From roaming the pine forests of Alabama to conquering the rivers of Wyoming on a SUP, every state in the union has a unique adventure to offer. We rounded up 50 epic trips—some tried-and-true and some way under the radar.
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ROAM THE BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST
This 181,000-acre swathe of pine and hardwood wilderness, north of Jasper, has 90 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding and more than a thousand waterfalls. Inside Bankhead lies the Sipsey Wilderness, a particularly prime 25,770-acre expanse along the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River, one of the state’s few trout spots and a designated Wild and Scenic River. Afterward, visit the nearby Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Cemetery, hallowed grounds dedicated to the memories of prized hunting dogs.
CHARTER A FLOATPLANE TO MOUNT ANIAKCHAK
Mount Aniakchak, a 3,500-year-old collapsed volcano in the Aleutian Range of southwest Alaska, is one of the least- trafficked areas in the national park system. Camp in the six-mile-wide caldera, then packraft down the whitewater of the Aniakchak River with the folks at Alaska Alpine Adventures. Don’t be surprised if you see more grizzlies than people.
OFF-ROAD IN THE DESERTS OF SEDONA
The desert outside Sedona is a mountain-biking and hiking hot spot, sure. But it’s also home to some of the country’s best off-road-driving and dune-buggy routes. Broken Arrow gets all the hype, but the Smasher Trail, in Tonto National Forest, with its steep climbs, gnarly obstacles, and desert views, is the way to go. You’ll be lucky if your rig doesn’t get a couple of dings.
RIDE THE FLOW TRAILS OF BENTONVILLE
Over the past decade, the quaint Ozarks town of Bentonville has quietly become a top mountain-biking destination, comprising 40 miles of world-class routes. Start at Slaughter Pen, a 23-mile network of rolling cross-country singletrack, with a good mix of tabletop jumps and obstacles. Next, hit the Coler Mountain Bike Preserve for the double-black-diamond jump trails and black-diamond rock trails.
EXPLORE THE LOST COAST
This 60-mile stretch of roadiess NorCal coastline may be the last truly wild place on the West Coast. Wander black sand beaches, surf cast for perch, roast wild mussels over a driftwood campfire-all in the shadow of the King Mountains.
“The 12-mile West Maroon Pass trail, outside Aspen, goes up and over the Maroon Bells to Crested Butte. It’s about 12,500 feet, and from the top, there are great views of some 14,000-foot peaks. Then it goes over the pass and down the other side and—in the late summer—into a field filled with glorious wildflowers. I hiked it last August, and we were wading through them up to our hips. It started to rain, and it was almost like the flowers were rejoicing, sucking up the water.” —Governor John Hickenlooper
SET SAIL IN MYSTIC
An hour outside Hartford, this handsome shipbuilding village dates to 1654, and you can still find old-school schooners docked at the seaport. After exploring Fishers Island Sound, sail to nearby Mumford Cove or Mouse Island to dig for fresh clams and oysters.
RUN THE JUNCTION AND BREAKWATER TRAIL
This five-mile path, in Rehoboth, follows a section of old railroad line through lush, sweeping marshes. It concludes in Lewes Beach, where you can reward yourself for all that exercise with a beer at the top-notch Dogfish Inn.
“There’s a series of rivers that come out of the Everglades—like the Watson and the Chatham. I’m friends with fishing guide Steve Huff; you get in a boat with him and it’s 12 hours of going places where you won’t see another human. It’s not for everyone; there’s an abundance of mosquitoes. But I’m a fly fisherman, so we get back into these creeks, casting at giant tarpon. You see gators, crocodiles. It’s as close to a flashback to what Florida was centuries ago as you’re going to find.” —Carl Hiaasen, novelist
TOUR THE SEA CAVES OF THE NAPALI COAST
The 4,000-foot cliffs that dominate Kauai’s Napali Coast make it one of the least-accessible places in Hawaii, but the sea caves that pock the 15-mile shoreline are well worth chartering a boat to explore. “It’ll get pitch-black,” pro surfer John John Florence says. “Then you’ll come around a corner, and there’s an opening in the cave roof with a waterfall falling through it. It’s incredible.”
