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Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

Thinking of moving to Portland, Seattle, or Denver next summer. Obviously there's a lot of other factors involved, but how's the hiking? I'd try to put together an epic backpacking trek every now and then, but mostly I'd be doing day hikes within a short drive from the city. So how are these cities, or others, in terms of accessibility to some good trails?

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Morbus
May 18, 2004

I mean, this largely depends on what you consider to be a short drive, what you consider to be a city, and how much you like snow. Overall, though, I think it comes down to Seattle or Denver.

For Seattle, virtually every place you could want to visit in the state is within a 2-3 or so hour drive, and there are a LOT of places worth visiting. Washington in general is also great in terms of most major wilderness areas and parks having some great hikes you can do in just a half-day, with easily accessible trailheads. The only real downside is the weather. And it's not just "oh boo hoo its raining", there are many days where you can't expect to see more than 10 feet in front of you in the mountains. Shoulder season's also tend to be short in the mountains, but there are at least some good places you can hike year round.

Denver is a close 2nd place in my opinion. Denver also has loads of stuff within a short drive. Not quite as many as Seattle imo, but it's closer to the (or at least some) mountains with plenty of excellent hiking only around an hour away. The weather is in general more manegable than Washington, but its also a lot less green and with less water.

Personally I live in San Jose, and routinely drive 4-6 hours (usually closer to 6) to go hiking on the weekends. This is too far to drive, hike, and drive home in a single day, but most of the time I want to spend more than 1 day anyway, and it's easy to find a campground or someplace to crash on Friday/Saturday and drive home Sunday (usually easier to do this than get a last minute permit even if I want to backpack). If I really wanted to do a single day contained trip, though, there is no way any "city" in California could compete with Seattle or Denver in terms of the abundance and quality of trails accessible in a single-day trip. And this is pretty much the case for most places.

One thing I think CA has going for it, though, is that either because the wilderness is further from cities, or because Yosemite serves as a giant tourist magnet, a lot of the most spectacular places in the Sierra Nevada are total ghost towns, and you can go all day without seeing another person. I love Washington and sometimes thing about moving to Seattle, but at the end of the day I may actually end up with fewer days of good hiking over there due to weather, and despite things being several hours closer the logistics of a weekend trip wouldn't be dramatically different. So from my point of view the "best" cities for day hiking might not necessarily be the ones closest to day-hiking destinatons.

Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

Morbus posted:

I mean, this largely depends on what you consider to be a short drive, what you consider to be a city, and how much you like snow. Overall, though, I think it comes down to Seattle or Denver.

For Seattle, virtually every place you could want to visit in the state is within a 2-3 or so hour drive, and there are a LOT of places worth visiting. Washington in general is also great in terms of most major wilderness areas and parks having some great hikes you can do in just a half-day, with easily accessible trailheads. The only real downside is the weather. And it's not just "oh boo hoo its raining", there are many days where you can't expect to see more than 10 feet in front of you in the mountains. Shoulder season's also tend to be short in the mountains, but there are at least some good places you can hike year round.

Denver is a close 2nd place in my opinion. Denver also has loads of stuff within a short drive. Not quite as many as Seattle imo, but it's closer to the (or at least some) mountains with plenty of excellent hiking only around an hour away. The weather is in general more manegable than Washington, but its also a lot less green and with less water.

Personally I live in San Jose, and routinely drive 4-6 hours (usually closer to 6) to go hiking on the weekends. This is too far to drive, hike, and drive home in a single day, but most of the time I want to spend more than 1 day anyway, and it's easy to find a campground or someplace to crash on Friday/Saturday and drive home Sunday (usually easier to do this than get a last minute permit even if I want to backpack). If I really wanted to do a single day contained trip, though, there is no way any "city" in California could compete with Seattle or Denver in terms of the abundance and quality of trails accessible in a single-day trip. And this is pretty much the case for most places.

