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.
SLC certainly wins this thread, though technically the metro area is only around 1.2 million. The neighboring metros of Ogden and Provo are close, but not close enough to officially be classified under metro SLC. I'd imagine most people are not aware that Ogden, SLC, and Provo all essentially function as one metro.
You're right. I was thinking of the Wasatch Front when I said 2.1 million. The Salt Lake City Metro area is, as you said, about 1.2 million.
40-50 miles is definitely a stretch. It's more like 15 miles from Downtown. And Denver actually has suburban areas like Evergreen and Gennesse which are in areas that are more consistently forested. The mountains closer to Denver are a mix of arid terrain and pine forests, mostly arid though.
For example, this is Lookout Mountain which is a popular tourist spot to get good views of the city and has nice forested trails to explore. A good 30 minutes (Actually showing 26 minutes on Google as of now) drive to get to the top from Downtown Denver. Lookout Mountain 1 Lookout Mountain 2 Lookout Mountain 3
And despite LA not having so many forested areas, I'd still rank it near the top for accessibility because (Like I stated earlier) LA and Denver have the easiest access and most commercialized mountains out of the options.
I think when people say it's an hour they mean an hour+ to the bigger mountains, skiing and other popular outdoor activities CO is known for, which would be true. However the Rockies (Foothills) are right next to and overlap with metro Denver.
I agree, Denver is known for being close to the mountains for a reason. And I’m surprised LA isn’t leading. The mountains are right there
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago-guy
Sacramento is being underrated here.
The Sierra Nevada are gorgeous but Sac is just a little too far
I’m surprised LA isn’t leading. The mountains are right there
It's probably because most people who vote on these city-data polls aren't familiar with most cities/areas and vote by where they may have flown in and out of or because they saw a photo in a travel mag.
If this type of poll was only voted on by people who actually live in and hike/bike/etc., the results would be vastly different.
I agree, Denver is known for being close to the mountains for a reason.
Tell Salt Lakers that Denver is close to the mountains and they'll just laugh.
The Outdoor Retailers Association held their semi-annual trade shows in Salt Lake City for years, until they left a few years ago over issues with our Republican Governor being opposed to Obama's designating a large part of southern Utah as a national monument. They went to Denver and have been there for a few years now. Word is that they're not happy. The city is too far from outdoor recreational spots, whereas they can be at any number of such spots from downtown Salt Lake within a half an hour of downtown. This is impossible as things are now. Time will tell, but I'm betting they'll end up returning to Salt Lake real soon.
It's probably because most people who vote on these city-data polls aren't familiar with most cities/areas and vote by where they may have flown in and out of or because they saw a photo in a travel mag.
If this type of poll was only voted on by people who actually live in and hike/bike/etc., the results would be vastly different.
Yeah agreed. People really don’t know what they’re even talking about most times it seems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katzpur
Tell Salt Lakers that Denver is close to the mountains and they'll just laugh.
The Outdoor Retailers Association held their semi-annual trade shows in Salt Lake City for years, until they left a few years ago over issues with our Republican Governor being opposed to Obama's designating a large part of southern Utah as a national monument. They went to Denver and have been there for a few years now. Word is that they're not happy. The city is too far from outdoor recreational spots, whereas they can be at any number of such spots from downtown Salt Lake within a half an hour of downtown. This is impossible as things are now. Time will tell, but I'm betting they'll end up returning to Salt Lake real soon.
Two things can be true at the same time. Obviously SLC is much closer to the mountains and would be the front runner if it made the cut. Denver’s still close.
Tell Salt Lakers that Denver is close to the mountains and they'll just laugh.
The Outdoor Retailers Association held their semi-annual trade shows in Salt Lake City for years, until they left a few years ago over issues with our Republican Governor being opposed to Obama's designating a large part of southern Utah as a national monument. They went to Denver and have been there for a few years now. Word is that they're not happy. The city is too far from outdoor recreational spots, whereas they can be at any number of such spots from downtown Salt Lake within a half an hour of downtown. This is impossible as things are now. Time will tell, but I'm betting they'll end up returning to Salt Lake real soon.
No doubt SLC is close to the Wasatch range, but Denver (even though it is not as closer to the Rockies), is a better location for accessing a greater number of ranges and mountains. Proximity alone is not the only measure you need to look at. This is one reason I am not sure I would put SLC ahead of Denver.
Certainly ranks up there in the top 5 though. But I could not put SLC in front of Seattle and Vancouver BC (if it was on this list).
Someone else mentioned Sacramento earlier, and I really don't think it makes it quite makes it in the top 5.
Eastern and Northeastern Suburbs of Sacramento are actually in the Sierra Nevada Foothills (500ft- 3,000ft.)
and 1/3 of the Sacramento Metro is within 30 minutes to 1 hour of 5,000 - 10,000 feet of the Sierras
all of the Sacramento Metro is within 2 hours of 5,000 - 10,000 feet of the Sierras
And all of Placer and El Dorado counties are in metro Sacramento. Metro Sac extends all the way to the Nevada border.
Truckee isn't in the metro area, but all of the California part of lake Tahoe, Kings Beach, Tahoe City, South Lake Tahoe, Desolation Wilderness, Echo Lakes are all in the Sac metro area.
Some photos from within the Sac metro area S6300299 by scorpio516, on Flickr
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.
