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The Hobie Mirage Adventure Island kayak is the Swiss army knife of watercraft—a stable
boat, with dual outriggers, a sail, and a pedal-powered propeller. "They’re
incredible fun," says Steve Gibons of Scappoose Bay Kayaking in St. Helens, on the
Columbia River north of Portland. "When you’re that low to the water, ten knots
feels like thirty." Scappoose’s two-hour intro course gets tyros a classroom
briefing and on-the-river lessons—simple technicalities like how to tack are a breeze.
After just a few hours, pupils zigzag the lower Columbia on their own ($60; scappoosebaykayaking.com).
November? No problem. "There’s no such thing as bad weather," Gibons says,
citing the old maxim. "Just bad clothing." Besides, he adds, "I love
sailing when it’s a little bit windier." Hobie skippers can bunk at the Nob Hill
B&B just above the big kayak barn on the river (doubles from $159; nobhillbb.com).
November 2008 ]]>
November’s twilight and low tides create perfect clamming conditions on Long Beach
Peninsula. The scene is serene: Dozens of clammers and their lanterns bob along the shore,
the lamplight reflected in the shallow water. You’ll need a $6 license (fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov)
and a good chowder recipe. Post-dig, hike the five-mile Washington Coast Trail in Cape
Disappointment State Park and gaze offshore at the Pacific graveyards—more than 2,000
vessels languish in the brine. North Head Lighthouse’s keeper’s cottages have provided
shelter from the storm since 1898 (doubles from $283; parks.wa.gov/vacationhouses/capedisappointment).
November 2008 ]]>
Here’s a hot tip from locals along the California coast: November is prime time. Summer
fog is gone. The fires are out. Days are warm and sunny. The air is crystal clear. And the
world’s most scenic freeway, Highway 1, is once again a coast-hugging country road.
Follow the route 45 miles north from Cambria to the Forest Service’s Kirk Creek
Campground on the southern Big Sur coast (camping, $22; recreation.gov).
There, nab an oak-shaded site by the creek, home base for hanging out on the bluffs and
spotting the season’s first southbound gray whales or hiking into the Ventana
Wilderness. The ten-mile Vicente Flat Trail, just across the road, climbs steeply into the
mountains. When you’re not dropping down into redwood-filled canyons, you’ll have
views as big as the Pacific. By the end of the weekend, one thing will be clear: That
Hearst fella down the coast has got nothing on you. Your tent is your castle, and you own
Big Sur.
November 2008 ]]>
If the 13 bungalows lining Crystal Cove State Park seem too good to be true, that’s
because they are. Nestled at the southernmost point of tony Newport Beach, the
circa-1930s-to-1950s cottages were originally part of a South Seas movie set. Now they’ve
been restored, right down to period textiles and furnishings. Out the door are 3.5 miles
of undeveloped beach, a shake shack, and a café. Across Pacific Coast Highway is one of
the OC’s best biking spots: El Moro Canyon, where you can blaze seven-mile loops, then
crash at your dreamy abode ($168; crystalcovebeachcottages.com).
November 2008 ]]>
In November, Minden’s reliable thermals yield to what’s known as wave lift. "The
westerlies blow over the Sierra, bounce down, and straight up again," says Tony
Sabino, owner of Soar Minden. "It’s a sleigh ride. In a glider, the rates of climb
are astounding." Spend a weekend with Soar Minden learning the thrilling art of
grabbing lift so reliable that oxygen is sometimes required—you’ll fly up to 14,000
feet, over a mile above glorious Lake Tahoe. "Even expedition pilots who come here
are awed," says Sabino. Soar Minden’s instructors will school you in stick and
rudder technique in a series of airborne and classroom sessions timed so you never tire—you
only want more (a day of flying, $150; soarminden.com;
doubles from $140 at Wild Rose Inn; wildrose-inn.com).
How do you know when you’ve caught a particularly good wave? "When it lifts you,
you can feel the g-force in your butt."
November 2008 ]]>
Strap a couple of kayaks to a houseboat on Lake Powell and—presto!—you’ve got an
expeditionary mother ship, the best way to explore the resurgent reservoir’s nooks and
crannies. Motor to Reflection, Cathedral, or Labyrinth Canyon and continue on your own,
paddling into silent coves unreachable by petrol-propelled craft. Onshore, hike to places
like Antelope Canyon, perhaps the Southwest’s most stunning sandstone slot. Your
floating base camp waits offshore with every refreshment and comfort you can think of—decktop
hot tub included. Pick up your vessel at Antelope Point Marina near Page, Arizona (three
days and two nights, $3,195, sleeps six; kayaks, $30 a day; antelopepointlakepowell.com).
