Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(I have already reviewed other related posts on this forum of those seeking summer heat relief destinations, but our search criteria defined below are somewhat unique in scope, so I have started this new thread.)
Hello All,
I am in need of your help and suggestions in our search of a U.S. Location. My wife and I currently reside in Tucson, AZ and we are in search of a location in the U.S. to escape the Tucson heat for the summer months of June and July.
I am early retired and my wife can work from anywhere with an internet connection. Our two main hobbies are recreational biking (road biking and easy dirt trails.) and flat water paddling with Stand up paddle boards.
CAN YOU HELP US TO PROVIDE SUGGESTIONS OF U.S. LOCATIONS THAT MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA?
THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES WE ARE SEEKING:
-June/July high temps that average below 90 degrees.
-Low humidity
-Lots of sunny days, little or no foggy days
-Adequate housing/lodging supply that could be rented on a month to month basis without being gouged and paying premium tourist prices for a condo or apartment. "Glamour" locations like Lake Tahoe, Aspen, etc. are too pricey for our needs (Translation: We are cheap.).
-Minimal mosquitos and flies
NICE TO HAVE FEATURES (But not mandatory.)
- Good bike trails for exercise (either easy dirt trails/roads or paved bike paths of at least 8 miles or so in distance.)
- A body of water nearby that would allow us to paddle our paddle boards on flat water.
- Within a 20 hour drive from Tucson would be nice, but not mandatory. We could fly to the destination if necessary.
If we could find a lake/pond/river location with summer weather below 90 degree highs, low humidity, minimal mosquitos, adequate supply of housing options that would allow monthly rentals of a condo or apartment, that is not priced at top dollar premium prices, that has decent biking options, that would be our ideal ("Good luck with that!").
This is a very helpful forum with a lot of experience out there, so I hope that you can help us and provide some suggested U.S. locations that might meet the search criteria above.
Thank you for any input and suggestions you can provide!
Buffalo is sunny (relatively, not to Tucson of course) in the summertime, and not as buggy as the north woods. Still pretty cheap. A considerable number of bike and canal trails. Perhaps you can judge the paddleboard scene from this: Paddle Fitness | Paddle | Buffalo, NY
Marquette, MI has long bike paths now too. Bugs aren't unknown, and as a much smaller town could have seasonal gouging perhaps avoided by being a few blocks from the lakefront.
Thank you for your reply and suggestions. I don't know much about Buffalo as I've never been there. Thanks for the Buffalo paddle link also. I will look into it.
I spent one year of college in Marquette in the U.P. at NMU. That Lake Superior water is cooold! I have not been to Marquette in many years, so I was unaware of the bike path development there.
Thanks again,
CalKidWilly
Minnesota is crazy about their bike trail. But we do have mosquitoes,,except in the very lower Eastern corner of the state, it's a geological thing that attributes to that.
Here is info on bike trails. Bicycle Trails : Paved and Unpaved: Minnesota DNR
I don't know how to about specific place for paddle boarding but plenty of water here.
Thank you for your reply and suggestions. That Minnesota DNR portal to the bike trails is helpful. I was not aware of your tip regarding the lower Eastern corner of the state having fewer bugs. That's and "inside" tip! With all of the freshwater lakes located in MN, there must be some good options there.
I might suggest one of the less trendy corners of NY's Finger Lakes region (such as Geneva or Auburn), but those communities are relatively bike trail deficient. However, they have plenty of wide shouldered low traffic rural roads with low hills.
Montour Falls NY, a small village yet to be completely "discovered," could be a possibility. It is a raw end of the NYS Barge Canal system and on one of the few developed rail trails in the Finger Lakes region. I'm not sure how much of a bug producer the adjacent Queen Catharine marsh (still officially "Bad Indian Swamp" in the USGS GNIS) is.
Hey OP
I not familiar with lakes in the region of SE Minnesota. I usually go "up north" from the twin cities to the Brainerd Lakes area for my lake fix, although the are ok lakes in the cities and plenty of other places.
I am sure there are lakes but don't know of any by experience. With the exception of Lake Pepin, which is part of the Mississippi. I've taken day trips or overnight camped in a few places, don't really remember which exactly. It is a really exceptional and unusually beautiful area from the city of Red wing and South, if you Google "driftless region" a geological term, that area covering a few states will show. The area reminds me of the Ozarks and actually went through a township in Wisconsin called Arkansaw (spelled that way) it says was named after the Arkansas River. So I am not the only one that has made the connection to Ozarks.
I did find a link that gives a little more info on area. This is making me want to go to that area again. It really is the areas best kept secret, kind of, don't tell anyone.
If you shrink the map down to show more area it gives you a idea on the Wisconsin side what's there, then click on the green icons.
Last edited by Izzie1213; 08-15-2017 at 10:25 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
