We get to the outdoors by the roads. 

These rankings are based on a US News article ranking the states from best quality roads to worst quality roads. This metric is based on the percentage of road miles in poor condition in each state, according to the Federal Highway Administration

1. Alabama

2. Indiana

3. Wyoming

4. Kansas

5. Idaho

6. Tennessee

7. North Dakota

8. Nebraska

9. Oregon

10. West Virgina

11. Georgia

12. Iowa

13. Minnesota

14. Oklahoma

15. Vermont

16. Kentucky

17. New Jersey

18. Montana

19. North Carolina

20. South Dakota

21. Florida

22. Nevada

23. Ohio

24. New Hampshire

25. Delaware

26. Utah

27. South Carolina

28. Virgina

29. Maine

30. Illinois

31. Michigan

32. Alaska

33. Texas

34. Colorado

35. California

36. Arizona

37. Missouri

38. New York

39. Wisonsin

40. Massachusetts

41. Pennsylvania

42. Arkansas

43. Washington

44. Louisiana

45. Maryland

46. Mississippi

47. Connecticut

48. New Mexico

49. Rhode Island

50. Hawaii

Find out the Gear you need for the outdoors!

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Outdoor Sandals

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

These rankings of the prettiest states with the best natural beauty were compiled using Thrillest and The Getaway. We are biased and think that Alabama deserves the #1 spot with the amazing beaches, beautiful mountains, plentiful lakes, winding rivers, and no shortage of waterfalls that’ll make every state jealous. Still, I guess you can’t win them all.

Here are the rankings:

Ranks By Website Thrillest / The Getaway

1. California / California

2. Hawaii / Alaska

3. Alaska / Utah

4. Utah / Hawaii

5. Colorado / Colorado

6. Washington / Washington

7. Oregon / Montana

8. Michigan / Wyoming

9. Arizona / Michigan

10. Wyoming / North Carolina

11. Montana / New Mexico

12. North Carolina / Maine

13. Vermont / Vermont

14. New Mexico / Oregon

15. Maine / New York

16. Idaho / Arizona

17. New York / West Virginia

18. Floria / Texas

19. West Virginia / South Dakota

20. Tennessee / Tennessee

21. South Dakota / Massachusetts

22. Texas / Nevada

23. Wisconsin / Virginia

24. Minnesota / Wisconsin

25. Virginia / Idaho

26. Nevada / Minnesota

27. Arkansas / Arkansas

28. Massachusetts / Maryland

29. Maryland / South Carolina

30. South Carolina / Kentucky

31. Kentucky / New Hampshire

32. New Hampshire / Georgia

33. Georgia / Rhode Island

34. Rhode Island / Florida

35. Pennsylvania  Pennsylvania

36. Alabama / New Jersey

37. New Jersey / Alabama

38. Louisiana / Louisiana

39. Deleware / Connecticut

40. Connecticut / Deleware

41. Missouri / Missouri

42. North Dakota / Nebraska

43. Nebraska / North Dakota

44. Ohio / Mississippi

45. Mississippi / Ohio

46. Oklahoma / Oklahoma

47. Indiana / Indiana

48. Illinois / Illinois

49. Kansas / Kansas

50. Iowa / Iowa

Find out the Gear you need for the outdoors!

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Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga is one of the “Must Visit” places in the southeast. It’s full of views, waterfalls, and even caves.

We took this weekend trip in late march and caught some unobstructed views of Chattanooga and beautiful weateher!

Long weekend in Brevard? Follow our footsteps! Above is a Map of places we visited!

Ruby Falls

Ruby Falls is the tallest commercial underground waterfall in the US. This waterfall is 90 ft tall and is at the end of a half-mile underground tour where your guide will take you through the cave and discuss its history and significance. Ruby Falls is lit for added glory and you will have plenty of time to get photos and videos of it with you and your group.
I suggest pre-purchasing tickets as the tickets for Ruby Falls are in high demand!

Ruby Falls Website  

Rock City

You’ve probably seen signs to SEE ROCK CITY all over the place. Well here’s your chance! Rock City is a park on top of Lookout Mountain. Although it’s technically in Georgia, it’s about a 15-minute drive from Ruby Falls. Rock City is full of views, a stunning waterfall, and unique attractions.

