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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
All-American Outdoor Activities
By Lisa Densmore
Wherever you go in the United States, there’s a plethora of things to do outdoors, certainly hunting and fishing, but also a host of other activities, each offering varying degrees of challenge, adrenaline, scenery and exercise. Of course, the list is subjective; every state offers countless exhilarating ways to get outside. But after consulting dozens of outdoors enthusiasts, from fish and wildlife departments and conservation groups, to outdoor journalists, professional guides and outfitters, and a number plain old outdoors junkies, we came up with what we thought was the quintessential adventure for each state. Some made the cut because they are unique, others are popular, and still others are simply great finds off the beaten path.
Let us know if we got it right or not. Log on to the NWTF message board at www.nwtf.org on the All-American Outdoor Activities thread and tell us your favorites. And you’ll get a prize if we run your response in the next issue.
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ALABAMA: FISH FOR LARGEMOUTH BASS
Location: Lake Guntersville near Guntersville
Best Time: year-round, though there’s less pressure during the winter
Contact: Michael Seeley’s Lake Guntersville Guide Service, www.catchguntersvillebass.com
Lake Guntersville, Alabama’s largest lake and a regular stop on the BASS tour, is loaded with stumps and underwater ridges where lunker largemouth love to hide and then explode onto topwater baits. This 69,100-acre lake is loaded with 6- to 7-pounders, with many growing much larger.
ALASKA: FISH FOR ARTIC GRAYLING
Location: Upper Chena River near Fairbanks
Best Time: June through September, though the feeding frenzy happens at ice out
Contact: Blue Moose Rafting, www.bluemooserafting.com
Anglers on the Chena River commonly net grayling in the 16 to 20 inch range. Access points along the road get a lot of pressure, but a casual float down the clear river in a raft or tandem kayak will give you an advantage. Catch and release only.
ARIZONA: HUNT DESERT QUAIL
Location: Desert habitat surrounding Phoenix and Tucson
Best Time: October to February
Contact: Arizona Covey Breaks, www.azquailguides.com
The Arizona desert brings not only relief from winter’s raw bite but opportunities to put a dog on three different species of quail. The sparse cover among the cactus and yucca hide large coveys of Gambels and scalies, whereas the rocky outcroppings hold mearns. With liberal bag limits and a long season, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to fill your freezer.
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Photo by Lisa Densmore |
ARKANSAS: HUNT DUCKS IN FLOODED TIMBER AND RICE FIELDS
Location: White River National Wildlife Refuge near St. Charles
Best Time: mid-November through late January
Contact: Greenheads and Labs, www.greenheadsandlabs.com
The 160,000-acre White River NWR is divine for duck hunting. The largest concentration of mallards in the Mississippi flyway winter here in the flooded timber and rice fields. “Hunting on these public lands is second to none,” says Mike Checkett, a local Ducks Unlimited biologist.
CALIFORNIA: HUNT TURKEYS IN A NAPA VINEYARD
Location: Private vineyards in the Napa Valley
Best Time: mid- to late November; April and May
Contact: Diamond D Outfitters, www.diamonddoutfitters.net
Enjoy a cabernet with the turkey you bagged by the vines. Often it’s the winery that supplies the guide who might be the owner or a close relative.
COLORADO: HUNT ELK IN A NATIONAL FOREST
Location: Flat Tops Wilderness and White River National Forest in western Colorado
Best Time: mid-October to mid-November
Contact: Trout Creek Elk Hunts, www.troutcreekelkhunts.com
“Colorado is the land of opportunity for elk hunting, particularly for non-residents, with ample over-the-counter tags and 25 percent of the elk on Earth within its borders,” says Paul Queneau, conservation editor of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Bugle Magazine. Elk hunting is a challenge, even in Colorado, but with big reward if you are successful.
CONNECTICUT: FISH FOR TROUT IN THE HOUSATONIC RIVER
Location: northwest corner of the state
Best Time: April to October
Contact: Housatonic River Outfitters, www.dryflies.com
The Housatonic River is one of the best trout fisheries in the East. A managed 10-mile stretch near West Cornwall is particularly productive, with holdover rainbows at more than 18 inches. The “Housy” may have deep pools with names like Garbage Hole, One Car and Two Car, but the fish you pull out of them are a treat, not trash.
