The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (30 page)

White Mountains, New Hampshire.
Part of the Appalachian chain, the White Mountains are considered New England’s most rugged peaks. A popular hiking destination in the summer, the mountains also attract cold-loving hikers: In winter, snowshoers can sign up for free or low-cost hikes led by naturalists from the
Appalachian Mountain Club
(603-466-2727,
www.outdoors.org
). Options include a family-friendly two-night lodge-to-hut snowshoe trip from AMC’s Highland Lodge to Lonesome Lake ($206, all meals and gear included) to moonlit snowshoe tours (specific dates) offered free to guests at Joe Dodge Lodge (bunk space from $62 per night per person; specials offered) at Pinkham Notch. Guests can bring their own snowshoes or rent them and arrange self-guided snowshoe hikes through AMC’s hut system, where sleeping space starts at $35 per night per person.

New Hampshire Division of Travel & Tourism Development,
603-271-2665,
www.visitnh.gov
;
White Mountains Attractions Association,
800-346-3687,
www.visitwhitemountains.com
.

HISTORY OF SNOWSHOEING

Like many sports, tromping around in the snow likely started out as a matter of survival. According to the U.S. Snowshoe Association, the practice of snowshoeing dates back a good 6,000 years or so to Asia. White ash frames laced with rawhide were the norm until the 1970s, when aluminum and other man-made materials became common. By the 1990s, advances such as step-in bindings had transformed snowshoeing into a bona fide sport, involving about three million Americans by 2010, per the Outdoor Industry Association.

chase butterflies

MORELIA, MEXICO

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.

—
RABINDRANATH TAGORE, INDIAN AUTHOR AND NOBEL LAUREATE (1861–1941)

34 |
The monarch butterfly is amazing. It weighs just a few grams, but migrates thousands of miles, following a route it has never traveled before—and with incredible reliability. Researchers can predict within a few days when flocks of butterflies will be passing through a specific area. For example, on about September 10, you’ll find them in Lawrence, Kansas. The insects travel about 30 miles a day, so several weeks later you can expect to see them in Eagle Pass, Texas.

But to truly appreciate the scope of the migration one must visit the butterflies’ winter home near Morelia, Mexico—both the nature reserve and the city have been named UNESCO World Heritage sites. The reserve’s five sanctuaries lie in mountains about 75 miles northwest of Mexico City. Every winter, nearly a billion orange-and-black monarchs fill these forests. These insects are four generations removed from the previous year’s visitors, yet somehow they know to come here.

Guide Luis Miguel Lopez Alanis says visitors are astounded when they first visit. “Imagine ten butterflies spinning around your head. Now try to imagine 100. Now try to imagine 10,000. Now try to imagine one million. It goes beyond understanding. It’s something you’ve never seen anywhere.”

Lopez Alanis, who works for
Mex Mich Guides
(www.mmg.com.mx), leads trips to the area from Morelia, a colonial city of about 750,000, about two hours from the sanctuaries. Daylong group tours to see the monarchs run about $50 and include transportation, lunch, and a guided visit. You can book it directly with tour companies or through hotels or the tourist office.

If you base in Morelia,
Hotel de la Soledad
(Ignacio Zaragoza 90, Col. Centro, fax 877-315-8785,
www.hoteldelasoledad.com
, rooms from $80) is a pretty choice built around a tranquil interior garden. Some visitors opt to stay closer to the sanctuaries in small mountain towns, but English is not widely spoken there. The town of
Zitácuaro
is home to the
Villa Monarca Inn
(Carretara Toluca-Morelia km 103.5, 52-715-153-5346,
www.villamonarca.com
), which runs about $80 a night; or for clean, basic accommodations, try the
Rosales del Valle Hotel
(Ave. Revolución Sur, 52-715-153-1293,
www.allmexicohotels.com/michoacan/zitacuaro
) for about $30 per night. For dinner,
Rancho San Cayetano’
s dining room (Carretera a Huetamo km. 2.3, 52-715-153-1926,
www.ranchosancayetano.com
) is recommended, but inexpensive options abound in the city center, too.

If you’re not on a tour, you can hire a licensed guide in Zitácuaro or at the sanctuaries. From Zitácuaro, it’s less than an hour’s drive on maintained, well-marked gravel roads to the two most popular sanctuaries, Rosario and Sierra Chincua. At the
Rosario sanctuary,
visitors find stands at the entrance selling tasty quesadillas. Then they may face a walk of about ten minutes, or more than an hour up and down mountains that top out at 10,000 feet—the otherwise predictable butterflies vary their locale based on weather conditions. The trail, which has wooden steps at steep areas, leads past fir, oak, and pine trees. At
Sierra Chincua sanctuary,
it’s possible to rent a horse to ride part of the way in. Remember, though, there will still be some walking, and you’ll have to hire another horse if you want to ride out.

