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Whitewater Raft the Moose and Upper Hudson River Gorge in the Adirondacks

The abundance of snowfall this winter bodes well for whitewater rafting this spring, when rivers will be bulging at the seam with the high volume of water. Join the adrenalin junkies in the Adirondacks at Hudson River Gorge or the Moose River, where you’ll be plummeting down rip-roaring Class IV and Class V rapids. If you want something a wee bit mellower to bring the kids, check out the Middle Hudson or Sacandaga Rivers. To make it even more tempting, Visit Lake George is offering a raffle for five packages that include rafting and lodging. Sign up to win by April 1st. 

 

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Find Peak Colors on the Drive from Asheville to Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The 80-mile stretch of roadway between Asheville and Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway is a joy anytime of year, but it’s hard to top this coming week when the leaves on red maples, dogwoods, and sassafras trees are at the height of their fall foliage. Spend your first night in the heart of downtown at the Renaissance Asheville. Then it’s time to hit the High Country, where the drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway reaches its highest elevation at 6,047 feet, surrounded by row after row of ridges like the flanks of Mount Pisgah and Cold Mountain, the setting for the best-selling novel. There are numerous opportunities to stretch your legs and stroll to lonely mountain streams and waterfalls amongst the 120 species of trees, the greatest variety in the US. A good place to start is the self-guided Harwood Cove Nature Trail that begins at the Chimneys Picnic Area.

 
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New England Lodgings You Need to Book Well in Advance

There are three reasons why the Beachmere Inn in Ogunquit, Maine, continues to sell out summer after summer: location, location, location. A small gate at the far end of the inn’s sprawling lawn opens onto to the famous mile-long cliff walk they call the Marginal Way. Turn left, and you can stroll downhill to the main beach, stores, and restaurants in Ogunquit. Turn right, and discover even more breathtaking vistas of the jagged coastline and vast Atlantic. Keep going, and soon you’re in the compact neighborhood of Perkins Cove, where you can shop for painted lobster buoys and grab that requisite lobster roll at Barnacle Billy’s.

To find other New England properties where reservations are a must, please check out my latest story for Yankee Magazine, Reservations Necessary. 

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Warm Weather Getaways with a New England Connection

For the first time in its 80-year history, Yankee Magazine has ventured outside the borders of New England to focus on warm weather destinations this winter. Yet, to be fair, my story is only online and my editor insisted that the line-up of locales had to have some connection to New England. Whether it’s the youngest Vanderbilt brother escaping his siblings in Newport, Red Sox fans flocking to spring training, or New Englanders of yore forming new communities in the south and west, we’ve come up with a list that will hopefully inspire New Englanders to “keep it local.” Please tell me what you think. 

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Watching the Spring Migration of Birds

It’s hard to focus on writing this morning, grabbing my binoculars every five minutes to view the red-tailed hawks flying by my window. They love to rest on the branches of the tall oak trees outside my third floor office. I love this time of year, when my feathered friends start to return north and their cacophony of voices wake me up at sunrise. It’s too early to spot my beloved warblers as they cruise the Atlantic Flyway to their summer retreats. I’ll be heading to Mount Auburn Cemetery, a favorite haunt of Boston birders in mid-April, to spot those beauties. Last spring, I pointed out a website, Westport Osprey, that was tracking the flight of ospreys as they were making their way north. So far in 2011, Hudson left his winter home of Venezuela and is already back in his nest on the Westport River in southeastern Massachusetts. As of March 15, Sanford was still hanging out in the Bahamas ordering another rum punch at the swim-up bar. Stay tuned to Westport Osprey to track his flight.  And make a plan to visit Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, run by Mass Audubon, to find the nesting Westport osprey, bald eagles, piping plovers and other shore birds.
 

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Marrakech is the Hot Destination in 2012

Folks always ask me what’s the hot destination out there, Steve. To which I always answer, wherever the sun’s shining. Lately, however, I’ve been receiving a slew of information about all the new upscale properties opening in Marrakech. If that’s your gauge for what’s hot, then Marrakech might be the place for you next spring. This past June, the Four Seasons opened within easy walking distance of the Medina and across the street from the Menara Gardens. This month, the Taj Palace Marrakech will open, with 161 rooms offering panoramic views of the Atlas Mountains and the palm gardens of Marrakech’s Palmeraie district. Opening early in 2012, Assoufid is an all suite property with pools and a golf course, located 15 minutes outside the city. While the rest of North Africa is in a state of political unrest, Morocco seems to be moving along just swell.
 

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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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