One thing I think CA has going for it, though, is that either because the wilderness is further from cities, or because Yosemite serves as a giant tourist magnet, a lot of the most spectacular places in the Sierra Nevada are total ghost towns, and you can go all day without seeing another person. I love Washington and sometimes thing about moving to Seattle, but at the end of the day I may actually end up with fewer days of good hiking over there due to weather, and despite things being several hours closer the logistics of a weekend trip wouldn't be dramatically different. So from my point of view the "best" cities for day hiking might not necessarily be the ones closest to day-hiking destinatons.

Awesome, thanks for the info.

Rhymes With Clue
Nov 18, 2010

I'm in Denver. Lots and lots of good hiking in and around Denver, but a lot of the popular trails are very, very crowded. In particular, most of the 14ers are incredibly crowded, even on weekdays. (Exceptions are the ones where you have to drive over 20 miles of bad road to get to the trailhead.) Mostly, this is because most of the 14ers are easy walk-ups. So I recommend 13ers,, as they are still great hikes, but much less crowded because millions of people are not out to bag a 13er this weekend.
.

Venusian Weasel
Nov 18, 2011

I spent a summer interning in Denver. Plenty of stuff within an hour of the city for an after work walk in the summers, and loads of amazing weekend trips. Rocky Mountain National Park has loads of day hikes, and there's some great climbs in the Sangre de Cristos. Never had a chance to travel to the western half of the state while I was there, but I'm sure there's even more stuff out there.

I loved Denver.

FlapYoJacks
Feb 12, 2009
Boise Idaho is surrounded by mountains. Great place to live if you can find work.

Hotel Kpro
Feb 24, 2011

owls don't go to school
Dinosaur Gum
Idaho is definitely home to some absolutely amazing hiking.

Salt Lake City also has tons of day hikes. It's at the base of the Wasatch Range

Trash Trick
Apr 17, 2014

Flagstaff, AZ. Hands down.

AceRimmer
Mar 18, 2009

Trash Trick posted:

Flagstaff, AZ. Hands down.
Seconding this, the Arizona Trail segment through town has amazing views of the San Francisco peaks.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
After your hike go see my boy at wanderlust brewing. He knows how to make a good beer

Trash Trick
Apr 17, 2014

AceRimmer posted:

Seconding this, the Arizona Trail segment through town has amazing views of the San Francisco peaks.

While I was going to NAU I'd do Elden like 3-4x weekly. There's an awesome trailhead behind a church that leads to the pipeline trail -> lower oldham loop -> sunset trail and it's fuckin divine.

Trash Trick
Apr 17, 2014

this is what I did https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/842425/pipeline-trail . free, always-open parking @ Trinity Heights (plz dont publicize this, posting because i know this board doesn't get that much traffic). Take that to lower oldham and then just explore the mountain. so so so great.

Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

So, Colorado is looking more appealing for a variety of circumstantial reasons (though Seattle's still a possibility...sell me on it!). But there are up to three cities in Colorado I'm interested in: Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. I already sort of know the pros and cons between them, so to stay on topic, how about the hiking? Which of these cities has the sweet spot between accessibility to trails, not-crowded-ness on the trail, and quality of hikes?

The XKCD Larper
Mar 1, 2009

by Lowtax

Trash Trick posted:

Flagstaff, AZ. Hands down.

Seconded, that city rules. You can camp virtually anywhere, there's loads of hiking, mountain biking, running trails, etc. etc. Even riding to the library is magical.

Suspect Bucket
Jan 15, 2012

SHRIMPDOR WAS A MAN
I mean, HE WAS A SHRIMP MAN
er, maybe also A DRAGON
or possibly
A MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM
BUT HE WAS STILL
SHRIMPDOR
I'm gonna toot my city's own horn and let y'all know that Jacksonville has some of the best and most accessible parks and hiking I've ever come across. You can hike lonely shorelines, hammocks and marshes, open scrub plains, pine stands, and beautiful oak forests. There's a ton of little pocket hikes contained within the Jacksonville metro area, and lots of cool stuff hidden away.