If the trip in is long, there may be some grumbling, guide Lopez Alanis says. But on the return, everyone is silent, overwhelmed by the experience. No two visits are alike. On windy or cool days the butterflies cling to trees and might look just like browning leaves. But on warm sunny days, the sky explodes with color and activity. “It’s very, very variable,” says Lopez Alanis. “If you visit the monarchs ten times, each time you will see them in a different mood.”

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Michoacán tourism office in Morelia
(Secretaria Estatal de Turismo), Government Palace, Av. Madero 63, C.P. 58000 Mexico, 52-443-317-7805, e-mail: [email protected],
www.turismomichoacan.gob.mx
.

BUTTERFLIES U.S.A.

The monarchs wintering in Mexico come from throughout the United States, east of the Rockies, and as far north as Canada. It’s possible to catch them on their epic road trip south at festivals throughout the country. Perhaps the most impressive is in Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas and Monarch Watch (1200 Sunnyside Ave., 888-824-4464 or 785-864-4441,
www.monarchwatch.org
), an international research group. On the second Saturday in September, the organization invites the public to help intercept monarchs and tag them with fingernail-size coded labels that help researchers learn more about their habits.

“We put them through butterfly school and teach how to catch them,” says Chip Taylor, director of the group. “They come back hours later with smiles on their face because they’ve had a good time swinging a net.”

In recent years, the event has attracted more than 500 people, and tagged more than 3,000 butterflies. If the outing coincides with a Kansas football game, visitors might have trouble getting a room, but Taylor can guarantee there will be butterflies. “I can predict it to within two or three days anywhere on the continent. There’s a pattern here, and the pattern is very, very predictable.”

For lodging consider the
Eldridge Hotel
(701 Massachusetts St., 800-527-0909,
www.eldridgehotel.com
), a campus classic with rooms starting at about $95 a night.

pitch a tent by the sea

NATIONWIDE

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach—waiting for a gift from the sea.

—
ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH,
GIFT FROM THE SEA
(1955)

35 |
The sea is one of nature’s palliatives, and even if you aren’t much of an angler or sailor, simply sitting on the strand listening to the waves kiss the shore is a pleasure in itself. Why not stay overnight?

Beachside campsites dotted across the country and continent offer a budget-friendly way to enjoy the surf. Some are as busy as small cities; others offer quiet coves where you’re almost alone. If sleeping on the ground isn’t for you, take heart: Some sites have permanent tents and cabins.

Florida Keys.
Some of the most beautiful and serene beachside campgrounds in the United States are in the Florida Keys, the string of islands linked to the tip of the Florida peninsula by 127 miles of blacktop called the Overseas Highway. Wading birds, pelicans, crabs, and other seaside creatures thrive in these warm protected waters, popular with kayakers, snorkelers, and anglers. But drive on down the road, and you’ll hit the surprisingly sophisticated restaurants of Islamorada or the historic charm and raucous nightlife of Key West, where author Ernest Hemingway both imbibed and wrote.

Two things to know about visiting the Keys: (1) Camping is buggy come summer, when it’s definitely time to hit a motel; and (2) the beaches are white and soft, but they also tend to be narrow.

Quiet
Long Key State Park
(mile marker 67.5, 305-664-4815,
www.floridastateparks.org/longkey
, $5 per car) has campsites tucked beneath Australian pines, sea grapes, and palms along the narrow sand; each offers a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Sixty of the sites can be reserved up to 11 months in advance (800-326-3521,
www.reserveamerica.com
); each has a picnic table, ground grill, water, and electricity, with easy access to shared restroom and shower facilities. Another six sites offer primitive camping and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost per site is $36.

If you’re looking for a bit of activity with your nature,
Bahia Honda State Park
(mile marker 36.8, 305-872-2353,
www.floridastateparks.org/bahiahonda
, $8 per car) offers a boat ramp, rentals of kayaks and snorkeling gear, and boat trips to the nearby coral reef for snorkeling excursions. The park sits in view of the original railway trestle that brought people to the Florida Keys in the early 1900s, a popular draw today. RV and tent sites cost $36 per night; cabin rentals are offered for $120 in summer, $160 in winter. You can reserve sites 11 months in advance (800-326-3521,
www.reserveamerica.com
).

MORE CAMPGROUNDS BY THE SEA

Here are a few campgrounds worth noting:

 
Boston Harbor Islands State Park, Massachusetts
. Less than an hour’s ferry ride ($14) from downtown Boston, this state park, tucked with a national recreation area by the same name, offers kayaking, swimming, and nature walks; several of the islands offer rustic camping, usually late May through October, starting at $10 per night.
Boston Harbor Islands State Park, 781-740-1605 ext. 205,
www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/harbor.htm
.

 
Carolina Beach State Park, North Carolina
. Near the town of Carolina Beach, and home to the Venus flytrap and other exotic plant species, this park offers views of the Cape Fear River, with a short walk to the Atlantic Ocean. Campsites cost $20 per day (no electricity or hookups).
Carolina Beach State Park, 910-458-8206,
www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/cabe/main.php
.