5 Outdoorsy Adventures to Book This Fall

The Sunset Travel Awards celebrate the best in travel in the West, and this year we had another record-breaking number of entrants of the highest level across all categories. These places and one outfitter are the 2024 winners of the Where to Go: Nature Experiences category. Check out the complete list of winners here. For our definitive and searchable travel directory to help you plan your next trip in the West, click here.

Tucson, Arizona

Visit Tucson

This cultural and wellness hub in the heart of the Sonoran Desert is famed for its saguaro cacti, but visitors might not know it’s also recognized as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, thanks to its culinary scene that is a vibrant blend of Mexican and Native American traditions. Outdoor enthusiasts can explore Saguaro National Park, hike desert trails, and enjoy dark-sky stargazing. The city also boasts vibrant arts, historic sites, and the renowned Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, hitting that perfect balance of natural beauty and cultural richness.

Catalina Island

Catalina Island Company

Rife with natural beauty and rich history, Catalina Island still feels like one of SoCal’s best-kept secrets. Whether you’re exploring via scuba, glass bottom boat, or zipline, the island is sure to surprise and delight. Though it’s always been a place that’s refreshingly stood still, there are new happenings of note: Visitors can now explore El Rancho Escondido, the Wrigley family’s historic Arabian horse ranch built in 1930, which now grows award-winning grapes for Rusack Vineyards.

Breckenridge, Colorado

Breckenridge Tourism Office

Formerly a mining town, this timeless mountain destination draws hikers, cyclists, and snow sport enthusiasts year-round with its seemingly endless array of activities, from world-class skiing and dogsledding to whitewater rafting and fly-fishing. Proving the outdoors is for everyone, Breckenridge is home to one of the world’s only wheelchair-accessible ropes courses at the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, which this year expanded two of the major trails to be wheelchair-accessible as well.

Anchorage, Alaska

Ralph Kristopher

Anchorage is synonymous with adventure, with ways to access Alaska’s majestic landscapes for every level of traveler from extreme explorers to first-time glampers. Just 40 minutes south you’ll find the Alyeska Resort’s sprawling Nordic spa surrounded by nature. The same distance north, you’ll find BlueWater BaseCamp, a new collection of cozy micro cabins with access to a glacier-fed lake for kayaking or hiking. And the city itself boasts fresh boutique accommodations at Aviator Hotel Anchorage, offering views of Anchorage’s northernmost waterway, Knik Arm.

REI Adventures: Olympic National Park & Olympic Peninsula

REI

There’s no better outfitter with which to vist one of the country’s most loved National Parks than REI. Hike, kayak, and bike your way through stunning scenery, bucolic oceanside villages, and family-run farms without having to worry about mapping your own course. After a day traversing old-growth forests near Mount Olympus or the brooding sea stack-lined shores of the Pacific, rest your head in one of the lodges for a restful slumber.