Check out our guide to Rock City

Point Park

Point Park is a Civil War Memorial Park owned by the National Park Service. Visit the US history and learn about what it was like during the battles around Chattanooga. 

Find out more about Point Park on their website.

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Reader’s Digest rated this Alabama Town as one of the most stunning mountain towns in America.

Welcome to Mentone, AL, a breathtaking town nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Mentone is a small town full of coffee shops, southern restaurants, cozy AirBnbs, and antique shops. Waterfalls and views are hiding around every corner.

Outdoor activities rule Mentone, AL. There are dozens of hiking trails in the area full of waterfalls and views and is home to Alabama’s only Snow Skiing resort. (Yes snow Skiing).

See the full Reader’s Digest 25 Most Stunning Mountain Towns List here.

Desoto Falls is the crown jewel of the area. It is a massive 104 ft waterfall. There are several hiking trails in the area including hiking trails to a beautiful view of the canyon and the bottom of the waterfall. The river is dammed above the waterfall forming a lake. A place to rent kayaks is available above the waterfall. You can swim at the bottom or above the waterfall.

Guide: Desoto Falls

Desoto State Park

Little River Canyon is about 20 minutes south of the town of Mentone. The canyon has several waterfalls including Little River Falls and Martha Falls. There are incredible swimming holes including Hippie Hole, Blue Hole, and the bottom of Little River Falls. Several hiking trails will take you to the bottom of the canyon and you can see several lookout points driving along the canyon rim. This is the deepest canyon in the state of Alabama reaching depths over 600 ft. 

Guide: Little River Canyon

Find out the Gear you need for the outdoors!

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As of 2016, Forests cover an estimated 36.21% of the United States with 818,814,000 acres of forest. 

These rankings are based on Wise Voter data. Click here for more information. The data below is the percentage of the state currently covered in forest. It should be noted that states with lower percentages do not necessarily reflect a low coverage of wild areas as some states naturally have fewer forests. For instance, Kansas is mostly plains and will naturally have less forest coverage. 

Here are the rankings:

1. Maine 88.8%

2. New Hampshire – 81.9%

3. West Virginia – 78.1%

4. Vermont – 76.7%

5. Alabama – 71.3%

6. South Carolina – 66.8%

7. Georgia – 66.5%

8. Mississippi 63.9%

9. Virginia 63.6%

10. New York – 61.7%

11. North Carolina – 60.3%

12. Massachusetts – 59.8%

13. Pennsylvania – 58%

14. Connecticut – 56.9%

15. Arkansas – 56.8%

16. Michigan – 55.7%

17. Rhode Island – 54.5%

18. Louisiana – 54.3%

19. Tennessee – 54.3%

20. Washington – 51.9%

21. Florida – 49.3%

22. Kentucky – 49%

23. Wisconsin – 48.9%

24. Oregon – 48.4%

25. New Jersey – 42.3%

26. Idaho – 41%

27. Maryland – 39.2%

28. Texas – 37.1%

29. Hawaii – 35.8%

30. Alaska – 35.2%

31. Missouri – 34.8%

32. Minnesota – 34.7%

33. Colorado – 34.6%

34. Utah – 34.2%

35. California – 31.7%

36. New Mexico – 31.7%

37. Ohio – 29.9%

38. Delaware – 28.5%

39. Montana – 27.8%

40. Oklahoma – 27%

41. Arizona – 25.4%

42. Indiana – 20.8%

43. Wyoming – 17%

44. Nevada – 15.1%

45. Illinois – 13.7%

46. Iowa – 8%

47. Kansas – 4.7%

48. South Dakota – 3.9%

49. Nebraska – 2.9%

50. North Dakota – 1.8%

Find out the Gear you need for the outdoors!

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Quality of life starts with Clean Water.

These rankings are based on a US News article ranking the states from best drinking water to worst drinking water. The ranking system uses a weighted point system to track violations of the law, including contaminants and treatments. The metric measures the number of violation points against public water systems per 1,000 customers served.

