Namely the parks service and forest service. Pick the area you want to go first of course. They have tons of resources and niche info. I’m planning a 2 week backpack through part of the John Muir trail and when I needed info I wrote an, in retrospect, rambling email to the parks service‘s address. They got back to me in 3 days with a numbered list answering all my questions. Whoever answered was super helpful and understanding of even some of the sillier questions.
5d ago
Related Recs
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some of these do not have public transportation because they’re in the middle of nowhere but i hope they’re still of use to you.
washington DC:
so many museums, a lot of them free. a lot of them are also huge so you can spend entire days looking at art and history. it’s also a beautiful city to just walk around and look at. if you’re driving, be careful because these are the worst drivers i’ve encountered in my entire life.
washington state:
the west side of washington is absolutely gorgeous. if you have time, i recommend you check out mount rainer then head over to the olympic forest and spend as long as you can there. it’s absolutely breathtaking with a ton of trails and beaches.
oregon:
definitely check out the oregon coast. by the washington border is fort stevens state park which is one of the coolest trails i’ve done. a herd of elk crossed the trail 10 feet in front of me (i thought i was gonna get rammed and my life flashed before my eyes but still cool). definitely check out portland. my favorite place was the japanese garden. it was a little pricy but it was worth it because it’s huge and very very cool. just outside of portland is the columbia river. if you have the means, drive the columbia river highway and check out the trails and waterfalls. farther west on HWY 30 there’s the rowena crest viewpoint. right before you get to it there’s a trail on the left. DO THAT TRAIL ITS SO COOL!! it has a mountain piano. no i will not explain. also in oregon is florence, a nice little beach town. the little brown hen cafe has great food and serves spiked coffee. and lastly, secret beach off of HWY 101 is absolutely breathtaking at sunset.
northern california:
by the oregon border is crescent city. nothing too exciting but the good harvest cafe had the best food i ate the entire trip. lady bird johnson trailhead is a redwood trail that was really great. any redwood forest you go to is gonna be great but this one especially. this part of the state is elk country so there’s a bunch of places to see them along the highway. the azalea nature trail was pretty cool, and fort bragg was pretty cool too. lots of beaches along the town and record stores and restaurants. there are a ton of viewing spots to stop along HWY 1. if you haven’t driven the PCH i definitely recommend!
central california:
there’s obviously so much to do in san francisco and there’s a lot of public transport there. and the beaches on the north side are pretty nice. it also has the historic GLBT historical society museum and an entire street full of queer businesses and rainbow decor year round. just outside of santa cruz is the henry cowell redwoods state park. i’m not sure the exact trail name, but just south of the toll house resort on HWY 9 there’s a trail that takes you to the train tracks that you can walk along to a river. monterey is full of culture and also has public transit. the monterey bay aquarium is the best i’ve ever been to so definitely check it out. carmel is much more lowkey and quiet. there’s a ton of restaurants, small businesses, and art studios to explore and the beach is nice. right down the highway is point lobos nature reserve which is a MUST. serveral trails with views of the coast and there are big ass rocks that house hundreds of birds and seals. make sure you’re there at low tide so you can check out the tide pools. pfeiffer big sur state park has a ton of redwood trails.
i saw someone recommend new mexico so i have to mention that the drive from LA to ABQ was SO COOL. and if you’re going to albuquerque, the art museum is great. they have a whole section dedicated to georgia o’keefe. you also need to go to sadie’s mexican restaurant. the best damn taquitos i’ve ever had. but go to the one on 4th not the other one the other one sucks.
ok thats it, i hope this helps and i hope you have fun wherever you end up going!
Apr 14, 2024
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I guess you could say I’m a pretty avid backpacker; I enjoy the autonomy of carrying your bed, kitchen and house on your back, while navigating the unpredictability of nature. For this reason I make routine sojourns to Harriman State Park. The park is both approximate to the city, and also very remote feeling once you are inside of it. No car? No problem. Just take NJ Transit from Penn Station up to the Tuxedo, NY stop. There are multiples trailheads just near the station. About 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail pass through the park, which boasts the trail-famous Lemon Squeezer obstacle. It also is a great place for climbing, with the Claudius Smith’s Den being the best known locale for rock-heads. Harriman is a labyrinthine network of trails of varying difficulties. It’s probably the only place where you can get mauled by a black bear while looking at the Empire State Building. Actually I have had multiple bear encounters there that were totally were drama free. Great for leaf peeping as well!
Oct 19, 2021
Top Recs from @Tacitus
3d ago
Terrific museum if you enjoy Greek history. I used to go fairly regularly before the fires, hope it opens again soon. Very peaceful place to just sit and read or listen to music. Seabreeze blows in from the ocean over the courtyard pool giving it a nice chill.
2d ago
Go somewhere that matches the vibe. Reading LOTR? Woods. Moby Dick? Seaside town. Anything Raymond Chandler? Quiet bar.
4d ago