DELAWARE: HUNT GREATER SNOW GEESE
Location: Chesapeake Bay near Wilmington
Best Time: early October through mid-April
Contact: Del Bay Guide Service, www.delbayguide.com
Not to be confused with the widespread lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens), the only greater snow geese (Anser caerulescens) in the world travel the Atlantic flyway. Delaware, where they winter, is one of the few places where you can hunt them. Imagine a spread of 1,500 decoys in a field with several thousand geese swirling above you. Don’t forget your facemask!
FLORIDA: HUNT OSCEOLA TURKEYS
Location: central and southern Florida
Best Time: mid-March through mid-April
Contact: Hunting in Florida, www.huntinginflorida.com
The smallest subspecies of wild turkey, Osceola turkeys top out at 18 pounds. These showy gobblers have long spurs and beards and iridescent green and red feathers. To bag an Osceola, you need to hunt the flat pine woods, oak and palmetto hammocks and swamps of the Florida peninsula, which is the only place these wily birds live.
GEORGIA: CAMP NEAR WILD HORSES
Location: Cumberland Island National Seashore near St. Marys
Best Time: year-round. spring and late fall are peak
Contact: National Park Service, www.nps.gov/cuis
An 18-mile island off the southern coast of Georgia, Cumberland Island is home to 150 feral horses. Their ancestors were believed to be abandoned by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. The horses now graze throughout the ruins of the Dungeness Mansion, a former Carnegie estate, without threat of predation. The beachcombing and bird watching is topnotch, too.
HAWAII: SEA KAYAK THE NA PALI COAST
Location: Northwest coast of Kaua’i
Best Time: April to September
Contact: Napali Kayak, www.napalikayak.com
This 17-mile paddle passes 4,000-foot cliffs, legendary sea caves, cascading waterfalls and remote beaches, with dramatic views into Kalalau and Honopu valleys. It’s physically demanding and not for novices, but 12 hours on the ocean with sea turtles, endangered monk seals and spinner dolphins is an adventure any kayaker would envy.
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Photo by Jack Ballard |
IDAHO: WINTER FLY-FISH
Location: Big Lost River near Arco
Best Time: March to early April (before spring run-off begins)
Contact: Silver Creek Outfitters, www.silver-creek.com
Only 30 miles from the famous Sun Valley ski resort, the Big Lost River flows through another world, devoid of people yet filled with open ranchland and pleasing mountain vistas. After a careful cast and a subtle hook set, netting wild 19-inch rainbow trout will make you forget the frosty air.
ILLINOIS: BOW FISH FOR JUMPING CARP
Location: Kaskaskia River in southern Illinois
Best Time: summer, when other fishing slows down due to the heat
Contact: Illinois Trophy Connections, www.illinoistrophyconnections.com
Turkey season may be over, but there’s no need to put your bow away. Bow fishing for Asian bigheaded carp is just as fun and adrenaline inducing. A nighttime excursion by boat or from the river bank, the carp are easy to spot, sucking on the surface or rooting for food in shallow water. Aim low and let one go!
INDIANA: FISH FOR MUSKIES
Location: Webster Lake near Warsaw
Best Time: year-round
Contact: Webster Lake Guide Service, www.websterlakeguideservice.com
Annual stocking and 50-inch muskies make Webster Lake a hot spot in Indiana, a state oft overlooked for monster musky adventure. The DNR uses the sandy 585-acre lake and 200-acre backwater, which support six adult fish per acre, for brood stock.
IOWA: HUNT FOR TROPHY WHITE-TAILED DEER
Location: “Bluff Country” (extreme northeast corner of the state)
Best Time: October to mid-December
Contact: Iowa Trophy Whitetail Outfitters, www.iowatrophywhitetailoutfitters.com
With Iowa’s plentiful corn, soybean and hay fields, and relatively mild winters, big bucks have zero motivation to stray elsewhere. If left unchecked they would overrun the land. Iowa farmers depend on hunting season to keep deer populations, which number around 200,000, in balance.
KANSAS: HUNT BOBWHITE QUAIL
Location: southeastern Kansas near Independence
Best Time: September to February
Contact: Flint Hill Adventures, www.flinthillsadventures.com
Kansas is known for its endless grasslands and fields of wheat and milo, perfect habitat for bobwhite quail. These wild birds can be wily, but you’ll likely have a lot of opportunity for a few shots if your dog has a decent nose. Quail numbers were up 30 percent in 2009.
