Drive the Powder Highway
Scenario: Big Winter in B.C.
This past November was one of the snowiest on record in British Columbia. Which means that even if the storms slow down, there’s still going to be truckloads of snow this March especially in the Kootenay region, a damp swath of mountains in the southeastern part of the province. So book a ticket to Cranbrook Delta now flies direct from Salt Lake City and spin along the Powder Highway, a 660-mile “loop” with more than 50 resorts and backcountry-, cat-, and heli-skiing operations. My buddy Luke and I sampled the goods a few years ago. We started at Whitewater Resort (), a three-lift mountain outside of Nelson that receives more than 40 feet of snow annually. Then we spent a few days in Fernie (), an unsung destination with some of the best tree skiing I’ve seen, before looping back to Red Mountain (), an empty, cliff-strewn resort. Our conclusion: The route honors its good name, and we’ve been plotting our return ever since. Especially considering the 2007 addition of Revelstoke Mountain Resort (), with more than 5,600 feet of vert, the most on the continent. This I gotta see.

: Surf Kona

Scenario: El Niño Boils the Pacific

Spring on the Kailua-Kona side of Hawaii’s Big Island usually brings thick humidity and low surf. But in El Niño years, trade winds are often pushed south, leaving light breezes and clear skies: ideal beach weather. Plus low-pressure systems generate stronger storms out at sea, sending in swells that line up with the Big Island’s reefs. Fly into the Kailua-Kona airport and check into the Kona Sugar Shack (from $150; ). Then rent a board from Pacific Vibrations (from $15 per day; 808-329-4140) and hook up with Kona-based pro surfer C.J. Kanuha for a private lesson (from $140; ). Beginners: Request Pine Trees, a gentle break four miles north of town. More experienced? On a northwest swell, Lyman’s point break—off Kona’s main road, Alii Drive—is best for longboarding. And if El Niño doesn’t deliver? Just head to the end of Alii Drive, to End of the World, a 30-foot lava-rock cliff and your spot for a dive into the Pacific.

What Says El Niño?

The phenomenon known as El Niño is, to oversimplify a bit, the Pacific Ocean regulating her body temperature. This happens in intervals of between two and five years, and the effect is a warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific. This shifts the jet stream—and its corresponding storm track—south, leading to an upheaval in typical U.S. weather patterns, especially in the Southeast, Northwest, and California. Many meteorologists are predicting a moderate-to-strong effect through May. What’s that mean for you? Probably a warm, wet spring in Southern California and drier conditions in the Northwest. (The record-breaking November snowfall in Whistler, British Columbia, was an El Niño anomaly and a strict reminder that predicting the weather is pure folly.) Odds are the late-season powder gods will smile upon the Sierra and, if temps stay cold, the southern Rockies. But the biggest upside? Potentially awesome surf in Southern California and Hawaii, which already saw huge swells in December.

: Vegas, Baby

Scenario: The Economy’s Still in the Tank

The best part about Vegas is not the endless nights and tantalizing, if long, odds. It’s the fact that there may be no easier destination for scoring last-minute deals on flights and hotel rooms (), which means easy access to nearby Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. A 195,000-acre puzzle of sandstone canyons and one of the country’s top climbing destinations, Red Rocks is home to more than 2,000 routes—everything from short sport climbs to big walls (entrance fee, $5; climbing permits free; 702-515-5350). The northeast face of Mount Wilson offers tough, fun multipitch climbs, and spring is the time to tackle it (not too hot, not too cold). Book a day trip with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides ($235; ), the same outfit that leads clients up the Grand Teton. They’ll belay you on a four-pitch climb designed for your skill level. When you’re done, it’s only 20 minutes back to the Strip, where you can try to win back the cost of your trip.

: Float the Illinois

Scenario: Sun Spell in the Northwest

Whitewater rafting in March? Yup, if it’s on southwestern Oregon’s Wild and Scenic Illinois River, a Class IV–V beauty that happens to be my favorite stretch of water in the Northwest. The key is catching the perfect flow. In March, that means a Pacific storm bringing three days of rain to raise the water level, followed by a splash of sun. Ashland-based Momentum River Expeditions knows when the Illinois is best. Call a month in advance and tell them you’re flexible with your schedule so they have time to adjust for weather. Ask for their four-day wine-and-cheese float ($850; ), which puts in two hours northwest of Ashland at Miami Bar and takes out 34 miles later at the confluence of the Illinois and the Rogue. Momentum will pack local syrah to complement Rogue Creamery cheeses. That’s the pampering you’ll want between picking your way through more than 80 rapids and one wild eight-foot waterfall.

: Ride Napa

St. Helena, Napa Valley

St. Helena, Napa Valley

Scenario: Early Spring

Winter means rain in the Bay Area. But even in El Niño years, spring arrives early. And what an arrival it is—especially in Napa, the place to go for a spring break featuring green hillsides, rolling roads, fine libations, and no cheap tequila. Start in Yountville and stay at Bardessono (doubles from $300; ), a new, stylish hotel with easy access to the area’s vineyards. Then set out for a gentle 14-mile ride (daylong rentals, $35 at Napa Valley Bike Tours; ) through the Stags Leap district, home of Malk and Pine Ridge, makers of wine country’s best cabernet sauvignon. Next up is Mount Veeder, a 36-mile loop that climbs 1,500 feet to valleywide vistas. Recovery: After soaking in Bardessono’s spa, walk to any of the multiple celeb-chef-run restaurants nearby. Try Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc for succulent fried chicken ().

: Hike Arches

Scenario: PBS Keeps Airing Ken Burns’s The National Parks


Due to its proximity to Moab, Arches National Park has seen a steady increase in visitation since the eighties. This year, expect a deluge thanks to Burns’s documentary. But the park is most heavily trafficked in May, meaning an early spring trip gets you uncrowded access to the 2,500-odd archways. At this time of year, Arches sees everything from temps in the seventies to light snow. But south-facing walls soak up enough sun to keep climbers comfortable in all conditions. Outfitters don’t guide in the park, so rent gear in town at Pagan Mountaineering (435-259-1117) and shimmy up Owl Rock, an easy 5.8 trad route (stay on the park’s main road past the visitor center and turn right by Balance Rock). Hikers: You’ll find the most arches on the 7.2-mile Devil’s Garden loop. Camp at one of Sand Flats Recreation Area’s 120 sites, located on a high-desert plateau with views of the 11,500-foot La Sal Mountains ($10 per night; 435-259-2444).

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PORTSMOUTH ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA – On a weekend last summer, while the rest of the beachgoing world descended upon overrun sand traps like Nags Head and Virginia Beach, I took a 4×4 and a shortboard and made for Portsmouth Island. There are a few selling points to this skinny, 18-mile-long barrier island in the northernmost part of North Carolina's Cape Lookout National Seashore. The surf, for one—you can catch punchy beach-break waves all along the eastern, Atlantic-facing shore. The fishing's not bad, either—bring a spinning rod and some shrimp and you'll pull in as much drum as you can eat. Also, the whole damn place is uninhabited. Except for a smattering of cabins near its middle, all that's to be found is miles of sea oats and dunes and the Atlantic coast's finest, most surprisingly reachable beach camping. There's not a paved road on the entire island, so the Park Service permits beach driving, which does wonders for people who secretly harbor redneck alter egos, like me.

Malia Jones

Malia Jones, your guide to summer. Check out more of Malia, including an interview, photo gallery, and exclusive video.

Ìý

Fly into Wilmington (US Airways flies direct from LaGuardia in less than two hours), rent a vehicle, and drive the three hours to the town of Atlantic. Go to Morris Marina and catch a 40-minute ferry ride to Portsmouth Island (round-trip, $14 per person or $75 per vehicle; ), but don't board before renting a kayak at the marina ($150 for three days). Portsmouth offers only a few lodging options with roofs and walls, such as the unfortunately named Kabin Kamps (from $100; ). Pass the cabins by, head for the beach on the eastern shore, and pitch your tent above the high-tide line. Paddle out to the west side of the island and explore the miles of tidal marshes. Upon returning to your campsite, you'll notice, well, nothing. No lifeguard towers, no Rollerblades, no wafting scent of hair gel mixed with sunscreen. Just a big, white beach that's all your own.

The Easiest Catch

fly-fishing rock creek, montana

Hats off to Montana fly-fishing

MISSOULA, MONTANA – There are fishing purists who throw fits if another angler comes within 100 feet. In general I agree with this principle. But not in June, not in southwestern Montana. As fat, ugly salmonflies hatch and die by the thousands on Rock Creek, some 20 miles east of Missoula, the trout spend a good month slapping the surface of the 52-mile freestone river, and they don't care how many orange or yellow stonefly imitators are floating over their heads or how many hacks are elbowing for backcasting room on the shoreline.ÌýSo go, fight for space, get tangled in the cottonwoods, splash around. You'll still catch fish. Purists: There might be some open water above mile 21 on Rock Creek Road, where the holes in the road turn back sedans.

Fly into Missoula, secure a vehicle with four-wheel drive, and rent a fully furnished cabin on the creek (from $95; ).ÌýFor fishing advice delivered by a gravel-voiced old-timer who knows every riffle on the river, stop at Doug Persico's Rock Creek Fisherman's Mercantile, just off I-90 (). Warm up in town with the aspiring novelists at the Old Post Pub, where the food is bad, the music is slightly better, the waitstaff are beautiful, and the hatch chart on the wall is to be trusted, for the most part (). Afterwards, drink and gamble around the corner at the Oxford Saloon. If you're still on the poker table at 4 a.m., the bartender will serve you a free chicken-fried steak ().

Lights Out

How Not to Spend Summer

Collecting prize money for killing gophers at the Gopher Count festival, in Viola, Minnesota, June 19

Spitting seeds for four days at the Watermelon Thump, in Luling, Texas, June 26–29.

Literally watching paint dry at the National Fence Painting Championship, in Hannibal, Missouri, July 3–5.

Calling mosquitoes at the Great Texas Mosquito Festival, in Clute, Texas, July 24–26; contestants try to lure the biggest bug with their voices.

—CLAIRE NAPIER GALOFARO

GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA – The summer solstice at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a throng of shuttle buses, clicking cameras, and vendors hawking I GC booty shorts. But on the less frequented North Rim, there's a nighttime solstice party where you can watch the skies erupt in peace. Under the orchestration of Arizona's Saguaro Astronomy Club, a score of astronomers from across the country converge to set up powerful telescopes on the terrace of the Grand Canyon Lodge, a castle-like stone building perched on the edge of the canyon (doubles, $100; ). For eight nights, more than 100 people—hikers, amateur stargazers, passersby—stop for a quick peek through a scope and end up staying, starstruck, as late as 5 a.m. Since the Grand Canyon has one of America's darkest night skies, you can see Saturn's rings, storms on Jupiter, and millions of stars glittering like galactic bling. Exploit the extra daylight with a quad-busting, nine-mile round-trip hike on the North Kaibab Trail to the Roaring Springs waterfall, 3,050 feet down the canyon. Afterwards, refuel with the lodge's brand-new Grand Cookout dinners. The chuck-wagon-style beef brisket, roasted chicken, and fresh-baked biscuits will sate the most astronomical of appetites ($35 per person). Nearest airport: Flagstaff, Arizona, a somewhat daunting 200 miles away.

Flatwater Freedom

GRAND MARAIS, MINNESOTA – The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is one of the largest wilderness areas east of the Rockies. It's also one of the most heavily trafficked: More than 200,000 people ply its 1,200 miles of routes annually. So while the weather's best in late summer, I go toward the end of June, when the water is cool, the smallmouth are biting, the blackflies are disappearing, and the Boy Scouts hoping to earn their tree-carving badges have yet to arrive.

Fly into Duluth and pick up a canoe on your way to Grand Marais at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters ($85 for three days; ). There are nearly 80 entry points to the Boundary Waters; ignore most of them and enter at East Bearskin Lake, 26 miles from Grand Marais up the Gunflint Trail highway (entry permits, $16 per person; ). A 2.5-mile paddle plus a short portage lead to Alder Lake, where there's a perfect camping spot on the tip of the main peninsula. Bring a lightweight rod and cast a Rapala into the rocks just offshore. With any luck, you'll catch dinner to fry over the fire. The next night, stay six miles away in a lakeside cabin at the Old Northwoods Lodge, bear-and-lumberjack kitsch at its finest (doubles, $120; ). Before leaving, dine on Lake Superior trout at the Angry Trout Café (), a refurbished fishing shanty on the harbor in Grand Marais.

The Backyard

ANYWHERE, USA – Look, I'm a patriot. I like beer. And having mostly overcome a scarring childhood incident involving a bottle rocket, the San Francisco police, and a hefty insurance claim by a downstairs neighbor, I like fireworks again. So don't get the wrong idea when I tell you to stay home on the Fourth of July. But for God's sake, do stay home. Something like 41 million Americans will celebrate by going somewhere, making this the busiest travel period of the summer. Even if you're the kind that digs the woozy high of flirt-flirt honking as your convertible crawls through a carbon monoxide haze—which, I think, makes you a high schooler—consider that July 4 is traditionally the deadliest day of the year on our nation's roads. The second-deadliest? July 3. And anyway, I've devised the ultimate at-home party: a few friends, lots of beer, barbecue (see The Guide, page 65), and a kiddie pool. You can add bottle rockets—just don't shoot any into the neighbor's window.

Great Green North

STRATEGY: THE WELL-PACKED WEEKENDER

Seven items to have at the ready:
1. RubbermaidÂ’s 75-quart DuraChill Cooler, which keeps beer cold for almost a week ($43; rubbermaid). 2. Sweat- and waterproof K2 Endurance Sunblock ($13; ). 3. PatagoniaÂ’s wrinkle-free Vitaliti polo shirt, which looks better at dinner after youÂ’ve worn it hiking ($55; ).4. SmithÂ’s gold-rimmed Bellaire sunglasses ($100; ). 5. Hi-TecÂ’s V-Lite Radar II eVent light hikers, which can double as trail runners, since theyÂ’re built onrunning lasts ($120; ). Drive west an hour to Baddeck and set up camp at the Chanterelle Country Inn, a solar-heated B&B where the organic dinners mean wild mushrooms, fresh mussels from the harbor out back, and, until July 15, lobster; for the rest of the month you're stuck with the snow crab (doubles, US$158, including breakfast; ). Then load up your bike and drive out to 200-year-old Acadian villages, through Highlands National Park, and, if 18 percent grades don't dissuade you, to the majestic north end, where you can take a guided sea-kayak tour through pilot whale feed zones (US$100; ). Before leaving Baddeck, unwind at a ceilidh, the old Celtic precursor to the rave, with fiddles, tin whistles, and (in place of ecstasy) the island's own single-malt whiskies.

Ìý

The Uncrowded Mountain Town

[photo size="full"]1498521[/photo]

TELLURIDE, COLORADO – Between the weekends of Memorial Day and Labor Day, the town of Telluride hosts no fewer than 15 festivals. Think about that. On any given Saturday, you might have to share this remote outpost's epic hiking trails, casual restaurants, and approximately 23 parking spaces with either hordes of slamgrass fans (the Bluegrass Festival), a gaggle of oeno­philes (the Wine Festival), or an army of downward-doggers (the Yoga Festival). But crowds are the last thing you want to see here. Placed at the dead end of a box canyon and surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks, Telluride offers as good a setting as any town in America for a quiet summer idyll. So there's only one celebration worth attending: The Nothing Festival. For three days, there are zero planned events—but something incredible does happen. Hotels open up (try the Telluride Mountainside Inn; doubles, $119; ), Main Street empties out, and a few visitors breathe easy. How to spend those days? Just bring your hiking boots and follow the directions on telluridenothingfestival.com: “Thank you for not participating.” Nearest airport: Montrose, Colorado, 70 miles away.

America's Oktoberfest

[photo size="full"]1498606[/photo]

PORTLAND, OREGON – Nothing says summer like 60,000 people raising glasses of beer into the air and letting loose a spontaneous cheer that makes Yankee Stadium sound like the baking section at Borders. Welcome to the OBF, or Oregon Brewers Festival, which takes place every July in Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park. With 72 participating breweries from around the country, it's the finest outdoor tasting in the world that doesn't require speaking German. The beer's cold and often of the hard-to-get variety—I'm partial to Allagash White, a spicy Belgian-style wheat beer. By the end of the day, the local blues bands sound much better than they are, and as the sun sets, those cheers grow longer and a hell of a lot more infectious. The wise visitor, though, doesn't spend all four days at the festival: With more than 270 miles of bike routes in the city, plus Forest Park, the nation's largest urban forest, Portland offers ample opportunity to work up a healthy thirst (rentals, $28 for a half day; ). Freshen up at the Heathman Hotel and browse their library, which contains first editions signed by the likes of Kurt Vonnegut (doubles, $230; ). Then go drink up and scream ($5 for an official mug, $4 per beer; ).

The Non-Hamptons

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK – For discerning New Yorkers, the North Fork of Long Island has long provided a much more relaxing escape than the Botox-injected Hamptons side. But as word gets out that North Fork wineries like Bedell are rivaling their cousins in Napa, there is some concern among locals that things may not stay so quaint. My suggestion? Stay home and pretend to visit. A few things you could imagine and then brag about at the watercooler: sailing from Preston's dock, in Greenport, on a restored 1906 schooner while slurping down fresh oysters (day trips on the schooner Mary E, $38; ); tromping through Shelter Island's vast nature preserve; kiteboarding Peconic Bay ($100 per hour with Island Riders; ); bathing with locally made goat's-milk soap at the North Fork Table & Inn (doubles, $275; ); or riding the 40-mile North Fork bikeway toward Orient Point beach with the sun and salt water on your face (daylong rentals, $28 at the Bike Stop, in Greenport; ). Your co-workers will be none the wiser, and I won't get in trouble for letting the secret out. Nearest airport: MacArthur Airport, 50 miles from Greenport.

True Grass

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GRAND TARGHEE, WYOMING – Perhaps you're one of those people who holds to the misguided notion that bluegrass music is for hippies. If so, you may be familiar with Telluride's annual jam-o-rama, which is a great party and a good place to go if you like Hacky Sacks and Ani DiFranco. Real bluegrass festivals, on the other hand, are about impromptu circles of fiddlers and banjo pickers in which solos are passed around with far more reserve than whiskey.

