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Jay Peak’s New Indoor Waterpark a Blast

In the last couple years, Jay Peak, in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont has grown leaps and bounds with the opening of the Tram Haus Lodge, the new Hotel Jay, and adjacent indoor waterpark, the Pump House. I didn’t realize what a state-of-the-art waterpark they were talking about until I checked it out with my family for the first time on Friday night. It’s immense, about the size of an airplane hangar, with a lazy river snaking around the perimeter. There’s a retractable roof, long bar on the second floor, large video screen to watch sporting events, and a slew of rides. This includes La Chute, a free fall, where you plummet through a loop and can reach speeds of up to 50 mph in five seconds. The Double Barrel is a wave to try your hand at surfing and boogie boarding. There’s also a big hot tub where I rested after skiing on Saturday. Since it opened in December, there have been more people in the waterpark on weekends than skiing the slopes. After experiencing blustery winds and below-zero temperatures on the mountain on Sunday, I believe it. 
 

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Top 5 Travels of 2010, Biking Shark Valley, The Everglades, Florida

Another great day ride, this one an hour outside of Miami. Drive west on the Tamiami Trail (Highway 41) and you’ll reach the Shark Valley Visitor Center at the northern tip of Everglades National Park. Rent bikes from the rangers and get ready for one of the most exhilarating 15-mile loops of your life. More than likely, it will take you an hour to bike that first mile. That’s because you’ll want to stop every 20 yards or so to get another photograph of an alligator sleeping in the tall grass, large turtles sunbathing on rocks, and the extraordinary amount of birdlife that call the canal next to the bike trail home. Anhingas dry their wings on the branches of the gumbo limbo tree, wood storks, white whooping cranes, and the long-legged great blue heron stand tall in the shallow water, while pink roseate spoonbills fly over the royal palms. This ride is ideal for any budding wildlife photographer.

(Photo credit: Lisa Leavitt)
 

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O.A.R.S. Multisport Trip to Yellowstone

Along with Sobek, O.A.R.S has been a pioneer in the world of whitewater rafting, first making its debut in 1969. Today, the California-based company runs more than 1,230 miles of rivers in America, plus guiding clientele on rivers in 14 other countries. They include such classic whitewater runs as Alaska’s Tatshenshini, Idaho’s iconic Main Salmon River, Chile’s Futaleufu River, and the legendary Zambezi in Zambia. Lately, however, I’ve been intrigued by the outfitter’s expansion to multisport trips, ideally suited for families who want to sample a different sport each day. Just like Backroads has a strong biking component on their multisport jaunts, O.A.R.S. takes advantage of their expertise, water sports. Rafting and sea kayaking are combined with hiking and horseback riding options. For example, on their 6-day trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons, you’ll paddle on Jackson Lake under the snowcapped peaks of the Tetons, raft the Snake River, and sea kayak Yellowstone Lake, with hikes in Moran Bay and around the geysers thrown in for the landlubbers. The company also leads other multisport adventures to the Galapagos, Fiji, Belize, and my favorite whitewater run in North America, the Chilko in BC. Everett Potter’s Travel Report is now offering a chance to win an O.A.R.S. trip to Yellowstone this summer. The winning prize is for two people. 

 
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Hotel Vermont’s New Summer Beer Exploration Package

If you like Heady Topper as much as I do, then you’re going to enjoy Hotel Vermont’s Summer Beer Exploration Package. Offered once a month from June through October, the two-day event starts with a five-course beer pairing dinner featuring Vermont’s most highly rated breweries (Hill Farmstead, The Alchemist, Foam Brewers, Lawson’s Finest Liquids) curated by Beer Concierge, Matt Canning. The next morning, you’ll have breakfast with the team at Foam Brewers while firing up the brew kettle and mashing in the grain to start the day’s brew. Then you’ll head 10 miles south to the new state-of-the-art Peterson Quality Malt facility at Nordic Farm. The defunct dairy barn now serves as Vermont’s only craft malt house producing the base ingredient for Vermont’s world-renowned breweries. Afterwards, enjoy lunch and a beer tasting in the fields of barley, with stunning views of both the Green and Adirondack Mountains. Cost of the Beer Exploration Package, including 2 nights at the Hotel Vermont, starts at $1130 for two guests. Interested? Let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check availability. 

 
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Camel Trekking Across the Moroccan Desert

In the 90s, active travel outfitters like Backroads gained popularity by offering inn-to-inn biking and hiking trips. Other sports like rafting and sea kayaking started to appear in itineraries in the first decade of the new millennium. The latest trend is family adventures, taking the whole clan down to say, Costa Rice for a week and trying as many sports as possible. Also growing in popularity are more historical adventures, like this trip I just received from Baobab Expeditions. From February 20-March 1, 2010, you can join the outfitter on a 50-mile camel trek across the Moroccan desert on an old caravanserai route. The trip begins and ends in Marrakech, before heading out with Berber Guides to the oases of Lawina and Saf’Sef. You’ll sleep under the palms while enjoying traditional Berber food and listening to the music, drums, tambourines and singing of the locals. Then it’s on to Erg Chebbi to see the sand dunes rising to over 500 feet. Pricing begins at $3533 and includes lodging, food, guides, and all the drinking water you can swallow.

 

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Top 5 Mountain Climbs in the Northeast, Mount Willard, New Hampshire

If the thought of climbing a mountain makes you sweat long before leaving your car, wipe your brow and give 2,804-foot Willard a try. In less than an hour, you’ll make it to the peak where jaw-dropping views of Crawford Notch stand below you, a reward for your slight efforts. Not surprisingly, this easy climb is a favorite for families. 
   
The hike begins behind the Crawford Notch Visitor Center, former site of the Crawford railroad station. The trail starts off sharply but becomes more gradual as you criss-cross through a forest of dense pines. Eventually, sunshine seeps into the woods and you’ll reach a large opening, the light at the end of the tunnel. Look down from the rocky ledge at the old railroad line, carved into the mountainside, and the onslaught of cars that snake through Crawford Notch on Route 302. Then pat yourself on the back for climbing a White Mountain.
 

(Photo by Clyde Sisler)

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Book Rooms Now For Next Summer’s Fête des Vignerons in Vevey, Switzerland

I had the pleasure of having lunch last week with PR Maven, Gayle Conran, and Cindy Maghenzani, head of communications for Switzerland’s Lake Geneva Region. They reminded me that next summer, from July 26 to August 11, 2019, the Fête des Vignerons or Winegrower’s Festival returns to the glorious lakeside town of Vevey, located between Lausanne and Montreux. Why is this significant? Because the event only occurs once every 20 years! Join singers, dancers, wine experts, and loads of other performers for the extravaganza. It would be wise to book rooms now to ensure you have a place to stay. Grand Hotel du Lac, the property Lisa and I stayed on our last visit is a great choice, especially since it’s celebrating its 150th birthday, as Everett Potter reports in his latest column for Forbes. While in Vevey, visit the relatively new Chaplin’s World, where Charlie Chaplin spent his last years, and the majestic Chillon Castle, always a must-see sight when I’m in the area. 

 

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