KENTUCKY: ELK HUNT ON RECLAIMED SURFACE MINES
Location: Knott County in eastern Kentucky
Best Time: October to December
Contact: Canoe Creek Outfitters, www.canoecreekranch.com
Once laid barren by strip mines, mining companies have already restored 1,200 acres to open pasture and patchy forest. The 1,500 elk relocated here in 1997 now number more than 10,000, prompting one county to declare itself the Elk Capital of the East.
LOUISIANA: FISH FOR REDFISH
Location: Inland and coastal waters, and around the barrier islands near Houma
Best Time: year-round
Contact: Bayou Guide Service, www.captlake.com
Redfish are a powerful fish that can make the angler as red as its name with the effort it takes to land a big one (4 to 11 pounds is average). A popular game fish along most of the Gulf of Mexico, the shallow pools of the bayou are especially loaded with them. It’s common to spot a couple hundred redfish a day and likely a few of them will fancy a fly.
MASSACHUSETTS: STRIPER FISH ON MARTHA’S VINEYARD
Location: Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands
Best Time: May through October
Contact: North Shore Charters, www.bassnblue.com
Striped bass are native to the Atlantic Coast and range from Quebec to the Gulf Mexico. An anadromous fish, they spawn in freshwater then migrate to saltwater. When the stripers are running off the coast of Cape Cod, especially when they head into the vineyard’s fresh ponds, it’s possible to catch a fish a cast, some tipping the scales at 50 pounds or bigger.
MAINE: WATCH THE EARLIEST SUNRISE IN THE UNITED STATES
Location: Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park
Best Time: Oct. 7 to March 6. Note: Many parks close by late October. The sunrise is still world class during the summer.
Contact: National Park Service, www.nps.gov/acad
Standing only 1,530 feet above sea level, Cadillac is more hill than mountain, but as the tallest point on the Atlantic coast, it feels the first rays of sun before anywhere else in the Lower 48. Hikers prefer the North Ridge trail, 2.2 miles each way. Ascend open ledges laden with wild blueberries (in the summer) and expansive ocean views, or drive to the top on an auto road
MARYLAND: DIG FOR CLAMS
Location: Assateague Island National Seashore near Ocean City
Best Time: mid-September through May
Contact: Oyster Bay Tackle, www.oysterbaytackle.com
You don’t need a license to go recreational clamming in Maryland, but you do need a clam rake (or very strong fingers) and a bucket. Just look for air holes in the sand and start digging. The more time you spend in the muck, the more fun you’ll have — and the more clams in your homemade chowder.
MICHIGAN: FLY-FISH FROM AN AUSABLE RIVER BOAT
Location: Upper AuSable and Manistee rivers near Grayling
Best Time: summer to mid-fall
Contact: Old AuSable Fly Shop, www.oldausable.com
These Lake Michigan tributaries are home to energetic rainbows, browns and brookies. They aren’t particularly wide or deep, so locals pole them in long skinny AuSable boats reminiscent of dugout canoes. Unique to this region, these handcrafted boats have been used by anglers for 130 years.
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Photo by Jack Ballard |
MINNESOTA: CANOE-CAMP
Location: Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Best Time: mid-spring to early fall
Contact: USDA Forest Service, www.fs.fed.us
Imagine a million acres of wilderness, laced with 1,000 lakes and streams and more than 1,500 miles of canoe routes. Some consider the Boundary Waters Canoe Area to be one of the most beautiful, pristine places on Earth. Located in Superior National Forest, you’ll find unlimited places to paddle and pitch a tent, from full-service campgrounds to primitive deserted islands.
MISSISSIPPI: FISH FOR CATFISH
Location: Mississippi River Delta near Greenville
Best Time: spring, summer, fall
Contact: Big River Guide Service, www.outfitters.org/bigriver
The bigger the river, the bigger the fish! If you want to catch goliath catfish, there’s no bigger river than the Mississippi. Ol’ Man River is home to most species, including prized blue, flathead and channel catfish. These bottom dwellers have a “nose” for food. Drop in a live shiner or stink bait. It won’t take long for the fun to begin.
MISSOURI: HUNT EASTERN TURKEYS
Location: Mark Twain National Forest near West Plains
Best Time: mid-April to early May; mid-September to the end of October
Contact: Tree House Cabins, www.treehousecabins.com
Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri’s only national forest, covers 1.5 million acres of Ozark Highlands. Wild turkeys in Missouri are a true conservation success story. Considered “rare and endangered” 60 years ago, more than 60,000 turkeys are harvested in the state today, many on this large tract of public land. Add this hot spot to your turkey hunting bucket list.
