Last August, more than two dozen runners competed in the famed in Massachusetts without ever setting foot near the start or finish line. They ran it remotely, on treadmills scattered in gyms and homes across the country, through a virtual running app that let them see a high-definition, pre-filmed video of the course as they progressed.

It was the first virtual race of its kind ever run. More importantly, it proved what much of humanity once thought was impossible: that modern technology can actually make treadmill workouts bearable.

The app the racers used is called , produced by the Massachusetts-based company şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Interactive (no relation to this publication). It offers a selection of more than 10 different running routes, including a four-mile historic run among the Washington, DC monuments, the route of the in Maine, and of course, Falmouth.

Virtual Runner won’t make you feel the wind blowing in your face but, “it makes you feel like you’re making progress on a treadmill. And that makes the time go by quicker,” says CEO Gary McNamee.

Virtual Runner is just one of an ever-growing list of apps aimed at improving indoor workouts through a virtual experience. Another, called , takes runners and walkers on a 30-minute workout down famous footpaths in Central Park, Big Sur, and Yosemite, and on the Appalachian Trail.

The app , which uses the slogan, “How to beat the boredom,” lets you virtually run one of its 15 high-definition filmed courses three different treadmill-bound ways: alone, in a real-time public event with people all over the world, or in a private one organized with friends. Each runner is represented by an avatar on the screen and, like a video game, you can pass them or get passed, depending on your speed. RunSocial recently announced that runners will soon be able to use the app to compete remotely in April’s London Marathon—just as British astronaut Tim Peake did from the International Space Station last year. 

Another popular, fairly new app is which works with just about any cardio machine, including ellipticals, exercise bikes, and treadmills. It offers more than 100 courses, from rugged mountain trails in Northern Italy to the streets of Chicago. BitGym tracks your progress by capturing your movements through your mobile device’s camera, and synchs your pace to the speed of the video. By contrast, Virtual Runner and RunSocial need a separate footpad or pedometer for automatic speed control.

BitGym, which got its initial funding on Kickstarter, is aimed mostly at “people who work out in their homes who know how painful it can be do to on a machine, and are looking for anything that will make it better,” says Alex Gourley, one of the app’s creators. About a third of its tours include recorded video and audio of cardio coaches, who are supposed to motivate you throughout the workout. 

McNamee says he’s working on possible partnerships between Virtual Runner and 20 different road races over the next couple of years for virtual entries, like at Falmouth.

“It’s a great way for races to show off and preview their event. For Falmouth, we’re basically giving them a seven-mile commercial.”

It can also mean potentially unlimited revenues for bigger, more famous races, as thousands of people participate around the world from their treadmills, real-time. “How about a million people walking, running, or crawling the Boston Marathon in 10 years?” McNamee asks.

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The instructor’s voice boomed through the speakers, telling us to “keep moving,” as the pounding bass of hip hop music vibrated against the exposed brick walls. Everyone around me dripped with sweat while their legs churned. It felt just like a cycling studio—except without the bikes.

Instead, I was on a treadmill, keeping a 6:45-mile pace at a 6-percent incline, about half-way through a 45-minute “endurance” class at , a newly opened running studio in Boston. Yes, I said running studio. MyStryde is part of a new trend of group treadmill training that’s being modeled after the success of other machine-based cardio classes.

Wearing a headset with a microphone, my instructor Katie told the group to imagine we were running up a hill, almost to the crest. “C’mon Stryders (what they call anyone who attends a MyStryde class), move your bodies! Let’s go!”

She was peppy and upbeat, and at that very moment, I hated her. Yet there’s no doubt that I was pushing myself harder than if I were working out by myself on a treadmill. 

MyStryde is the creation of 28-year-old Rebecca Skudder, a former collegiate runner who got tired of her desk job in downtown Boston and began planning several years ago to start a treadmill gym. It opened in January on the site of a former clothing boutique in the city’s North End. It’s the first of its kind in Boston—and one of the few anywhere in the country.

Her intent was to “create a spin environment, a motivating environment” for runners, she says.

The concept of a modern running studio first started in 2014 in New York City, when opened its doors on East 4th Street in Manhattan, offering classes on its 36 treadmills. It now gets 1,700 customers per week, says founder Debora Warner, nearly 90 percent of them repeat visitors.

“I’ve been surprised to see how much enthusiasm there is not only for the classes but also our brand. I see runners all over town wearing our t-shirts,” Warner says.

Some traditional-style gyms have also picked up on the group treadmill concept. High-end chain Equinox, for instance, offers classes at some of its clubs across the country, as does , and in Los Angeles.   