EXPLORE THE EPIC OF PIGEON MOUNTAIN
From the outside, Ellison’s Cave, in northern Georgia, doesn’t look like much—just a two-foot-wide hole in the middle of the woods. But below await 12 miles of subterranean passageways ripe for exploring—not to mention the deepest natural pit in the Lower 48. At 586 feet, the vertical drop, known as Fantastic, is nearly as deep as the Space Needle is tall, and the Incredible Pit, also in Ellison’s, is only 146 feet shallower. No surprise, the cavern is the crown jewel of the TAG Corner, a caving mecca in the worm-eaten hills of the Cumberland Plateau. Ellison’s isn’t even the only pilgrimage-worthy spot on Pigeon Mountain. Nearby Pettyjohn’s Cave, with seven miles of passageways, most of which don’t require ropes or harnesses, makes for a killer first foray into DIY subterranean exploring. Or you can have the guides at G3 Adventures show you the way. —J.R. Sullivan

TRAVERSE THE HOLY GRAIL OF BACKCOUNTRY TRAILS
Through the middle of the largest chunk of wilderness in the Lower 48 runs a single one-lane trail: the Magruder Road. Located in north-central Idaho, between Elk City and Darby, Montana, the 101-mile unimproved path links the 2.3-million-acre Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness and the 1.2-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. It’s no doubt one of the country’s wildest and most rewarding hikes or horseback, ATV, or dirt-bike rides. The rugged trail traverses a sea of mountains—home to bighorn sheep, bears, elk, and wolves—and weaves past dozens of subalpine lakes and streams, including the Selway River, equally famous for its rafting and its steelhead. You can drive the Magruder in as little as six hours. But don’t rush it. Pack three or four days’ worth of fuel and gear so you can explore the countless campgrounds, pull-offs, lookouts, and trails along the way. At night, the sky sparkles with constellations you’ve never seen, and in the mornings, you can watch steam rise from spots where elk bedded nearby. Whatever you do, just remember to bring a fly rod in the summer and a can of bear spray in the fall. This is wild country, after all. —Ben Romans
WINDSURF IN WOLF LAKE
Chicago may be the Windy City, but one of the state’s best windsurfing spots is east of town, in Wolf Lake, 380 acres of inland water on the Indiana border. The lake enjoys strong winds off nearby Lake Michigan but has flatter water, so you can really pick up speed. If you’re new to the sport, Northwestern U’s Sailing Center offers lessons.
CAMP AT THE INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE
This 15,000-acre reserve, outside Michigan City, boasts picturesque dunes, savannas, and swamps and some 15 miles of pristine Lake Michigan shoreline. For a morning of lounging, you’ll find the fewest crowds at Mount Baldy Beach; then you can hit the five-mile Cowles Bog Trail for an endurance-testing afternoon hike.
CLIFF JUMP IN THE CHICKASAW PARK QUARRY
The old rock quarry in Chickasaw Park, in Chickasaw County, has 15- to 50-foot ledges perfect for hurling yourself into the water. Obviously, don’t be an idiot and hurt yourself.
CYCLE THE FLINT HILLS NATURE TRAIL
This 117-mile converted railroad corridor runs from Osawatomie to Herington. It’s the longest bike trail in the state and runs through one of the world’s few remaining tallgrass prairies. Stop at Trails Day Cafe, in Council Grove, for the roast buffalo.
SCALE THE CLIFFS OF THE RED RIVER GORGE
The Red, as it’s known, is a 26,000-acre climbers’ playground in the Daniel Boone National Forest, with 1,600 routes—including the Golden Ticket and Pure Imagination, two legendary overhung sport climbs, both rated 5.14c and located 50 feet from each other. The Red also has tons of lesser-known gems, such as Gettin’ Lucky in Kentucky (5.10b) and Jesus Wept (5.12d). The cliffs aren’t huge, at least not compared with ones out west, but you’d be hard-pressed to find better juggy, single-pitch sport routes anywhere else in the country. After a day of scaling the walls, grab a slice at Miguels Pizza, a popular climbers’ hangout, in Slade.
FOLLOW THE AUDUBON GOLF TRAIL
The 15 courses that make up this suite of gorgeous low-country links were designed by a murderer’s row of architects, including Pete Dye, Arnold Palmer, and Robert T. Jones, and they’re each dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of the environment. So it would be tough to go wrong at any of them. That said, a four-day golf road trip—beginning at Audubon Park Golf Course, in New Orleans, and continuing to Carter Plantation, in Springfield; TPC Louisiana, in Avondale; and Atchafalaya at Idlewild, in Patterson—would be damn tough to top.
SPEND A WEEK AT AN OLD-SCHOOL SPORTING CAMP
The evening stars winked overhead as I cast toward every slurp and gurgle in the pond, unsure whether my line straightened perfectly or crumpled in a mess. Some casts must have been on target, though, because one wild brook trout after the next grabbed my fly and fought all the way to the canoe. Fishing this good, I’ve learned, is common in the North Maine Woods, a 3.5-million-acre expanse of wild and semi-wild timberlands that spans the upper third of the state. Once a year I make the trip to stay at one of the 15 or so sporting camps that remain in this old-growth frontier. They’re part of a tradition that dates to the mid-1800s, when hunters, fishermen, and outdoor types from across New England began to flock to these north woods to spend their vacations. Today, these little-known, and increasingly rare, retreats still serve as entry points into a near-endless wilderness, teeming with grouse, woodcock, and moose. A favorite camp of mine, Chandler Lake Lodge, three hours north of Bangor, is in the bull’s- eye of the best brook trout waters in the Lower 48, with tons of hiking, canoeing, and kayaking options to boot. But no matter at which camp you end up, staying at one feels as if you’ve been beamed into a 1950’s L.L. Bean catalog, thanks to the hand-hewn cabins and lumberjack-chic amenities. But the adventure is as real as it gets. —T. Edward Nickens
GET LOST ON THE DELMARVA PENINSULA
Though the 180-mile-long Delmarva Peninsula, between Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, is technically connected to the mainland, the vibe is pure island. Life in the hamlets of Crisfield, Havre de Grace, and Rock Hall still revolves around the ports upon which they were founded, and driving through you’ll pass marshes teeming with crabs, cypress forests, and black-mud swamps. To really feel like you’re in another world, visit Assateague, a 37-mile-long barrier island on Delmarva’s east coast; there you can camp on the dunes where wild ponies and sika deer still roam.