MONTANA: HUNT FOR TROPHY MULE DEER
Location: BLM and state land near Broadus
Best Time: mid-October through late November
Contact: Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, www.fwp.mt.gov
All you need is a good map and sharp eyes for a successful do-it-yourself Montana mule deer hunt. A patchwork of public and private land with obvious boundary markers, eastern Montana may not be number one historically for trophy mule deer (Colorado is), but a big buck from here would still be worth bragging about.
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NEBRASKA: WATCH SANDHILL CRANES ON THE PLATTE RIVER
Location: Rowe Sanctuary near Kearney
Best Time: March to early April
Contact: Rowe Sanctuary, www.rowesanctuary.org
More than 500,000 sandhill cranes migrate through south-central Nebraska each year, the largest concentration of sandhill cranes in the country. “It’s one of the great wildlife spectacles of the world,” says Matt Miller of the Nature Conservancy. Most people watch from blinds in the mornings or evenings, or reserve an overnight one next to the river surrounded by thousands of these tall, graceful birds.
NEVADA: FISH FOR STRIPED BASS
Location: Lake Mead
Best Time: year-round
Contact: Adventure in Angling, www.adventureinangling.com
The largest man-made lake in the USA, Lake Mead has more than 500 miles of shoreline and is twice the size of Rhode Island. Striped bass are the big fish in this huge lake, some growing to 40 pounds or more. Cast a lure into a “boil” (feeding frenzy) — when stripers herd shad on the surface then use their tails to stun them — then hold on!
NEW HAMPSHIRE: RIDE ZIP LINES DOWN A MOUNTAIN
Location: Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods
Best Time: year-round
Contact: Mount Washington Resort, www.mtwashington.com
Patterned after the canopy tours in Costa Rica, except through boreal forest rather than rainforest, the zip lines at Bretton Woods zigzag 1,000 vertical feet down the side of New Hampshire’s largest ski area. Each line gets progressively longer and faster between treetop platforms, which require some repelling and a treetop walk across a rope bridge to reach.
NEW YORK: BASS FISH IN THE ADIRONDACKS
Location: Forked Lake near the hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake
Best Time: late spring to mid-October
Contact: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor
A reservoir on the Raquette River, 1,248-acre Forked Lake harbors sizeable largemouth and smallmouth bass. Located in the heart of the Adirondack Park, the state maintains tent sites around part of the lake and on its two islands, accessible on foot or by canoe. Most people cast along the shoreline but the big ones hide among the rocks above the dam.
NEW JERSEY: WATCH THE CRANBERRY HARVEST
Location: Pine Barrens in central New Jersey, east of Philadelphia
Best Time: October
Contact: Double Trouble State Park, www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/double
170 years ago, Pine Barrens pioneer Elizabeth Lee boiled damaged cranberries, accidentally creating a tasty sauce, which was the beginning of the Ocean Spray Company. Cranberry cultivation hasn’t changed much since then. See oceans of red float atop the flooded bogs, then sample the treats at the annual cranberry festival in Chatsworth.
NEW MEXICO: HUNT ORYX
Location: White Sands Missile Range
Best Time: August through March (variable, region-wide)
Contact: Wallagog Outfitters, www.wallagogoutfitters.com
No need to travel to Africa to hunt exotic gazelles. In 1970, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish introduced oryx, a 500-pound antelope with 40-inch horns, to the White Sands Missile Range, which now number in the thousands. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime hunt. If you draw a tag, that’s your only chance, whether you bag one or not.
NORTH CAROLINA: WHITEWATER KAYAK
Location: Nantahala River near Bryson City
Best Time: April to September
Contact: Nantahala Outdoor Center, www.noc.com
Located in the Great Smoky Mountains, the Nantahala River is in the heart of the Southeastern whitewater scene. The Nantahala is a paddler’s paradise, ranging from Class II to V, depending on the daily dam release and your location on the river. Private paddlers pay a user fee. Not a kayaker? Run it in a raft!
NORTH DAKOTA: MOUNTAIN BIKE IN TEDDY ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK
Location: Badlands near Medora
Best Time: May to October
Contact: Dakota Cyclery, www.dakotacyclery.com
Mountain biking is not permitted in the national park named for the 26th president, outdoorsman and conservationist. However, the 96-mile Maah Daah Hey Trail, which connects the park’s north and south units, offers some of the best single-track in the country as you pedal past striking rock formations, antelope and other wildlife.
