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Northern California fire tornadoes

Nowadays even the most apocalyptic-sounding phenomena seem right in line with 2020. Meteorologists have issued a rare fire-related tornado warning for Northern California, after a massive wildfire resulted in tornado-like columns of flames.

Pyrocumulus FIRENADO timelapse
Date: Aug 15,2020
Time: 2:06 PM
Location: CA State Hwy intersection 395 and 70#loyaltonfire#firenado pic.twitter.com/8YuIssdKg9

— Barry Winston (@BSWinston) August 16, 2020

The Loyalton fire started Friday night in the Tahoe National Forest and grew to 20,000 acres. By Sunday morning it hadn’t been contained at all, and was only expected to get worse. The rare weather event is believed to have been caused by the quick growth and intensity of the fire.

Shane Snyder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the Los Angeles Times, “It was a first for us … It was hot; it was very unstable atmospherically, and that allowed the fire, which is burning very hot and [through] lots of fuel, to really explode up in a vertical sense, up into the atmosphere.”

Snyder added, “Hot air wants to rise, and if it’s very hot it wants to rise dramatically. It’s allowed to rise because the temperature of the air the fire makes is much warmer than the air around it. So it keeps rising until it’s not warmer than the air around it.”

This conflation of conditions can cause a column of smoke to rise tens of thousands of feet, creating a vortex underneath that pulls in air from all around.

A fire tornado has descended on California before, back in July 2018. It tore through Redding at up to 165 miles per hour, killing a firefighter and wreaking havoc on the local area.

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Tokyo’s drive-thru haunted house

Haunted houses will assume a slightly different character this year. Traditional Halloween experiences, where you walk through a house and costumed ghouls and vampires jump out to scare you, are impossible this year due to social distancing restrictions. That’s why this production company in Tokyo is reimagining the traditional haunted house concept by launching a drive-in experience.

Photo: Kowagarasetai

Kenta Iwana, the founder of the Kowagarasetai production company, told CNN, “With the virus, I knew there would be no way we could have a traditional haunted house, with all that screaming in a small confined space. When I read that drive-through theaters were making a comeback, it was my ‘aha’ moment.”

Located in a covered parking garage in downtown Tokyo, the drive-in haunted house simulates the experience of being stuck in a car during a zombie attack. Even though it’s a dive-thru, you won’t actually be driving anywhere — just sitting in the car with the engine turned off for the entirety of the 17-minute experience.

Photo: Kowagarasetai

A bluetooth speaker will take you through the tale as zombies throw themselves against your window and rock your car. Cars are wiped down before the experience for the safety of the actors and again afterward to remove any “bloodstains.”

The haunted house started as a summer attraction, for July only, but will be reintroduced this fall due to its popularity. You can use your own car for $75 or one that’s provided for you for $85.

And because making it to Japan this fall will be very tricky, know that you can enjoy a different, but just as terrifying, drive-through haunted experience in Orlando this Halloween. The “haunted road” will cost $15 per person.

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Death Valley record heat

Everyone knows that Death Valley is scorchingly hot. Otherwise it’d be called Paradise Valley. But the hottest and driest desert valley in the US isn’t resting on its laurels, having just recorded what might be the highest temperature ever registered on planet Earth — 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature recorded on Sunday, August 16, is still being verified by the World Meteorological Organization.

According to the National Weather Service, “This temperature was measured at Furnace Creek near the Visitors Center using a National Weather Service owned automated observation system. This observed high temperature is considered preliminary and not yet official.”

Arctic oil drilling under Trump

More bad news for the environment is coming out of the White House. On Monday, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced a new oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. This would allow oil drilling on 1.5 million-acres of the 19 million acres making up the wildlife refuge, a zone in the refuge’s coastal plain known as the 1002 area.

Bernhardt claims that the drilling will increase American energy independence and create jobs, while opponents see the move as dangerous in regards to the climate emergency and for the wildlife in the area, including polar bears and migrating cariboos that calve there every year, and migratory birds.