For example! Seaton Creek Historic Preserve. I live less then five miles away from it, and I only just started hiking there this year. I never knew it existed. It's a quiet beautiful little hike, and the site of the southernmost battle of the Revolutionary War!

(it was rather a fuckup)




Without leaving the Northside, you can also head east to Pumpkin Hill, Betz-Tiger Point, and Black Hammock Island. Unfortunately, there's a fair bit of swamp and water between them and the real jewel parks of Jacksonville, which are Black Rock and Cypress Graveyard Beaches on Big Talbot, pristine and beautiful with amenities Little Talbot, Fort George, Hugenot where you can drive on the beach, and Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, which are all separate and beautiful properties, and ALL ON THE SAME ROAD. A1A is a beaut of a drive down here, by the way. All of these parks have fantastic trails. Not to mention some of the best fishing in Florida.

pros: Accessibility, beaches, wildlife
cons: Not that remote, still might be gored to death by urban feral pigs

Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Mar 23, 2017

Ramrod Hotshot
May 30, 2003

Haha, I'm from Atlantic Beach. Duuu-val!

Anyway, I ended up in Fort Collins, CO. :q:

Suspect Bucket
Jan 15, 2012

SHRIMPDOR WAS A MAN
I mean, HE WAS A SHRIMP MAN
er, maybe also A DRAGON
or possibly
A MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM
BUT HE WAS STILL
SHRIMPDOR

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

Haha, I'm from Atlantic Beach. Duuu-val!

Anyway, I ended up in Fort Collins, CO. :q:

DUUUUUUVVAAAALLLLL

Colorado in it's self is one massive hiking paradise in my experience. Y'all got parks and trails everywhere, and people who use them in every weather x.x

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal
This is clearly an open and shut case, it's obviously Cleveland, what with its proximity to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (which receives more than 2.3 million visits a year, making it one of the most visited national parks right behind Glacier National Park) :chord:

bringer
Oct 16, 2005

I'm out there Jerry and I'm LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT
Doesn't Denver get a ton of snow in the winter? Fine if you're okay with snowshoeing or into skiing, but you can hike year round in the PNW. Goretex is good.

girl pants
Sep 21, 2006
I feel a great disturbance in my pants
Knoxville, TN is about two minutes (okay like an hour and a half) from the Great Smoky Mountains. I realize the Appalachians aren't everybody's cup of tea because they're old and small and rocky as all hell, but I really like them. Worth a visit imo.

Plus you can't throw a rock downtown without taking out a craft brewery these days.

Suspect Bucket
Jan 15, 2012

SHRIMPDOR WAS A MAN
I mean, HE WAS A SHRIMP MAN
er, maybe also A DRAGON
or possibly
A MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM
BUT HE WAS STILL
SHRIMPDOR

girl pants posted:

Plus you can't throw a rock downtown without taking out a craft brewery these days.

Man, I miss the days when we just called moonshine stills what they were, and didn't try to get all fancy and legal about it. Also, meth didn't exist.

I gotta wonder, have all the shiners moved on to meth, or is there still a noble outlaw spirit of shine?

Docjowles
Apr 9, 2009

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

Anyway, I ended up in Fort Collins, CO. :q:

This is a cool and good city where I lived for 7 years (and wish I hadn't left :argh:) Probably getting offtopic for the thread but feel free to post or PM any questions about the area.

Hope you like beer!

bringer posted:

Doesn't Denver get a ton of snow in the winter? Fine if you're okay with snowshoeing or into skiing, but you can hike year round in the PNW. Goretex is good.

It does but unless you're getting way up in the mountains it tends to melt pretty quickly following a storm cause there's so much sun. The foothills aren't snowy all winter by any means.

girl pants
Sep 21, 2006
I feel a great disturbance in my pants

Suspect Bucket posted:

I gotta wonder, have all the shiners moved on to meth, or is there still a noble outlaw spirit of shine?