Go to Targhee and you'll see. Fifty miles across Teton Pass from Jackson Hole, at Grand Targhee Resort, the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival (three-day pass, $125; ) hosts 6,500 people over the course of the weekend, compared with the 10,000 who choke Telluride per day. Mountain-town favorite Tim O'Brien headlines, but listen closely to Tony Trischka's Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular. The two banjos (never a good idea) can be abrasive, but Trischka plays with Michael Daves, a Georgia-born guitarist with a gut-wrenching high tenor that's far more Joe Strummer than Jack Johnson. For a break, ride Targhee's new lift-accessed mountain-bike park. If you can score a room in the resort (doubles, $125), look for the headliners picking and passing bottles in the lobby, and don't say a word.ÌýNearest airport: Jackson Hole.

Moon Paddle

[photo size="full"]1498501[/photo] [sidebar hed="STRATEGY: THE SURPRISE DIRECT FLIGHT"] Easy routes to the regional airports mentioned in this story: Delta flies from Atlanta to Jackson Hole in just under six hours (from $370; ). Continental flies from Houston and Dallas to Montrose, Colorado (from $400; ). Allegiant Air flies regularly from Las Vegas to Duluth (from $270; ) and Missoula ($140). And barring any planning hiccups, Horizon Air will offer direct service from Los Angeles to Flagstaff starting this June ($200; ).

TOMALES BAY, CALIFORNIA – It wouldn't be hard to miss the coastal village of Marshall, an hour north of San Francisco on Highway 1—only 100 or so people live here, and the place looks kind of scrappy. But gritty is in these days, and last summer, restaurateur Pat Kuleto turned Marshall into the home of the North Coast's most serenely stylish digs. Nick's Cove & Cottages is a cluster of gussied-up fisherman's cabins, complete with water-view decks and bedside cheese plates. Next door, Nick's roadhouse serves oysters caught out front and pinot noir from up the road. But the reason to go is the full moon on Saturday the 16th: As night falls, kayak due west from your cabin, past Hog Island, and visit Tomales Point's tule elk herd (daylong rentals from Point Reyes–based Blue Waters Kayaking, $60; ). When you return to shore, moonlit wine tasting and oyster slurping await on the deck of your cabin (doubles, $300; ). Nearest airport: San Francisco.

Lightning Show

walter de maria's lightning field

MOTHER NATURE’S LASER SHOW: Walter de Maria’s Lightning Field

QUEMADO, NEW MEXICO – Whoever named the two-diner town of Quemado (translation: “Burnt”), in southwestern New Mexico, had a way with words. The place attracts a fair amount of lightning strikes. That's why sculptor Walter De Maria put his installation, the Lightning Field, which combines highbrow art with one of the last great remote landscapes in America, nearby.

Fly into Albuquerque, rent a car, and drive three hours southwest to Quemado. At a small white gallery-like space that could be in SoHo, you'll await a grizzled cowboy who drives precariously fast in his truck and drops you off 45 minutes later at a three-bedroom cabin overlooking the fields. Your provisions: enchiladas, whatever libations you've brought, and orders to wander. The installation consists of a surreal one-mile grid of 400 stainless-steel poles in the lightning-happy high desert. The display is best viewed from the back porch, with a cold Negra Modelo in hand. Book far in advance—you can rent the cabin for only one night ($250 per person with maximum six-person occupancy; ). What to do with the rest of the weekend? Doesn't really matter, if you're lucky enough to see lightning strike out the back door. But there are plenty of weird attractions around that could exist only in New Mexico—the Very Large Array of radio telescopes, near Socorro, for instance.ÌýSpend the next night in the emerging artsy town of Truth or Consequences and soak at the Sierra Grande Lodge (doubles, $130; ).

Treasure Island

SANTA CATALINA, CALIFORNIA – In the early days of Hollywood, Santa Catalina Island's sand coves doubled as Tahiti and its mountains stood in for the Wild West. A 76-square-mile island located 25 miles southwest of Los Angeles, Catalina has retained its flair for drama because 88 percent of the place is a land trust. Charter a sailboat on the mainland in Marina del Rey (from $100 per day; ), five miles from LAX, and sail five hours to Catalina. Catalina's port town of Two Harbors provides immediate access to the island's 50-mile network of rugged hiking and mountain-biking trails (daylong bike rentals from Two Harbors Dive & Recreation Center, $53; 310-510-4272). For cozier digs than the berths on your boat, stay at the Banning House Lodge, which has 11 ocean-view rooms (doubles, $216; 800-626-1496). To branch out from the sails and trails, sign up for Two Harbors' annual buffalo-chip contest, during which townsfolk gather at the pier to throw buffalo dung onto the beach. The record toss—187 feet—is waiting to be broken.

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Bahamas
Fly-Fishing

“PUT THE FLY RIGHT ON HIS HEAD” is the common refrain of sight-fishing guides to their clients standing knee-deep in the crystalline Atlantic waters off Long Island, a four-mile sand strip 165 miles south of Nassau. In some cases, the head belongs to a six-pound bonefish; in others it’s a tailing, manhole-cover-size permit. And when the fly drops, more often than not the fish devours it. So goes pretty much every experience with the crew from Bonafide Bonefishing. With everything from flats casting off white-sand beaches to raiding a secret permit stronghold accessible by a 45-minute boat ride from Stella Maris Resort, the 80-mile-long isle makes it tough to say they weren’t biting. Be sure to request either Docky or Alvin Smith, longtime guides who are often booked six months to a year in advance.

PLAYTIME: Bonafide offers day trips from Stella Maris for bonefishing, permit fishing, and reef fishing. Rental rods and gear are available, but they suggest that you bring your own. From $450 a day for two;

ISLAND LIVING: Relax in the newly developed Stella Maris’s Love Beach Bungalows. Set on five acres, each of the three cottages offers two-bedroom, two-bath accommodations, all facing a swimming lagoon and beaches. An SUV is available for unencumbered on-island excursions. From $1,365;

Antigua

Sailing

Antigua

SAILING IN THE CARIBBEAN? It’s tough to narrow down to just one island, we know, but if there’s a single place that balances both the sport and its well-lubricated after-hours lifestyle, it’s 108-square-mile Antigua. The island has become the quintessential yachtie hot spot and, from late April to early May, hosts more than 1,500 sailors during Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, the Caribbean’s second-largest regatta. More than 200 boats race in eight different classes, with participants ranging from landlubbers on chartered sloops to America’s Cup winners crewing billion-dollar boats. And when the sails drop, the long pours begin. The island’s own Antigua Distillery churns out award-winning rums (pick up a bottle of the English Harbour five-year-old). In Falmouth Harbour, where many of Sailing Week’s festivities take place, work your way from the Last Lemming to the Mad Mongoose and then on to Skullduggery, where it’s required that you have at least one espresso martini before hitting up the bars in English Harbour.

PLAYTIME: A slew of private charter companies like Horizon Yacht Charters, whose founder, Andrew Thompson, often races in Sailing Week, operate out of Antigua (a full list is available at ). Qualified captains can take off on their own, or you can always hire a skipper.

ISLAND LIVING: If you don’t feel like sleeping where you sail, grab a room at the newly opened—and swanky—Antigua Yacht Club Marina and Resort, in Falmouth Harbour. They’ll even dock your boat for a daily rate. Doubles from $277;

Bonaire

Diving

Bonaire

THE AQUATIC BOUNTY and 80-plus-foot visibility in the waters off this arid, mostly flat isle 50 miles north of Venezuela inspire a kind of reef madness among scuba divers. “Bonaire has some of the nicest diving in the world,” says Bruce Bowker, who came to the island in 1973 as its first full-time dive instructor. “It’s like jumping into an aquarium.” Just a flutter-kick away from the island’s leeward shore, you’ll find seahorses, soft corals swaying like hula girls, and swirls of sergeant majors and blue tang. Eighty-nine buoy-marked dive sites, all within the Bonaire National Marine Park, shelter almost 500 species of fish—more than can be found anywhere else in the Caribbean.

PLAYTIME: Bari Reef, on the island’s western shore, is said to be the best fish-spotting location in the Caribbean. Hook up with Bonaire Dive & ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s Jerry Ligon, a naturalist who can help you on your way to identifying more than 100 different species of fish. From $40;

ISLAND LIVING: Opened in September 2007 on a hillside overlooking the sea, La Pura Vista is a five-room guesthouse with a mosaic-tiled pool. Doubles from $125;

Puerto Rico

Surfing

Puerto Rico

A MULTISPORT DRAW, Puerto Rico offers enough mountain biking, hiking, snorkeling, and diving to keep an energetic visitor occupied for months. But it’s the surfing—centered around the town of Rincón, on the western shore— that you’ll come back for. Tied with Huntington Beach, California, for hosting the most ISA surfing events, Puerto Rico reigns as the surf mecca of the Caribbean, with 310 miles of coastline. “All the other islands have open windows, but they’re small,” says Rip Curl team rider and Puerto Rico native Brian Toth. “PR has huge open windows for swells to come through.” The 2007 World Masters had surfers barreling off Rincón’s point break, Maria’s, which produces waves up to 14 feet. Toth’s favorite break? Jobos, near the town of Isabela, 45 minutes from Rincón, which pumps perfect rights most days.

PLAYTIME: Waves break consistently from October through April—pass up the standard foam board for a lesson on a classic fiberglass longboard with Playa Brava Surf Underground. Surf-school owner Tupi Cabrera takes pride in his island because it has the widest variety of waves and, in his words, “it’s freakin’ cool!” Ninety-minute lessons from $40;

ISLAND LIVING: Rincón’s luxurious Horned Dorset Primavera Hotel has 22 private, plunge-pool-adorned villas on four hillside oceanfront acres. Doubles from $610;

British Virgin Islands

Sea Kayaking

British Virgin Islands

WITH ABOUT 35 ISLANDS situated miles apart, consistent trade winds, and strong currents, the BVIs inspire connect-the-dots sea kayaking. But one route stands out: a 14-mile open-water crossing from Virgin Gorda to Anegada, a flat, coral-limestone island that was once a pirate haven with blissful beaches, low-slung brush, and almost as many iguanas and flamingos as locals. Horse Shoe Reef envelops the land in thick and treacherous coral growth, meaning boats need to steer clear or join the 200 or so offshore shipwrecks. But the inner-reef waters are ultra-calm, and your kayak will allow you to snug along the shoreline and squeeze through the narrow inlets to salt ponds, where you’ll find some of the Caribbean’s most diverse and abundant wildlife. Look for brown boobies, pelicans, herons, egrets, and ospreys flitting among the piles of conch shells. Then kayak to the north shore, where you can snorkel for treasure or paddle south to fish the flats.

PLAYTIME: Arawak Expeditions offers custom trips to Anegada and throughout the islands, as well as multi-day camping trips.

ISLAND LIVING: Virgin Gorda’s Biras Creek Resort is a luxurious, eco-friendly resort with 33 suites. Last year’s face-lift added two new plunge pools, a brand-new fleet of kayaks, and a bicycle for every guest. Doubles, $615;

St. Bart’s

Lazing & Eating

St. Bart’s

FROM PASTRY TO PARADISE is how your day on St. Bart’s will most likely start. You just need to make a couple of decisions: almond, chocolate, or butter croissant, monsieur? And then: quiet with great sunning or happening with great barefoot dining? Located about 15 miles east of St. Martin, where the Antilles chain bends to the south, tiny St. Barthélemy (just eight square miles) is the Frenchiest of the French West Indies. The mostly European visitors—some 230,000 a year—come to eat, drink, and lounge. It’s leisure as extreme sport. And it’s easy to spend $150 on lunch—but worth it. For the tuna tartare at La Plage (), on St. Jean Beach. For the tiger prawns at Le Bartoloméo, at the Hotel Guanahani (). For anything on the menu at the St. Barth’s Isle de France ().

PLAYTIME: Digest in peace on a secluded beach, like Governeur or Saline. You can also windsurf at St. Jean, surf at Lorient, and scuba-dive in offshore reserves.

ISLAND LIVING: Do like those in the know and rent a private villa from an agency such as St. Barth Properties ().

Islas Los Roques

Snorkeling & Exploring

Islas Los Roques

EACH MORNING, while the sun warms the sea and the pelicans bomb sardines, the small harbor in Los Roques, Venezuela, slowly comes alive. Here, about 100 miles north of Caracas, sits arguably the largest concentration of beautiful beaches in the hemisphere—some 42 islands of white sand, with turquoise lagoons and only one town among all of them. Gran Roque (pop. 1,600) has breezy inns, an espresso bar, and sandy streets plied only by flip-flops. But wander down to the harbor and you’ll find the fishermen. They’re the ones with literally a menu of deserted islands nearby, and for $15 or less they’ll take you and your snorkeling gear there. “Francisqui? Crasqui?” they say. “Which island you like today?” The decision isn’t easy. There’s premium snorkeling among hundreds of thousands of tiny silversides off Crasqui, a 30-minute boat ride away, and great diving in the coral pinnacles of La Guaza, which teems with jacks and grouper. But of all the islands and all the beaches and all the things to do—Francisqui for kiteboarding, Cayo de Agua for lagoons, and so on—Cayo Muerto, just a 20-minute ride away, is particularly special. A sandbar 500 paces long surrounded by a sea so clear you could mistake it for air, “Death Key” is the classic deserted island of castaway fantasies.

PLAYTIME: If riding a fishing boat isn’t for you, Ecobuzos Dive ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs runs boats out of Gran Roque to various destinations off Los Roques. $35;

ISLAND LIVING: Gran Roque’s newest inn, Posada Natura Viva, features a quiet courtyard and a predominantly Italian clientele and can help arrange everything from flights to renting snorkeling gear. $247;

St. Lucia

Mountain Biking

St. Lucia

FORGET THE BEACHES. The mountain biking on St. Lucia has visitors looking inland, where riders can rip past waterfalls and saman trees on dozens of singletrack trails and fire roads throughout the 238-square-mile island. The best riding is in the 400-acre Anse Mamin Plantation’s 12-mile network of jungle-lined track, dedicated solely to knobby tires. Suitable for a range of abilities, the trails wind through the old sugarcane fields and offer opportunities for freeriders to drop some of the plantation’s original stone walls and stairways. The biggest challenge? The two-mile Tinker Juarez Trail, designed by the endurance mountain biker and two-time Olympian. This climb to the top of a 900-foot peak has been completed only once sans hiking, by Tinker himself.

PLAYTIME: Bike St. Lucia provides Cannondale F800 mountain bikes for day use. $89 per day;

ISLAND LIVING: The new Jade Mountain Resort, which is connected to the Anse Mamin Plantation, features private “sanctuaries” that have infinity pools with views of the Piton Mountains. Doubles from $1,020;

Turks and Caicos Islands

Kiteboarding

Turks and Caicos Islands

UNTIL RECENTLY, IT WAS SCUBA DIVERS who salivated over the turquoise waters and Technicolor reefs. But recently, kiteboarders have discovered the Turks and Caicos—a 166-square-mile archipelago in the eastern Caribbean—and it’s fast becoming a hallowed destination for world-class riding. During the winter, cold fronts rolling across the lower 48 arm-wrestle with the prevailing trades blowing from the east. A deadlock ensues, and that puts the squeeze on, blasting the Turks and Caicos from January to May with buttery-smooth winds. Bathwater-warm seas let you leave the wetsuit at home, and its proximity to the North Atlantic ensures there’s always a swell if you have an appetite for big surf.

PLAYTIME: The Kitehouse is a full-service international kiteboarding outfitter run by pro Paul Menta. Full-day lessons from $300;

ISLAND LIVING: Menta loves houseguests. An upscale suite at his new villa runs from $150 a day, including gear.

The post Island Action appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.

We’ve been tracking the adventure travel world for more than three decades. Our latest discovery?

The planet is more wide open for exploration than ever. Whether you want to raft an unknown Himalayan river or link a few Colorado peaks in your own backyard, we have 30 adventures to stoke your wanderlust.

The New, New Places

Go here now—before the secret gets out

PANAMA
Azuero Peninsula
It seems everything is expanding in Panama. A $5.25 billion upgrade will more than double the Panama Canal’s capacity by 2014, tourism nationwide has nearly doubled in the past six years, and in 2005 alone more than one million visitors spent upwards of $1 billion in this tropical destination. The Azuero Peninsula, four hours southwest of Panama City, on the Pacific coast, is a direct beneficiary of the cash infusion. The still-uncrowded peninsula has been getting increasing attention, thanks to its surf-filled beaches and world-class tuna and marlin fishing. Popular digs for foreigners include Villa Camilla, a classy seven-room hotel built mostly from local materials (doubles from $300; meals, $50 per day; 011-507-232-6721, ).

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Tofino
Take a province with more than 16,700 miles of coastline and a few hundred thousand snowboarders itching to embrace the coming summer and you get the British Columbia surf scene. Tofino, a sleepy town of 1,711 on Vancouver Island’s Pacific side, explodes into a mini-metropolis every season as a horde of surfers descends in pursuit of consistent beginner and intermediate breaks. For the student who wants to mix surfing with celebrity, there’s Bruhwiler Surf School, owned by one of Canada’s renowned big-wave riders, Raf Bruhwiler (two-and-a-half-hour group lessons, $75; 250-726-5481, ). At the Wickaninnish Inn, every room has an ocean view (doubles, $208–$398; 800-333-4604, ).

CHINA
Yangshuo
Beijing may be the center of the 2008 Olympics universe, but the heart of China’s adventure-sport community sits more than 1,000 miles to the south, near Yangshuo (pop. 298,000). Climbers first began setting routes in the myriad karst peaks here in the 1990s; today there are about 300 established climbs. (Last fall, Briton Neil Gresham set the region’s first 5.14b.) After climbing, there’s caving, hiking, and mountain biking. And anglers can hire a guide—who’ll use a trained cormorant—to catch fish at night. Get on belay with China Climb ($40 per half-day with guide; 011-86-773-88-11-033, ), then crash at the peaceful Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (doubles from $40; 011-86-773-87-77-091, ).

