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Cameron Neilson / Courtesy of Hotel Terra
The Hotel Terra in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is ideally located for outdoor fun and exploration.
In great American cities where active lifestyles intersect with delicious food, it’s possible to plan a trip that’s both healthy and great fun. Walking often provides leisurely exercise for travelers, but fantastic hotels are making it easier for guests to stop feeling like tourists and explore outdoor attractions like locals.
Slideshow: See the healthiest cities to visit
To take advantage of Portland, Oregon’s extensive bike paths, the trendy Ace Hotel established a free bicycle-lending program. The city also maintains an impressive variety of parks, from the world’s smallest (the 24-square-inch Mill Ends Park) to 5,000-acre Forest Park, where visitors can run, hike or mountain bike on 75 miles of trails. Wildlife watchers walk along the paved Interlakes Trail at Smith and Bybee lakes — the largest protected wetlands in an American city. Nearby, Alder Creek’s Jantzen Beach Store offers classes and rentals for kayaking on Columbia River.
After spending all day paddling and traipsing through city parks, Portland visitors will find a thriving dining scene, where, as in many of the country’s buzziest restaurants, the emphasis is on local ingredients. Everything at Park Kitchen chef Scott Dolich’s tavern The Bent Brick is from the Pacific Northwest. Dolich focuses on vegetables in small plates, like parsnips and carrots with rye berries, brown butter and sage. Even his cocktail program relies on locally made spirits.
Jackson Hole, Wyo., a serious winter-sport destination, is known for daredevil ski runs and powdery snow. Its deluxe spas and picturesque Teton Mountain setting make it a perfect spot for R&R as well. The boutique Hotel Terra couldn’t be better-located for active travelers: It’s an hour’s drive from Yellowstone National Park, less than a mile from Grand Teton National Park and nestled right near Jackson Hole’s major ski lifts.
For a warmer winter escape, Honolulu promises gorgeous lagoons, waterfalls and camera-ready beaches. "Lost" was filmed at Diamond Head, a must-climb volcano with amazing views of Waikiki Beach. Surfing beginners can test Oahu’s waves after taking lessons at Uncle Bryan’s Sunset Suratt Surf School.
Meanwhile, seafood is abundant for healthful meals. At the Royal Hawaiian hotel, Azure’s chefs hit the Honolulu Fish Auction at 5:30 every morning to choose from the daily catch, like opakapaka (pink snapper) roasted with white wine, Meyer lemon and fresh herbs.
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11 comments, including:
For all those who voted Honolulu as the city they most want to visit, I can only warn you that'll you be disappointed. Go there several times a year. Nice - but not where I would want to spend my vacation dollars. Aloha...