Leases for the exploration of oil and gas in the area could start being auctioned off by the end of the year, but according to The New York Times, production would not happen for another 10 years.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, “the Arctic National Wildlife Range was established in 1960 to preserve unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values. In 1980, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) re-designated the Range as part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and provided four purposes that guide management of the entire Refuge: to conserve animals and plants in their natural diversity, ensure a place for hunting and gathering activities, protect water quality and quantity, and fulfill international wildlife treaty obligations.”

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Spanish vineyards harvest COVID-19

This year, Spanish vineyards had a record grape crop, but it’s hardly good news. In normal times, this would have meant huge profits and more wine to be drunk at home and exported around the world. Due to COVID-19, however, wine sales have dropped dramatically, so the Spanish government is incentivizing growers to destroy part of their grape harvest. Lower limits were also placed on how much wine can be produced per acre.

This year’s grape crop was supposed to result in 43 million hectolitres of wine (1136 million gallons), which is about six million more than in recent years. Although this number already far exceeds domestic and international demand, the excess has become even more problematic since restaurant wine sales have fallen by 65 percent and exports by 49 percent since the pandemic’s start. World wine consumption is also down 10 percent.

According to The Guardian, the Spanish government will subsidize 90 million euros ($107 million) for growers to destroy parts of their crops or to have grapes being distilled into brandy or industrial alcohol.

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11 spectacular US waterfalls in fall

Niagara gets a lot of hype, so too does Yosemite, but the US is littered with amazing waterfalls. If there’s only one thing this country knows how to do (and there might be), it’s rack up natural wonders.

You might think you know all the big ones — and you might think the rest are all smushed into the Pacific Northwest — but there are dozens worth knowing about. Some are major state attractions, others a reward for those who bother to make the trek. From Washington to New York, here are the country’s most spectacular falls in the country’s most spectacular season.

1. Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan

Photo: Doug Lemke/Shutterstock

Tahquamenon Falls is either two or six falls, depending on your perception. Upper Falls — a 50-foot drop, 200 feet across — is regarded as more dramatic than Lower Falls, where five small cascades descend around an island. Nicknamed “Root Beer Falls,” tannins from local cedar swamps have turned the water a vivid shade of brown.

The 50,000-acre Tahquamenon Falls State Park can hook you up with a rowboat to access the island (where you can play in the falls), or you can scope out views from the trail along the riverbank. Here, you’re also not far from Lake Superior, on the eastern side of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

2. Shoshone Falls, Idaho

Photo: tusharkoley/Shutterstock

Nicknamed the “Niagara of the West” — but 45 feet taller — the Snake River’s Shoshone Falls needs no comparison. Formed during a massive Ice Age flood, the 900-foot-wide cascade has carved out a basalt canyon just east of Twin Falls, Idaho, flowing mightily all the way to the Columbia River. (Fun fact: That basalt comes from ancient Yellowstone eruptions.)

Because of irrigation diversion, Shoshone Falls is best viewed in springtime, when the cascades gush at 20,000 cubic feet per second.

3. Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

Photo: Alexey Stiop/Shutterstock

At 68 feet tall and 125 feet wide, Cumberland Falls is the second-largest waterfall east of the Rockies. But silver medaling in the waterfall game isn’t what Cumberland is known for. Instead, it’s known for its moonbows. They appear on clear nights on either end of the full moon — the only place in the Western Hemisphere where this visual phenomenon regularly occurs.

Though easily accessible via the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, you could also raft the Cumberland River — in the Daniel Boone National Forest — for up-close views of the cascade. While certainly beautiful in the daylight, the moonbows are a sight to be seen.

4. Palouse Falls, Washington

Photo: kan_khampanya/Shutterstock

Out of Eastern Washington’s ancient lava beds and dry scablands pops Palouse Falls, a stunning cascade that drops 200 feet into a swirling, churning bowl of water at its base. It’s one of the last remaining waterfall remnants of the Ice Age floods, a series of catastrophic events that struck repeatedly over 2,000 years.

The gorge into which it spills provides stunning views just from the parking lot. There are a few short, easy hikes from here. More difficult scrambles can be taken down into the canyon. Note: The road in is a rough one — take it slow or get a high-clearance vehicle.

5. Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

Photo: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

Twice as high as Niagara, Snoqualmie packs in over 1.5 million visitors every year, making it Washington’s second-most popular attraction (after Rainier). You might recognize it from Twin Peaks.

In 2019, the Snoqualmie tribe purchased the onsite lodge, the falls, and the surrounding 45 acres, reclaiming it as their own, which it had been for centuries. This is a sacred site — when you visit, keep this history in mind.

6. Latourell Falls, Oregon

Photo: Bob Pool/Shutterstock

On the Historic Columbia River Scenic Byway — a 70-mile stretch just east of Portland, Oregon — Multnomah Falls is the piece de resistance. It’s also Oregon’s most visited natural attraction, and parking is hard to find from the second it opens. But 90 waterfalls — yes, 90 — alight this stretch; skip Multnomah until the crowds fade, and let the rest of this historic route grab your attention.

Of these 90, Latourell is one of the grandest and easily accessible falls off the road. A short hike leads to this view, and a longer, uphill stretch takes you closer to the top.

7. Burgess Falls, Tennessee

Photo: Scott Alan Ritchie/Shutterstock

Less than 90 minutes from Nashville, Burgess Falls tumbles down the aptly named Falling Water River. It spills mightily for 136 feet into the bottom of a limestone gorge — beautiful 150-foot cliffs line either side.

Burgess State Park technically contains four waterfalls, but it’s the last of these that’ll make you pull off I-40. Trails of varying difficulties meander along the river and to a great viewpoint of the falls.

8. Taughannock Falls, New York

Photo: Michael Shake/Shutterstock

Pronounced tuh-GA-nick, this is the highest single-drop waterfall east of the Rockies. At 215 feet, it’s 33 feet taller than Niagara. And Taughannock Falls State Park, about 10 miles north of Ithaca, comes without the manufactured attractions, crowds, and long lines.

The hike to the Gorge Trailhead winds for a short 0.75 miles (you’ll find parking on NY-89). For a slightly longer trek, the 1.5-mile North Rim Trail and 1.2-mile South Rim Trail split from the Gorge Trail, also offering views of the falls.

9. Upper Mesa Falls, Idaho

Photo: Barry Bjork/Shutterstock

A curtain of water the size of a 10-story building cascades over a bed of volcanic rock at Upper Mesa Falls — and just a mile south, Lower Mesa Falls pretty much does the same thing. The Mesa Falls Scenic Byway winds for around 30 miles along vistas like these, through the Targhee National Forest, and near Yellowstone National Park.

Note: Most of the Snake River — where you’ll find the falls — has been wrangled and wrestled into submission by man, but not Upper or Lower Mesa Falls.

10. Linville Falls, North Carolina

Photo: Craig Zerbe/Shutterstock

The most popular waterfall in the Blue Ridge Mountains — and not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway — the three-tiered Linville Falls is the highlight of the already spectacular Linville Gorge. Appropriately, three different trails (from easy to strenuous) snake around the gorge, from the base of the falls to the very tip-top.

11. Minnehaha Falls, Minnesota

Photo: AMB-MD Photography/Shutterstock

One of the few waterfalls smack dab in the center of a city, Minnehaha Falls tumbles for 53 feet in Minneapolis’ oldest park (and one of the oldest state parks in the country), surrounded by limestone bluffs and groves of oak, elm, and silver maple. Minnehaha Park overlooks the Mississippi, part of Minneapolis Grand Rounds — widely regarded as one of the best urban park systems in the world.

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New England beach pizza

Pizza and politics are more similar than you’d think. Most of us agree that a nation needs a government to function, we just can’t agree on what kind. Well, people also need pizza to function, but we’re more likely to achieve world peace than agree on a universally beloved pizza style. We’ve heard all the debates and sampled all the candidates, registered our support for Brooklyn, apizza, Neapolitan, Chicago style, Greek, Sicilian, or flatbread pizzas. But one candidate has flown subtly under the radar, charming its local demographic for decades while largely avoiding the national stage: beach pizza.