BULGARIA
Bansko
Get a piece of the Pirin Mountains while you still can. Bulgaria’s January 2007 admission to the European Union will only bolster its booming vacation-home market. Towns like Bansko—where property values have more than doubled in recent years—are where everyone’s buying. It’s no wonder: One of the most modern ski resorts in Bulgaria is nestled below 9,000-foot peaks with Jackson Hole–style off-piste steeps. Even if you don’t have a couple hundred grand to snag a condo, the resort’s multi-million-dollarupgrades make it visit-worthy. The new Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena (doubles, $213; ) has a mod Swiss-chalet vibe and a primelocation at the base of the gondola.

INDIA
Madhya Pradesh
Last November, Taj Hotels and CC Africa generated big-time adventure travel buzz when they opened Mahua Kothi, the first of five upscale resorts in central India, marrying the African safari with Indian hospitality. Bandhavgarh National Park, abutting the Mahua Kothi, is one of the most famous tiger habitats on earth, with centuries-old man-made caves that now serve as big-cat dens. After a day exploring the sal forests and bamboo jungle, guests chill out in one of 12 suites on the 40-acre property, which offers all the best amenities of a conventional luxury safari—but with hookah pipes in the common area, private butlers in traditional costume, andin-room Ayurvedic massages ($600 per person, all-inclusive; 011-91-11-26-80-77-50, ).

The Classics

The definitive life list for intrepid travelers

TANZANIA

Kilimanjaro
One of the world’s tallest “walkable” mountains, this freestanding 19,340-foot massif draws some 30,000 wide-eyed—and often ill-prepared—hikers annually. Though technical climbing is not required, it’s no stroll: A number of those who attempt the five- to nine-day push through rainforest to wind-flayed icefields turn back before reaching the top; about five die en route every year (often from altitude sickness). The payoff for summiters? Views of Africa, in all its brawny magnificence, in every direction. Guides are mandatory; book one in advance through a reputable company, and avoid touts pushing cut-rate outings via the tourist-trampled Marangu Route (the Umbwe Route and others get less traffic). For group treks, seek out experienced companies like Thomson Safaris, which offers hikes on less-traveled trails, with summit-success rates near 95 percent (from $3,990; 800-235-0289, ).

ARIZONA


The Grand Canyon
Few paddling experiences come close to matching the epic 297-mile Colorado River run from Lees Ferry to Lake Mead. There’s the monster whitewater (including Lava Falls, called the fastest navigable rapid in North America), the mile-high bisque- and red-hued rock walls, the tent-perfect beaches, and the sheer, walloping Great American West feel of it all. About 22,000 people a year raft a portion of the Colorado’s 277 Grand Canyon miles; most travel with one of 16 outfitters licensed by the Park Service, but those with strong river-running skills can arrange a private outing. Good news on that front: As of 2006, noncommercial launch permits are being awarded by lottery (800-959-9164, grca), replacing the laughable 25-year waiting list. Motorized or oar-powered rafts are the most common way to go, but purists say nothing beats the grace and responsiveness of a wooden dory. Veteran outfitter OARS offers 15- to 19-day full-canyon dory trips (from $4,535;800-346-6277, ).

NEPAL


The Annapurna Circuit

After years of violent unrest, a 2006 peace agreement between the government and Maoist rebels promises to return the tourism spotlight to this Himalayan wonder—one of the original adventure travel meccas. No trekking route is more spectacular, or more accessible to reasonably fit hikers, than the three-week, roughly 200-mile inn-to-inn Annapurna Circuit. With a constant backdrop of 20,000-foot peaks, the trail loops from the semitropical city of Pokhara, over 17,769-foot Thorong La pass, on the edge of the arid Tibetan Plateau, and back to the terraced lowlands. Thanks to the détente, U.S.-based outfitters have noticed a surge in interest in Nepal. Wilderness Travel will return to Annapurna this fall after a four-year absence (from $2,795 per person;800-368-2794, ).

FRANCE & SWITZERLAND

The Haute Route
Linking the two most iconic peaks in the western Alps—Mont Blanc, in Chamonix, France, and the Matterhorn, in Zermatt, Switzerland—this famed seven- to ten-day, 70-mile high-country journey is best suited for advanced skiers who feel confident in dicey conditions. (If kick turns on icy steeps aren’t in your repertoire, consider waiting for summer and hike the route instead.) Nights are spent in small hotels and dorm-style alpine huts, where you’ll find goulash, beer, and the kind of conviviality that generally ends in off-key singing. Even if you’re an accomplishedski mountaineer who can parlais français (quick, what does “Danger de mort!” mean?), it’s wise to hire a guide (consult ) or hook up with an outfitter like Selkirk Mountain Experience ($3,225; 250-837-2381, ). Prime ski-touring season is mid-April to mid-May.

ECUADOR

The Galápagos Islands
Straddling the equator 600 miles off the west coast of Ecuador, these far-flung volcanic islands have been the focus of scientists and wildlife lovers since Charles Darwin first scratched his head here in 1835. Now that the Galápagos have become one of the most popular destinations on the planet—120,000 yearly visitors come to spy on the islands’ famous giant tortoises, fur seals, and blue-footed boobies—the Galápagos National Park Service keeps tight control on where boat passengers disembark and how long they spend at designated land and underwater visitor sites. The best way to avoid crowds? Charter a private yacht that’s stocked with dive gear and sea kayaks. Mountain Travel Sobek can arrange private one- to two-week yacht charters (from $3,795; 888-687-6235, ). Or join ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Life’s new nine-day hiking trip, with overnights in small inns (from $2,095; 800-344-6118, ).

Epic Journeys

Work off your wanderlust the hard way

Kenya

On most days, the closest you’d get to sharing the trail with a Kenyan is probably several miles behind. Not so on this new running safari, a 12-day pounding that places you on twice-a-day runs with some of Kenya’s most gifted athletes. You’ll start in Eldoret, a city about 200 miles northwest of Nairobi and the heart of the country’s long-distance scene. Next you’ll team up with 1997 and 1998 Los Angeles Marathon winner Lornah Kiplagat in her hometown of Iten for runs through the verdant hills. The group—not the champ—sets the distance and pace. Most nights you’ll sleep in basic accommodations in villages and get your carb-to-protein ratio right with meat pastries called samosas. Move on to Mombasa, where, on March 24, the World Cross Country Championships unfold—the first time Kenya will host the prestigious race. March 14–25; $3,900; Micato Safaris, 800-642-2861,

INDIA

The Tons River

The Tons River roars from 20,000 feet in the Indian Himalayas with such sustained intensity—think 55 miles of nearly continuous rapids—that the river hasn’t seen a single paddler since whitewater pioneer Jack Morison first rafted it in the 1980s. Now the whitewater gurus at New Delhi-based Aquaterra ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs have reopened the river to expedition-style, 11-day rafting trips, using upgraded equipment like self-bailing boats that were unavailable in Morison’s day. Start at Camp Lunagad, about 270 miles north of New Delhi, and spend the next seven days floating through chilly glacial runoff that boils into Class IV–V rapids. Come evening, pitch tents in alpine meadows redolent of rhododendron and chir, and mingle with Gujar tribesmen. April 24–May 4; $1,250; info@treknraft.com

COLORADO

The Colorado Trail

Of all the big hikes that run across U.S. wilderness, few pack as much awe per step as the Colorado Trail. But tackling all 482 miles from Denver to Durango, through six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges, would take you about a month. Instead, concentrate your efforts during a ten-day romp along a remote 95-mile ribbon that runs just east of San Luis Peak to Molas Pass, in the southwestern part of the state. Start at Spring Creek Pass, 33 miles northwest of Creede amid the 13,000-foot-plus San Juan Mountains. Plan on grinding up to 15 miles a day along airy ridges, down steep gorges, and up winding switchbacks. You’ll spend four days cruising above tree line, at nearly 12,000 feet, and the closest you’ll come to a town (Lake City) is about 17 miles, which means tackling thousands of vertical feet each day with a heavy pack. Take a break and frolic in Snow Mesa, a flat, grassy expanse so huge it takes a few hours to cross. 303-384-3729,

COSTA RICA

There may come a time—perhaps after your third endo over the handlebars—when pedaling 160 miles across Costa Rica by mountain bike makes an overcrowded bus tour look appealing. But keep riding—you won’t regret it. Head out from San José for about 20 miles a day and 14,000 feet of total climbing to eventually reach the town of Nosara, overlooking the Pacific. For eight days you’ll pedal Specialized hardtails (or your own bike) into villages where people still get around by oxcart, spending nights in hotels, research stations, and a private home tucked into a misty cloudforest. Get off the bike to bushwhack through monster ferns to reach the summitof Cerro Chato, a 3,937-foot sleeping volcano. When you slip into a hot spring near the 5,741-foot Arenal Volcano, your sore muscles will melt away. $2,596 per person with your own group of four; Serendipity ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs, 877-507-1358,

GREENLAND

Arctic Circle

When Fridtjof Nansen became the first to schlep across the Greenland ice cap, in September 1888, he studied Inuit culture, weathered minus-50-degree storms, and spent a cold, dark winter waiting for a ship to take him home. Today, adventurers can follow his tracks along the Arctic Circle using kites to pull them on skis—at about 12 miles per hour—under the guidance of polar explorer Matty McNair. Never skied behind a kite? You’ll spend a few days on Frobisher Bay, on the southeast coast of Canada’s Baffin Island, learning techniques that advanced skiers can pick up quickly. Then hop a two-hour flight to Greenland for a 345-mile trek, where the kites will help you pull a 150-pound pulk (loaded with tents, stoves, and beef jerky) in 20-below temps. The adrenaline rush will diminish the hardships as you rip in 24-hour sunlight through a landscape of dizzying white. May 1–31; from $5,000; NorthWinds Polar Expeditions and Training, 867-979-0551,

Big Frontiers

Formerly off-limits, these territories are finally opening their doors

ALASKA

Adak Island

Shrouded in fog and mystery, most of this remote Aleutian isle went public in 2004, after its naval air station was closed and transferred—lock, housing stock, and runway—to the Department of the Interior and the native Aleut Corporation. Most of 280-square-mile Adak is now a federally designated wilderness and wildlife refuge. Bald eagles soar above dormant volcanoes, and 3,000 caribou (introduced during the Cold War as an emergency food supply) roam the moors. Roughly equidistant from Alaska and Russia, the “Birthplace of the Winds” is also a birdwatching hot spot—nearly one-fourth of the 200 species recorded here are migrants found nowhere else in the Americas. High Lonesome Bird Tours leads expeditions ($4,600 per person for eight nights, all-inclusive; 800-743-2668, ), or check out .

Kurdistan

The typical headline out of Iraq is about roadside IEDs, not roadside attractions. Yet last fall this long-suffering autonomous region bordering Syria, Turkey, and Iran launched an irony-free international marketing campaign, “The Other Iraq,” to showcase its superb scenery, ancient history, and relative security. Virgin snow blankets the mountains, while the plains hold Sumerian ruins and the hospitable capital, Erbil, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. In December, Austrian Airlines began twice-weekly flights from Vienna to Erbil. For information, go to .

PERU

Cordillera Azul National Park

Imagine a forest primeval, with uncontacted jungle tribes and animals with no fear of humans. That Lost World still exists in this national park in the eastern Andes, established in 2001 after biologists from Peru and Chicago’s Field Museum recorded 28 new plants and animals—including a bird species confined to the cloudforest atop a single mountain. Only three other scientific groups have since surveyed the 5,225-square-mile Cordillera Azul, which holds endangered jaguars and spectacled bears. In July, the Sierra Club will run a pioneering trip (non-members welcome) that includes an eight-day transect of the preserve by foot, bamboo raft, and dugout canoe ($3,395–$3,795; 415-977-5522, ).

LAOS

Houaphan Province

Sealed off by the daunting Annamite Range and shackled by its past (unexploded wartime ordnance, guerrillas, reeducation camps), Houaphan—in northeast Laos near the Vietnamese border—lies beyond the typical backpacker trail. But a trickle of DIY travelers now seek out this lush outpost for its unaffected hill tribes and vaulting karst mountains. In Vieng Xai district, about 20 miles east of Xam Nau, you can explore the cave-riddled peaks that served as rebel fortresses throughout the Vietnam War. While the U.S. unleashed its bombing campaign, 23,000 Pathet Lao hunkered down in limestone caverns equipped with electricity, dorms, and weapons depots. The Lao Association of Travel Agents () can provide a list of tour operators.

FINLAND

Kvarken Archipelago

The 5,600 islands in the Kvarken Archipelago are literally in flux; released by the diminished weight of melting Ice Age glaciers, the seabed is rebounding from the Gulf of Bothnia at the rate of a third of an inch annually. The astonishing amount of uplift—more than 900 feet over the last 10,000 years—prompted UNESCO last year to designate some 480,000 acres as Finland’s first natural World Heritage site. Paddle the ever-changing labyrinth of emerging islets and expanding peninsulas, washboard moraines and shallowing lakes, then bunk down in a former pilot station on Rönnskar. Björkö Wardshus () runs guided boat trips; offers travel info. But get there now: In a few millennia, the uplift will form a land bridge to Sweden.

Top Travel Innovations

Eight indispensable travel innovations

Solio Charger

Solio Universal Hybrid Charger

Singapore’s Changi Airport

With some 160 stores, 80 eateries (including a cigar lounge and live jazz bar), a Balinese-style swimming pool, leather “snooze chairs,” and massagesoffered 24/7 at the Rainforest Lounge, there’s no rush to claim your bags.

The MLC

Short for “maximum legal carry-on,” this handy bag holds up to a week’s worthof gear—just enough for hitchhiking through Belize. Tuck away the ergonomic shoulder strap for a presto backpack. Two large compartments separate the clean stuff from the sweaty climbing gear; the coated reflective fabric repels rain. $148;

Want your trip to be socially sound and eco-friendly? The Green Globe program, launched by the World Travel & Tourism Council, certifies hotels and tour companies that meet top standards for everything from water managementto noise control.

Founded by a frustrated frequent flier, this time-tested site allows users to share info on how to get the most out of their bonus miles, with discussion forums for every major airline, a live chat for last-minute queries, and an option that helps you create a mileage-maximizing itinerary.

Ex Officio Give-N-Go Skivvies

Breathable, lightweight, moisture-wicking, and bacteria-resistant, these boxers and women’s bikinis won’t let you down. Super comfortable (made of nylon and spandex), they air-dry in a snap. Boxers, $25; bikini briefs, $16;

Solio Universal Hybrid Charger

This groovy solar-power station—the size of a deck of cards, with interchangeable connector tips—offers a one-stop charge for your camera, cell phone, PDA, GPS, and digital audio player. (One hour of sun equals one hour of iPod use.) $100;

A juicy source of inside information and tips about the good, the bad, and the disgusting. Check out the Hotel Hell stories about not-so-hot spots (like Room 15 at Nevada’s Caliente Hot Springs Motel, home to polygamist ceremonies), or skip to the Hotel Heaven tales (which for one woman included sunglasses-cleaning pool boys at the Grand Rotana Resort & Spa in Egypt).

Canon CP730 Selphy Compact Photo Printer

Create personal postcards in 58 seconds with thispaperback-size portable printer. It hooks up to any laptop or Canon camera(and some cell phones), churning out 300-dpi, four-by-six color photos on address-ready cards. $150;

Notes from the Guru

Take it from adventure travel trailblazer Richard Bangs: Understanding the world requires immersing yourself in it

If you could trace the roots of adventure travel to one person, Richard Bangs, 56, might well be the man. In 1973, back when big chunks of the world, like Russia and Eastern Europe, were virtually closed to Americans, he and high school pal John Yost headed to Ethiopia to explore the Omo River (a trip featured on the first cover of this magazine). What began as a last hurrah of youth morphed into the founding of a travel company, which eventually became Mountain Travel Sobek, one of the largest, most respected outfitters in the industry. Although Bangs is still a co-owner, he left MTS in 1991 to bring travel to the Internet, launching Microsoft’s now-defunct online adventure ‘zine Mungo Park in 1996 and going on to produce travel features for Expedia, Yahoo, MSNBC, and . His latest film project, a documentary on the vanishing crocodiles of the Nile, airs on PBS this summer. Senior editor STEPHANIE PEARSON recently caught up with him in San Diego for this as-told-to about the past, present, and future of wild journeying.

I was 22 in 1973 and had this notion to head to Africa to see if I could explore some rivers that hadn’t been navigated. It turned out to be such a magnificent experience that I decided to organize a little company to take people on extraordinary adventures. It was patched together in my mother’s basement in Bethesda, Maryland. We began to offer trekking, climbing, ballooning, diving—at that time there was no adventure travel landscape. The concept of travel with a purpose, travel with meaning, travel that would bring you back fitter, with a clearer mind, with a better connection to the world, did not exist.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø travel is in a much better place than it was 30 years ago. We owe a lot of our global interconnectedness to adventure travelers. People who started to wander the earth and appreciate its beauty were people who became activists. Now everybody talks about ecotourism and green travel. It’s all the rage. There are downsides and abuses, but it’s a good attitude, and it comes from people who are willing to step off the beaten track.

Is the world a smaller place? Absolutely. Within 24 hours you can get to almost anywhere on the planet. But all of this is good. Dark political things would happen when doors were closed. It’s very easy to be judgmental and raise the fear index when you don’t really know who the other person is. Mark Twain said it best: “Travel is fatal toprejudice and bigotry.”

What will adventure travel be like 30 years from now? I was in Bosnia a few months ago, and they have all these outfitters in places where the Croats and Bosnians were once lobbing mortars at each other. This is much harder to do when people are roaring with laughter as they roll down a river… ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø travel is the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry. It’s increasingly impossible to find a country that does not have it. Places are opening up and landscapes are shifting all the time. I just received an invitation to Lebanon. We do a trip to the Galápagos almost every week of the year now. Lots of people are doing things that were unimaginable a few years ago.