During the class I attended at MyStryde, which was on a Thursday night and cost $15, only three of the studio’s 12 treadmills were empty. To my right was a woman training for the Boston marathon, moving at a quick pace. I was curious to see exactly how fast she was running—but the atmosphere is intentionally kept non-competitive, and workout stats aren’t shared.

“A big part of this place is to make sure everyone feels comfortable,” Skudder explains. She adds that she wants runners to see the studio’s classes as an alternative to a typical road workout, in any season.

 “We’re just trying to spread the love of running. The feeling you get here is a little bit different than on the road. You’ve got the music, you’ve got the instructor,” she says.

After my workout, my instructor Katie walked up to me.

“How was it?” she asked.

“I’m still alive to tell the tale,” I said.

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In its 14 years of existence, has become a leading online and mobile resource for travelers. It contains 170 million reviews, and rankings of four million properties and businesses in 140,000 places. Contributors add an average of 100 new entries a minute.

In theory, all of the reviews are generated by well-meaning site users who have visited these featured hotels, restaurants, and attractions, and are posting their honest ratings from 1 (terrible) to 5 (excellent).

The reality is a little different. On rare occasions, restaurant and hotel owners will fabricate glowing reviews of their own properties to crank up their average ratings, or submit a dismal write-up of their competitors. How can you know which entries to trust? Read on.

Check Out the Reviewer

Don’t trust a review from anyone who has posted three or fewer entries on TripAdvisor—especially if they’re trashing or insanely praising a place. At best, their opinions are dubious because they have no track record, and at worst they’re posting with a hidden agenda. The most trustworthy reviews come from members who carry the senior contributor (17 to 49 reviews) or top contributor (50 plus reviews) tag given to them by the site.

Look for Patterns

If multiple reviews consistently tell you that a hotel’s rooms smell musty, or that a restaurant’s tiramisu is the best in the city, you can trust that these opinions are fairly accurate. TripAdvisor uses security measures to try to weed out fraud, so mass fabrications of this kind are unlikely.

Look Closer at the Little Guy

by researchers at Yale, USC, and Dartmouth found that small, independent hotels go to much greater lengths to rig their rankings in TripAdvisor than the big chains do. The little guys have “significantly more five star reviews,” and their neighbors far more one stars, it observes. The conclusion: “These smaller hotels do, then, appear to be manipulating reviews to boost themselves and hurt their competitors.” Cross reference a small hotel’s reviews with those on other sites, such as Expedia.

Find Backups

Don’t trust TripAdvisor alone. Use its rankings and reviews to weed out your top choices for places to stay, eat, or visit, and then look at other similar sites or apps for backup opinions and information. For specific hotels, try seeing what the reviews in and say, and for restaurants, go to and .

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There are plenty of inexpensive places to stay on Lake Tahoe—but in many of them, you’d be too afraid to get beneath the sheets. These four clean, inviting lodges are the exception. They manage to combine value, location, and quality for travelers who want to live large on a budget.

Rustic Cottages, Tahoe Vista

The history of the is almost reason enough to stay in one of its 19 classic Tahoe-style houses and cottages spread over two wooded acres. Built near the turn of the 20th century to house workers for the Brockway Lumber Company, it turned into a holiday getaway in the mid-1920s. Rustic Cottages sit across North Lake Boulevard from a postage stamp–sized beach on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore. Rates start at $99 a night.

Sunnyside Lodge, North Shore/Tahoe City

Built as a summer mansion in 1906, the well-updated Sunnyside Lodge has been since it opened as a resort six decades ago. Though it maintains its rustic look on the outside and in the wood-beamed indoor common areas, its modernly appointed 23 rooms and suites look surprisingly new. The Sunnyside is known as much for the American-style gourmet meals served in its dining room overlooking the lake as for its accommodations. Suites start at $150 a night.

Zephyr Cove Resort, South Shore/South Lake Tahoe

, with its lodge and 28 surprisingly up-to-date cabins, has been an affordable and not-so-secret getaway on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe for more than a century. Billed as an almost-all-inclusive destination, you can rent ski boats and WaveRunners from the resort at the mile-long beach, go parasailing, play volleyball, or simply laze in a lounge chair. Zephyr Cove also runs cruises on two old-fashioned paddleboats. If the $181 nightly rate for the cottages is too steep, you can pitch a tent on the property’s campsite for $35.

Tamarack Lodge, Tahoe City

Shaded by tall pines and only a few minutes from Tahoe City, the Tamarack Lodge is  that probably looks much the same as when the Oppio-Fenech family first opened it nearly 90 years ago. Once a getaway for movie stars, it’s now a haunt for cost-conscious skiers, hikers, and mountain bikers. You have your choice of three cabins or a handful of rooms inside the lodge. Lodge rooms with shared bath start at $75 a night.