Beach pizza has been an institution in Salisbury Beach, MA, since the 1940s. Named for its proximity to the beach rather than anything particularly “beachy” about the pizza itself, beach pizza became a local phenomenon on the Massachusetts North Shore thanks to its distinctly sweet flavor. It can be found pretty much exclusively in two shops that sit almost directly beside each other — Tripoli and Cristy’s.

You’ve probably never heard of beach pizza. You might be thinking, “How good could a pizza style be if it’s been around for 80 years and no one’s heard of it?” Well, the answer is complicated. Beach pizza is both unique and controversial, and its story is essential reading for pizza connoisseurs. After all, when it comes to the politics of pizza supremacy, you should have all the facts before you cast a vote.

The history of beach pizza

Like many world-altering inventions, beach pizza had a relatively humble beginning. It was created by a chef at Tripoli Bakery in 1944, which was then located in Lawrence, MA. A year later, Angelo Zappala, the bakery’s owner, expanded about 30 miles northeast to the coastal community of Salisbury Beach, where he opened a garage-door-style pizza stand. The family-owned business immediately took off, as the pizza proved popular among the summer crowds flocking to the beach. Soon after Tripoli set up shop, Cristy’s Pizza joined it on the boardwalk, moving in right next door.

Salisbury Beach proved to be the perfect home for beach pizza. In the 1940s and ‘50s, it was the closest thing New England had to a boardwalk amusement park in the tradition of Coney Island. Expensive beach homes, arcades, and popular performers drew crowds of people from farther inland. The beach was also home to the Sky Rocket, the country’s first modern roller coaster. These circumstances created a perfect storm for a fresh new pizza style.

Unfortunately, Salisbury’s popularity and prosperity wouldn’t last. By the 1970s, an economic downturn transformed the vibrant beach community into a ghost town. The Sky Rocket closed, beach houses were abandoned, and storefronts shuttered — but beach pizza endured. Though Salisbury never returned to its mid-century boom, Tripoli and Cristy’s have remained local staples, a testament to the power of pizza to transcend socioeconomic upheaval.

What is beach pizza, anyway?

Photo: Tripoli Pizza and Bakery/Facebook

If you took your Italian grandfather to Salisbury Beach and bought him a slice from Tripoli, he might just drop dead of shame. Beach pizza is not for pizza purists. It’s a decidedly novelty pizza that managed to gather a devoted following. Once you try it, it’s easy to see why.

Beach pizza is a thin pizza with crispy, flaky crust, cut into squares. A traditional pizza is defined by the holy trinity of crust, sauce, and cheese, which are usually relatively equally balanced. Well, beach pizza doesn’t even pretend equality. It’s all about the sauce, so sweet it almost qualifies as dessert, often extending right up to the crust and overpowering the scant amount of cheese. Sauce is the foundation on which beach pizza is built. If you’re a sauce fan and don’t mind a kick of sweetness, you’ll love beach pizza. If you’re not, it’ll taste like sacrilege.

Tripoli and Cristy’s have slightly different approaches to beach pizza, but both serve up similarly spare slices with naught but a layer of sauce and some thinly grated cheese. It’s worth noting that you can ask for “extra cheese” on your slice, but that amounts to a single piece of provolone slapped on top, and likely won’t satiate a cheese lover’s appetite.

The local rivalry

Tripoli and Cristy’s feud like the Hatfield and McCoys of Salisbury. The rivalry dates back to the 1940s, and it simultaneously keeps the Salisbury Beach community together and rips it apart. On any given beach day or summer night, you can find two parallel lines side-by-side extending from the pizza windows to the street. The only thing separating these two pizza giants is the Joe’s Playland arcade, situated right in the middle. So while Tripoli and Cristy’s carry on their decades-long feud for supremacy, children play in the arcade, poetically unaware that one day they’ll grow up and have to choose sides for themselves.

Tripoli is the OG on the block, and there’s no doubt that it has the bigger following. In addition to it’s patently sweet pizza, Tripoli is also famous for its cannolis and breads, so its diversity of options gives it somewhat of an — unfair, some might say — advantage.

Photo: Cristy’s Pizza/Facebook

Cristy’s, on the other hand, doesn’t mess around with extras. It serves pizza, and only pizza. Traditionalists have to respect that. Its sauce isn’t quite as sweet as Tripoli’s, so it might be a better entry-level slice for those wary of dabbling in beach pizza for the first time.

