American Adventures
Sail power is popular along both
east and west coasts of the USA. San Francisco plays host to the America’s Cup in 2013, while other favourite haunts for yachting include Chesapeake Bay, New England, the Great Lakes, and Puget Sound in Washington State. Thrills and spills galore are
promised on West Virginia’s New and Gauley rivers, ranked among the best in the world for white- water rafting. Other top spots include the Colorado River, which runs through the Grand Canyon, and the Snake River that bisects both Idaho and Oregon. If you’d rather be in the water than merely on it, the Florida Keys
boasts some of the best dive sites in the USA. Warm, crystal-clear waters include the country’s only living-coral barrier reef. On the other side of the country,
the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu is considered a prime spot for surfers looking to catch some of the biggest and most powerful waves imaginable. Other top surfing beaches include Monterey and San Clemente in California and Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.
HORSEPLAY Back on land, there’s plenty of scope for horsing around. Ranch holidays allow John Wayne wannabes to live out their Wild West fantasies, with a host of activities including horse riding, cattle drives, chuck-wagon rides and campfire cook-outs. There’s a huge choice of accommodation on offer, depending on how much you want to rough it – from genuine, working ranches with basic
26
"Canoeing and kayaking, available in every state, is a great way to get out and about among the USA's rugged wilderness"
amenities to luxurious resort ranches with no shortage of home comforts (and cooking). Native American heritage is on
show in many parts of the USA. Options include guided walks with Navajo Indians in Arizona, tours of New Mexico’s pueblos, traditional ceremonies in Oklahoma and pow wows in Wisconsin.
LIFE IN THE WILD The pristine landscape of the USA offers plenty of opportunities for spotting wildlife, from buffalo in South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park, whales off Cape Cod in Massachusetts and the San Juan Islands in Washington State to alligators in the Louisiana bayous and Florida’s Everglades. Yellowstone also offers snowmobile tours in winter to
www.visitusa.org.uk
view wolves, while Pennsylvania has designated a 127-mile route in the north of the state as the Elk Scenic Drive, with special viewing areas for watching elk herds. Bald eagles can be seen in a
host of places throughout the country, including Kaw Lake and Salt Plains Lake in Oklahoma, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland and the Hudson valley in New York. Cape May in New Jersey is a
haven for seabirds and the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio attract a wide variety of warblers. Other major locations for birdwatching include
Pictured L-R: Canoeing on Lake Oconee, Georgia; Skiing at Crested Butte, Colorado; Cycling in McDowell Mountain Park, Arizona; Kayaking on Lake Tahoe, California
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68