Need better water? This is the BEST home water filtration system out there.

1. Hawaii

2. Alabama

3. Tennessee

4. South Carolina

5. Massachusetts

6. Kentucky

7. Georgia

8. Florida

9. California

10. Delaware

11. Maryland

12. Ohio

13. Mississippi

14. Minnesota

15. Virginia

16. North Carolina

17. New York

18. Nevada

19. North Dakota

20. Missouri

21. Rhode Island

22. Illinois

23. Washinton

24. Nebraska

25. New Jersey

26. Wisconsin

27. Arkansas

28. Iowa

29. Utah

30. South Dakota

31. Texas

32. Arizona

33. Colorado

34. Kansas

35. Louisiana

36. Michigan

37. Connecticut

38. Indiana

39. Oregon

40. Pennsylvania

41. New Hampshire

42. Idaho

43. New Mexico

44. Wyoming

45. Oklahoma

46. Vermont

47. West Virginia

48. Montana

49. Maine

50. Alaska

Find out the Gear you need for the outdoors!

Summer Hiking Essentials
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In order to get the expertise needed for vertical caving, you can join the Huntsville Grotto.

In this guide, I will go over how to get a permit. Directions to the cave are given when you receive a permit.

You can find a list of SCCi Caves using this link. If you are having issues with the permit process, below we address how to get a permit.

You’re forgetting this gear. Here’s the most underrated gear you’re missing.

To start, go to the SCCi Permit website. Click the button “Click here to register” and register an account. SCCi will send you a confirmation email. After you have successfully set up an account, move on to the next step.

https://permits.scci.org/

After you create an account, go back to SCCi Permit website and log-in. After you log-in, move onto the next step.

https://permits.scci.org/

After you log-in, if it does not automatically land you on the New Permit page, click the “New Permit” button. From here you can Fill out a New Permit.

After you fill out a new permit, SCCi will send you a release form. All members of your party must sign the release form. After the release form is filled out, SCCi will need to approve your permit and you will receive a permit you will need to print out and put on your dashboard as well as directions to get to the cave.

After you sign the release form, SCCi will send you an email with your permit which you will need to print and put into your dashboard. Directions and other instructions will be sent in this email as well.

Happy Caving!

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Difficulty: Easy – Difficult
Distance: Depends on hike. Details for each hike below
Fee: Monte Sano State Park, Cheaha State Park, and Cherokee Rock Village both have fees for entry. See guides for details.
Leave no trace.

North Alabama has some amazing “mountains” (or hills depending on where you’re originally from). No matter what you call them, North Alabama serves up some amazing views. Check out our list of the best views in North Alabama.

Everything in this guide is located in North Alabama. Parking is tagged for each location below.

Lake Guntersville State Park

Lake Guntersville State Park
Parking: Directions
Hike Distance: No Hike
Difficulty: No Hike
Guide: No guide needed 

Pisgah Gorge

Pisgah Gorge
Parking: Directions
Hike Distance: 1 Mile
Difficulty: Moderate
Guide: Should review the guide to find the overlook.

Blevin’s Gap

Deer Skull Falls
Parking: Directions
Hike Distance: 4 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Guide: Should Read

Cherokee Rock Village

Cherokee Rock Village
Parking: Directions
Hike Distance: No hike
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Guide: This park costs to enter. The guide is helpful for finding all the views from Cherokee Rock Village.

Cane Creek Canyon

Cane Creek Canyon
Parking: Directions
Hike Distance: less than a mile to the overlook
Difficulty: Easy
Guide: This is a free park. There are miles of trails here. You can find the overlook (called the point) without the guide, but the guide might help find the waterfall as well.

Find out the Gear you need for the outdoors!

Summer Hiking Essentials
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Outdoor Sandals

Like this Tour? Check out our other tours!

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Kuhl
To start off with, Kuhl is one of my favorite brands. I am not sponsored by them, but they did send me a pair of pants to try out. My favorite gear from Kuhl is their jackets. I have several jackets from Kuhl and love each one, so when they reached out to me to try a pair of pants I was ecstatic.