Our Picks For The 5 Best Adventure Destinations This Summer

You'll want to start planning a vacation now.

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Published March 28, 2025
Rainbow Over Cumberland Fall in State Park
Rainbow over Cumberland Falls in Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky
Getty Images

If the movie Up taught us anything, it’s that adventure is out there, and you should grab it by the balloon strings. An increasing number of women are doing just that: More than half (57 percent) of global travel company bookings are made by women, according to the Adventure Travel Trade Association.

As the population ages but stays more active, there has been a move away from “the fly and flop” vacations, which is what Chez Chesak, executive director of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, refers to as jetting off to a white sand beach and lounging all day. These days, women, especially those close to retirement age, are more likely to go on safari than to a spa. A worldwide survey of 1,000 women found that adventure travel was the top choice of those age 50-plus.

“Social media and the internet have normalized getting out of your comfort zone for women,” says Pauline Frommer, publisher of the Frommer’s guidebooks and Frommers.com. “It has alleviated some of the fears surrounding women traveling because you see your friends out there on these trips, and then you want to do it.”

Plus, she says, adventure travel is a great self-esteem booster. “When you do something like rappel down a waterfall, it shows you that the limits you have been putting on yourself are not really necessary.”

NOW DEPARTING: YOUR COMFORT ZONE

While relaxing and pampering certainly have their place, adventure travel is all about challenging yourself. That doesn’t mean it’s for adrenaline junkies or triathletes only.

According to Chesak, adventure travel combines three elements: the outdoors, some kind of physical activity and what he calls a “cultural exchange,” where you receive new information about a new place that you’ve never been before. By that definition, bird-watching on the California coast is every bit the adventure that surfing is.

And that’s the point, he says. A whopping 98% of adventure travel is classified as “soft adventure” — things like biking on a towpath or hiking, but not necessarily backpacking. It’s a more accessible (and affordable) way to adventure. “For some people, their adventure might be just a state over.”

Not sure where to begin? There are plenty of great tour outfits that cater to women only. Make sure you do some research and find out how established the tour operator or group leader is, says Frommer. “There is often some risk, so you want to make sure you’re going with someone who has a good track record.”

Along those same lines, you may want to invest in travel insurance.

“Many insurance policies will not cover adventurous activities,” says Frommer. “You don’t need travel insurance for every single vacation, but if you’re going to a place that is remote or where there is not great healthcare, you want evacuation insurance because being medevaced out is expensive.” She advises buying insurance from a third party like squaremouth.com or insuremytrip.com rather than whoever you book your travel through.

Make sure you’re aware of the physical requirements of your adventure and that you can meet them. Anytime you’re adventuring in a natural space, it pays to know the basics, says Chesak: Understand proper footwear, know what the “10 essentials" are (a list of first aid and emergency items on the National Park Service website) and have an up-to-date passport, for starters.

Then, look to these fantastic, off-the beaten-path locales for your next trip, and remember the words of adventurer and author John Amatt: “Adventure isn’t hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day-to-day obstacles of life.”

But hey, if that mountain is calling you, go wild.

Bridge Over the Little River leading to Vee Hollow Mountain Bike Trails of Townsend, Tennessee

FOR NATIONAL PARKS LOVERS: TOWNSEND, TENNESSEE 

Staying in a place known as the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains gives you elite access to the most visited national park in the country, but also plenty of other opportunities to explore. Along with scenic mountain views and plenty of great hiking, there are 14 miles of mountain bike trails at Vee Hollow, potential black bear sightings at Cades Cove and fly fishing on Little River. You can escape the summer heat underground at Tuckaleechee Caverns, where you can see a 200-foot-tall subterranean waterfall, or rent an ATV and coast along the foothills of the Smokies.

Depending on your comfort level with roughing it, you can stay in an RV, tent, cabin or “tiny home” at Little Arrow Outdoor Resort. There are also plenty of local breweries, a whiskey distillery and award-winning farm-to-table dining close by.

FOR FOODIES: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, KENTUCKY

The home of bourbon, bluegrass and barbecue has more than just gastronomical adventures. Start out exploring the brand-new BBQ Trail in the state, then work it off with a trip to Cumberland County, where you can visit the “Niagara of the South,” Cumberland Falls. The falls are known as the only place in the western hemisphere where you can regularly spot a moonbow, a nighttime rainbow cast by a full moon (this summer, they’ll occur on June 11, July 10, August 9 and September 7, so plan accordingly). You can also schedule a stand-up paddleboard tour, including one that goes underground through the state’s vast cave system, the largest in the world with more than 400 mapped miles.

Woman looking around a corner in Antelope Canyon in Arizona

FOR THOSE WHO PREFER ALL-INCLUSIVE: LAKE POWELL, ARIZONA  

If you like the planning to be done for you (and are willing to pay for that privilege), Castle Hot Springs is a sprawling desert resort on more than 1,000 acres where outdoor adventure comes with every reservation. You can hike the surrounding trails in the Bradshaw mountains, discovering local wildlife including cacti, desert wildflowers and Peregrine falcons. There’s also an on-site adventure course for those unafraid of heights, overseen by expert adventure guides, with intermediate and advanced climbing courses available. Guests can explore the natural hot springs after a crater hike through Arizona’s slot canyons, or venture off the resort a short way to experience that unique natural phenomenon from the water, with a boat tour through the canyons on Lake Powell. There, tall cliff faces of red rock meet placid water where visitors can enjoy the breathtaking juxtaposition.

Flamingos in the Flamingo Lagoon area of the Sarasota Jungle Gardens in Sarasota Florida

FOR ANIMAL LOVERS OR FAMILIES (OR BOTH!): SARASOTA, FLORIDA 

Forget about the mouse and explore the other spectacles this southern state has to offer. Sarasota is home to Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, which recently expanded, and features a 135,000-gallon shark habitat and guided kayak tours (including moonlit ones) to explore nearby marine life in its natural habitat. From there, you can visit Sarasota Jungle Gardens, where you can feed flamingos. If you want more of an immersive experience, stop by one of the area’s wildlife rescues — one organizes yoga with lemurs and capybara, among other creatures; another gives you an up-close and personal experience with elephants. There is flora and fauna to explore at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, dubbed “The Living Museum,” and birding and snorkeling at Myakka River State Park or on The Legacy Trail.

Maid of the Mist tourist boat beneath Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

FOR TRADITIONALISTS: NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK

Yes, it is a cliché summer destination, but it’s a bucket-list item with good reason. The U.S. side is part of a state park, which can be a safer bet for a trip than our national parks, which are currently undergoing some tough times. Plus, the opportunity for adventures abound. Visitors have the option of viewing the falls by helicopter, hot air balloon, jet boat or on the historic Maid of the Mist, the ferry that gets you closer to the falls than any other boat tour. For a truly up-close-and-personal experience, get tickets to the Cave of the Winds, a natural cave behind Bridal Veil Falls, which gives you access to the Hurricane Deck, where you can walk right to the base of the falls. Beyond the falls and park, you can soak up some history at Old Fort Niagara and the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center. In nearby Buffalo, a half-hour drive away, there’s a thriving culinary scene with James Beard award-winning restaurants and the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute. You can find family-friendly activities like the ropes courses at Becker Farms or the Carousel Factory Museum. And, if you have your passport, you can always duck over to the Canadian side to explore a whole new country.

 

Which of the above adventures would YOU like to take? Let us know in the comments below.

Jill Waldbieser is a journalist who writes about health, wellness, science, food, and parenting. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, and Everyday Health, among other places. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and looks forward to becoming a crazy cat lady.