I’m an advocate of traveling with technology. I have an Iridium sat phone I take with me everywhere. If you need a moment of Zen, it’s easy to take off all your clothes and be as natural as you want, but when it comes to survival, sat phones have saved a lot of lives. In Namibia, a doctor broke both ankles on a trek and was in danger of dying. I was able to call an evac and get him out. The less you have to worry about your own survival, the more you can assimilate the actual experience. Technology in the field can give you an assurance of survival so that you can be more in the moment, more in the experience—so you can contribute and extract more.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø is a very elastic concept, but it has to deal with stretching your consciousness and going beyond your comfort zone. The world, or you, will not change if you are static. If you are willing to stick your neck out, try untried things, have that moment of unknown discomfort and sharpness, then you’re fully alive. When I did the first descent of the Zambezi, nobody considered it. Now when I go back to the Zambezi, there are thousands of people tumbling down. Everybody who rafts it has an amazing experience, and it makes a difference. It becomes transformative when you go beyond the concrete and the familiar.

Travel rejuvenates. It’s new, it’s very childlike, it keeps things fresh. Anything is possible. There could be dinosaurs around the corner. If you don’t travel, you deaden yourself. I continue to look at maps and get very excited by the places I haven’t been. The more you see, the more you recognize what you have yet to see.I have a long list. It’s an endless quest.

2007 Trip of the Year Winners

The best of the best

Overall Winner


Trek to the Source of the Tsangpo, Tibet

The last time trekking guide Gary McCue set out to explore far-western Tibet, he happened upon an acre-size hot spring that tumbled from a mountainside near Lake Manasarovar. “I’d never seen a boiling creek just come crashing out of a hole in the ground,” he says. But it’s just the sort of surprise the Tasmania-based author of Trekking in Tibet: A Traveler’s Guide has come to expect from this part of the world. Tourism may be booming—the controversial new Qinghai-Tibet Railway helped bump up visitation to Tibet by 30 percent last year—but much of this mysterious land of Buddhist temples and mist-shrouded peaks remains blissfully unexplored by outsiders. This spring, McCue will return to the Himalayas on a quest to reach the source of the Tsangpo River, the mightiest of four rivers that flow from the sacred 22,028-foot peak of Kailas. The 42-day exploratory trek is the first commercial expedition to a pilgrimage site very few Westerners have seen since a Swedish explorer hiked nearby in the early 1900s. After driving across the plains from Lhasa to Darchen, you’ll trek the perimeter of Kailas before camping in the Lha Chu Valley during the annual Saga Dawa full-moon festival. Then you’ll start the weeklong journey through a glacial valley to Tamchok Khabab, the river’s source. The trip ends with a visit to the temple-strewn Limi Valley, a newly opened region of western Nepal. “It’s hard to find wilderness this wild and remote that doesn’t require Reinhold Messner-level skills to reach,” says McCue. “It’s the closest you can come to what the explorers experienced 150 years ago.” OUTFITTER: Wilderness Travel, 800-368-2794, ; PRICE: $10,560–$13,160; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: May–June

North America


Cross The USA On Two Wheels

This epic, coast-to-coast challenge takes you from Santa Barbara, California, to Charleston, South Carolina—2,949 miles with 167,000 vertical feet of climbing—in 33 grueling days. You’ll pedal on two-lane blacktop across the Mojave Desert, over Rocky Mountain passes, and through southern prairies en route to the Atlantic seaboard, staying in roadside hotels along the way. You’ll earn a lifetime’s worth of bragging rights (you’re averaging a century ride per day) and get a two-wheeled take on the classic American landscapes that most travelers experience only as a blur through the car window. Just be sure to remember to dip a toe in both the Pacific and Atlantic or your efforts might be in vain. OUTFITTER: Trek Travel, 866-464-8735, ; PRICE: $10,000; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: September–October

Polar Regions


Canoe With The Caribou In Alaska

The 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve, on Alaska’s north coast, holds the largest swath of unprotected wilderness in the U.S.—and you needn’t look beyond its name to guess its primary purpose. But the region harbors much more than black gold: Half a million western arctic caribou march across its sprawling plains each year, along with grizzlies and wolves. On this 11-day trip, you’ll follow the herd by foot and in two-person canoes on the untamed Kokolik River, hiking where woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers once roamed. OUTFITTER: Equinox Wilderness Expeditions, 604-222-1219, ;PRICE: $4,495; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: June

South America


Three Jewels Of Aysén, Chile

This isolated piece of Patagonia, where the population density is just 1.2 people per square mile, is framed by vast icefields that feed blue-green rivers and streams so pure you can drink from them. The 27-day, 132-mile expedition combines three seldom-traveled routes: the Cerro Castillo hike, where you’ll camp amid the basalt spires and crags that gave Castle Hill its name; the Aysén Glacier Trail, a year-old hut-to-hut circuit through an unspoiled wilderness dotted with glacial lakes; and on to the icefields surrounding 11,073-foot FitzRoy, where iconic Andean peaks rise dramatically from the frozen lowlands. OUTFITTER: Patagonia ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Expeditions, 011-56-67-219894, ; PRICE: $4,850; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: January

Eastern Europe & the Middle East


Journey Through Ancient Oman

Just east of Saudi Arabia, on the Arabian Sea, centuries-old shepherd trails crisscross the rocky ridges and deep wadis of the Al Hajar range, which rises 10,000 feet above Oman’s placid northern coastline. It’s the Middle East that doesn’t make the nightly news, and it’s virgin territory for most American travelers. On this ten-day trip, you’ll trek and camp in lush valleys filled with date palms, in ancient sand-colored villages that blend seamlessly with the surrounding hills, and on a sugary beach where you can snorkel in a sapphire bay. OUTFITTER: KE ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Travel, 800-497-9675, ; PRICE: $1,995; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: March–April, November–January

Western Europe

Giro Del Gelato, Italy

Finally, a trip that acknowledges the number-one reason we cycle in Italy. Vacations don’t get much sweeter than this eight-day ride through southern Piedmont with gelato-making genius Danilo Zecchin, of Ciao Bella Gelato. Pedaling an average of 40 miles per day on paved roads that roll through vineyards and over patchworked hills, you’ll work up just enough hunger for the copious Italian dinners, private wine tastings, and all-you-can-eat frozen treats. Recharge at 500-year-old castles and 17th-century farmhouses as the chef spills the secrets behind his sinful concoctions. Then pedal, gorge, repeat. OUTFITTER: Ciclismo Classico, 800-866-7314, ; PRICE: $3,995; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: May

Asia

Discover Rinjani, Indonesia

If trekking near active volcanoes isn’t daunting enough, how about climbing a few—including the 12,224-foot Gunung Rinjani, on the island of Lombok, east of Bali, via a scenic new route to its unexplored southern rim. On this ten-day trip, you’ll start in the village of Aibuka, scramble to the gorgeous Sengara Anak crater lake, then paddle inflatable rafts to the base of Gunung Baru (7,752 feet), an active young volcano in mid-lake. After topping that “warm-up” peak, you’ll soak in surrounding hot springs, then trek to Rinjani base camp. The push to the summit begins under a full moon at 2 a.m. and ends at about sunrise. OUTFITTER: No Roads Expeditions, 011-03-9502-3789, ; PRICE: $1,422; DIFFICULTY: Challenging; WHEN TO GO: May–June

Bahamas, Mexico & Central America

Island-Hop In Nicaragua

If the crater lakes and verdant slopes of Nicaragua’s volcanoes have hosted few adventurers, it’s not for lack of suitable terrain. The playground potential in the rumpled topography of this fun mecca rivals that of its neighbors. This nine-day trip takes you island-hopping by kayak in Lake Nicaragua, hiking through a rainforest, and wandering among the pre-Columbian artifacts, caves, and rock art of Zapatera National Park. You’ll spend most nights in wilderness lodges, where howler monkeys provide the morning wake-up call. OUTFITTER: Mountain Travel Sobek, 888-687-6235, ; PRICE: $2,690–$2,990 (plus $150 internal airfare); DIFFICULTY: Easy; WHEN TO GO: January–February, October–December

Oceania

Dive Into Palau’s Shark Week

Reef sharks in the midst of mating season are the headliners at Shark Week, the Micronesian Shark Foundation’s annual conservation-oriented celebration of these cartilaginous creatures. Expect cameos from silvertip, tiger, and hammerhead sharks, among others, as you explore the reefs and walls of underwater Palau on this ten-day, resort-based expedition. By day, a 28-foot boat will take you to dive sites, many of which are open only during this event; the nights are enhanced by lectures from experts on sharksand preservation. OUTFITTER: Oceanic Society Natural History Expeditions, 800-326-7491, ; PRICE: $2,990–$3,490; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: March

Africa

Paddle Madagascar

Long isolated from the flora and fauna of the African mainland, the world’s fourth-largest island teems with evolutionary anomalies, such as the 30 lemur species and countless other miscellaneous critters that exist nowhere else on earth. You’ll hear a cacophony of grunts and wails as you kayak the aquamarine water of the Indian Ocean through the newly designated Masoala National Park. Inland you’ll paddle on calm rivers and lakes through forest reserves on this 18-day adventure. In the tropical home of indiris, sifakas, and octopus trees, you’ll sleep in wilderness lodges and camp on palm-shaded beaches where you can snorkel in secluded lagoons few outsiders have seen. OUTFITTER: Explorers Corner, 510-559-8099, ; PRICE:$4,553; DIFFICULTY: Moderate; WHEN TO GO: October–November

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NAPA VALLEY: The Benchmark

Napa Valley, CA

Napa Valley Vineyards: Little rows of heaven

Taking stock of the classic wine-country getaway
IT’S A LATE-FALL AFTERNOON two weeks past the wine harvest, and I’m pedaling with a few local cyclists to the top of Mount Veeder, home of some of Napa Valley’s steepest cabernet vineyards. The turning grape leaves are a kaleidoscope of color—gold, mustard, red, and rust, with a hint of leftover green. From the summit, we roll along the ridgeline, then dip down through valleys of oak and olive groves, breathing in air ripe with crushed grapes, wild sage, and smoke from wood fires. That’s when the sensation hits me: I feel like I’m in Italy—in Umbria, to be exact, on the back side of Mount Subasio. I became enamored with the forest-covered hills laced with ribbons of quiet asphalt in that corner of central Italy while leading bike tours there in the late 1990s for a Berkeley-based adventure travel company. Now, I feel like I’m tracing those same roads again.

Napa Valley, which stretches 30 miles from Carneros in the south to Calistoga in the north, is the closest Americans will come to a European wine region without crossing the Atlantic. Although only 4 percent of California’s wines come from the estimated 600 vineyards in Napa, the region is home to most of the country’s ultra-premium labels—a fact that has transformed the valley into one of the nation’s best-known and poshest wine destinations. Accordingly, traffic is often heavy on Highway 29, the major artery through the area, and the sipping occasionally comes with some attitude. But for most, these are slight inconveniences compared with the breadth of wines on offer. The valley’s startling range of Mediterranean-like microclimates is ideal for growing several varieties of grapes: Napa’s cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay are legendary, and the region has been producing pinot noir since the 1870s. As winemakers better understand the nuances of grape growing on each hillside, additional varietals—like sangiovese and malbec—are taking root.

I’m quite particular about chardonnay—the rich, buttery varietals are definitely not my thing. With that in mind, I head up to Stony Hill Vineyard, on the flanks of Spring Mountain, where owner Peter McCrea shows me to the tasting room, a terrace overlooking a garden brimming with zinnias. McCrea pours me a glass of his straw-colored chardonnay, which his father began producing in the 1950s. I stick my nose in the glass and am pleasantly surprised to breathe in a burst of ripe pear fragrance: This is a chardonnay I could learn to love. I take a swallow, savoring the mineral and citrus flavors that linger on my tongue.

Napa winemakers are rightfully proud of their creations. Robert Sinskey, whose three-decades-old vineyard bears his name, was once a guest on a walking trip I led in Liguria, a region in Italy known for its wine, especially the whites. Sinskey showed up with his suitcase stuffed full of his own wines, which we drank before dinner each night. By trip’s end, everyone on the tour agreed: Sinskey’s jammy pinot noir was as good as any Italian bottle we’d uncorked. Likewise, Pat Kuleto’s Napa winery, spread across 97 hilly acres above Lake Hennessey, squeezes out a coral-colored sangiovese that screams fresh strawberries, and a syrah with a blueberry aroma and peppery taste—a glass of each in the tasting room brought all good intentions of an afternoon hike to a premature end. And PlumpJack, a 50-acre estate growing grapes since the 1880s, produced a black, inky, fruit-forward ’02 cab that sold out in less than four months.

But Napa serves up its indulgence in more than just liquid form. Over the years, the valley has continued to refine itself with decadent dining, lodging, and spa treatments. The best spot for dinner in Napa is ZuZu, a tiny Spanish tapas joint, or Terra (in nearby St. Helena), where the setting feels Tuscan villa (a fieldstone building with arched windows), while the dishes stick to California cuisine (grilled quail on caramelized endive). Afterwards, head down the street to the Bounty Hunter wine bar for a slice of persimmon pie with pomegranate molasses and a nightcap. After a moonlit swim in the lap pool at the new Calistoga Ranch, I return to my creekside cedar-and-stone abode to find the fireplace aflame, a bottle of champagne on ice, jazz on the stereo, and a tiny chocolate wine bottle on my pillow. A few weeks later, when I make reservations at the recently opened Poetry Inn, a three-room California Craftsman enclave perched high on a hill in the Stags Leap district, the innkeeper phones back to ask my music preferences and preferred pillow type, then greets me in person at check-in with a flute of sparkling wine.

The best part about Napa, however, is the way sophistication and the natural environment merge—there’s a hint of romance and a heady mix of elegance and rustic mystery. During an afternoon mountain-bike ride on the forested flanks of the Howell Mountains, 1,400 feet above the valley, I come face to face with this bucolic side of Napa. I’ve been riding singletrack for about two hours without seeing a soul, and the sun is sinking fast. Just when I think I might be lost, I hear branches crackling and my mind skips ahead: Rattlesnake? Black bear? Mountain lion?! Instead, a local mushroom collector appears out of the woods, finishing up an afternoon out rustling for chanterelles. Dressed in a fleece against the gathering evening chill and carrying a large wicker basket, he reminds me of a mushroom gatherer I bumped into in the forested hills of Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region. After a quick chat, he tells me the fastest way back to the trailhead—but he won’t divulge where to find the best mushrooms. Known and overblown as it is, even Napa still guards a few secrets.

Sonoma County, CA

SONOMA COUNTY: Vintage Chill


Savoring seclusion around Napa’s offbeat sibling
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? I’m lounging on my back in a hot tub, my fiancé, Steve, reclining next to me. Every so often our personal bath attendant arrives to blot our steamy foreheads with cool washcloths and offer us ice water through a straw.

What’s so wrong? Let me tell you. We are entombed in two tons of soggy, steamy sawdust. And we are naked.

We’ve come to Osmosis, a homey little day spa in rural western Sonoma County, to sample their cedar-enzyme bath, an ancient Japanese healing treatment. The premise: Submerge yourself in cedar and fir pulp, and the wood will beautify your skin, reduce tension, and infuse you with feelings of “elation.”

Right now, immobilized by 120-degree sawdust, I’m fixated on these thoughts, in this order: Did they make us sign a waiver? No. Then surely it can’t be dangerous. How often do they change the chips? And, with regret: I should have worn my bathing suit. Once I work through this panic loop, I find myself oddly, calmly accepting: This is the Zen moment I’ve been waiting for. But when the attendant informs us, “The heat of the bath comes from fermentation” (yup, we’re sprawled out in rotting wood), I can’t get out fast enough.

Later, after we’ve scrubbed off every last wood chip, we’re tucked into narrow cots upstairs, with herbal pillows placed over our eyes and Meta music piped in through headphones. I trance out for the best spa treatment of my life. When the crashing of ocean waves stops and I open my eyes, Steve is gone. I find him in the meditation garden out back, contemplating a bed of gravel raked into perfect, impermanent swirls.

Such are the unexpected pleasures of Sonoma, a laid-back valley just over the gnarled Mayacamas Mountains from Napa’s glossy wine empire. With more than 70 wineries in the 22-mile-long Valley of the Moon and another 180 in the surrounding county, Sonoma is consistently among the top five wine-grape-producing regions in North America and second only to Napa in wine-tourism revenue. But where Napa is sleek and chic, Sonoma is farmy and friendly; ask a local for a recommendation in the wine aisle at the market and he’ll chat you up about the valley’s renowned cabs and the Russian River’s rich pinot noirs.

For a week over Thanksgiving, we went in search of the wilder side of Sonoma. Our first stop was Healdsburg, a stylish town of about 11,000 in northern Sonoma County. The place to stay is the Hotel Healdsburg, a stately three-story inn on the plaza. Inside, blocky concrete columns, sea-green glass tiles, and bare pecan floors are warmed by leather couches, double-wide slipcovered chairs, and king-size beds.

Biking may not be the most original way to tour wine country, but thanks to an abundance of quiet farm roads looping past picturesque vineyards, it’s arguably the best. So we embraced cliché and set out late in the day on a 25-mile loop through Dry Creek Valley, just north of Healdsburg. Leaving town, we raced daylight up West Dry Creek Road, past rust-red vines, small bungalows, old wooden barns, and a 1950s Mercedes with a bumper sticker that read I VEG TO DIFFER. With ten minutes until sunset and 12 miles still to ride, we debated whether there was time for a detour to the boutique Bella winery, then wheeled up to its tasting cave for a flight of fruity zinfandels. On the fast, wine-fueled ride home, we zinged past the darkening blur of a rowdy Mexican fiesta and a self-serve stand selling $1 persimmons.

Speed workouts are best followed by giddy self-indulgence: Ours entailed an hourlong massage in the spa, dinner next door at the popular, if a little stuffy, Dry Creek Kitchen, and finally the soundest sleep I can remember. We hadn’t exactly found the untamed heart of Sonoma, but we weren’t complaining.

The next morning we redoubled our efforts with a ten-mile canoe trip on the Russian River, a tranquil run through redwoods that gave us a glimpse of a woodsier, wilder Sonoma. Manager Ted Schroeder and co-owner Linda Burke of Burke’s Canoe Trips, a second-generation outfit that’s been renting canoes on this flatwater stretch from Forestville to Guerneville for more than 50 years, accompanied us downstream. The river was shady and cool and, except for the odd heron, utterly still.