OREGON: FISH FOR STEELHEAD ON THE DESCHUTES RIVER
Location: Maupin to the Columbia River
Best Time: June to November, but after Labor Day there are bigger fish and less pressure
Contact: Deschutes Angler Fly Shop and Guide Service, www.deschutesangler.com
“This steelhead fishery is a fly caster’s dream, particularly for those who prefer swinging streamers with conventional or spey rods,” says Mark Freeman, outdoor staff writer of the Mail-Tribune (Medford, Ore.). You’ll find a mix of hatchery and wild fish, which are better distributed in September, after the rafting trips die down, than earlier in the summer.
OKLAHOMA: HUNT FERAL HOGS
Location: eastern and southern Oklahoma
Best Time: year-round
Contact: Boar Ridge Ranch, www.BoarRidge.com
Omnivorous wild hogs damage fields, so putting one in your freezer is not only one of hunting’s great challenges, but also a favor to locals. Though the average feral pig weighs less than 150 pounds, behemoths tip the scale at more than 600 pounds. Bring your A-game. Aided by keen eyesight and acute hearing, they may be the most intelligent animals in the forest.
OHIO: FISH FOR WALLEYE ON LAKE ERIE
Location: Lake Erie coast between Toledo and Cleveland
Best Time: April to November, also through the ice
Contact: Aqua Fantasea Fishing Charters, www.aquafantaseainc.com
There’s a reason why Lake Erie is called the “Walleye Capital of the World.” Commercial and recreational anglers harvest 3 million walleye from the lake each year, averaging 10 to 12 pounds each. Shallower than the other Great Lakes and thus providing better walleye habitat, anglers hook them from boats, from shore, and through the ice.
PENNSYLVANIA: HUNT BLACK BEAR
Location: North-central region, particularly Clinton and Lycoming counties
Best Time: late November
Contact: Burdick’s Lodge, www.padeerhunting.net
You might think a two day bow season and a three day rifle season are short for bagging a black bear, especially if you can’t use dogs, but Pennsylvania boasts the second most productive bear harvest in the country, about 3,500 in 2009. The biggest five weighed more than 610 pounds.
RHODE ISLAND: HUNT EASTERN TURKEYS
Location: statewide
Best Time: late April to late May
Contact: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, www.dem.ri.gov
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the nation, but it still offers hunters more than 1,200 square miles of land on which to shoot one of its 5,500 Eastern wild turkeys. You’ll find these forest dwellers in the hardwoods where you can only take toms, so a successful hunt means a large fan for your wall and a 20-pounder for your table.
SOUTH CAROLINA: VISIT THE WILD TURKEY CENTER & WINCHESTER MUSEUM
Location: National Wild Turkey Federation headquarters in Edgefield
Best Time: year-round
Contact: National Wild Turkey Federation, www.nwtf.org
You can fit a lot of outdoors inside a 7,200 square foot museum! Follow the comeback of the American wild turkey. Watch a theater transform into a forest at dawn as wild turkeys fly down from their roosts. Take a virtual helicopter ride over a prescribed fire. Then head into the real outdoors to explore the trails and wetland habitat at the 100-acre Outdoor Education Center. Free for NWTF members.
SOUTH DAKOTA: PHOTOGRAPH WILDLIFE
Location: Custer State Park near Custer
Best Time: May to October
Contact: South Dakota Division of Parks and Recreation, www.sdgfp.info/parks
Located in the Black Hills, you don’t need eagle eyes to see wildlife in the grassy meadows and pine-laden hills of Custer State Park. The 71,000-acre park is home to 1,500 free roaming bison. Drive the 18-mile wildlife loop to see elk, bighorn sheep, deer, antelope and prairie dogs from your car window, well, after the wild burros get off the road.
TENNESSEE: BIKE THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Location: Cades Code Loop Road
Best Time: late May through mid-September
Contact: USDA National Park Service, www.nps.gov/grsm
The 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road is a bicyclist’s bonanza. A verdant valley crowned by Thunderhead Mountain, Cades Cove is one of the gems of the Smokys. Pedal past deer, wild turkey and fox, as well as 19th century homesteads, a gristmill and churches, on this one-way scenic road, which is closed to cars on Wednesday and Saturday mornings before 10.