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Unless you work for an airline, cheap tickets can be hard to come by. But don’t lose hope—you can book a great vacation without breaking the bank.

Search by Leg

When you’re booking flights on an online travel aggregator, search for each leg separately. Sometimes you can get better deals on one-way fares than by looking for the lowest-priced round-trip ticket. 

Book Fully Refundable

Sounds counterintuitive, but if you know your travel plans far in advance, book the cheapest fully refundable flight you can find. Then, keep shopping for bargains up until the last possible moment. When a better deal comes along, you can jettison your refundable ticket.

Sign Up for Alerts

The best way to know when a travel deal is available is when the airlines notify you directly of their latest getaway deals. You might consider creating a separate email address to sign up for travel alerts from all of the major airlines. Check it a couple of times a week to see where the deals are—and if one includes your favorite destination.

Get Some Credit

Adding another credit card to your wallet isn’t an ideal situation, but airline-offered cards pay you back with some sweet deals. Just for enrolling, you often automatically receive 25,000 to 40,000 frequent-flier miles, which is already enough for a free domestic round-trip ticket. With most airline credit cards, you also accrue one or two miles for every $1 you spend with it—and there are other bonuses. The , for example, gives you an additional 30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in the first thee months. The  gives you two free companion tickets per year when you buy one ticket. And the  lets you check your first bag for free and gives you priority boarding and miles that don't expire.

Depart on a Wednesday

On average, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly, according to many airline experts, such as CEO Rick Seaney. Wednesdays and Tuesdays are also the best days to find cheap fares—with the best deals often found in the morning.

Use Those 24 Hours

If you absolutely must book a flight as soon as possible, know that U.S. airlines are required to allow you to cancel your reservation and refund your money—even if it’s a nonrefundable fare—during the first 24 hours after you book it. If the price drops the next day, cancel the reservation. If it doesn’t, hold onto it. If you plan to use this strategy, make sure you book directly through the airline, because it can be a hassle to cancel through a third party, regardless of the law.

Got a Student ID?

Some student-travel organizations still get bulk access to budget plane tickets. The most notable of these brokers is .

Use an Agent

Yes, even in the age of Internet pricing, travel agents can still sometimes find you better, unpublished deals.

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Most CrossFit affiliates across the country welcome out-of-towners who want to take part in the workout of the day—or WOD—making any vacation into a possible CrossFit vacation. But if you’re looking for a trip that specifically caters to people who like to spend their free time doing burpees, snatches, ring dips, and handstand pushups, here are your best options.

WOD Tours

This is co-owned by kickboxing champion Andrew Berridge and a former police officer. It organizes CrossFit workout vacations around the world—provided that you arrange your own airfare to the destination. WOD Tours offers three trips in 2014. Its seven-day offering to Southern California in late July includes workouts at CrossFit Long Beach, coaching sessions with Olympic athletes, tickets to the CrossFit Games, and hotel accommodations ($2,350). The other two sessions are in Israel and Brussels, Belgium.

Destino Retreats

The , San Francisco–based Destino Retreats offers trips for groups of 10 to 12 people to four destinations: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Maui, Hawaii; Mammoth, California; and Scottsdale, Arizona. Its vacations include skills sessions, competitions among group members, a “throwdown” with the host affiliate, two workouts per day, and Paleo meals. Prices start at $1,700 (airfare not included).

WODcation

WODcation is a five- or seven-day vacation in Santa Cruz, California, offered three times a year and organized by the local box, . You’ll stay in a beach house—complete with surfboard and wetsuit racks outside—about a 10-minute walk from the gym. The trip begins with a private training session with gym owner Greg Amundson and includes workouts at different affiliates in the city, as well as a running workout on the UC Santa Cruz track, an SUP lesson on the city’s harbor, and coffee at one of the local CrossFit hangouts. The cost is $2,000 for a group of two (plane tickets not included).

StayFit Travel

New Jersey–based offers a fitness tour that centers around the CrossFit Games, held in Southern California at the end of July. The trip includes private training sessions for the group with coaches from the top affiliates in Los Angeles, private surf lessons, hotel accommodations, and tickets to the games ($2,000).

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Five wild mountain ranges. Hundreds of miles of trails. Zero crowds. That’s what awaits visitors at the country’s newest Naitonal Monument in New Mexico.

consists of four separate patches of the Chihuahuan Desert surrounding Las Cruces in southern New Mexico. Encompassing a half-million acres of land, the area was granted monument status in May by President Barack Obama, an act that was motivated as much by the area’s historic and geologic importance (it’s home to hundreds of archeological sites and thousands of Native American petroglyphs and pictographs) as for its vast recreational opportunities. There are plenty of routes for hikers, mountain bikers, and rock climbers to discover. What you won’t find are many other people or much infrastructure for visitors.

