museum is a Gem

Salt Lake City reminds me a lot of Calgary, especially the way skiers scurry out of town upon arrival to hit Park City, Snowbasin, Alta, and Solitude, all within an hour drive. After spending three days solely in Salt Lake City, I would highly suggest making time to check out the city. There’s a lot happening in town, from the revitalization of Main Street thanks to the year-old shopping center, City Creek, to emergence of neighborhoods with an indie vibe, like 9th and 9th. The food was exceptional. Highlights include the crab and corn bisque at Bambara, kumamoto oysters at Naked Fish, turkey mole at the authentic Mexican joint, Red Iguana, sturgeon fish and chips at the Copper Onion, and the kale caesar salad at Pago. 

 
My favorite stop in town was the year old Natural History Museum of Utah next to Red Butte botanical garden in the foothills of the Wasatch Range. When you think of it, what better place than Utah to have a natural history museum? Rich in Native American culture, geological wonders like the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon and the stone arches at Arches, and still very active with dinosaur digs around the state, Salt Lake City should have one of the finest natural history museums in the country. Displaying vibrant Navajo baskets, intricate Paiute beadwork, dinosaurs, a working paleontologist on site, and stunning views of the valley below, this site alone would inspire me to return to Salt Lake. 
 
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Get Outdoors this Holiday Season

If you’re sticking around Boston during the Holidays like I am, you don’t need to spend your entire break indoors. There’s only so much eggnog and conversation with the family you can stomach before wishing you were at a nearby trail or ski area. All my favorite local jaunts in winter can be found in an article written by writer Brion O’Connor in the Boston Globe. Strolling Broadmoor, World’s End, Arnold Arboretum, Walden Pond, and Mt. Auburn Cemetery; skiing Wachusett; tubing Nashoba; even frostbite sailing with the Boston Sailing Center made it into the story. Have a look and then get outdoors for some much needed air. 

 
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Outfitters We Love: ROW Adventures

Few people know the rivers of Idaho better than Peter Grubb, owner of Idaho’s largest adventure travel company, ROW Adventures. They run more trips on more rivers than any other outfitter in the state. Grubb’s other obsession is the Galapagos Islands, where for the past two decades, he’s been running land-based multisport trips for all, including children ages 7 and older. We’ve sent a dozen or so clients on their trips and they’ve all loved it. Who wouldn’t relish the chance to sea kayak, hike and bike around the islands past century-old tortoises, and to snorkel at protected coves with friendly sea lions and few other people? ROW Adventures other trips are just as exhilarating. They include sea kayaking during the whale migration in Baja; sea kayaking, hiking, and biking Cuba; hiking the Inca Trail in Peru and the W Trek in Patagonia; and his latest offering, paddling and seeing the gorillas of Rwanda. How cool is that? If interested in any ROW Adventures itinerary, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check availability and help with all logistics including flight and pre- and post-hotel stays and route design. 

 
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Raft the Chilko River with ROAM

It was 1997 when I first met Brian McCutcheon, owner of Rivers, Oceans, and Mountains (ROAM). I had been hired by Men’s Journal magazine to write about the first descent of the Klinaklini River in British Columbia. It was a spectacular journey down a rip-roaring river dwarfed by snowcapped peaks and glaciers. I was accompanying Johnny Morris, the owner of Bass Pro Shops, who came to the Northwest with his entourage to hook salmon on the fly. The fish weren’t biting but the scenery and excitement of riding the Klinaklini more than made up for the lack of salmon. McCutcheon now offers multisport trips around the globe, including a fantastic itinerary to Bhutan later this year. But it’s his native BC that he knows best. For starters, try one of the most exciting whitewater rafting runs in North America, a weeklong jaunt down the Chilko River in southwestern BC. Take an hour seaplane flight from Vancouver to 4,000-foot high Chilko Lake where he unveiled a $10 million lodge.  Then let the rollercoaster ride begin. You’ll cruise 130 miles, dropping 3,000 feet through a tumultuous blur of lava gorges and narrow chutes. Looming overhead are sloping carpets of forest and jagged peaks. And, on those rare moments when you slow down, you might find yourself staring at an eagle or grizzly. BC also stands for serious Bear Country, home to 12,000-plus grizzlies.

 

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