Back in the Valley of the Moon, we chanced upon Kaz, one of the smallest tasting rooms in the valley. Rick “Kaz” Kasmier produces 1,000 cases of organic wine a year inside a clapboard barn. He welcomed us with tastings of tawny port, and his wife invited us to help her cut wine labels. We left with a signed bottle of 2003 Sangiofranc.

Which brings us back to the cedar-enzyme bath. Well wined and dined, a little bit achy from our exploits, we found this sawdusty haven and, at least for a little while, true elation.

Applegate Valley, OR

APPLEGATE VALLEY: Wineward Ho!


Searching out the wild heart of Oregon
MICHAEL GIUDICI DOESN’T EXACTLY exactly extend a pinkie finger when he sips his wine. He doesn’t dress up, either—at least not today, in his sweatpants as he shouts at his dogs barking at strangers in the driveway. I double-check my brochure on southern Oregon wineries. Sure enough, we’re at the right spot. For the next 45 minutes we sit with Giudici, owner of John Michael Champagne Cellars, and sample shots of his estate-bottled bubbly, a sparkling sake, and a 2001 blanc de blancs that took best of class at the 2005 Los Angeles County Fair. I have no idea whether that award would impress a wine connoisseur, but I do know that Giudici’s boutique concoctions are tasty and as full of “intense character” as the man who makes them.

My girlfriend, Heidi, and I are weekending in the Applegate Valley, near Grants Pass, Oregon, looking to blend an earthy cuvée of Siskiyou Mountain hikes with stops for chardonnays and syrahs at the up-and-coming vineyards sprouting across this part of the state. While the land in this region, 4.5 hours south of Portland, is rugged—steep hills falling into angry whitewater—it’s the wine part that intimidates me. As a red-blooded dude with a beater truck, I turn hangover-green at the snootiness that sometimes pairs so well with pinot.

The Applegate Valley, I’m learning, is my kind of wine country: small, a little bit wild, and unpretentious. The $1.4 billion Oregon wine industry is small in the first place, compared with California’s $45 billion juggernaut, but most of the Oregon action takes place in the verdant fields of the Willamette Valley—a 147-mile-long yawn farther north that’s famous for velvety pinot noirs. The Applegate is a drip on the wine taster’s map; masters here cork less than 1 percent of the 1.2 million cases produced in Oregon. But size can be deceiving.

Though people in the area first began crushing grapes and topping casks in the mid-1800s, the Applegate wasn’t recognized as an American Viticulture Area until 2001. Today, only about a dozen wineries pepper this 30-mile-long valley of rolling dairy farms pinched by hills of madrone, oak, and cedar. But those wineries serve scores of micro-wines—often cabernet sauvignons and syrahs poured by the owners’ own purple hands. Giudici’s operation might be an extreme case—as suave as David Beckham in a coonskin cap—but who cares about highbrow tasting airs when there are 200-plus miles of raftable rivers, 1.8 million acres of national forest, mossy granite canyons, and lonely, serpentine roads out the tasting-room door?

As our base for a late-fall weekend, Heidi and I pick the woodsy Weasku Inn, a log-cabin lodge in Grants Pass, a small town at the northwestern corner of the Applegate Valley. The inn was built in 1924 and was once frequented by Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, and Walt Disney. We dump our bags in a cabin and ease our car out on Route 238, looking for our first taste.

First stop: Troon Vineyard. We pull on the door and walk into an airy space of Brunello Italian granite and hand-scraped hickory floors. Inside, the mood is lively, with tasters sampling Troon’s 14 wines, some with whimsical names like Druid’s Fluid or Jeanie in the Bottle. Chris Martin, a techie who traded software for stemware, opened this Tuscan-style tasting room last summer—one of four new ones in the valley last year, with at least two more on the way in 2006. “We’re the redheaded stepchild of the wine industry,” Martin jokes, adding that all of the grapes for his 5,000 cases come from vineyards within two miles of his casks. “This is what Napa was maybe 20 years ago, but without so many people.”

We roll onward past pastures out to Valley View Winery. At 34 years old, Valley View is the oldest continually operating winery in the area, though it shares its name with the long-since-closed winery that in 1854 started it all. Between checking scores on the football game, Michael Wisnovsky pours us a buttery chardonnay followed by a 2000 meritage, in glasses set on his circular copper bar. After tasting a late-harvest dessert wine that lingers so miraculously thick and sweet on the tongue you’d think Willy Wonka had made it, we buy a bottle and head for our drizzle-splashed cabin to uncork it.

The next morning we set out on a three-mile hike to Rainie Falls, near Galice, northwest of Grants Pass, to look for migrating steelhead fighting up the currents. The trail is spectacular, a thin ribbon of rock and dirt gouged into the side of a steep canyon. One hundred feet below, the Rogue River coaxes black boils of water through hissing rapids that you can raft, inn to inn, during the summer. Waterfalls braid down the mountainside and collect on mossy ledges. This is the kind of Oregon I imagined as a kid.

The rain starts to pad across the forest floor again, so we hike back to the car and drive to the Blue Giraffe Spa, in Ashland. I get an hourlong rubdown that leaves me drooling through the headrest. I’d be embarrassed, but any thoughts I can muster keep coming back to the wineries we missed. I’ll return next year with a mountain bike and plenty of room for cases of Troon’s Ltd. Reserve II. I can already smell the blackberry air whipping through the holes in my truck.

Walla Walla, WA

Walla Walla, WA

LITTLE RED: Label from a 2003 bottle of L'Ecole No 41 Cabernet Sauvignon

WALLA WALLA: Nouveau Red

Uncorking the chic side of rural Washington

MY AUNT PAM, A POLISHED, Gucci-wearing, Met-season-ticket-holding, 31-year-old financial headhunter, lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She’s one of those New Yorkers who would never consider living in a borough as remote as Brooklyn or Queens. So when she broke the news that she was moving cross-country to Walla Walla, Washington, to help her husband open their own winery, I laughed—long and hard. Sonoma, maybe, but backwoods Walla Walla?

It turns out, the joke’s on me. Walla Walla is emerging onto American oenophiles’ radar screen as fast as the bottles of its award-winning L’Ecole No. 41 and Woodward Canyon Winery reds are being uncorked around the world. Although the area’s oldest winery, Leonetti Cellar, opened in 1977, the rise of Walla Walla—from sleepy college town to an oasis of hip in a decidedly rural part of the state—has taken place primarily over the past five years. Since roughly 2000, denizens of cosmopolitan cool—young professionals in their mid-thirties, like Pam and her husband, Greg Harrington, a veteran sommelier of both Emeril Lagasse’s and Wolfgang Puck’s cellars—have moved here for the emerald-green rolling hills dotted with Wyeth-style farmhouses and a drier climate that’s well suited to cultivating merlot, syrah, and cabernet sauvignon grapes. Along with urban sophistication, this influx has brought the talent and funding to open 70 wineries and counting. The new wave includes wine entrepreneurs of all kinds, from Pepper Bridge’s Jean-François Pellet, a third-generation vintner from Switzerland, to Chuck Reininger, a former Rainier climbing guide. Considering that Walla Walla is a rising superstar in the firmament of American winemaking, I’ve decided to join the line of the young and urbane checking it out—in the name of family, of course.

After a quick breakfast in my palatial two-story “cottage” at Basel Cellars, Greg picks me up to begin my tour of Walla Walla wine country. We bounce along the rural JB George Road on our way to Va Piano Vineyards, where Greg is making his first barrels of syrah. As he points out Saviah Cellars and Waters Winery, off in the distance, Greg explains what possessed him to start his winemaking career in the isolated southeastern corner of Washington, three hours from Spokane.

“I was impressed with the region,” Greg explains. “Some of the syrahs they’re making here are as good as in France.” And he should know—ten years ago, at age 26, he was awarded a diploma from London’s Court of Master Sommeliers. It also doesn’t hurt that the land here is more affordable than in California’s classic wine regions. Greg recently closed on his ten acres on JB George Road, which will eventually be the home of Gramercy Cellars, named for the lush park in Manhattan; the first vintage will be uncorked in the spring of 2007.

In the morning, I learn the finer points of winemaking, including “punch-down,” in which Greg jabs a huge vat of his blueberry-looking grapes with a metal pole, which releases the tannins to give the wine more flavor and color. Then I spend the afternoon strolling historic Main Street with 35-year-old mixed-media artist Squire Broel, a Walla Walla native who moved back to his hometown from Hong Kong and Seattle. Squire seems to know every one of the 30,000 residents. As we walk out the door at Starbucks, we run into Sarah, a friend of Squire’s, who also happened to be my waitress at the CreekTown Café the night before. I’ve been in Walla Walla for less than 24 hours, and even I am running into familiar faces.

From friendly locals like Squire and fly-fisherman Skip Pritchard (the guide who helped me perfect my loop right before I fell into Mill Creek) to athletes like freeskier Ingrid Backstrom and Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the mix of folks who have savored the smart-country vibe is eclectic. Add to this the big-time chefs opening upscale restaurants—26 Brix and Whitehouse-Crawford, to name a few—in a town that’s full of public sculpture by such artists as Deborah Butterfield and local Jim Dine, and suddenly the idea of moving to the middle of nowhere to fulfill your dreams doesn’t seem so crazy after all.

Paso Robles, CA

PASO ROBLES: Good Libations


Sipping on the success of a Sideways glow
IT WAS FOOLISH TO THINK that one case of zinfandel could sustain five couples through the long weekend. I realize this now, sifting through the empties the morning after our arrival, and I very briefly regret the error in planning. But not for long. Thankfully, we’re in the Paso Robles wine country, a 24-square-mile patchwork of 100-plus wineries in central California, three hours from both San Francisco and L.A. Running out of wine here is like running out of gas in the middle of a Saudi oilfield—except here, refilling the tank is a lot more fun.

Wine consumption is not our only objective, however; we’ve come sufficiently stocked for more robust activities than sipping. In addition to the liquid cargo that we picked up on the way into town, our weekend caravan from the L.A. area carried seven bikes, ten pairs of hiking shoes, and two fishing poles to our plush base camp at Cottontail Creek, a guest ranch on 850 oak-studded acres in Cayucos, at the southwest corner of the wine zone. Our second day’s mission is now apparent: Explore the ranch’s ten-mile network of trails, then replenish the wine supply so as to enjoy depleting it once again.

We chose Paso Robles because it’s nothing like California’s other wine country. Vintners here are more likely to wear overalls than neckties, less likely to shun tasting-room visitors caked in bike grease and sweat. The roads are car-free, and the resident wine aficionados are a hodgepodge of aging cowboys, escaped professionals, and urban renegades—a lot like us.

Paso is the precocious teenager of the California wine family. It may not have Napa’s history or polished presentation—in fact, it flat-out refuses to fancy itself up—but it has worked hard to create its own distinct identity, with the buzz of a place on the verge of transition. This is the fastest-growing wine region in California, with ranchland quickly giving way to fields of grapes. In the past decade, the total number of wineries has more than doubled, and what was once the secret domain of a few connoisseurs is becoming de rigueur on the California wine circuit.

Credit the 2004 sleeper Sideways, filmed 90 miles south in the Santa Ynez Valley, for much of this newfound notoriety. After the movie exploded, so did wine tourism along this stretch of the Central Coast, and some of the wineries featured in the film suffered unexpected growing pains. At Foxen Winery, in Santa Barbara County, pinot noir sales more than doubled, and the owners had to start hiding the tasting bottles behind the counter to prevent inebriated film fans from following protagonist Miles’s lead in helping themselves to seconds.

Though Paso’s wineries have thus far been spared weekend parades of stretch Hummers and tour buses, the movie boosted sales significantly, especially among producers like Wild Horse and Windward Vineyard that make pinot noir (Miles’s varietal of choice). The former saw pinot sales jump 135 percent from the previous year, during the movie’s Oscar run, while the latter, which produces only pinot noir, saw total annual sales increase by 25 percent.

The grape that first put Paso on the American wine map is zinfandel, which came to California from Croatia in the 1850s. French Rhône varietals like grenache and syrah have also done well; each spring, international experts flock to Paso Robles for Hospice du Rhône, the world’s largest festival of Rhône varietals, which attracts around 3,500 people.

That’s precisely the sort of glitz we’re hoping to escape, so we lose ourselves in Cottontail Creek’s web of trails. We spend the morning pedaling past orange and avocado groves to an oak-shaded back road that skirts a deep-blue reservoir, then hike amid grazing cows to a ridgeline with panoramic ocean views. Soon enough it’s time to replenish the stores, so we drive to Justin and L’Aventure, two of the few local wineries that have garnered international attention and 90-plus-point ratings from critics. Justin is the local celebrity, whose success with a rich, earthy Bordeaux blend called Isosceles has elicited some sour-grapes sentiments from less celebrated neighbors who snub the winery’s frescoed ceilings and posh decor. For us, though, the opulence is a welcome break from cattle country, and everyone agrees that the wines stand up to the ambience.

At the much homier Opolo Vineyards, whose peppery zinfandels and rich syrahs have come into prominence in the past few years and whose Rhapsody blend is my favorite find of the trip, we are the only tasters. Likewise at Dark Star Cellars, Linne Calodo Cellars, and Fratelli Perata, a family-run vineyard planted in 1980, one of the oldest in the region. As general manager Carol Perata pours a Bordeaux blend called Tre Sorelle (Italian for Three Sisters), she tells us how her husband, Gino, and his brother, Joe, the sons of an immigrant Italian winemaker, still insist on doing everything from picking grapes to labeling bottles by hand. We’re sold, and leave with a case, one of only 2,000 produced each year.

That night after dinner we sit around the lodge’s outdoor fire pit, sipping a beefy zinfandel blend we picked up at Linne Calodo. The wine, called Problem Child, is in some ways Paso’s kindred spirit—robust, irreverent, and underappreciated. We raise a glass to Problem Child and to Paso Robles itself: May they never grow up.

Access and Resources

california

Napa Valley



ROOM & BOARD:
Expect stunning settings and lavish attention to detail at Napa’s trio of new retreats: Calistoga Ranch (doubles from $475; 707-254-2800, ); the Carneros Inn (doubles from $435; 707-299-4900, ); and the Poetry Inn (doubles from $475, including a three-course breakfast; 707-944-0646, ). The all-new Redd, in Yountville, serves up staggeringly modern creations—like peeky-toe crab salad with a citrus vinaigrette or fresh cod with a chorizo-studded curry sauce (707-944-2222). Everything at Rutherford’s Auberge du Soleil is good—including the view from the terrace—but don’t miss the chocolate dumplings with tarragon ice cream (707-963-1211).


THE VINTAGE:
With so many premium wineries, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Start here: Stony Hill Vineyard (by appointment only; 707-963-2636, ); Kuleto Estate (by appointment only; 707-963-9750, ); Cliff Lede Vineyards (private tours by appointment; 707-944-8642, ); Robert Sinskey Vineyards (800-869-2030, ); PlumpJack (707-945-1220, ).


BETWEEN TASTINGS:
Calistoga Bikeshop rents Santa Cruz Blurs and Bianchi road bikes ($60 and $40, respectively; 866-942-2453, ). Or splash out in a kayak or canoe at Napa River ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs (from $50 per day; 707-224-9080, ). Afterwards, Lavender HillSpa specializes in couple’s treatments that will leave you bleary-eyed and wobbly (800-528-4772, ).—A.M.

Sonoma Valley



ROOM & BOARD:
Hole up at the Hotel Healdsburg, where doubles start at $385 (800-889-7188, ). For high-end comfort food—pork chops, grilled cheese—without the attitude, try the Fig Café & Winebar, in Glen Ellen (707-938-2130, ).

THE VINTAGE:
In the townof Sonoma, Gundlach Bundschu’s popular cave tour and picnic grounds are open daily (707-938-5277, ). Seven-year-old Bella Vineyards and Wine Cave,in Dry Creek Valley, boasts 100-year-old vines (866-572-3552, ). Kaz is one of only a handful of organic wineries in Sonoma Valley (877-833-2536, ).

BETWEEN TASTINGS:
At the Osmosis day spa, in tiny Freestone, the 90-minute cedar-enzyme treatment (about 20 minutes of actual bath time) starts at $140 per couple (707-823-8231, ). Wine Country Bikes rents road bikes, hybrids, and tandems starting at $30 per day and $140 per week. Owner John Mastrianni will also customize two- to seven-day supported, self-guided tours to the coast or northern Sonoma County (prices from $395 to $2,500 depending on lodging; 866-922-4537, ). For DIY paddling on the Russian River, Burke’s Canoe Trips rents boats for $55, including shuttle transport back to your car (707-887-1222, ).—K.A.

Applegate Valley



ROOM & BOARD:
The Weasku Inn’s five main lodge rooms—all rustic, with creaky wooden floors and antiques—sit over a country-style dining room with a panoramic view of the Rogue River (doubles from $195; 800-493-2758, ). To find out what pairs well with hericium mushrooms (a fat steak anda big red), make a reservation at Summer Jo’s Farm, Garden, and Restaurant, in Grants Pass (541-476-6882, ). Most everything is grown on-site.


THE VINTAGE:
Contact the Southern Oregon Winery Association (800-781-9463, ) for maps of tasting rooms in the region.


BETWEEN TASTINGS:
The Blue Giraffe Spa, in Ashland, about 45 minutes south, serves up a six-hour pamperfest: steam rooms, body polish, massage, facial. Not your scene? Get the two-hour Manly Things treatment, which includes a massage and a detoxifying steam shower (541-488-3335, ).—T.N.

Walla Walla



ROOM & BOARD:
Only two Walla Walla wineries offer accommodation. Abeja has restored the old farmhouses sitting on its property into three charming cottages and two suites (from $235, including breakfast and tasting; 509-522-1234, ). Basel Cellars, “the castle on the hill,” rents out the entire eight-bedroom estate house and a smaller cottage (estate for $2,400, cottage for $350; 509-522-0200, ).


THE VINTAGE:
In Lowden, 14 miles from downtown Walla Walla, L’Ecole No. 41 offers daily tastings in its restored 1915 schoolhouse (509-525-0904, ). Let Chuck Reininger tell you how he went from home winemaking to owning his own boutique winery over a tasting at Reininger Winery (509-522-1994, ). This year’s Spring Release Weekend will be May 6–7 (Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance; 509-526-3117, ), followed by the Balloon Stampede Weekend, featuring more than 35 hot-air balloons, May 12–14 (509-525-0850, ).