For outdoor adventure, here’s where to start:

Hiking: The most appealing and popular of the national monument’s four sections is the one containing the jagged Organ Mountains, east of Las Cruces. You’ll find trailheads at  Campground and Dripping Springs Natural Area.

From Aguirre Springs, you can hike the six-mile Baylor Pass Trail, which traverses part of the Organ range, or the spectacular four-mile Pine Tree Trail loop, which takes you to through juniper pines beneath the spiked pinnacles known as the Needles. At , walk the nearly two-mile Dripping Springs Trail, which passes a spring-fed creek and the ruins of a 19th-century resort hotel and an early 20th-century homestead.

Mountain Biking: The monument’s blue-ribbon mountain biking trails lie in the Dona Ana Mountains section, northeast of Las Cruces. The network here consists of nearly 20 miles of technical, exposed singletrack and jeep roads that snake along the rocky mountainside.

Another top choice is the 29-mile Sierra Vista National Recreation Trail, on the western slope of the Organ Mountains. It’s known as much for its amazing, broad views of the surrounding valley floors as for its roller-coaster technical challenges. Outdoor şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍřs bike shop in Las Cruces can give you .

Rock climbing: The towering cliffs that punctuate the national monument make for epic rock-climbing, especially in the Organ Mountains—as long as you can reach them. Almost none of the climbs are easy to access—many require a long bushwhack through rugged terrain—which means they’re crowd-free.

The most famous spots are the 400-foot-high two-pitch Citadel and the 14-pitch, thousand-foot north face of Sugarloaf. Less scenic, but just as challenging and diverse (and more accessible) are the routes on the granite cliffs in Dona Ana. The top draw in this section is the broad, 500-foot Checkerboard Wall. Suggested reading: R.L. Ingraham’s definitive .

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It’s such a culinary contradiction: the great gourmet food of New England is usually served on paper plates and eaten at picnic tables by grownups wearing plastic bibs. Yet there’s no denying that the tastiest lobster served in Maine invariably comes from laid back hole-in-the-wall food shacks that line the state’s magnificent coast. These five are the standouts.

Nunan’s Lobster Hut, Cape Porpoise

Leaning above quiet Cape Porpoise Harbor, Nunan’s Lobster Hut attracts everyone from local fishermen to the hoi polloi from nearby Kennebunkport to rub elbows at its hanging from its rafters. Nunan’s, opened in 1932 and still run by the family that bears its name, catches its own lobster locally, and cooks to order. Open only for dinner.

Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company, South Freeport

Beneath the blue and white awning of the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company, you’ll find maybe . Open for lunch and dinner, the business has been operated by the Coffin family since it opened doors in 1970 in South Freeport, a short hop from the L.L. Bean headquarters.

Five Islands Lobster Company, Georgetown

The bobbing above Sheepscot Bay from the teal-colored picnic tables at Five Islands Lobster Company is delicious enough to attract customers on any sunny summer day. And the food is even more spectacular. Its locally caught lobster is served almost immediately after it reaches the wharf—never stored in tanks.

Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf, New Harbor

Like its name implies, sits on stilts partly above the water on New Harbor—and lobster boats actually park next door to drop off their catch. You can pick your own lobster there, or order a lobster roll, or try some Maine clam chowder while sitting at the wharf or on the deck above. 

Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier, Kittery Point

Only an hour’s drive from Boston near Maine’s southern coastal border, Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier is —illustrated by the crowds cramming onto the bright picnic tables on the deck. The boiled lobster and lobster rolls are worth the pilgrimage, though.

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Don’t waste time on trashy novels at the beach this summer. These new outdoor and adventure page turners prove yet again that true stories trump fiction for fun reads. 

Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Quest for Primitive Art

By Carl Hoffman (William Morrow)

The art-collecting son of billionaire Nelson Rockefeller disappeared in 1961 in the waters off the coast of New Guinea when his dugout canoe overturned. He was declared dead by drowning even though his body was never recovered. But whispers arose that he survived and was ritually cannibalized by locals. Hoffman, , searches to find the answer. 

Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes across America

By John Waters (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)

There’s almost no new ground can cover—except, of course, if it’s penned by the thin-moustached, ingeniously funny nutbtall writer and director who gave the world the cult classic movies Pink Flamingos and Hairspray. The book is divided into three sections: Best case scenarios (on what he imagines could happen on the trip), worst case scenarios (ditto), and what really happens (the nonfiction storytelling part). Each one is equally rewarding, funny, and surprising.

