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.
There is official designation, tougher standards and lesser standards.
Know what you want.
There are some spots in east that are official wilderness, some spots that meet higher standards and a lot that wouldn't for me and others.
Greenery & hiking (or walking) are easy to find. Wilderness is harder to find. "Wild spots" can be found but wilderness to me involves thousands or tens of thousands of acres. (A thousand is a little over 1.5 square miles. Ten thousand acres, a bit more than 3 miles by 5 miles.) How important the difference is varies by person. Is typical National Forest or a state park wild enough? If there are paved roads and houses within a couple miles is it wild enough?
I notice you mention "unbearable heat". If that is the case, you might want to look toward the northern states, from Minnesota to Maine.
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine all have areas of forest, parks, hiking trails and tons of natural freshwater lakes.
One possibility is Saratoga County or the surrounding areas, a county which spans everything from suburbs in the south end near Albany, small towns and rural areas in the center and the wilderness of the Adirondacks in the north. You would have easy access to the huge Adirondack Park to the North and the state of Vermont to the east.
I second this, as this part may have been overlooked in the OP.
If you want a blend of urbanity and nature then Minneapolis. It will have similar geography to Madison but obviously bigger. We have lots of wooded parks within city limits. Theodore Wirth and Minnehaha are awesome plus the lakes.
There is pocket wilderness and large or vast wilderness. South Hills in Idaho at close to 100,000 acres. Some western wilderness areas are near or over 1 million acres.
May take a somewhat different mindset / usage with pocket wilderness. But both are good resources.
There is official designation, tougher standards and lesser standards.
Know what you want.
There are some spots in east that are official wilderness, some spots that meet higher standards and a lot that wouldn't for me and others.
Greenery & hiking (or walking) are easy to find. Wilderness is harder to find. "Wild spots" can be found but wilderness to me involves thousands or tens of thousands of acres. (A thousand is a little over 1.5 square miles. Ten thousand acres, a bit more than 3 miles by 5 miles.) How important the difference is varies by person. Is typical National Forest or a state park wild enough? If there are paved roads and houses within a couple miles is it wild enough?
Have you lived in the East? Have a sense of summer humidity?
Good points. One of the reasons I mentioned the Saratoga area (besides the OP's unbearable heat comment) is because the Adirondacks are so nearby. There is over 1 million acres of state owned wilderness areas in the Adirondacks plus another million+ of "wild forests". Wilderness areas are just as strict as the Federal wilderness designation while the "wild forest" areas allow some human activities. Plus they are in sizeable chunks larger then 10,000 acres.
Wilderness area account for 46% of the area of the park which is not private property. They are managed like federal wilderness areas. These areas are far more affected by nature than humanity, to the extent that the latter is practically unnoticeable, for example virgin forest. No powered vehicles are allowed in wilderness areas.
The 19,000-acre (77 km2) Saint Regis Canoe Area, presently the only Canoe Area in the park, operates under essentially the same conditions as the Wilderness Areas.
Yes the Adirondacks are one of the top wilderness areas in East.
I made a few trips there long ago. Caught in a strong hail storm going up Mount Marcy, kept going. An hour later cleared off, great views. The many many lakes are a strong point.
This. It's a head scratcher as to why people always suggest Ashville for scenery as though it exists alone in some sort of Appalachian bubble. Tons of beautiful little towns and cities in that part of Appalachia if scenery is your number one factor in choosing a new location.
Simple. Asheville is set in one of the most scenic locations in the entire U.S.
Good points. One of the reasons I mentioned the Saratoga area (besides the OP's unbearable heat comment) is because the Adirondacks are so nearby. There is over 1 million acres of state owned wilderness areas in the Adirondacks plus another million+ of "wild forests". Wilderness areas are just as strict as the Federal wilderness designation while the "wild forest" areas allow some human activities. Plus they are in sizeable chunks larger then 10,000 acres.
Wilderness area account for 46% of the area of the park which is not private property. They are managed like federal wilderness areas. These areas are far more affected by nature than humanity, to the extent that the latter is practically unnoticeable, for example virgin forest. No powered vehicles are allowed in wilderness areas.
The 19,000-acre (77 km2) Saint Regis Canoe Area, presently the only Canoe Area in the park, operates under essentially the same conditions as the Wilderness Areas.
Simple. Asheville is set in one of the most scenic locations in the entire U.S.
Again, it is not alone, lots of places nearby are every bit as scenic, I live in one of those nearby places. Asheville has other things going for it too, but it doesn't have a monopoly on scenic Appalachian beauty.
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.