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Photo by NWTF Staff |
TEXAS: HUNT RIO GRANDE TURKEYS
Location: Hill Country near Rock Springs
Best Time: spring
Contact: Nooney Paw Paw Mountain Ranch, www.nooneypawpaw.com
Texas boasts 750,000 Rio Grande turkeys, the most of any state in the U.S. When conditions are right, you might hear more gobbling in a day in Texas Hill Country than elsewhere in a year. Most hunts are ranch-based. Book a semi-guided hunt if you like to call in your own toms.
UTAH: FLY-FISH ON THE GREENE RIVER
Location: northeastern Utah, north of Vernal
Best Time: year-round, though spring spawning season is best for the biggest fish
Contact: Western Rivers Flyfisher, www.wrflyfisher.com
The Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam is reputed to be the best tailwater in the states for self-sustaining brown trout. You also can hook rainbows and cutthroats on the 30-mile stretch below the dam. It might the most scenic fishery in the country, too. Float it or fish it from shore. If the fish don’t wow you, the red canyon and deep green pools certainly will.
VERMONT: BIKE AROUND LAKE CHAMPLAIN DURING FALL FOLIAGE
Location: Lake Champlain between Vermont and northern New York
Best Time: early October
Contact: New England Adventure Bicycle Tours, www.newenglandadventure.com
The Champlain Bikeway follows 363 miles of scenic byways along the Vermont, Quebec and New York shores of Lake Champlain. There also are 35 other designated bike loops, ranging from 10 to 60 miles long. When the leaves are at their peak, the mountains blaze red, orange and yellow, making the already beautiful scenery truly stunning.
VIRGINIA: HIKE THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
Location: southwest to northern Virginia through the Appalachian Mountains
Best Time: April to June, September to November (summers can be extremely hot)
Contact: Appalachian Trail Conservancy, www.appalachiantrail.org
A quarter of the Appalachian Trail (550 miles) lies in Virginia. In the southern part of the state, hikers pass through wild rhododendrons en route to Mount Rogers (5,729 feet), the highest peak in the state. Wildlife and scenic vistas in Shenandoah National Park greet hikers in the north. Or pick any peak in between and enjoy an invigorating day on the trail.
WASHINGTON: HUNT MERRIAM’S TURKEYS
Location: northeastern Washington
Best Time: mid-April through May; variable fall season (based on spring harvest, typically late September through early October)
Contact: Bearpaw Outfitters, www.bearpawoutfitters.com
In the 1960s, three subspecies of wild turkey — Merriam’s, Rio Grandes and Easterns — were introduced to Washington. Merriam’s flourished under the ponderosa pines and today the Merriam turkey population is one of the highest in the country. Though Merriam’s aren’t quite as large as Easterns, the bigger ones weigh more than 20 pounds, with 11-inch beards and 1¾ -inch spurs.
WEST VIRGINIA: WHITEWATER RAFT ON THE GAULEY RIVER
Location: south-central West Virginia near Summersville
Best Time: September to October
Contact: Class VI River Runners, www.class-vi.com
A designated National Recreation Area, the Gauley River offers world-class whitewater rafting. Fall is prime time when Summerville Dam has a 22-day schedule of releases. Paddle through famous rapids such as Pillow Rock and Sweet’s Falls, or just hang on and feel your adrenaline flow as fast as the water.
WISCONSIN: ICE FISH
Location: north-central Wisconsin
Best Time: winter
Contact: Boyd’s Mason Lake Resort, www.boydsmasonlakeresort.com
Pick any frozen lake in Wisconsin and you’ll likely find anglers pulling fish through the ice. Pan fish and bass are pleasing, but the big prize is a yard-long musky or a weighty walleye. Find hot hard water action during the day, then chill by a cozy fire in a lodge at night. It’s the perfect cure for cabin fever.
WYOMING: HUNT PRONGHORN ANTELOPE
Location: northern Wisconsin near the Michigan border
Best Time: early October
Contact: Bear Track Outfitters, www.beartrak.com
Red Desert is better known for its trophy pronghorns but it’s hard for non-residents to draw a tag. Anyone can get one near Gillette. Do it yourself on BLM and state land or gain access to leased land through an outfitter. Wide open vistas, sage brush and rolling hills provide classic habitat for a pronghorn you’ll be proud of.