BETWEEN TASTINGS:
Practice your fly-fishing cast on a fully equipped two-hour to full-day trip with guide Skip Pritchard (509-522-4717, ). Nothing goes better with wine than cheese, so don’t miss the Monteillet Fromagerie’s artisanal goat and sheep cheeses, in Dayton, 40 minutes away (509-382-1917, ).—M.M.

Paso Robles



ROOM & BOARD:
The five-bedroom, 4,200-square-foot luxury lodge at Cottontail Creek sleeps up to 20 and offers massage services, gourmet catering, and yoga instruction ($995 per night for up to 10 guests; 805-995-1787, ).


THE VINTAGE:
Free tasting is an endangered tradition that’s still honored at most Paso wineries. Opolo Vineyards (805-238-9593, ; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily) serves a complimentary six-flavor fleet and will even tap a barrel on request. The Perata family asks that you call before stopping by (805-238-2809, ), but there’s no charge to try their wines, which are usually served with snacks. Hospice du Rhône 2006, Paso’s largest annual winefest, takes place May 11–13 ().


BETWEEN TASTINGS:
Central Coast Outdoors runs guided bicycle trips around Paso Robles from $119 per person per day (bikes $25 extra; 888-873-5610, ). They also lead kayaking trips in nearby Morro Bay, one of the state’s top stops for migratory waterfowl. —K.L.

The post How the West Was Wined appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.

A FRIEND OF A FRIEND USED TO STAGE elaborate picnic adventures for his dates. He’d write out directions to the surprise dining site, which often involved a hike or bike ride to reach it, then pack up his culinary creation, wine, linens, candelabra, and headlamps and set it all up on a portable card table in some offbeat spot—a bridge, a forest clearing, the 12th green of a golf course. Smart man. While most know food is a direct shot at the heart, he realized that the combination of good eats and the outdoors usually ensured a perfect score.

There’s something irresistible about mixing outdoor activity with breaking bread (ideally, just-baked), hence the ever-expanding crop of weeklong culinary adventures. Now there are imaginative options for the active gourmand hankering for a quicker fix. Full-throttle picnics—call it alfresco extreme—are the entrée du jour. Here are the prime new attractions that combine the great outdoors with tasty dining.

FOOD ON THE FLY

This newly launched “Fly and Dine” package in southwestern British Columbia combines scenic flying with inspired eating. From Vancouver, wing along the Sunshine Coast to the oceanside West Coast Wilderness Lodge. To work up an appetite, hike the three-mile Skookumchuck Narrows Trail, kayak to a nearby cove, or pick from angling options galore before sitting down to a dinner that may include smoked-venison carpaccio or caper-crusted wild salmon, followed by your pre-sunset (that is, before 10 p.m.) return flight.
DETAILS:
Package from $517 per person; 877-988-3838,

RADICAL TAKEOUT

For outdoor dining on the run, catch the wildest foodie on wheels, “Sandman” Jim Denevan. Part surfer dude, part environmental artiste, this Santa Cruz–based gourmand tours the country by bus and enlists farmers and local A-list chefs to orchestrate Outstanding in the Field dinners. The goal? Bringing adventurous diners closer to the food source. Picnics are staged on the supplying farms or in hard-to-reach locations—such as a Puget Sound sandbar or a sea cave in Pescadero that will fill with water once the tide turns. The meals themselves are righteous: five-course feasts paired with local wines and served at linen-draped, candlelit tables that seat 100. In 2006, look for Denevan’s creations in Hawaii, Canada, the Texas Hill Country, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
DETAILS:
From $120 per person;

SUBAQUATIC SUPPING

Jules’ Undersea Lodge, in Key Largo, Florida, has the perfect solution for scuba aficionados seeking lunchtime submersion. You’ll dive 21 feet below the surface of a mangrove lagoon, then surface into this underwater hideaway via the moon pool, a tiny swimming hole in the wet room. Drop your gear, grab a hot shower before lunch, then head into the futuristic dining area. Watch the world swim by in the oversize portal windows while your “mer-chef” prepares a feast of filet mignon, Florida lobster, and homemade Key lime pie.
DETAILS:
From $145 per person for the Mini-ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, including the dive down to the hotel for lunch; overnight submarine-style berths from $295; 305-451-2353,

FAT-TIRE FORAGING

Forget energy bars for beating the bonk on Getaway ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs’ ride through the thick fir forests, open meadows, and rolling hills of Annadel State Park, near Santa Rosa, California. Instead, you’ll stave off your hunger with a wine-country-style picnic of seasonal specialties like pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and pesto; handcrafted cheeses; and artisan breads from a nearby bakery—all served on the shores of Lake Ilsanjo. Dessert: a quick dip and a nap in the sun.
DETAILS:
From $125 per person, including bike rental and local guide; 800-499-2453,

WHIRLY BOARD

Presenting heli-picnics, a summertime splurge that allows viewmongers to get the altitude gain while feeling no pain—unless you count the calories you won’t be working off with your heli-assisted summit. Meet your copter in Revelstoke, British Columbia, then fly along the Columbia River and up to Mount Begbie or Mount English—wherever the views are best that day. Your dining room is decked with shining glaciers, tumbling waterfalls, and lupine meadows; your fellow diners are marmots and mountain goats. Provisions include homemade bread, house-cured meats and artisanal cheeses, fresh salmon and crab, and plenty of chocolate. The sunset dinner picnic is particularly sublime.
DETAILS:
Take to the skies for $617 per person ($821 per person for a private picnic for two); 888-837-5417,

The post Get It While It’s Haute appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.

Mangia crudo, signorina?” asks the smiling waiter with olive-green eyes. Before I can ponder his question—do I eat raw?—I’m nodding, “Si, certo, tutto,” ignorant to what “Yes, certainly, everything” means when you’re dealing with Pugliese-style sushi. First to arrive are plates of glistening, uncooked seafood: opaque baby octopus and pink shrimp with bulging eyes. I’m instructed to spritz each with lemon, sprinkle with salt, then “ingoia il mare” (“swallow the sea”). Next comes a whole red mullet, its belly sliced thinly at my table and forked onto grilled bread doused with olive oil. And though I wave off tiny raw mussels, it’s only because I’m already submerged in delicious new flavors.

I’m giddy to find a culinary surprise in a country where I’ve spent so much time it feels like home. I fell for Italy as a student in Florence, and an inexplicable passion (growing addiction?) brings me back. I’ve hiked, biked, swum, and eaten my way through the north, but it took me a decade of visits to explore the south beyond Naples.

Though Italians vacation in the sunstruck Mezzogiorno—the south—foreigners overlook this region of simplicity infused with a laid-back vibe. But change is afoot in the boot. Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily are enticing visitors with crowdless countrysides and value in these soaring-euro days. In the west, terraced hills meet rocky Tyrrhenian shores; the Adriatic east coast has a Greek air. Inland are mountains, medieval villages, parks. Then there’s the cuisine, born of peasant tradition and emphasizing what’s in season. If it’s spring, that means favas at the market, figs off the branch, sea urchin from the shell. And southerners are picky about iced treats. As one hotelier put it, “If the gelato isn’t great, the shop closes down pronto.”

While the south may not instantly seduce the way Tuscany does—don’t expect the panache—the still-raw natural beauty snared my soul. Seek out these highlights of the four regions, and bring a little Italian—language skills are desirable here, especially if you’re shy about eating raw fish.

Puglia

Puglia (pronounced POOL-ya), Italy’s solid heel, hardly resembles the rest of the country. Facing the Adriatic Sea—which changes from teal to steel to peacock by the minute—the flat eastern coastline, nearly 300 miles long, borders centuries-old olive groves that produce 40 percent of Italy’s oil. The architecture doesn’t scream Renaissance: Trulli, ancient white-stone conical houses, and old farms called masserias dot the valleys. Wide-open Puglia attracted Greeks, Spaniards, and Arabs, who each planted new crops and left behind a layer of culture. Here I found Italy’s best seafood, 15 medieval towns, historic inns with luxurious touches—like an olive-oil body wrap that left me happily marinated—and loads of sports to make basking in the Turkish bath that much more appealing.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs: Torre Guaceto, a reserve north of Brindisi, has five coastal miles of sea-grass-spiked dunes, plus wetlands that draw migrating birds from Northern Europe and Africa, like the long-tailed jaeger. The visitor center (011-39-083-198-9885, ) arranges hiking and snorkeling to see red mullet and sheepshead bream. For medieval-town hopping, start with Martina Franca (take a cappuccino break at Caffè Tripoli), baroquely beautiful Lecce, and Ostuni, which looks particularly Moorish when illuminated at night. Puglia’s quiet roads are perfect for cycling; many of the hotels have bikes, or you can rent in Monopoli (Nardelli Sport; 011-39-080-937-2911) or arrange a customized guided trip (ABCycle; 011-39-085-969-410, ).

Meals: Head to the revered Da Tuccino for raw seafood, or the cozier L’Osteria di Chichibio for antipasto featuring braised octopus and wine served in brightly colored ceramic pitchers. Both are in Polignano a Mare, which is also chilled-dessert central: Hit Il Super Mago del Gelato for exceptional coffee and hazelnut gelato, then try a refreshing lemon granita—a coarse, fruity ice.

Lodging: The bright-white compound of Masseria San Domenico (doubles from $398; 011-39-080-482-7769, ), a 15th-century seaside watchtower once used by Maltese knights on guard for Turks, is south of Monopoli. The airy rooms, with wrought-iron beds, are ultra-peaceful. Just outside are paths through 250 acres of olive groves, two tennis courts, mountain bikes, a spa, and a sprawling saltwater pool—plus a private beach nearby. Pop into the bar for live piano, gracious Old World waiters, and homemade chocolate-dunked orange zest. Down the road, the working farm Masseria Torre Coccaro (doubles from $312; 011-39-080-482-9310, ) is more rustic, but it’s still refined. The rooms have views of gnarled olive trees (some are 700 years old), and the old stable has been transformed into the dining room. The cooks gather cardoncello mushrooms, persimmons, almonds, and capers on the farm. There’s an Aveda spa built into a cave, and a cooking school beside the pomegranate-pink chapel, while the beach and an olive-oil museum are a short bike ride away.

Basilicata

The Greeks, who established colonies here, thought gods lived in the Apennine mountains. Today Basilicata, which borders Puglia to the west and forms Italy’s instep, is the country’s poorest region and one of its least visited areas. Yet Basilicata’s gorgeous 20-mile west-coast sashay along the Tyrrhenian Sea, with its azure water and six hidden villages, rivals the Sorrento Peninsula, to the north.

One such find is Maratea, between two of Italy’s largest national parks (Pollino and Cilento), with a grotto-pocked shoreline lit with bougainvillea blooms. Fifty years ago, the Italian count Rivetti transformed the village into a resort town favored by his countrymen. Maratea has a 300-boat harbor and, built into a slope of 2,000-foot Mount San Biagio, a pristine medieval center with a maze of cobblestone streets, piazzas, and 44 churches. Inland in Matera, sassi neighborhoods—cave shelters carved into two ravines that slice through town—have been inhabited since ancient times. The sassi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were depicted in the 1979 movie Christ Stopped at Eboli, based on Carlo Levi’s book about his experiences as a political prisoner in the area; more recently, The Passion of the Christ was filmed here.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs: Maratea’s rocky seabed makes for good snorkeling and diving, or take a fishing boat to swim in the grottoes; the hills are full of ancient paths, some of which connect towns. (Aquafredda is a 3.5-hour hillside traipse from Maratea.) Andiamo Adventours (800-549-2363, ) offers guided hiking, and Mondo Maratea Servizi Turistici () arranges diving, horseback riding, and hang gliding. Tour the sassi with Nuovi Amici dei Sassi (011-39-0835- 331-11, ) or check out ninth-century churches, Byzantine frescoes, and a Romanesque cathedral.

Meals: Forza Sette is the prime spot in seaside Maratea for a sunset pint of Peroni. Up in town, the Taverna Rovita serves fine local fare, like octopus tentacles sizzling in olive oil. Drink the dry Aglianico del Vulture wine, introduced by the Greeks.

Lodging: On its own piney promontory in Maratea, the sprawling Santavenere (doubles, $146–$638; 011-39-0973-876910, ) retains the feel of a family villa, with comfortable sitting rooms, terraces, picture windows, and bedrooms splashed with aquamarine tiles. There’s a spa, grass tennis court, and beach, and a saltwater pool built next to a cliff. Here the natural world is revered—one night, conversation focused on a giant mushroom, plucked that morning from the forest and displayed on a gold plate in the living room. La Locanda della Donne Monache (doubles, $73–$319; 011-39-0973-877487, ), a convent-turned-hotel-and-cooking-school, dates from 1735, when it housed Visitandine nuns. The salmon-colored inn is built on several levels; the 29 rooms have views of the surrounding peaks and the town’s tiled rooftops.

Calabria

On my first visit to Calabria, five years ago, I’d arranged to stay at a farmhouse ringed by bergamot orchards and hills. When I saw how isolated the place was, I wondered if I might get lonely. Needless worry. The first night at dinner, served family style at long wooden tables, I met the other guests: ten members of an Italian hiking group who unabashedly adopted me. For the next four days, we packed sack lunches and headed out on footpaths or forged trails through brambles and over stone walls.

When it was time to leave, the owners implored me to stay, and the hikers invited me to continue on with them. Such was my introduction to the region long regarded as Italy’s scruffiest, in part because of its mafia ties.

What Calabria lacks in polish—Italy’s slender toe, south of Basilicata and Puglia, is one of the country’s least populated regions—it more than makes up for with a wild countryside. The southern Apennine ridge and the Sila massif, a 650-square-mile plateau with some of Europe’s thickest forests, cover half the province. Albanians who crossed the sea to escape the Turks five centuries ago inhabit hillside towns that also house the occasional stronghold of the ‘Ndrangheta, the local mafia. Jasmine and citrus scent Calabria’s narrow coastal area, stretching between the Gulf of Policastro, on the Tyrrhenian, and the Gulf of Taranto, on the Ionian.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs: Go grotto-diving around Dino Island (Subaqua Diving Club, ) in the Tyrrhenian. Just south, Diamante’s historical center has fantastical murals by local artists and the Museo del Peperoncino, showcasing the ubiquitous fiery pepper. Camigliatello and Morano Calabro, a mountain village with Norman castle ruins, are gateway towns for hiking in Pollino National Park and the Sila, including the three-mile climb up 5,784-foot Mount Botte Donato for ocean views, and there’s Class II–IV rafting in the Lao Valley (Lao Rafting; 011-39-0981-82707, ).

Meals: Calabria’s waters teem with swordfish—order the daily catch at Taverna del Pescatore, in Diamante, and follow it with chestnut granita from Bar Italia, in Bonifati’s tiny hilltop piazza. In the mountains, Ristorante Aquila Edelweiss (in Camigliatello) and La Locanda di Alia (in Castrovillari) serve typical Calabrese cuisine—the Sila massif is known for Caciocavallo Silano, a cheese made from the milk of cows grazing in mountain pastures, and cured meats, like sausage flavored with hot peppers.

Lodging: The family-run Grand Hotel San Michele (doubles, $146–$239; 011-39-0982-91012, ), in Cetraro, is on a 140-acre organic farm; about two-thirds of what is produced—including mandarin oranges, house-cured salamis, and grapes that yield three kinds of villa-bottled wine—turns up in the restaurant. (At the cooking school, learn to make red-pepper preserves and olive pâé in the fall.) There’s a gray-pebble beach with kayaks and guide-led snorkeling, and Andrea, the owner’s marine-zoologist son, will help organize hiking excursions, rafting, and diving. Once the home of the Dukes of De Aloe, the melon-hued 12th-century Palazzo del Capo (doubles from $305; 011-39-0982-95676, ) has a prominent spot in tiny Cittadella del Capo with 16 breezy, sea- or pool-facing rooms and a prime snorkeling beach.

Sicily

My Italian is good enough for me to know that the desk clerk was promising the six trails around Eremo della Giubiliana were well marked. And I know she said that all but two of them were fine for a short pre-dinner bike ride. So I followed trail five, whizzing toward the sea, pedaling on medieval paths past crumbling stone walls, carob trees, and fields bursting with poppies. At first it was easy to keep the turreted hotel on the horizon. But after more descending than climbing, I lost my reference and didn’t see a marker. Attempts to retrace my route proved futile—the paths looked remarkably alike. Near dusk, I crossed a road and flagged down a car. Although the driver didn’t know the hotel, he delayed getting home to his family dinner to drive me and the bike—once we’d taken off both wheels and the seat—to find it. Which we did, after 30 minutes of zigzagging through countryside where even the nicest hotel remains incognito.

Sicily, a punt off Italy’s toe across the Strait of Messina, collects superlatives. Europe’s highest volcano, 10,902-foot Mount Etna, towers over the Mediterranean’s largest island, 9,000-plus square miles. The rich volcanic soil produces blood oranges and grapes that yield mighty tasty red wine, like Nero d’Avola. Though parts of Sicily—particularly around Taormina—have lured admirers since Roman times, other areas are largely ignored. Like the striking south coast, where Italy meets Africa. Here, stone walls in the highlands delineate ancient farms, and the Mediterranean Sea is the dazzling blue of a husky’s eye.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs: Surrounding Ragusa, built onto a limestone hill between two deep valleys, are some of Sicily’s best ancient sites. For the greatest views, take an aerial expedition. The Eremo della Giubiliana hotel (011-39-0932-669119, ), in Ragusa, takes visitors up in its own plane. Or explore Syracuse, about a 40-minute drive east, founded in 734 b.c. and onetime rival of Athens in power and prestige—Archimedes, Cicero, and Plato all called the place home. At a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Agrigento, five fifth- and sixth-century Doric temples stand along a ridge.

Meals: Sicilian cuisine is hearty: Think spaghetti tossed with fennel, fresh sardines, and citrus zest. You can eat exceptionally well in Syracuse: Ristorante Don Camillo is cherished by locals, and Pasticceria Tipica Catanese makes it clear why this part of Italy is known for its cannoli and cassata, a sponge cake made with ricotta, dried fruit, and nuts. In Noto, hit Caffè Sicilia for gelato—the ricotta-pistachio and cinnamon-almond flavors are especially tasty. Modica is home to Sicily’s oldest chocolate factory, Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, featuring confections loaded with cocoa from the Ivory Coast.

