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Adventure in Quebec’s Charlevoix Region

The train from Quebec City northeast to the Charlevoix region not only leaves day-trippers at the ski resort, Le Massif. You can continue on to Baie-Saint-Paul, where the outfitter, Katabatik, will take you on a 3-hour snowshoeing trek along the St. Lawrence Seaway in winter, and sea kayaking the calm Gouffre River in summer. Yet, if you arrive here in the warm weather months, it would be best if you can spend at least two nights in the region. That way, you can continue northeast along the St. Lawrence Seaway past La Malbaie to the magnificent Baie-des-Rochers municipal park. It is here in summer that you have the rare opportunity to sea kayak next to beluga and humpback whales. The playful belugas often swim right next to the kayaks offering a thrilling experience. Katabatik offers sea kayaking jaunts all along the St. Lawrence in Charlevoix, so ask about an outing that would suit your experience. 
 

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Favorite Fall Outings in New England, Walking the Cliff Walk, Newport

Rhode Island’s most popular trail is perched on the rocky shores above the Atlantic, ocean on one side, the backyards of the massive Bellevue Avenue mansions on the other. In the summer months, this 3 ½-mile route is crowded with hundreds of folks yearning to see the sloping lawns and backside of those summer “cottages” the Vanderbilts, Whitneys, and Astors built at the turn of the century. Come fall, you’ll pass the occasional dog walker as you take in the expanse of the sea all by your lonesome. Park your car on Narragansett Avenue near the walk and proceed to the right. You’ll soon spot The Breakers, the Italian-style villa commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1895.  Another highlight is the red and gold lacquered Chinese-style pagoda at the Marble House. If you were wise, you booked a room at The Chanler at Cliff Walk, the only property on the Cliff Walk. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2013, the 20-room inn is best known for its acclaimed restaurant, Spiced Pear, a favorite foodie outpost in town. 

 
Photo by Eric Savage/FLICKR
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Lake George Week—Why I Return Every Summer

I’ve had the pleasure of speaking about my career as a travel writer at 15 state travel conferences, including Mississippi, Louisiana, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Nevada. Talking to publicists, hotel owners, outfitters, and heads of city CVBs, I discuss how to attract travel writers to a destination and how to entice them to return throughout their career, continuously turning out stories for magazines, newspapers, and blogs. At every one of those speeches, I’ve included this paragraph:

 
“I don’t need anyone to pitch me on the Adirondacks in upstate New York, because that’s where I grew up. And this is an important aspect to take away from this talk. You can pitch a writer up the wazoo on a locale, but a writer always returns to a region of the world he know and loves. This is the place he cherishes and where he or she tends to weave their best yarns. We writers tend to be nostalgic. I’ve been sailing Lake George in the Adirondacks since I was a toddler and I will always return. It’s a very special retreat for me. I have always written about the Adirondacks and will continue to write about that place whether someone pitches me or not. Because I yearn to get back there.”
 
Lake George, a wondrous 32-mile-long lake nestled in the mountains, is my home away from home, where I can truly relax. I can pick up my boyhood Schenectady Gazette at the local grocery, grab a cup of Joe, and head back to the shores of the lake to chill. If I’m a feeling a bit hungry in the morning, I’ll drive to Lone Bull for a huge stack of pancakes. Then it’s off to Goony Golf for a round of miniature golf, a sea kayak paddle around the Sagamore, or playing on the high ropes course of Adirondack Extreme. The finest vacation is often the one you return to each year, not having to worry about new sites to see or restaurants to try. Things rarely change on the shores of Lake George and that’s exactly why I love it. 
 
This week I’m happy to be blogging live from Lake George, divulging my favorite ways to get on the water and hikes that will reward you with spectacular vistas of the lake. I’ll talk about Georgia O’Keeffe’s years on the lake and how the region inspired artists from as far back as the Hudson River School crowd. I’ll also talk about lodging and restaurants, including staying at the classic Sagamore and dining at the Grist Mill in nearby Warrensburg. You can also follow me on Twitter @ActiveTravels. Thanks for checking in!
 
(Photo by Lisa Leavitt)
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New in New England Skiing

We might be at the height of fall foliage in northern New England, but snow has already fallen on the summit of Killington and Stratton Mountains in Vermont. Here, in Boston, we’re expected to receive our first frost this Saturday. So it’s not premature to talk about the upcoming ski season. Big news out of Vermont is that Burke Mountain in the Northeast Kingdom has been purchased by Jay Peak. Expect the same growth that Jay has experienced over the past five years, like a new hotel and water park. In Mad River Valley, Sugarbush and Mad River Glen have teamed up for the first time to offer a “Ski the Valley” package. It includes access to both peaks, plus extras like free appetizers, free snowshoe treks, movie tickets, and yoga classes throughout the Valley. At Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, the ski resort has started its expansion over to Mount Stickney. A new T-bar will drop skiers off at a gladed area offering steep drop-offs for hot-doggers, groomed terrain for intermediates who want to play in the trees. There’s also a new log cabin being built on the summit of Stickney, where a wood stove will keep skiers warm between runs. This is the first phase of a $70 million expansion that will link Stickney with Bretton Woods’ excellent 100 km Nordic trail system.  

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Ski Red, British Columbia

Due to its remote locale and the fact that the Whistler overshadows all the other exceptional mountains in BC, you might not have heard of Red. But take my word for it, you will. In 2013, they added a chairlift up Grey Mountain, adding 22 new runs and a whopping 1,000 acres of skiing, placing Red at pretty much the same scale as Breckenridge and Jackson Hole. A year later they added cat skiing off Mount Kirkup. But size doesn’t necessarily matter when it comes to skiing this beaut. Close to 7,000 feet high and rarely another skier in view, you’re certain you were planted on Red by helicopter. You can ski the entire mountain, front and back, with exceptional intermediate and advanced terrain off the Motherlode Chair. Red’s claim to fame, however, is all the backcountry trails that weave through the trees on neighboring Mount Roberts. And those 360-degree views from the top. Sweet! Ski Red just once and you’ll understand why it’s worth flying to Spokane and driving 2 1/2 hours north to Rossland. 

 
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Robert Kaufman’s 2013 Calendars

Few Americans know Italy better than my neighbor, Robert Kaufman, who returns to the country year in, year out to photograph exquisite landscapes, city architecture, and the enthusiastic people that call it home. Kaufman has just published his 2013 calendar of Italy and it’s a beauty, with wondrous shots of Porto di Messina in Sicily, the vineyards of Vicinanza di Vinci, and the throngs that crowd Venice during Carnevale. Just as delectable is Kaufman’s 2013 Edibles calendar, celebrating its 36th edition. The vivid blueberries, cherries, and Brussels sprouts pop off the page. It’s your choice: use the dull calendar on your smart phone or wake up every morning to these spectacular images. 

 
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Whitewater Raft on the Concord River, Less Than a 30-Minute Drive from Boston

Every weekend now through May 22nd, you can go on a 3-hour guided whitewater rafting trip on the Concord River, just north of Boston. Zoar Outdoor, known for their rafting trips down the Deerfield River in central Mass, is leading trips on the Concord for ages 14 and up. For the price of $83, you can rip through three major class III and IV rapids—Twisted Sister, Three Beauties, and Middlesex Dam. Zoar Outdoor supplies all gear. All you have to do is show up at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center and get ready to scream. 

 

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