There is indeed, but since moonshine is actually legal to sell here now who knows how long it'll last. RIP Popcorn Sutton.

Olothreutes
Mar 31, 2007

Albuquerque has loads of hiking, several in town between the foothills, the mesa/volcanoes, and the foothills. Then you can leave town and a few hours reach a huge amount of stuff. Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Taos, etc. There are also some light climbs like Cabezon Peak, which is a basalt plug from an old volcano out in the middle of nowhere that you can climb.

binaryslacker
Sep 4, 2011

Good Times

Rhymes With Clue posted:

I'm in Denver. Lots and lots of good hiking in and around Denver, but a lot of the popular trails are very, very crowded. In particular, most of the 14ers are incredibly crowded, even on weekdays. (Exceptions are the ones where you have to drive over 20 miles of bad road to get to the trailhead.) Mostly, this is because most of the 14ers are easy walk-ups. So I recommend 13ers,, as they are still great hikes, but much less crowded because millions of people are not out to bag a 13er this weekend.
.

If ever in Colorado and you encounter the yellow rocks and the signs telling you not to touch the yellow rocks, you should do as the sign says. Even if you don't see the sign, avoid touching the yellow rocks.

BossTweed
Apr 9, 2001


Doctor Rope
Louisville is pretty good for hiking from what I've seen so far. I've only been here a couple years and haven't had too much time for hiking, but I have been to most of these.

You've got a few parks designed by the Frederick Olmsted including two of the larger ones (Cherokee and Iroquois), plus another big city park, Seneca. Cherokee and Seneca are 10 minutes from downtown, Iroquois is about 15. Then there is a state park in the city limits (about 15 min from downtown) E.P. "Tom" Sawyer, a state park that has some nature trails along with some other features.

Just outside the main interstates are two other large parks, The Parklands, and Jefferson Memorial Forest which are each about 25 minutes from downtown. The Jefferson Memorial Forest is the largest municipal urban forest in the United States, and The Parklands is new and is pretty awesome. It is a stretch of 20 miles worth of parks, with a closed access trail that runs along a river that is running through all of it, plus trails branching off all over with access about 6 different spots to park along the trail. That trail is going to connect to a loop around the city (the Louisville Loop) when it is all complete.

In Indiana there is Lapping park that is about 10 min from downtown Louisville that has some easy trails, and also Deam Lake state recreation area, and Charlestown state park that are both 30 minutes from downtown Louisville.

Farther away you can go to Bernheim Forest which is a really nice arboretum and research forest that has 35 miles of trails, that is about 30 minutes south of Louisville. There is also Otter Creek recreation area near Ft. Knox that has some decent trails.

Hoosier National Forest in Indiana is an hour and 15 minutes away and has plenty of trails as well.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I grew up in Bloomington and Hoosier Nash is a great zone. Also Brown County SP, Yellowwood, Morgan-Monroe. Bloomington also has good greenbelts, and griffy reservoir is a sweet spot just at the edge of town. If you look at satellite maps of Bloomington, it's in a nice blob of green surrounded by endless farmland. Also, Brown county and other parks in southern indiana have really built up their mountain bike trail systems in the last decade.

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BossTweed
Apr 9, 2001


Doctor Rope

Epitope posted:

If you look at satellite maps of Bloomington, it's in a nice blob of green surrounded by endless farmland. Also, Brown county and other parks in southern indiana have really built up their mountain bike trail systems in the last decade.

Yeah, I bought my Subaru in Bloomington and it was a nice drive through the forest there on the way from I-65. I have been hearing a lot about Brown County for mountain biking, I think a lot of folks from Louisville go up there to ride. There are a few solid mountain biking trails in and around Louisville too (Seneca/Cherokee, Waverly Park, Turkey Run in The Parklands).

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