They’ll provide maps and directions to the secret coves that feel a world away from the
whir of Jet Skis.
November 2008 ]]>
White Sands National Monument is the kind of place filmmakers love (Transformers I and II,
Jarhead, etc.). Walk five miles from the Sands picnic area on the Alkali Flat Trail to
find a ready-made moonscape, just you and bleached earless lizards surrounded by miles of
pure white gypsum dunes, azure sky, and framing mountains. The monument has no designated
overnight areas but allows hike-in camping if you’re willing to hoof it a mile or so,
carrying everything you need. The reward is a night of utter solitude and geologic
weirdness under some of the brightest skies in the world. (Watch for light shows as the
military tests its latest whizbang machinery out of the White Sands Missile Test Range
immediately to the north.) If you’re around on the 29th, reserve a spot on a tour to dry
Lake Lucero, whose selenite crystals created the whole blinding expanse (camping permits,
$3 from park visitor center; nps.gov/whsa).
November 2008 ]]>
Gateway (pop. 1,233) was once home to uranium-mining mania. But with nuclear sanity
restored and the mines long since belly-up, it’s now the portal to western Colorado’s
red-rock country. The land is peppered with amazing sandstone formations and watered by
the Dolores River. Gateway Canyons Resort, a lovely adobe-style outpost that blends nicely
with the surrounding canyon walls, stares right at the Palisade, a 2,000-foot
red-sandstone monolith (doubles from $119; gatewaycanyons.com).
The resort staff leads roped climbs to the Palisade’s summit. They also rent mountain
bikes for poking around old mining roads (bring your Geiger counter), or they’ll shuttle
you to the top of John Brown Canyon Road for an eight-mile, 3,000-foot plummet. Check out
Juanita Arch, a 75-foot-high natural bridge, which requires a crossing of the Dolores by
kayak and a five-mile hike on a deserted trail.
November 2008 ]]>
Surfing on Lake Michigan is a year-round obsession. For some, anyway. "The only thing
that stops us up here is ice," says Ryan Gerard, owner of Third Coast Surf Shop in
New Buffalo, a one-stoplight town about 90 minutes from Chicago. The key to November surf,
the best of the year, is wind. "November’s more likely than any other month to
bring the weather systems we need to create waves," says Gerard. When the elements
cooperate, grab a 6.5-mm wetsuit, 7-mm gloves and boots, and make for the lee of a pier or
jetty to surf the swell that wraps around the obstruction. New Buffalo’s South Jetty is
Gerard’s favorite local break. Between sets, settle in at the Harbor Grand Hotel
(doubles from $149; harborgrand.com)
and try the tacos at Rios for lunch and pasta at Brewster’s Italian Café for dinner.
November 2008 ]]>
Kentucky, with its sandstone arches and Native American echoes, could be called the Utah
of the East. There are over 150 delicate spans within a ten-mile radius of Natural Bridge
State Park, and even more rock shelters—cavelike indentations that once housed local
tribes. Sand Gap Trail (7.5 miles) is the park’s best hike, starting out in a valley
full of eastern hemlock and winding through mixed woods before reaching the bridge.
"The terrain is extremely rugged," says naturalist Brian Gasdorf. "Even our
‘easy’ trails are rough." Hemlock Lodge has doubles starting at $85 (parks.ky.gov/findparks/resortparks/nb).
November 2008 ]]>
The 473-foot Texas Clipper once ferried troops to Iwo Jima and shuttled the wounded home.
In the 1950s, she pleasure-cruised the Mediterranean. But for the past year the Clipper
has rested 17 nautical miles off South Padre Island in 67 feet of water. According to Tim
O’Leary of American Diving, she’s "the biggest fish-attracting device in
Texas." AD offers a new all-day, three-dive trip—two to the ship, one to an oil rig—called
Tons of Steel ($200; divesouthpadre.com).
Divers on the reefed Clipper spot red snapper, turtles, and sharks, but the ship is so
large "you can dive a hundred times and still not see everything," O’Leary
says. For a friendly beachfront vibe, crash at the Wanna Wanna Inn (doubles from $70; wannawanna.com).