Whichever pizza you prefer, be prepared to choose an allegiance and stick to it. Announcing your beach pizza preference on the North Shore is akin to walking into Thanksgiving dinner and loudly declaring your political views. If it’s 2:00 AM on a Saturday and you decide to make an offhand remark about Tripoli while enjoying a slice of Cristy’s at the picnic tables, well, the best-case scenario is you get cursed out by the entire Tripoli’s line. The worst-case scenario is you ignite a West Side Story-esque brawl. So think very carefully before cementing your preference.

The phenomenon

Like most cultural phenomena, beach pizza doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s not just a drunk snack you grab as an afterthought when leaving SurfSide. It’s what made you decide to go out drinking in Salisbury in the first place. It tempts you to leave the bar before last call and get a good place in line. It’s where you bond with complete strangers over your collective love for Cristy’s and hatred of Tripoli. It’s ordering a box of 20 slices when you only need two, and arguing with your friends on the ride home — sauce flying everywhere — about whether beach pizza is actually worth the hype.

Make no mistake, beach pizza is subpar at best when viewed through the cold eyes of a culinary expert. When viewed as an institution, however, as a local tradition intertwined with the history and culture of Salisbury Beach, then it assumes a whole new significance. Beach pizza isn’t meant to be eaten while watching football, nor is it a wholesome family dinner. It’s the slice you grab at the beach when you’re not even hungry, but that you can’t resist when you smell that sweet sauce aroma drifting your way. It’s a food consumed in conflict, as loyalists from rival eateries hurl insults at each other.

Love it or hate it, it’ll make you question everything you thought you knew about pizza.

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Google launches COVID-19 feature

These days, keeping track of which travel destinations are open, what restrictions are in place, if there are many flights going to the area, what safety protocols you need to follow, etc., can feel almost impossible at times. But Google Travel’s new safety feature is here to provide guidance. It’s been designed to help prospective travelers navigate the complex world of traveling during COVID-19.

Photo: Google

In a blog post, Richard Holden, vice president of product management at Google Travel, said, “The uncertainty of Covid-19 makes it hard to navigate travel decisions. We will continue to share the most relevant information so you can make informed decisions and travel safely when the time comes.”

Photo: Google

The feature is designed to meet the evolving needs of travelers in the COVID-19 era. When you visit the Google Travel page, you’re now able to search your destination and browse hotels and flights with all the related COVID-19 facts you need to know. Information regarding cases at your potential destination and any restrictions or checkpoints you may encounter while getting there will be available. The percentage of open hotels with availability will show up, as well as flights operating in the area. You can even filter specifically for hotels with flexible cancellation policies.

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Roadtripping is best first solo trip

As a solo traveler, I spent 36 delirious hours on a train headed to Goa, India, from New Delhi before driving more than a few hours across my native California alone.

That train ride was like an aptitude test: I was 18, on my first solo trip, and sporting a mild fever while faced with the iron language barrier, a ticketing mishap, questionable seating etiquette, and a car full of drunk navy boys who were disinclined to let me read in peace on the lying-room-only top bunk I’d been loosely assigned. If I could still manage to get off at the right stop, I told myself somewhere around Mumbai, I could do anything solo.

Then I drove from San Francisco to Denver and back alone.

Though the trip went off without a hitch, spending 20 hours on my own in a Subaru Impreza on either side of a weeklong trip to the Rocky Mountains changed my outlook on solo travel. For a first-timer, the open road is aptly challenging, rewarding, and accessible. I’ll never regret that messy 36-hour crash course in traveling on my own, but looking back, road-tripping by myself is the sort of introduction I wish I’d had to solo travel.

It’s harder than you think, mentally and physically.

Road-tripping on your own is an endurance sport. It requires stamina, focus, and, as I discovered around mile 300 of a 730-mile stretch of I-80, steely resolve.

Marathon sitting is no Olympic Game, but hours behind the wheel can leave distance drivers cramped and sore. Boredom is a hurdle. And while Google Maps handles navigation, it’s no substitute for street smarts, or road savvy as the case may be. Were it not for my brother’s advice to never dip below half a tank in Nevada, my first solo road trip might have become a misadventure in hitchhiking during a global pandemic.