Lodging: Eremo della Giubiliana (doubles from $319) began life as a 15th-century fortified convent before passing into the Nifosi family in the 18th century. The 13 starkly elegant rooms are transformed friars’ cells. There’s a gardenside swimming pool and a fleet of mountain bikes to explore nearby medieval sites, villages, and the private beach (with an inn-provided picnic in tow). House-bottled wines, like the Inzolia, a crisp white, are served with dinner in a vaulted cellar; the breakfast table overflows with homemade blood-orange marmalade, lemon jelly, and artichoke pâé. Five new white-stone cottages are situated along the airstrip, so you can park your plane right outside.

Access and Resources

Alitalia (800-223-5730, ) flies nonstop to Rome from JFK and Newark for about $790. From Rome, Alitalia has several daily flights to Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily; Europcar (877-940-6900, ) offers rentals in all four regions. Late spring and early fall, when the weather is still warm but the vacationing Italians have thinned, are ideal times to visit. The online Italy Traveller Hotel and Restaurant Guide () offers good regional information on lodging and dining. If you’re overnighting in Rome before a flight, try the elegant Hotel Barocco (doubles from $264; 011-39-0648-72-001, ), tucked off Piazza Barberini. Maccheroni is a bustling ristorante serving a mean gnocchi with pear and gorgonzola; next-door is Vinoteca Novecento, a snug new wine bar.

When in Rome… or Florence… or

Andiamo! You haven’t visited italy if you haven’t seen these five hot spots

Cinque Terre
This seven-and-a-half-mile hike in the country’s northwestern corner cuts through lemon orchards and vineyards, linking five pastel villages atop green cliffs dropping into the Ligurian Sea. To start, hop the Genoa–La Spezia train to Riomaggiore, then follow the trail west through Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare, ending with beachside repose.

Galleria Ferrari
Italians’ lust for the classic red Ferrari ranks just below their admiration of the bella donna. Maranello, in northern Italy, is home to the factory and Galleria Ferrari, a museum chronicling the world’s sleekest car. A new wing helps accommodate the 180,000 fanatics who visit annually.

Florence
You can’t not see the Uffizi and Michelangelo’s David in the Galleria dell’Accademia. Unfortunately, every tourist feels the same way. After the long lines, enjoy an architectural walk to the landmark Il Duomo, grand Medici villas, and the merchant-heavy Ponte Vecchio.

Vesuvius
Adventurous travelers ascend 4,190-foot Vesuvius, which erupted with notorious effect in a.d. 79, then go south to Pompeii, where excavated homes reveal frescoes of the gods, or to Herculaneum, to see remains of the victims. Ponder it all over pizza with mozzarella di bufala, the regional specialty.

Rome
If you haven’t satiated your thirst for art in Florence, a weekend in Rome will cure all. At the Vatican Museums, it’s a labyrinthine walk through hallways lined with art by masters Raphael, Caravaggio, and Giotto to reach the Sistine Chapel. Bernini brings myth to life at the quieter, manse-like Museo and Galleria Borghese; his sculpture of Pluto grabbing Proserpina’s thigh is more supple than stonelike. ,

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So much to do, only three sun-drenched months to do it. Let us help. We start by pinpointing the and , then lay out the , , , , , a dizzying slew of summer essentials, and over a dozen more ways to make the season sizzle.

Brandy Armstrong

HELLO, SUMMER: Brandy Armstrong, a runner from Ogallala, Nebraska, hits Cocoa Beach, Florida, in a vintage bikini from MELET MERCANTILE; shorts () from ROXY BY QUIKSILVER.

PLUS: ; ; ;



HEAVY WATER
for Robert Maxwell’s Exposure Photo Gallery of surfing’s invincible underground.

Swellsville, USA

Bare feet on hot sand. Surfboard on the waves. Lobster in the pot. A long, hot season to stay wet and never go back inside. summer starts here—don’t let the screen door hit you on the way out.

Tori Praver

Surfer Tori Praver at Cocoa Beach, Florida

Cocoa Beach, Fl While the waves are more mellow than menacing, Kelly Slater’s hometown boasts some serious surf cred. Gear up at one-acre Ron Jon Surf Shop (4151 N. Atlantic Ave., 321-799-8888) and head south toward Patrick Air Force Base, where, if you don’t mind the occasional sonic boom, you can score at breaks like Picnic Tables and Second Light. Refuel seven miles farther south at Da Kine Diego’s Insane Burritos, in Satellite Beach (1360 Hwy. A1A, 321-779-8226). The joint’s outdoor Bamboo Theater screens the latest surf flicks. Montauk, NY It’s just three hours by train from Penn Station to the peaceful right-hand break at Turtle Cove and the smooth lefts at Ditch Plains. Make camp at the Atlantic Terrace hotel ($85–$385; 21 Surfside Pl., 631-668-2050), which overlooks an eponymous beach break fueled by hurricane swells spinning off the Carolinas. Work up an appetite for Harvest on Fort Pond (11 S. Emery St., 631-668-5574), nose-riding wizard Joel Tudor’s favorite spot for monster helpings of seafood and sunset views. Santa Cruz, CA Power up on coffee and croissants at Kelly’s French Bakery (402 Ingalls St., 831-423-9059) and pop next door for a custom foam-grinding session with shaper Ward Coffey. Warm up on the mellow rights at Cowell Beach before risking life and limb in the barrels at Natural Bridges State Beach. Then flop down on the bluffs at Lighthouse Point, where pros boost airs so close to the cliff, you’ll flinch as they pass. Après, fish tacos and cervezas go down smooth at El Palomar (1336 Pacific Ave., 831-425-7575). Coos Bay, OR Frontier town meets surf scene in Oregon’s biggest logging port. Check out Ocean Soul Surf Shop (91122 Cape Arago Hwy., 888-626-7685), where local firefighters and fishermen pick up their surf wax. Co-owner Donnie Conn will steer you to “wherever it’s going off.” For beginners, that might be the cold-water waves at Sunset Bay or, if you like more juice, Bastendorff Beach for intimidating peaks like Shitters. Rogers Zoo and Bizzaratorium, in North Bend (2037 Sherman Ave., 541-756-2550) offers live music. Yakutat, AK Lower 48 just too crowded? Hop the twice-a-month ferry from Juneau and head to Icy Waves Surf Shop (635 Haida St., 907-784-3226). It shouldn’t be hard to find: Yakutat has only two paved roads. Beg directions to the peelers at Cannon Beach; then, after overnighting at Glacier Bear Lodge ($110; 812 Glacier Bear Rd., 907-784-3202), have bush pilot Les Hartley (Alsek Air, 907-784-3231) drop you and your gear on one of countless unknown, unnamed, and potentially perfect point breaks along the rugged coast.

Perfect Pickup Games

A Guide to Summer

TOUCH FOOTBALL: From left, Blake Pearson, a San Diego surf-store owner, wears jeans ($165) from POLO BY RALPH LAUREN and a hooded sweatshirt ($301) from R BY 45 RPM. On Nick Fairman, a short-boarder from Winter Park, Florida: boardshorts ($45) by PATAGONIA; cargo shorts ($85) from POLO BY RALPH LAUREN; vintage button-up shirt by MELET MERCANTILE. On Ryan Heavyside, a Palm Beach, Florida, competitive surfer: boardshorts ($120) by TRACY FEITH; boardshorts ($60) by RLX RALPH LAUREN.

Soccer While the Beltway crowd cheers D.C. United’s 15-year-old ´Ú³Ü³Ù²úó±ô phenom Freddy Adu at RFK Stadium, slide-tackle a lobbyist or knock in a header under the gaze of Lincoln’s statue. Impromptu scrimmages are held most evenings on the National Mall’s soccer-perfect turf. Beach Volleyball As the birthplace of the sport, Manhattan Beach, California, takes its volleyball seriously. Its nearly 100 first-come, first-served courts, spread along a two-mile strand, are tractor-groomed weekly and fill up nightly. Bring a net and ball and you’ve got game. Ultimate Frisbee If you can’t find a game of disk in Madison, you’re just not looking. The University of Wisconsin is home to one of the country’s top college programs, and Madison offers a city league for every season. Walk-ons are welcome nightly at Vilas Park and Olbrich Field, all summer long.

The Swinging Life

Gold Cup 2 Eye

It was just an old rope swing, tied to a pecan tree on the banks of a lake in the Ozarks. But when I stumbled upon it, and grabbed the knot and swung out over the water, what came back to me with a whoosh was my seventh summer, probably forgotten or pushed away because that was the year my mother died.

My old man had nearly brained himself trying to install the heavy rope on the limb of an old box elder. Unwilling to climb up, he’d elected to weight one end of the rope with a claw hammer, which he heaved heavenward in the hope it would sail over the limb. Finally, to my amazement, it worked. He tied a spent Firestone to the rope with a double square knot, installed me inside, walked the boy-bearing tire to the apex of the slope, and pushed.

“What should I do?” I screamed as I soared out toward the water.

He yelled back in his East Texas cracker twang, rich with mules and chiggers. “Y’all figure it out.”

The thing that came to addict me wasn’t just the wild ride and the plunge into the creek; it was that you could apply an infinite amount of torque to the rope by winding up the tire before liftoff, coiling it like a spring. Then, standing on the tire, spinning like a dervish, the test was this: Could I marshal the timing it took to dismount at a point that would deposit me in the water instead of the brush?

In another game, my best pal and I would swallow a Fizzie-kind of like prehistoric Pop Rocks-then wind up the tire, working it like a posthole digger. As the carbonated confection began bubbling in our bellies, I’d climb into the tire while my pal climbed on top. Once airborne and spinning, it was mano a mano until the loser barfed.

But what I liked best was simply the compulsive, solitary act of swinging, pumping my legs for hours to keep the tire in motion. It was the best way to take myself somewhere else.

SUMMER ESSENTIALS
Deck Shoe Revival
Remember these babies? Sperry Top-Sider plates the eyelets on its handmade Gold Cup 2 Eye deck shoe with 18-karat gold, which won’t corrode or rust. Meanwhile, memory foam molds itself to the shape of your sole, while padded deerskin uppers softly cradle the rest. $150;

Rubber Soul

The Pacific stretching westward, rolling hills, empty beaches inhabited only by sea lions—there’s no getting around it: The West Coast’s Highway 1/101 is the classic summer drive. Head out on the 734-mile stretch winding from San Francisco to Astoria, Oregon, for spectacular scenery, crowd-free adventures, and the wind-in-the-hair perma-grin you can only get on the open road. Our weekend guide:

Mile 44: Fuel up on Pacific oysters ordered live from the seawater tanks at the Tomales Bay Oyster Company, a working farm in Marshall. 415-663-1242

Mile 196: Plunge into a swimming hole along the highway as it follows the South Fork of the Eel River through Richardson Grove State Park. 707-247-3318,

Mile 319: Hike beneath 2,000-year-old, 300-foot redwoods at Redwood National Park and Redwood State Park. 707-464-6101,

Mile 513: Boogie-board the 500-foot sand dunes of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, then bed down in a deluxe yurt at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. $65 for up to seven people; 800-452-5687,

Mile 640: Sea-kayak, hang- glide, or surf at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. 800-551-6949,

Mile 695: Grab a table at the Sea Shack (503-368-7897), on Nehalem Bay in Wheeler, for a bucket of Cajun shrimp and an icy beer. At Wheeler Marina (503- 368-5780), rent a boat and traps to go crabbing off Nehalem Bay State Park.

New American Chopper

Katie Zirnfus

PEDAL PUSHER: Katie Zirnfus, a surfer from Titusville, Florida, heads to the break in Cocoa Beach. Sweatshirt ($52) and bikini ($72) by RIP CURL; vintage bucket hat by ROGAN.

Trade in those riding leathers for a pair of surf trunks and flip-flops and cruise your local boardwalk atop the chopper-inspired Electra Straight 8. With a Shimano Nexus three-speed hub, old-school coaster brake, and red powder-coated spokes, these wheels are Peter Fonda cool. $570;

Who Needs Cristo?

Missed out on the saffron Gates? Head to Amarillo, Texas, where the public art is as large as the 72-ounce steaks dished up at I-40’s Big Texan Steak Ranch. Natural-gas tycoon Stanley Marsh 3 started funding big art back in 1974 with Cadillac Ranch, ten vintage Caddies buried nose first in the Panhandle. Over the years he’s painted a mesa blue; built Giant Phantom Soft Pool Table, a 180-by-90-foot patch of dyed-green grass with 42-inch canvas balls; and commissioned a pair of gigantic sawed-off legs in a field south of town. “Art is a legalized form of insanity,” Marsh has said. “And I do it very well.” Go crazy yourself scoping out Amarillo’s thousands of Marsh-funded street signs, with slogans like I’LL BE RIGHT OUT MA! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! and LUBBOCK IS A GREASY SPOON! Summer here is frying-pan hot, so when yer bod heats up faster than a Texas cheerleader, dive into 6,251-acre Lake Meredith, 38 miles north of town on Texas 136. Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, 806-857-3151,

Fuel Up on Fresh Air

Blue on Blue

Poolside at Blue on Blue

Two Lights Lobster Shack, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Just south of Portland, on the tip of Cape Elizabeth, this landmark New England seafood stop sits on the rocky shoreline below one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. Park yourself at a table on the deck and try the fresh clam chowder, boiled lobster, or fried clams and scallops. $1.50–$22; 207-799-1677


Coyote Cafe Rooftop Cantina, Santa Fe
Pull a stool to the edge of this downtown café and settle in with a prickly pear margarita and the Coyote’s famous salsa and guacamole. But save room for chef Mark Miller’s classic southwestern dinner menu—including the mango-avocado chicken sandwich and seared salmon tacos. $4–$14; 505-983-1615


Sports Corner, Chicago
This wildly popular pre- and postgame pub, directly across from Wrigley Field, is one of the few outdoor grills where you can hold a chicken wing in one hand and catch a home run in the other. Cheering—for the unfussy American fare and the Cubs—is mandatory. $5–$12; 773-929-1441


Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard, St. Louis
Any summer road trip through the heartland deserves a stop at this circa-1941 walk-up window, along old Route 66. Don’t be intimidated by the lines that snake around the side of the building: Their vanilla custard flavored 23 ways—like praline and abocho mocha—is worth the wait. $.50–$4.50; 314-481-2652


The Water Club, New York
Head straight for the Crow’s Nest, the seasonal upper-deck café at this stylish East River eatery. With its colorful umbrellas, palatable prices, and stellar views of the Empire State Building and the 59th Street Bridge, it’s a must for piña coladas and shrimp cocktail from the raw bar. $9–$26; 212-683-3333


Blue on Blue, Beverly Hills
Everything about this poolside café in the courtyard of the Avalon Hotel screams hip: from its inventive American menu (can you say Muscovy duck breast and a side of peach quinoa?) to the cushioned chaise lounges and bamboo-shaded private cabanas. And did we mention the pool? $10–$30; 310-407-7791

Ribs, Sugar?

We say the Memphis way is the only way when it comes to applying smoke and slow heat to the ribs of our oinking friends, so we asked Desiree Robinson, pit mistress of legendary rib shack COZY CORNER, for the skinny on backyard ‘cue in the classic dry-rub style. “Make sure you’ve got nice medium-size racks, not baby backs, with enough fat to make that meat tender,” she says, “plus a good fire so they can sizzle down.” Yes, ma’am. HERE’S THE RUB: 3 tbsp paprika; 1 tbsp chili powder; 2 tsp seasoned salt; 2 tsp black pepper; 2 tsp brown sugar; 2 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp cayenne; 1 tsp oregano; 1 tsp mustard seed; 1 tsp thyme; 1 tsp coriander; 2 tsp dried green peppercorns, ground; 1 tsp allspice. HERE’S THE DRILL: Rub mixture into ribs at least eight hours before cooking. (Yank the membrane off the bones, too.) Place a fireproof bowl full of water and flat beer in the grill pan. Snug charcoal around the bowl, fire up, and let burn until white but still hot. Lay a foil “envelope” of wet wood chips on the coals, then smoke ribs bone side up for two to four hours, and keep that lid on. Paint with sauce when done, if you like—but, says Robinson, “I usually don’t.”—Chris Davis

SUMMER ESSENTIALS
Lone Star Grill »
Transcend the charcoal-versus-gas debate with the Traeger Texas Style Grill—a cooker powered by pencil-eraser-size wood pellets. A continually rotating auger feeds the fire, allowing you to grill, slow-roast, or smoke your dino-steaks just so. $999;

Swing Shift »
The Byer of Maine Santiago XXL double hammock is a generous eight-foot-long cotton cocoon with a carrying capacity of 400 pounds, so there’s room in there for you and at least one other close personal friend—no matter how many ribs the pair of you just polished off. $80;

Longboard Tech »
Hobie’s Epoxy 9’2 Performer by Surftech looks like a vintage balsa longboard, but wait—that’s an advanced sandwich of PVC sheet foam and Tuflite epoxy resin. Upshot: The Performer is nearly six pounds lighter, yet 30 percent stronger, than a traditional foam-and-glass board. $900;

Hot Rocks

If there’s a deal breaker to a climber’s summer dream scene, it’s rock that’s scalding to the touch. Fortunately, Estes Park, Colorado—a town of 6,000 at 7,522 feet in the Rockies—offers something that desert crags don’t: alpine air conditioning and hundreds of routes just outside of town in Rocky Mountain National Park. “The park is best known for 14,255-foot Longs Peak, but the smaller mountains offer equally challenging multi-pitch routes,” says 24-year-old phenom Katie Brown, a Patagonia-sponsored climber who lives in Moab but spends a month or two in Estes Park each summer. “Lumpy Ridge, a series of granite domes, is my favorite. One dome, the Book, has an awesome 5.9 called J. Crack and a 5.10c called Fat City. I also like to hike the four-mile trail around Lumpy Ridge for the views of Longs Peak.” When Brown craves quesadillas, she heads to Ed’s Cantina & Grill, in town, a favorite hangout of resident climbers like Beth Rodden, 25, and her 26-year-old rock-star husband, Tommy Caldwell. “Estes is about escape,” says Rodden. “You can just run into the mountains and play your heart out.” Rocky Mountain National Park, 970-586-1206; Estes Park visitor information, 800-443-7837.