November 2008 ]]>
Choose your weapon: mountain bike, kayak, or hiking boots. Cane Creek State Park, in the
Mississippi Delta south of Pine Bluff, is a multisport playground. By mountain bike, ride
the rolling 15.5-mile Cane Creek Lake Trail through a maze of small creeks and deep draws,
crossing three suspension bridges en route. Hike that same trail and return to Cane Creek
State Park campground, near the park entrance, to settle in for the night. On day two, you
can slalom the lake’s lily pads and bald cypresses in a kayak while watching ospreys,
woodpeckers, herons, kingfishers, and wintering bald eagles (camping, $17; kayaks, $15; arkansasstateparks.com/canecreek).
November 2008 ]]>
During the off-season, the Jersey shore reveals its better half. The little town of Stone
Harbor lies near the south end of Seven Mile Island surrounded by salt marsh, protected
bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. Hole up in the Golden Inn right on the beach and pay
off-season rates (doubles from $99; goldeninn.com).
If you bring a kayak, put in at Nummy’s Island at the ancient Lenape Indian shell pile—the
highest spot on the horizon—and paddle a string of marshes, small islets, and dead-end
creeks amid scores of surf scoters, black skimmers, terns, and oystercatchers. No boat?
Just walk around. You’ll have little company on the shore or at Quahog’s in Stone
Harbor, which specializes in "sustainable seafood." Spend the next day
two-wheeling 15 miles down Ocean Drive to Cape May (Harbor Bike has cruisers for $12 a
day; harborbike.com), passing surf
fishermen tossing lines for stripers. At Cape May Bird Observatory you can learn the names
of all the birds you couldn’t ID yesterday (njaudubon.org).
When you return, grab a seat at Fred’s Tavern. Like the rest of the shore, it’s
locals-only.
November 2008 ]]>
Hemmed by the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, Virginia’s
Northern Neck is a paddlers’ promised land. "It’s just two hours southeast of the
cacophony that is the D.C. metro area," says local kayaker Dave Clarke.
"Dropping a kayak into its hundreds of creeks, rivers, and inlets is divine."
Clarke suggests launching in Belle Isle State Park at the end of State Route 354. Keep an
eye out for blue crabs, bald eagles, red foxes, the occasional river otter, and—most of
all—"a 40-foot-tall lighthouse near the end of the road," says Clarke.
"That’s Captain Tom’s Seafood. Head to the crab shack out back. He’ll sell you
a fresh bushel of the best lump backfin crab you’ve ever had." Nearby Tides Inn
puts you in the midst of it all, and solitude is guaranteed (doubles from $285; tidesinn.com).
November 2008 ]]>
Fall colors linger through November in northern Georgia, but if you’re not careful, leaf
peeping in Fort Yargo State Park can turn into a contact sport (camping, $23; gastateparks.org/info/ftyargo).
That’s because if you’re in Fort Yargo, a 1,814-acre woodland between Atlanta and
Athens, you’re mountain biking the 11.4-mile singletrack Outer Loop, which features some
technical rock and root garden sections. And brace yourself for the roller-coaster
Horseshoe Drop: 18 feet down, 80 percent up—a major whoop-de-doo. For a lazy Sunday
ride, opt for the flat, winding 7.2-mile Inner Loop, which skirts Marbury Creek Reservoir.
To focus on the scenery, don your plaid pants and tee off on the park’s 18-hole disc
golf course, one of the most scenic and challenging anywhere—lots of trees, a 260-acre
water hazard (the reservoir), and the odd deer. The park office sells discs.
November 2008 ]]>
Jump to the third day of Hawks Cay’s Learn to Sail Program, when you cruise away from
the Florida Keys and into the Atlantic Ocean on your own. No instructor on board. With a
15- or 20-knot breeze filling your sails, you tack and jibe over open water in your
custom-designed 26-foot keelboat, dolphins arcing in your bow wave as you spew salty
jargon with the ease of Jean Lafitte. The intensive three-day program, which delivers a
U.S. Sailing basic keelboat certificate (your ticket to rent and captain a 26-footer
pretty much anywhere), emphasizes focused instruction on the water. "It’s a
wide-open ocean playground here," says head sailor Craig Yakel, "once you get
past the $7 million homes along the waterway." Your digs aren’t too shabby either:
a private island resort on Duck Key with an upscale, though barefoot-casual, West Indies
feel (sailing course, certificate, and three nights’ stay, $1,545; hawkscay.com).
November 2008 ]]>