Summer is the best time to explore the great outdoors. Whether you want to hike, kayak, camp, golf, zipline or just relax on the beach, East Coast parks, beaches and recreational facilities have something for everyone.


Rent a cabin, park your RV or pitch a tent at Chenango Valley State Park near Binghamton, N.Y., and the great outdoors is just steps away. Enjoy mountain biking, hiking along wooded trails or an old barge canal, swimming, kayaking, playing golf and bird watching. Two glacier-formed lakes provide pristine waters for swimming and fishing.


South Carolina offers hikers both uphill, strenuous climbs and more easygoing treks through live oaks and marshes. The more adven- turous should try the Table Rock hike to the top of Pinnacle and Table Rock mountains. Poinsett State Park in Wedgefield, S.C., offers a bit of both — an extensive system of trails in hardwood forests with steep hills and more coastal-like hikes through swamps with a canopy of Spanish moss overhead.


For thrill seekers, zip line courses abound in Pennsylvania. Pocono


Tree Ventures and Zip Racer in Bushkill, offers 1,000-ft. dual-racing zip lines and a course that will challenge you with aerial tightropes, swinging log steps and moving platforms. Near Pittsburgh, Go Ape in North Park has five zip lines, Tarzan swings, rope ladders and 41 exciting crossings — all in the forest canopy 40-50 feet above ground. Refreshing Mountain in Lancaster County combines the thrill of zip- lining with the challenge of high adventure obstacles in two courses of 1,400 and 3,500 feet.


For a Florida adventure, skip the theme parks and beaches and take a guided airboat tour. Passengers typically see alligators, ea- gles, hawks and other wildlife. Three outfitters offer a variety of tours: Captain Fred’s in Lake Hamilton; Alligators Unlimited in Lake Wales, and Alligator Cove Tours in Lake Wales, provides a Florida swamp tour through the marshlands of the Kissimmee River basin.


Whatever adventure you choose, download the free app, Oh, Ranger, to guide and


you through historic sites, golf courses, campgrounds nature centers.


Reader Service #330 8 GreatVacation Getaways www.greatvacations.travel FLORIDA


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