One of pro snowboarder Cole Navins favorite adventures was the 24-hour layover he spent in Sydney. Rather than surf the Internet in the airport lounge, athlete and a friend rented a van, met up with some locals, saw the famous Opera House, caught some live music, and, after sleeping in the back of the rental car outside of a nightclub, spent the morning skateboarding around town. Those 24 hours were almost as fun as the 12 days Id just spent snowboarding in New Zealand, says Navin, and it all happened because I said Yes, Ill leave the airport. Urban adventuring isnt just the purview of street riders like Navin, though. Cities are rapidly becoming adventure hubs, replete with indoor and outdoor opportunities like urban trails, climbing gyms, indoor mountain biking parks, and even dragon boat racing clubs. Exploration is a state of mindheres how to apply it to urban settings.
Take the Outdoors In
Once a sweaty haven for hardcore climbers wanting to stay fit during the winter, climbing gyms have since become hubs for all stripes of adventure-minded folks. Many, like the outdoor walls and the in Oklahoma City, are worth a visit just for the experience. Others, like s in New York, are a great place to climb and, thanks to on-site co-working spaces, still be on the clock. If climbings not your thing, or just one of the things you like to do, many climbing gyms now offer yoga, spinning, and fitness classesand even post-activitys. Another option: You can mountain bike in big cities now, too. There are indoor bike parks in at least nine cities, including Cleveland, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh. In Louisville, the features 320,000 square feet of jump lines, pump tracks, and cross-country trailsall 100 feet underground in a former limestone quarry.
Urban Trails Reveal Hidden Charms
Lower Manhattans High Line trail, a 1.5-mile elevated railway converted to a walking path and garden, ushered in a new era of urban trails for New York in 2009. Elsewhere, cities like Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Paris have hopped aboard the rails-to-trails trend. Most are open to walkers, runners, and bikers, and some of the best ones have their own unique flavor. The Duluth Traverse, for example, is a 40-mile singletrack mountain bike trail across the Minnesota metro area. Denvers Confluence Park hosts a whitewater playground on the South Platte River. Atlantas BeltLine trail is a footpath to public art. And Portland, Oregons new Gateway Green has a mile of bike jump tracks and skill-building features nestled among 25 acres between two interstate overpasses.
More People Means More Partners in 窪蹋勛圖厙
Nothing wrong with bowling leagues, but urban adventuring is a great way to meet people. Its as easy as heading to a climbing gym and asking for a belay. Or joining a dragon boat racing crew20 people per dragona sport with chapters in most major cities on a harbor or river. Even alpinists connect: Portland, Oregons Mazamas mountaineering club hosts weekly guided $2 in and around 5,200-acre Forest Park. To the north in Seattle, retailer Evo hosts free through the summer. And, nationally, 13 urban let the exploration-minded crowd connect, swap stories, and brainstorm plans over beverages.
Dont Let Cities Limit Your Ambitions
Urban hiking are a good way to discover new possibilities close to home. But if you shift your definition of what constitutes a proper adventure, you can make the city worthy of an full-blown expedition. A growing number of urban hikers are tracing routes through cities like Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Chicago. City through-hikers carry a GPS, but they still sometimes get cliffed outby highway noise barriers or other impassable features and have to deal with crossing high-traffic streets. But the cool thing about them is, with all the options found in cities, you can tailor them to the environment or your personal tastes. In Los Angeles, for example, the Inman 300 traverses 340 public staircases over 220 miles, while an intrepid hiker in Denver usedbreweries as waypoints for navigating their way across Denver.
Create New Challenges
When North Face runner Hillary Allen studied abroad in college, shed purposefully lose herself in ancient maze-like Spanish cities. I loved the challenge of finding my way home, and encountering the unexpected, says Allen. Its a technique she still uses today, like when she recently went for a run in Los Angeles Griffith Park and unexpectedly found herself at the iconic Hollywood sign. Snowboarder Navin prefers to explore with a mission in mind, looking for handrails to rideand document. The act of photography focuses you, so you arent just wandering aimlessly, he says. Having a goal like a new trick or making a photo is a more inspiring experience.
believes in celebrating the spirit of exploration that lives within us all. From the mountain to the city, they believe that all explorers share a mindset of curiosity paired with the courage to try something new.This 4-part series also includesaclimbing prodigyfrom New York City,a snowboardermentoring the next generation of female street riders, and硃紳泭梗單梯梭棗娶梗娶泭with creative passionsjust as varied as his climbing ones.