On the other hand, it’s easier to pull a u-ey in a personal vehicle. Think of a road trip like a trial run for bigger, farther travels: Start closer to home, ease into the challenges of solo travel, and hone your problem-solving skills in a controlled setting. You’re in the driver’s seat, after all.

You’ll learn to love your own company.

A popular mantra among solo travelers says that traveling alone is rarely lonely. Going solo can be greater motivation to meet new people, and 21st-century resources like meetup apps and co-working spaces make it easier than ever to make connections outside of bars and hostels.

There are, of course, times when solo travelers are actually alone, and these can be challenging. Even career solo travelers get homesick sometimes. Road-tripping by yourself forces you to confront these feelings, quickly. Extended periods in the car not only limit human interaction, but driving also strips away safety blankets like being able to curl up with a book, cue up Netflix, take a walk, people watch, or scroll through social media to feel closer to home.

As there is little to distract you from your own thoughts, take the opportunity to get comfortable with your own company. You’ll thank us on future solo travels.

Every stop is a mini solo trip.

On a road trip, driving is only half the battle, or fun as it may be. Time spent off the road is like any other trip: You’ll check in and out of various accommodations, see the local sights, get used to eating alone, and, if you want, practice meeting people in unfamiliar places.

Though it’s easy to get caught up in driving logistics and your final destination, a first solo road trip should be a marathon, not a sprint. Build out a proper itinerary. Time permitting, spend a couple of nights in various cities along your route, engage with locals, and leave room for a few detours. Because outside of the car, a solo road-tripper is just another solo traveler.

Overpack now while you have the trunk space.

I’m not a planner. I buy one-way flights, never check a bag, and clear airport security 20 minutes before takeoff. Prior to Colorado, my last road trip was the result of a chance encounter in Brisbane, Australia, with a traveler I’d met several months before on a dive boat in Mexico.

Solo travel teaches us to manage our travel habits, sometimes the hard way. On a road trip, travelers can workshop their travel styles through trial and error. A few missed highway exits is a less stressful lesson in time management than a missed flight. Overloading your trunk with bags that end up dusty is easier than lugging around a pack full of unworn clothes. And getting a last-minute room at a Holiday Inn Express is cheaper than learning the hard way that same-day Swiss hotel bookings can be bank-breaking if there’s a music festival in the town over.

Solo road-trippers have more agency than any other traveler. First-timers can make mistakes and learn from them while they’re in total control. Iron out your pace, budgeting, packing essentials, and place on the spectrum from responsibly spontaneous to entirely planned. Or prepare to leave a trail of superfluous personal effects across your first foreign country.

Being alone with the scenery is almost spiritual.

Utah might be the most striking of the United States. I’d been a few times to ski but only realized this after spending hours alone with the landscape muraled across my windshield. Watching the salt-and-pepper mountains, ponderosa pines, and highlighter-red mesa unfurl at 70 miles an hour to a soundtrack I’d curated specifically for the occasion was as cinematic as every road trip movie promises. And, with no one there to share the experience, even more intimate.

Alone in a car, we tend to feel invisible in a way that lets us be authentic. We sing loudly and unironically dance in our seats like nobody’s watching. Sometimes we talk to ourselves. This is the default setting on a road trip and the lens through which we process the entire experience. Even on less-than-scenic drives, alone time in the car can be a special way to take in a new place. We can certainly imagine worse fates for a first solo trip.

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Grand Lake, Colorado, travel

There are two kinds of Rocky Mountain vacations. The first is a pillar of the Colorado lifestyle, where climbing a 14er, off-roading through the forest, and white-water rafting are baseline requirements. The second is a more laid-back experience where lakeside reading and eating ice cream with mountain views doesn’t feel like a wasted day. Grand Lake, Colorado, allows you to have either, or better yet a mix of both.