Gone Feral: Tracking My Dad through the Wild

By Novella Carpenter

Writer Novella Carpenter is on the verge of starting her own family when she’s contacted that her survivalist father, in his 70s, has disappeared from his cabin in a remote corner of Idaho. She finds him but continues searching for a connection to him—something she’s never really had, by investigating her own past, and he has left for her.

The Explorers: A Story of Fearless Outcasts, Blundering Geniuses, and Impossible Success

By Martin Dugard (Simon and Schuster)

In the mid 19th Century, bombastic Richard Francis Burton and bookish John Hanning Speke emerged from their renowned expedition in search of the source of the Nile River with differing conclusions. Their ensuing feud would create an international sensation, overshadowing the courage and perseverance they showed in overcoming the remarkable adversity that confronted their perilous journey. Dugard, who co-wrote “Killing Lincoln” with Fox News celebrity Bill O’Reilly, uses the story as a Malcom Gladwell-like vehicle to present to be successful.

Denali’s Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America’s Wildest Peak

By Andy Hall (Dutton)

Seven members of a 12-man mountaineering team died on Mount McKinley in 1967 after being hammered by an epic, weeklong storm. Their remains are buried beneath the Alaskan snow to this day. Few people were closer to the tragedy as it unfolded than Andy Hall, the five-year-old son of the park superintendent at the time. Almost a half-century later, Hall investigates and sheds new light on the events that led up to, and unfolded after, .

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The best real estate isn't always the most expensive. There are some spectacular mountain destinations in the U.S. that haven’t yet been overrun by mega mansions. Take these five alpine getaways, which each have rustic charm and beauty—and a down-to-earth property prices. For now, at least. 

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Why here: Pigeon Forge, population 5,800, and nearby Gatlinburg are the gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the western side. World-class whitewater paddling and climbing, and hundreds of miles of mountain biking and hiking are all at your disposal. 

A one-bedroom, two-bath creekside log cabin with a sleeping loft and hot tub, listed at $154,900.

Why it’s so affordable: The Pigeon Forge area, home to the Dollywood and NASCAR Speedpark amusement parks, is considered too red-necky for the urban elites of the South and Northeast, who prefer to flock to tonier Asheville, North Carolina. 

Greenville, Maine

Why here: The old logging town of Greenville, population 1,600, sits on largely undeveloped Moosehead Lake, the largest lake in Maine and the crystal source of the Kennebec River. There’s no mountain town in New England with more remote, or gorgeous, surroundings.

: A rustic, 1-bedroom, 700 square foot cottage with neighborhood access to the lake, listed at $70,000.

Why it’s so affordable: Location. The drive from Boston to Greenville is about 4.5 hours. Meanwhile, Cape Cod is 90 minutes away from Beantown, and the White Mountains and Lakes Region of New Hampshire is two hours.

Darby, Montana

Why here: Darby, population 700, near the Idaho border, in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana is sandwiched by the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, two endless outdoor playgrounds.

A 1,900-square-foot, 3-bed, 2-bath getaway with broad mountain views listed at $118,000.

Why it’s so affordable: The well-heeled who buy mountain homes prefer to be closer to ski resorts. Darby is a half-hour drive down Route 93 from the nearest one—the humble . Backcountry skiing, like on Trapper Peak in the Bitterroot Mountains, is practically just out your back door, though.

Sugarloaf, California

Why here: Fewer than ten miles from Big Bear Lake, Sugarloaf (population 1,800) sits at 7,000 feet in the San Bernadino Mountains of California. The region is a sports paradise—in both summer and winter. 

A two-bedroom, one bath, 864-square foot cottage with knotty pine-paneled walls, listed at $129,900.

Why it’s so affordable: Because for the hoi polloi from Los Angeles, it’s all about zip code. If a home doesn’t have 92315 at the bottom of its address (meaning it’s in Big Bear Lake) they’re not interested.

Rhododendron, Oregon

Why here: Mount Hood is the undisputed outdoor recreation nexus for the Northwest, and the hamlets west of the summit along US 26, including Rhododendron, are natural jump-off points for adventure.

: A 3-bedroom, 1-bath cottage on nearly a half-acre by Still Creek in the Mount Hood National Forest, listed at $117,500.

Why it’s so affordable: The actual town of Rhododendron isn’t quite as well-located as Mt. Hood Village (sandwiched by the Salmon and Sandy rivers) to the west, or Government Camp (by Summit Ski area) to the east.

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