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Exploring the Ozarks by way of the Buffalo River in Arkansas.
Exploring the Ozarks by way of the Buffalo River in Arkansas. (Photo: Carl Zoch)

June and July Weekend Escapes

10 easy trips, maximum fun guaranteed

Published: 
Exploring the Ozarks by way of the Buffalo River Released. Male exploring the Ozarks in his canoe on the Buffalo River in Arkansas.
(Photo: Carl Zoch)

New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! .

Remember that sinking feeling last Labor Day when you realized you hardly managed to get out of town? Lucky for you, we mapped out 15 radically adventurous and wildly relaxing quick trips.

You'll get in the water, on singletrack, and all over some of the best trails and rock faces the country has to offer. Later you'll kick back with some excellent brews and local fare, you'll see some of our favorite live music acts (inner tube optional), and when the sun goes down you'll likely find yourself under the stars, next to a campfire.

The best part? We've done all the work for you鈥攕couted the best places to stay, play, and refuel, and filled every weekend of the season with only the finest. Start planning now.

Head to Asheville and Drink It In

May 27-30

Asheville has more breweries per capita than any other U.S. city. There are 30 in and around this western North Carolina city of 88,000. , a string of tastings, seminars, and new releases, kicks off with the , held the Saturday before Memorial Day ($45). Scores of local breweries and a few national standouts crowd the city鈥檚 Roger McGuire Green, pouring unlimited samples to happy crowds bobbing to live music. The festival is big but not too big, the weather warm but not too warm. Ease in with a Rocket Girl lager from Asheville Brewing Co. and go from there.

Clockwise from left: A break from beer; food-truck grub; Asheville's Wedge Brewery; patio beers in downtown Asheville.
Clockwise from left: A break from beer; food-truck grub; Asheville's Wedge Brewery; patio beers in downtown Asheville. (Colt Fetters/Tandem; C2 Photography (top and bottom right); Peter Frank Edwards/Redux)

Lose Yourself in Oregon's Owyhee Mountains

June 3-5

From left: The Owyhee River; cooling off in the Owyhee canyonlands.
From left: The Owyhee River; cooling off in the Owyhee canyonlands. (Brandon Sawaya/Gallerystock; Tim Neville/New York Times/Redux)

Oregon鈥檚 Owyhee Mountains鈥2.5 million acres of sagebrush high desert near the Idaho border鈥攊s so far removed from the bustle of Portland that the state still classifies it as frontier. Its jewel is the Owyhee Canyonlands, carved deep into volcanic rock by patient rivers. Experienced off-trail travelers should tackle it with a 32-mile pack-rafting trip. Starting from the Three Forks Trailhead, outside Rome, the route heads up the Middle Fork of the Owyhee River through sagebrush country, then enters a slot canyon, green with moss and ferns. At North Cross Canyon, ascend to the desert鈥檚 table, reckon your way to South Cross Canyon, and scramble down to the Owyhee River. Inflate your pack raft for a 16-mile float back to your car鈥攁 mellow cruise past 800-foot walls and 80-degree springs that perch like infinity pools above the river. Rent a raft from Wyoming鈥檚 via FedEx ($30 per day plus shipping).

Do the Kentucky Biathlon

June 10-12

From left: Getting rad in the Louisville Mega Cavern; the 23 String Band performs at the Festival of the Bluegrass.
From left: Getting rad in the Louisville Mega Cavern; the 23 String Band performs at the Festival of the Bluegrass. (Courtesy of Louisville Mega Cavern; Tim L. Waltner)

Mountain biking and bluegrass, that is. For more than 40 years, miners pulled limestone from a hole in the ground within sight of downtown Louisville. They scooped out a 100-acre cavern of echoing, 58-degree bigness. Today, the has plenty of room for the world鈥檚 largest indoor bike park ($24 for four hours). Ride your 29er over the berms, bumps, and banked singletrack of the 320,000-square-foot playground鈥攖here are 17 miles of trails in all. Then drive 78 miles east to the , held at the Kentucky Horse Park just north of Lexington ($100 for a four-day pass). Now in its 43rd year, the festival showcases stalwarts like the Seldom Scene. But 鈥渢he best part of the festival isn鈥檛 what happens on the stage,鈥 says organizer Roy Cornett. It鈥檚 the whiskey-fueled campfire sessions where old and new friends play until dawn.

Bug Out in Twin Bridges, Montana

June 17-19

From left: Hunting for big browns in Montana; Montana skyscraper.
From left: Hunting for big browns in Montana; Montana skyscraper. (Paolo Marchesi; Jodie Coston/Getty)

Twin Bridges, in southwest Montana, is way off the Yellowstone tourist map. But within a 50-mile radius, there are hundreds of miles of blue-ribbon water鈥攍ike the Big Hole and Beaverhead Rivers鈥攖hat later merge to form the mighty Missouri. Early summer鈥檚 salmon fly hatches are the stuff of legend. The orange-bodied insects, which can grow nearly as long as your index finger, start to appear around the middle of June鈥攇reat clouds of them. And it drives the trout crazy. To chuck a No. 6 Chubby Chernobyl to a voracious and gullible brown may be one of the happiest moments an angler can have. That鈥檚 why 15 years ago, Dan 鈥淩ooster鈥 Leavens bought a roadside motel and applied vision and elbow grease to turn it into the , a six-cabin lodge ($2,195 for three nights, all-inclusive; day trips from $575). The routine here is simple: Get up early. Float and fish all day. Head back at nightfall for a slab of Montana steer around a table set for 20. Then it鈥檚 up early to slay 鈥檈m again.

