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Cruising California’s Redwood Coast

Five hours north of San Francisco on Hwy 101, you reach Humboldt County, otherwise known as California’s Redwood Coast. While more than 4 million people visit Yosemite National Park each year, only 600,000 make it to Redwood National Park annually to see the world’s tallest tree, a 379-foot coastal redwood. Indeed, this is the undiscovered Californian coast, where you can drive through the largest intact old-growth redwood forest, Avenue of the Giants, with relatively little traffic, hike almost 80 miles of wilderness shoreline on the Lost Coast, stroll the perfectly preserved Victorian village of Ferndale, and walk through the luxuriant moss-covered walls of Fern Canyon. Once known only for its cash crop, marijuana, Humboldt County is now known for its vineyards and claims to have the greatest number of artists per capita in all of California, the reason why author John Villani picked Eureka number one in his book, “The 100 Best Art Towns in America.” This region of the country has been on my wish list for quite some time, so I’m excited to be reporting live this week from Humboldt County. Please follow my every move on this blog and from my tweets @ActiveTravels.

 

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5 Adventures on a Shoestring, Diving in Fiji

Taveuni, Fiji, is one of those places like Palau or the Red Sea that is discussed only in clandestine conversations between avid scuba divers. They come here to dive the renowned Rainbow Reef, whose intricate corals and myriad fish provide divers with a kaleidoscopic view of the sea. Add white-tip sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays to the equation and you have one of the finest diving experiences in the world. Taveuni Ocean Sports offers a 7-night dive resort package that starts at $1450 per person. The package includes five days of two–tank dives (including guided tour for certified divers, tanks and weights), lodging at Taveuni’s lone eco-resort, Nakia, three meals a day and afternoon tea with freshly-baked goodies at Nakia’s Cliffhouse Restaurant. 

 
In your spare time, skip the hike to Lake Tagimaucia. Here’s my story in the Boston Globe about that painful experience. It’s been fun reliving some of my favorite adventures this week! Next week, I’ll be in Florida visiting family. I’ll be back on February 22nd. In the meantime, happy travels and keep active! 
 
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Dog Sledding in New England

Maybe it’s the rare chance to get lost in the wilderness without the masses during winter, breathing in the scent of pines in relative quietude, listening only to the pitter-patter of dogs’ legs running through the snow. Or maybe you want to cuddle with a team of soft-furred huskies. Whatever the reason, dog sledding outfitters are popping up all over New England. One of the best is Mahoosuc Guide Service in Newry, Maine, which made its debut 20 years ago. Polly Mahoney and her husband Kevin Slater lead day and overnight trips to Umbagog Lake on the New Hampshire border. Cost for the overnight tours start at $555 per person, including food, camping, winterized tents, and requisite doggies. 
 

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Walk the Overland Track, Tasmania

Talk to any Aussie and they’ll tell you that Tasmania is the Australia of yore, an island the size of Ireland that boasts a diverse landscape of creamy sands, endless tracts of lush forest, dramatic sea cliffs battered by Antarctic gales, craggy peaks, and alpine lakes.  One of the best ways to appreciate this wilderness is on the legendary Overland Track, a 40-mile trek that links 5,069-foot Cradle Mountain with the waters of Lake St. Clair.  Now is the time to book for the popular December to April season since the number of backpackers is limited. You can either to choose to tackle the four to six day hike on your own or on a guided trek with naturalists from Cradle Mountain Huts. Spend the nights on a mattress at one of the five cradle huts, then wake up to the call of the native Karrowong bird and get ready to trample over leaves, smelling the sweet scent of sassafras, as you take in the varied landscape of mountain streams, glacial rock, and dark forests.

 
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Ski Snowbasin

Many of our clients who like to ski Park City and Deer Valley have been adding on days to check out Alta and Snowbird. You should also add Snowbasin and nearby Powder Mountain to that list. Only 30 minutes from Salt Lake City on the outskirts of Ogden, Snowbasin is one of the oldest ski resorts in America, first opened in 1939. But what gets skiers all dreamy eyed is the 3,000-foot vertical and 3,000 skiable acres, more than enough terrain to challenge you during a day or two. If you stay in Ogden, 17 miles away, a free shuttle will pick you up for the ski area. Want more? Powder Mountain has a whopping 7,000 acres of terrain and is still mostly skied by locals and ski writers in the know. They offer a chance to ride up on a snow-cat before skiing down and glorious backcountry runs in Powder Country. So just don’t think of Alta and Snowbird the next time you want to escape Park City. Give Snowbasin and Powder a try. 

 
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Memorable Spring Bike Rides, Biking to Giverny

Next week, I’ll be blogging live from Ontario’s wine country, Niagara-on-the-Lake, on a bike trip organized by Butterfield and Robinson. To get me in the mood, I’m going to devote this week to my favorite spring rides over the years. First up, biking to Giverny.

 
Those of you with a love of art history know Giverny as the home of Claude Monet. Less than an hour by train from Paris, you can make the pilgrimage to Monet’s home and his spectacular Japanese water garden inundated with day lilies, the inspiration for many of the works that hang on the walls of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and other impressive collections of Impressionism around the globe. Fat Tire Bike Tours escorts riders from Paris’ St. Lazare train station to the quaint village of Vernon. Once you arrive, you head to an outdoor market to stock up on picnic food–soft, creamy Reblochon cheese, slices of yummy Rosette de Lyon sausage, duck liver pate, warm baguettes from the neighborhood boulangerie, juicy strawberries and apricots, and a bottle of wine to wash it down. 
 
After passing out bikes, our guide Andrew led us to the banks of the Seine River where we watched a family of swans swim as we dug into our goodies. Then we were off on an easy bike trail that connects Vernon with Giverny. We entered the picturesque hamlet and were soon walking over that Japanese bridge seen in many of Monet’s works. The whole trip took about 8 hours and cost 75 Euros per biker, a perfect day trip from Paris. 
 
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Yoga Atop New England’s Tallest Peak

Carlene Sullivan, owner of Symmetree Yoga in North Conway, New Hampshire, has just introduced a 2-night Yoga Adventure, where you take a guided hike or drive to the top of 6,288-foot Mount Washington, and top it off with yoga and meditation on the summit surrounded by the other ridges of the White Mountains. Prices start at $260 per person and include two nights’ accommodation, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, yoga class, breath work, and meditation, and transportation to the site from North Conway. Carlene also offers day-trips, where you hike to a serene spot in the Whites and have your own private yoga session next to a waterfall or rambling stream. 
 

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