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Just curious are there any large or mid sized cities know for nature on the east coast. I know there are parts of states that are beautiful but anything close to a larger city? Seems like all the places known for nature are on the west.
Just curious are there any large or mid sized cities know for nature on the east coast. I know there are parts of states that are beautiful but anything close to a larger city? Seems like all the places known for nature are on the west.
Just about any Interior Northeastern city will be within minutes of nature due to their built environment making it easy to get to. Many of these areas have parks not only on the city/town level, but on the county and state level nearby as well.
even coastal N.East cities are close to nature .. there are mountains lakes and rivers just outside NYC, and Philly.. Boston and Providence have beaches, the Cape, The harbor islands, hills and forrests just outside the metro area. There is more nature in the N East than cities.
Last edited by mvpsharky; 01-16-2016 at 05:40 PM..
This is about an hour from New York City and accessible by commuter train.
Hudson Highlands
There are other State parks even closer not to mention natural beaches out on Long Island. No, if you work in Midtown Manhattan, you probably won't be taking a quick hike after work, but there is a lot of gorgeous landscape easily accessible for a Saturday or Sunday of immersion in nature.
Breakneck Ridge
From Harriman State park, below, you can even see the NYC skyline in the distance on a clear day. This is less than 40 miles from Manhattan as the crow flies.
In terms of a smaller metro, Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY is close to the Adirondacks, Catskills, Berkshires and Green Mountains. It also has the Helderberg Escarpment within 10-20 miles of Albany. It is an area that is only 2-3 hours from Boston and NYC too.
even coastal N.East cities are close to nature .. there are mountains lakes and rivers just outside NYC, and Philly.. Boston and Providence have beaches, the Cape, The harbor islands, hills and forrests just outside the metro area. There is more nature in the N East than cities.
You can add DC to that list. In a little over one hour (plus or minus a 15-30 minutes with traffic) outside the city if I go the right direction I hit the ocean, and another direction I hit mountains. Never mind the huge park that runs through the middle of the city, or the rivers that are all over the place here. Then there are the national parks all over the place here.
The east coast has nature, you just do not hear people talk about it much because east coast urbanites have a bit of a different attitude about it. We tend to be more indoorsy for the most part, in large part because 3-5 months of the year it's cold. Many of us also do not own cars, and the concept of going out to nature is not as appealing. But nature is pretty easy to get to if we were so inclined to seek it out.
The east coast is not like the midwest where you get outside the city and you hit farmland, and then more farmland. The mountains and ocean are never that far away.
This is about an hour from New York City and accessible by commuter train.
Hudson Highlands
There are other State parks even closer not to mention natural beaches out on Long Island. No, if you work in Midtown Manhattan, you probably won't be taking a quick hike after work, but there is a lot of gorgeous landscape easily accessible for a Saturday or Sunday of immersion in nature.
Breakneck Ridge
From Harriman State park, below, you can even see the NYC skyline in the distance on a clear day. This is less than 40 miles from Manhattan as the crow flies.
This is what much of the east coast outside of the cities looks like. This could very well be parts of Maryland and Virginia.
You can add DC to that list. In a little over one hour (plus or minus a 15-30 minutes with traffic) outside the city if I go the right direction I hit the ocean, and another direction I hit mountains. Never mind the huge park that runs through the middle of the city, or the rivers that are all over the place here. Then there are the national parks all over the place here.
Exactly. DC arguably has as much proximity to nature as many of the cities "out west" that think they're so outdoorsy.
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