Grand Lake was settled in the mid-1800s by European hunting parties who built summer lodges there. First serving as a village for miners and hunting guides, prospectors flocked from all over the country to make Grand Lake their home when silver was discovered in the local rivers. Although the mines dried up and the silver rush abated, the town remained a popular fishing, boating, and hiking destination for over 100 years. A lot has changed since then, but the town’s rustic and relaxing Western vibe hasn’t. With easy access to Rocky Mountain National Park, the surrounding lakes, and excursions into the remote wilderness, Grand Lake is the perfect base for your remote Rocky Mountain adventure.

The Great Lakes of the West

Photo: Markel Echaburu Bilbao/Shutterstock

When you first arrive in Grand Lake, the first thing you should get acquainted with isn’t your neighbors or the hiking trails — it’s the altitude. At 8,369 feet, the elevation can hit your body pretty hard if you’re coming from sea level. Leave any serious hiking for few days into your trip after you’ve acclimated, and instead start out by getting on the water.

Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain Lake, and Granby Lake are like the Great Lakes of the Rockies. Despite its name, Grand Lake is the Lake Eerie of the bunch, the smallest body of water in the area — but since it abuts the town itself, it’s the most convenient option for a quick excursion. As you walk around town you’ll find yourself watching enviously as people sail, paddle board, and kayak on the water. With a quick visit to the Grand Lake Marina, you can be one of them. The marina rents pontoon boats, sport boats, kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards.

Photo: Laura Reilly

Lake Granby is the largest lake in the area, and it’s only a 10 minute-drive away. In addition to canoe and pontoon boat rentals, Beacon Landing Marina on the lake’s north bank also offers guided fishing charters. These private half-day angling adventures will take you on a relaxing cruise around the lake, while a seasoned guide instructs you in the finer points of hauling in a big lake trout.

Several secluded campgrounds sit on the shores of Lake Granby, perfect for setting up a base and taking advantage of the hiking trails. The Arapaho Bay and Sunset Point campgrounds, for example, provide easy access to the Strawberry Lake Trailhead. Much of the land around Granby Lake, including its islands, are protected wildlife areas, meaning you can’t just dock and go exploring wherever you want. The good news, however, is that from your boat you might spot antelope, bobcats, moose, deer, elk, and mountain lions wandering around their natural habitat. Grand Bay in particular — where the lake meets the Colorado River — is known for its abundance of moose and elk.

Explore Rocky Mountain National Park

Photo: bjul/Shutterstock

Maybe you got lucky and saw a moose in Grand Bay, but that’s only the beginning of wildlife-spotting opportunities that await in the Rocky Mountains. The entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park is under a five-minute drive from Grand Lake, and beyond the pearly gates are an eden of elk, moose, mountain goats, sheep — and yeah, some bears, wolves, and coyotes.

If a weekend of camping in the rugged Rocky Mountain wilderness is a keystone of your trip, there is no shortage of campgrounds scattered throughout the park with access to great hiking trails. To camp, you’ll need a Wilderness Permit and have to pay the $30 Wilderness Administrative Fee. Since the park is absolutely massive, at over 265,000 acres, there are dozens of campsites to choose from. The park website has handy maps of all the area’s campsites, as well as nearby trailheads and hiking routes, so you can pick the location that suits you best. More information on camping permits and reservations is available online.

Photo: Rexjaymes/Shutterstock

If camping’s not your thing, you could just enjoy the drive through the mountains. From Grand Lake it takes about an hour and a half to drive the Trail Ridge Road through the mountains to Estes Park — the entrance to the park on the opposite side of the mountains — and the drive will take you through some of Colorado’s most breathtaking scenery. Don’t be surprised if you see cars pulling over every few minutes to photograph elk or moose by the side of the road, or stopping at viewpoints to capture the sweeping mountain views. Just make sure your depth perception is up to snuff, because these winding roads often don’t have guardrails, and the drop-offs are pretty steep.

Entering the park currently requires advance reservations for two-hour entry windows. It costs $2 to make a reservation on Recreation.gov, and permits are issued per vehicle ($25 for cars and $15 for bicycles). The reservation system is designed to spread out visitor numbers to prevent the park from getting overcrowded at peak hours. Reservations are not required after 5:00 PM — though you still have to pay the $25 entry fee — so a sunset drive through the mountains is an enticing option.