Pony Express

a guide to summer

HALFWAY TO CAPE CANAVERAL: From left, Ryan rides shotgun in boardshorts ($56) by O’NEILL and OAKLEY MONSTER DOGGLE sunglasses ($145), while Blake sits at the helm in PATAGONIA boardshorts ($45).

This year, an icon of American cruising revs back into action in a major way. We’re talking about the FORD MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE GT, a retro-styled muscle car that feels like freedom even when it’s just sitting in the garage. Drop the top with the push of a button, slap on some SPF 30, and turn the ignition. The 300-horsepower V-8 doesn’t simply roll over; it rumbles, and its giddyup will fairly launch you out on the summer highway. That much is to be expected. What’s new is the tight handling: Just think about changing lanes or charging into a tight corner and the Mustang seems to do it for you. The easy maneuvering’s a nice feature for the curves of California’s Highway 1, but keep your eyes on the road when you pass a congregation of head-turning bodies at the beach or you might tug yourself off course. Better to save your people watching for a stoplight—all the better, of course, for people to watch you. Models with V-8 engines from $29,995;

You Can Dig It

For prime seafood with a stellar view, skip the restaurant lines and shovel up a surfside clambake. We tapped Bill Hart, executive chef of the legendary Black Dog Tavern, on Martha’s Vineyard, for info on how to do it up right. First, make sure fires are legal on your beach—chances are you’ll have to get a permit. Then dig a square pit in the sand, two and a half feet deep and three to four feet wide. Line the bottom with fist-size rocks and toss in some firewood. (If you’re looking for a tinge of sweet in your bake, try cherry or apple wood.) Let your fire burn for about two hours—until the wood is gone and the rocks sizzle when sprinkled with water—before adding a layer of store-bought fresh seaweed. Now lob in your grub: For ten hungry beachgoers, that’d be 20 whole red bliss potatoes, eight to ten Spanish onions (halved), ten ears of corn (husks and all), ten links of linguica sausage, ten lobsters, and three to four pounds of mussels and clams—Hart recommends steamers and littlenecks. Cover it all up with more seaweed and a board laid across the top to lock in the steam. The rest is easy: Shoot the breeze for the next two hours until the clams have opened up (any that haven’t are bad). Slip on your oven mitts, pull out the goods, and serve ’em up with lemon wedges and melted butter.

Cheap Date

Three thousand dollars might seem a little steep for one night in sleepy little Rhinebeck, New York, but I managed to spend it. The reason for the exorbitant fee: I had paid for half of a three-bedroom cottage from Memorial Day to Labor Day (or MD–LD, in classified-ad parlance) and slept at the house exactly one time.


I should have known in March, when my friend Ben and I drove around with Hairsprayed Realtor Lady, that my vacation venture was doomed. The house we rented was sweet-a gray-shingled Cape on three acres of gently rolling hills-but the interior was littered with ladybug exoskeletons. If shiny, rosy ladybugs are cheery good-luck symbols of summer, shouldn’t their postmortem husks be considered bad juju?


I opted to overlook the omen and signed the lease. We signed partly because the realtor’s M.O. was to make us believe that this house was the only good one left. We also signed because each of us had recently been dumped, and renting a summer house was a way of getting on with our lives in a screw-all-y’all kind of way.


We drove back to the city, and in the ensuing months I would imagine scenes from my coming summer in mellow, low-key Dutchess County: I’d be strolling down the sun-dappled dirt driveway, stopping to eat wild blackberries right off the bush, clearly recovered from my breakup.


As it happened, when “MD” rolled around, I was still lonely and sad, and Ben had gotten all hot for a woman whose friends were also coupled up and on the docket for Hudson River Valley fun. A few Saturdays, I drove up to Rhinebeck but, feeling like the seventh-person sourpuss along on a triple date, drove back to the city before bedtime.


Right around the time I watched Ben and his girlfriend drive off to a sunset wine tasting, I realized that my sun-dappled summer was not to be. And so, near the very end of August, I forced myself to actually sleep there, to get my alleged $3,000 worth. It didn’t even come close.

Lazy River

It’s no secret that Boulder, Colorado, offers the best urban inner-tubing in the States, possibly the universe, as locals cool down and bruise themselves “floating” more than a dozen drops of Boulder Creek between Eben G. Fine Park and the take-out of choice, beside the downtown library. These rapids range from tame sluiceways to a shoulder-high waterfall, where teens chill out watching sorority girls lose their bikini tops. Here’s how to tube it right. 1) Get your puncture-resistant, Barcalounger-size radial inner tubes for $12.50 at the streamside Conoco on Broadway and Arapahoe. 2) Sneakers, everyone! If sandals sufficed, you could grab any number washed up on shore. 3) Hide a six-pack of something frosty near the take-out’s sunny south steps. Beer is illegal in Boulder’s parks. Never, ever hide beer. 4) Launch! Feet first, butt up, valve stem down. 5) Warning: That guy over there is probably urinating in his surf trunks right now. Don’t swallow the water. 6) Butt up! 7) After a big drop, plunge your ankles in to catch the downstream current and get dragged away from the froth. 8) Steer clear of the man snorkeling for sunglasses, the bamboo-flute-playing hippie standing midstream, and the marauding gang of boys on boogie boards. Those practicing tai chi under the maples are generally nonthreatening, but you can’t be too careful. 9) Relax your butt. The second half is a mellow drift through a tunnel of cottonwood trees. Can you taste the ice-cold Fanta?

Summer Essentials

summer style

DRIFT ON IN: The photographs on these pages were shot surfside at Cocoa Beach’s landmark 1912 Driftwood House. Owner Rob Sullivan, a local board shaper, runs his surfboard and clothing company, Driftwood, out of the vintage structure.

HOUSE PARTY: From left, on Blake, vintage shirt by MELET MERCANTILE; jeans ($108) by LUCKY BRAND JEANS. On Brandy, camisole top ($198) and leather pants ($1,198) by RALPH LAUREN BLUE LABEL. On Ryan, vintage T-shirt by MELET MERCANTILE; button-up shirt ($50) by WRANGLER JEANS; suede pants ($695) from POLO BY RALPH LAUREN; flip-flops ($15) by HAVAIANAS. On Victoria, crochet top ($98) and jeans ($165) by RALPH LAUREN BLUE LABEL. On Mike, sweater ($150) and cargo shorts ($85) from POLO BY RALPH LAUREN; boots ($110) by NIKE. On Nick, vintage jeans jacket by LEVI’S; vintage T-shirt by MELET MERCANTILE; cargo shorts ($85) from POLO BY RALPH LAUREN; flip-flops ($12) by HAVAIANAS. On Katie, vintage poncho and necklace from POLO BY RALPH LAUREN; jeans ($92) by LUCKY BRAND JEANS.


Essential Summer: Liquid Refreshment

Forget the apple martinis. Parallel-park your sloop between the million-dollar yachts at the wharf at Sam’s Anchor Café, in Tiburon, on the sunny north side of San Francisco Bay, or mix up your own tangy glass of SAM’S PINK LEMONADE:
1 1/4 oz citrus vodka
1 1/4 oz 7Up
1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz sweet-and-sour mix
1 oz cranberry juice
Serve on the rocks in a 12-oz glass with a twist of lemon.

—H. Thayer Walker

Wheels Up

With enough vertical feet and hundred-mile views to keep your blood pumping for a week, the Telluride-to-Moab mountain-bike route stands handlebars and stem above your usual summer ride. Operated by privately owned San Juan Hut Systems, this 215-mile route lets you and up to seven pals pedal from the San Juans’ 14,000-foot peaks and spruce-carpeted slopes down to the twisting canyons of Utah’s red-rock country. No need to pack heavy—each night you’ll stay in a one-room wooden hut stocked with sleeping pads and bags (just bring your own liner) and enough bacon, eggs, pasta, and beer to keep everyone in the group satisfied. The seven-day, six-night route—which follows mostly doubletrack fire roads—is open every summer from June 1 to October 1 and costs $553 per person. Go between mid-June and early July, when storms are less likely, and you can catch the lupines and Indian paintbrush in bloom. On the final descent into Moab, opt for the more challenging Porcupine Rim Trail, then stash your bike and head over to the Moab Brewery for a patio pint of Dead Horse Ale and a view of the La Sal Mountains, which cradle the last of the hard miles you just rode. 970-626-3033,

Sweet Freedom

Boston, MA
Boston calls itself “headquarters for America’s biggest Independence Day party,” and we have to agree. The free, all-day extravaganza draws upwards of 700,000 to the banks of the Charles River. The Boston Pops performs, fighter jets buzz overhead, and—for the finale—17,500 pounds of pyrotechnics are launched into the sky from barges. Best seat in the house? Why, the bow of your boat, of course.

Galena, IL
Birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant, this hilly river town of 3,500 kicks off the celebration with a morning parade, just like any small town should, followed by rooftop parties, wine-and-cheese tastings, live music, art exhibits—sponsored by local merchants—and, at dusk, a patriotic sound-off in the midwestern sky.

Telluride, CO
Declare your independence at Telluride’s fiercely funky parade, in which locals and visitors march, ride, skate, gallop, and dance down Colorado Avenue in homemade costumes (picture risqué cowgirls and dancing superheroes). After the local firefighters’ ribs-and-roast barbecue, enter the pie-eating contest, then burn it off during the sack races. At sunset, lie back on the lawn—there’s nothing like fireworks against all the purple mountains’ majesty.

The Beach Rx

While camping on what is now my favorite beach, I once stepped on a scorpion.


I was alone in Cayo Costa State Park, a barrier island of sand and palms about 100 miles south of Tampa, Florida. I rushed to my boat, then to a neighboring island restaurant, where I called the only doctor I knew. It was a Sunday, near midnight.


“Is there much pain?” he asked.


Nope, the slight burning sensation had faded.


“Any dizziness? Uncontrollable salivation?”


It was a scorpion, I reminded him. Not a werewolf.


His indifference changed to irritation. “Did the scorpion sting you on the tallywhacker?”


Was the man drunk? “No!” I snapped. “Didn’t I just tell you I stepped on it?”


“Yes, but I’m a urologist. So why the hell are you bothering me at this hour?”


Return to my camp, the doctor advised, and administer alcohol and ice.


It is a wonderful thing to sit alone on a beach, on a starry night, with nothing to do but drink a thermos of margaritas as prescribed by a pissed-off physician.


Filtered through tequila, a beach becomes more than a percussion skin for waves. This particular beach is many miles long and shaped like a new moon, a convex curve extending into the Gulf of Mexico. My camp spot was at the island’s narrowest point. It was an isolated place with no docks and no homes, centered on a fragile land break bordered by sea, and thus more intimately connected to a wider world. But this small section of beach was now linked to my own small history.


The scorpion was not my last intimate encounter on this beach. My wife and I returned often to that camping spot. Our sons learned to snorkel there. They learned to throw a cast net and how to build a fire that’s good for frying fish.


Both sons-out of college now-still camp there. It remains my favorite place to go for a solitary jog or swim.


Cayo Costa State Park offers primitive cabins ($30 per person per night) and tent camping ($18 per site per night); rental information, 941-964-0375

Rapid Transit

Flush with western Montana’s signature sapphire runoff, the upper Middle Fork of the Flathead is the best float trip you’ve never heard of. Geography is the Flathead’s own permit system—the put-in is tucked away in the Great Bear Wilderness, south of Glacier National Park—so traffic is limited to those willing to fly a Cessna 206 into Schafer Meadows’ backcountry airstrip from Kalispell or horsepack their gear six miles along Granite Creek to the put-in. The river is narrow and steep, meaning you’ll want a slim sports car of a raft and heads-up guiding to make a clean run through four days of Class IV rapids to the take-out at Bear Creek. You’ll camp in Douglas fir and lodgepole pine forests surrounded by the jagged peaks of the Flathead Range, pick rising 20-inch cutthroat out of the herd with a dry fly, and hike to Castle Lake and the cirque-born waterfall that feeds it. The best whitewater is before July, but the fishing peaks later that month during the caddis-and-stone-fly hatch. Four days, $1,095 ($100 extra for horse-packed trips); Glacier Raft Company, 406-888-5454,

The Last Picture Show

a guide to summer

Watch movies under the stars with HP’s ep9010 Instant Cinema Digital Projector. The unit combines a DVD player, a DLP front projector, and a booming sound system and throws a nine-foot image onto any handy garage door or brick wall. $2,000;

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Pack It On: Middlebury’s white-clapboard Swift House Inn, once the governor’s mansion, is your campus for this four-day tutorial in farm-fresh regional cooking. Mixed with 16 hours of class time are field trips to the local dairy farms and artisan food producers that make up the Vermont Fresh Network (try cheesemaker Grafton Village’s Sage Cheddar).
Burn It Off: There’s hiking aplenty in the Green Mountains, sailing on Lake Champlain, and birdwatching at Dead Creek Wildlife Preserve.
When to Go: May, October
Price: $2,000 per person
Contact: A Vermont Culinary Vacation; 802-388-9925,

Mexico: La Cocina de Oaxaca
Pack It On: Oaxacan cuisine is arguably Mexico’s finest, with treats including moles, tamales, rich chocolate—and mescal to wash it all down. For seven fiesta-like days, Mexican cookbook author Susana Trilling will enlighten you with a mix of innovative and tradition-steeped techniques—like how to finesse sopa de ajo (garlic soup) with squash blossoms.
Burn It Off: Fetch ingredients at local markets; visit a chocolate molino, or mill; walk to the archaeological ruins at Mitla; and visit mescal distilleries, where you can sample the product.
Base Camp: Sleep off the hangover in quaint bed-and-breakfasts like the vibrant Posada de Chencho.
When to Go: March, April
Price: $1,575 per person
Contact: Epiculinary; 888-380-9010,

Brazil: Ilha-Hopping
Pack It On: During this ten-day land-and-sea tour along the southeastern coast, your private chef, Luis Ricardo Rossi, will introduce you to regional culinary highlights like Brazilian barbecue (churrasco), featuring prime cuts of beef, and Bahian cooking’s key ingredients: coconut milk, malagueta peppers, and palm oil. You’ll also stop at a cachaça factory, where the most potent ingredient of the lethal caipirinha, Brazil’s national drink, is distilled.
Burn It Off: Pit-stop at oceanside villas along the Angra dos Reis, a dreamy archipelago of 365 islands and 2,000 beaches, 90 miles southwest of Rio de Janeiro, where you’ll swim, snorkel, boat to deserted stretches of sand, and explore a former pirate colony at the end of the only road on Ilha Grande.
Base Camp: A plush private residence, plus two nights at Rio’s legendary Copacabana Palace.
When to Go: Year-round
Price: From $4,000 per person
Contact: VIP Brazil; 800-772-9188,

Spain & Italy

Spain: Barcelona and Beyond
Pack It On: Having eclipsed France for innovation in cuisine and toppled Italy in popularity, Spain leads every self-respecting gastronome’s hot list. Begin this seven-day food fest in Barcelona, where young visionaries are pushing nueva cocina to surreal heights—cuttlefish ravioli, anyone? Then take a drive through the Catalonian countryside, visiting medieval cities and taking classes with a local chef at the prestigious Aula Gastronómica de l’Empordá, in Palamós.
Burn It Off: Skin-dive in hidden coves or cycle along the bay of Tamariu.
Base Camp: Bed down at charming hotels like Begur’s Mas Ses Vinyes, a rural, antique-filled hotel close to the Costa Brava.
When to Go: Year-round
Price: $3,086–$3,732 per person
Contact: Gourmet on Tour; 800-504-9842,

Italy: Spotlight on Puglia
Pack It On: Italy’s scuffed, sun-drenched heel is the boot’s culinary hot spot del giorno. For a crash course in Apulian cuisine—think seafood, fava beans, fennel, olives, and orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta)—join Rome-based cookbook author Diane Seed at the whitewashed Il Melograno farmhouse, near Monopoli, for a week. The busy agenda includes daily cooking lessons, a visit to the Olive Oil Museum, and dinners at local trattorias.
Burn It Off: Do laps in the pomegranate-tree-fringed swimming pool, practice your serve at the on-grounds tennis courts, or swim off a private beach on the nearby Adriatic.
Base Camp: A fortified 16th-century masseria, or farmhouse, in the midst of olive and fig trees.
When to Go: April, July, October, November
Price: $3,000 per person
Contact: Il Melograno Cooking School; 011-39-080-690-9030,

Turkey & Thailand

Turkey idlewind

A taste of the Mediterranean: A buffet with Idlewild

Turkey: The Gulet Way
Pack It On: During this 14- to 17-day voyage along the Turquoise Coast, the onboard chef will convert fresh local ingredients into regional specialties, like dolma. After a morning dip in the Mediterranean, hit the deck of your private yacht for sun and a midday feast of grilled levrek (a tasty whitefish), rice pilaf, fresh vegetables, and, for dessert, Turkish coffee and the sweetest peaches you’ll ever eat.
Burn It Off: Afternoon activities include hiking to mountain villages, spotting loggerhead sea turtles, taking a dip at the mud baths of Dalyan, and snorkeling over sunken ruins.
Base Camp: The traditional Turkish yacht, a 65- to 75-foot teakwood gulet.
When to Go: May–June, September–October
Price: From $3,150 per person
Contact: Idlewind Expeditions; 707-224-9710,

Thailand: Spice Island
Pack It On: Koh Samui offers crowd-free sandy beaches and eight days of hands-on instruction in Thai cuisine at the tranquil Laem Set Inn, on the island’s southern tip. Class is held in a shaded, outdoor kitchen—inspiration for perfecting your kang kheaw wan kung (green curry with prawns, eggplant, and sweet basil leaves).
Burn It Off: When you’re not elbow-deep in tom kha gai (coconut chicken soup), there’s diving, snorkeling, and swimming off a Thai fishing boat—or field trips to the colorful Nathon market.
Base Camp: Your own luxury bungalow, with a balcony overlooking the sea.
When to Go: March, September
Price: $3,033 per person
Contact: Tasting Places; 877-695-2469,

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