Float On and Explore Arkansas's Buffalo River

June 24-26

Arkansas's Buffalo River.
Arkansas's Buffalo River. (Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism)

Arkansas鈥檚 Buffalo River was declared our first national river in 1972鈥斺渁nd it didn鈥檛 get that way because it鈥檚 not special,鈥 declares Mike Mills, founder of outfitter Buffalo Outdoor Center. This Ozarks river flows undammed for its entire 153 miles, often beneath 500-foot limestone bluffs. Take Mills鈥檚 advice and (rentals, $65 per day; shuttles from $21). To outsmart the day-tripping crowds, put in first thing in the morning and take your time on the ten miles from Baker Ford to Gilbert. Swim in the warmth of the afternoon. Pitch camp on a gravel bar. Cast for smallmouth. Sleep late; you鈥檙e on the overnight plan.

Declare Your Independence in Silverton

July 1-4

(Left: Courtesy of Benson; Right: Jodie Coston/Getty)

Colorado鈥檚 tiny Silverton throws the best Fourth of July party in the Rockies, so celebrate America in high-country style. Hike three and a half stupid-steep miles up above 12,000 feet to Ice Lake, where the streams will be pulsing with snowmelt and wildflowers will be blooming psychedelically. Back in town, climb some fun 5.10鈥檚 at the Stripe, a mellow sport crag. On the Fourth, head downtown to catch the best fireworks for hundreds of miles. But don鈥檛 try to beat a retreat via Molas Pass right after the show鈥攖he road looks like something out of Mad Max. Instead amble over to Avalanche Brewing, then crash at (from $100). 鈥擟hris Cohen

Get Beached on Pawleys Island

July 8-10

(Left: The Girl With a Camera Photography; Right: Nathan Kirk Designs)

Forty-five minutes south of hectic Myrtle Beach lies Pawleys Island, a place of salt marshes and beach homes that have been described, approvingly, as arro颅gantly shabby. In short, a great place to unwind. Before the heat rises, toss a few casts to redfish tailing in the Debordieu marshes from guide Jay Nelson鈥檚 ($400 for a half-day). Or have Pawleys Kayaks deliver a boat for (from $30). After, grab a cold beer and a pimento cheese sandwich at local hangout Pawleys Island Tavern. Most houses are one-week rentals, but you can book a weekend cottage at the old-school (from $155).

Listen Up at Northern Nights

July 15-17

(Left: Stefan Aronson/Northern Lights Festival; Right: Tom Kubik/Vault Archives)

鈥淣orthern Nights kind of prides itself on a lineup that nobody knows now but they鈥檒l know next year,鈥 says Andrew Blap, a cofounder of . Now in its fourth year, Northern Nights is held in lush redwood country, a three-and-a-half-hour drive north from San Francisco. Word to the wise: bring a tube and float down the Eel for a view of the River Stage, one of the festival鈥檚 four venues (passes from $169).

Circumnavigate Lake Tahoe

July 22-24

(Vince M. Camiolo/Tandem)

Lake Tahoe practically demands a road trip. First stop: Lover鈥檚 Leap, a crag on Highway 50 as it approaches the water from Sacramento, for some of Northern California鈥檚 best trad climbing. The 600-foot granite faces are sliced by horizontal ridges, which means 鈥測ou can climb steep walls at relatively easy grades,鈥 says Marc Pietrolungo, owner of (trips from $160). Tie into the classic Surreal颅istic Pillar, a three-pitch 5.7 that offers corners, cracks, and traverses. Then head to the lake鈥檚 eastern shore to mountain-bike a 颅different kind of Tahoe classic: the 14-mile Flume Trail. After a granny-gear climb through aspens and pines, it flows for miles, offering Instagram-gold views. The ride is best done one-way, so hire a shut颅tle from (from $15, plus a $2 parking fee).

Spin Your Wheels in Idaho

July 29-31

(Glenn Oakley)

Bring the whole brood and bike quiver, because the scenic and historical riding in the Idaho panhandle鈥檚 Bitter颅root Range is for 颅everyone. First check out the , which traces miles of the Old Milwaukee Road rail route west from the Montana border into Idaho on packed gravel. The draw here are the ten tunnels, one nearly 1.7 miles long (bring lights!), and seven trestles, one of them 230 feet high (trail pass $10; optional shuttle $9). The next day, roll down the Trail of the Coeur d鈥橝lenes, a 72-mile asphalt path that follows a native trading route from the Montana border nearly to Washington. It travels through a necklace of historic mining towns in Idaho鈥檚 Silver Valley, where an old settlement every five miles or so offers plenty of burger stops, then heads out a quieter region of chain lakes with thousands of water颅fowl and the odd moose, skirts right along the shoreline of Lake Coeur d鈥橝lene, and continues toward rolling wheat country. The best part? All of it is plenty doable if you鈥檝e got fit teens and one long day.

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