Get down and dirty on the Continental Divide

Photo: Grand Adventures Snowmobile and Off-Road Tours/Facebook

If you thought Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park was a nail biter, just wait until you take on the Corona Pass Road in Winter Park. Although typically known as a popular winter ski destination, Winter Park is also a springboard for summer and early-fall adventures, and at just under an hour’s drive from Grand Lake, it’s a perfect day trip. While experienced athletes can take on mountain biking on the steep terrain, novice adventurers can get their adrenaline fix on a UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle) tour.

Grand Adventures offers group UTV tours up the Corona Pass Road over Rollins Pass, taking you to nearly 12,000 feet in elevation. The pass is a 15-mile route with incredible views of the Continental Divide, Rocky Mountains, and Fraser Valley, and it follows a historic railroad that operated over Rollins Pass in the early 1900s. Each group will drive their own four-seat UTV and follow a guide up the mountain, so nominate your most trustworthy friend and buckle up (though you all have a chance to take the wheel if you want to). Despite the ultra-fast, bumpy ride, the tour is suitable even for small kids or the elderly, so long as they’re game for getting super muddy.

Photo: Laura Reilly

The dense greenery gives way to winding dirt roads skirting the mountainside above the treeline, and at the very top, glacial packs of ice can be skied even in July. Keep your eyes open for moose and wildflowers by the roadside, and be prepared for some seriously deep mud puddles. One passenger in our UTV may or may not have lowered his goggles to film the views, and ended up with a face (and iPhone) full of mud. So if it wasn’t already obvious, don’t wear clothes you actually care about on this trip.

Photo: Grand Adventures Snowmobile and Off-Road Tours/Facebook

If you’re worried about not being accepted at any dining establishment afterwards, remember this is Colorado, where a little mud never hurt anybody. Hit up The Ditch on 40 in downtown Winter Park for New Mexico-style burritos, topped with your choice of red or green sauce — or Christmas-style, a mix of both.

Indulge in barbecue, beer, and way too much ice cream

Photo: Visit Grand Lake

Once you’ve had your fill of the surrounding nature, there’s not a huge amount to do in downtown Grand Lake, beyond strolling the boardwalks and perusing tourist gift shops and other clothing and art boutiques (though there is mini golf at the Meandering Moose, which is still fun no matter your age). What you will find is plenty of lively watering holes and restaurants, even with current social-distancing restrictions.

The scent of barbeque drifts down the street and mingles with the crisp mountain air, making it pretty easy to kick back with a beer and some pulled pork while looking across the lake. Sagebrush BBQ & Grill is a local favorite for its extensive barbeque and beer options; it also has the famous Rocky Mountain oysters if that’s on your Colorado bucket list. Another must-stop is One Love Rum Kitchen, which serves casual Caribbean fare and tropical-inspired cocktails. The World’s End Brewpub has lots of shareable plates, like flatbreads and Buffalo wings, and plenty of local taps.

If you’re trying to ease into the altitude, or simply don’t want to be hungover for the next day’s activities, skip the alcohol and indulge in the second-best vice on planet Earth: ice cream. There’s no data to back this up, but Grand Lake probably has more ice cream shops per capita than any town in the US. Between ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, fudge, candy apples, and milkshakes, you could hit a different dessert spot every day and still not try them all. You might gain 15 pounds, but science has incontrovertibly proven that vacation calories don’t count.

Where to stay in Grand Lake

Photo: Highway West Vacations

Whether you get drunk on beer or ice cream, you’ll never be more than five minutes from home. There are several accommodations near downtown Grand Lake, as well as many Airbnb and VRBO listings for private cabins and condos. But for truly breathtaking views from your bedroom window check out the Grand Lake Lodge just a three-minute drive from town perched on a hill overlooking the lake. This stately lodge, which just celebrated its 100th birthday, is situated at the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. Even if you can’t spring for a stay and choose to stay in more humble digs nearby, you really need to still come for a drink. A gin-spiked lavender lemonade makes for the perfect sundowner on the mountain-top patio, complete with cozy fire pits and unmatched views of the surrounding mountains and forest.

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