Natalie F
RN who loves the outdoors, exploring, and appreciating what mother nature offers us. Into The Office, sustainability, reading, traveling, and spending time with my loved ones.
Explore the University of Wisconsin Arboretum
Madison, WisconsinIt is filled with effigy mounds, thousands of plant and animal species, and unlimited places to explore. You can run, hike, bike, and even drive through the Arboretum. There is a visitor center and you can host an event here.
Trail info
One of my favorite trails is in the Grady Tract area near Greene Prairie.
There are two entrances:
The east entrance is located at: Wingra Drive and Haywo...
Explore the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
5.0
Just a 1.5 mile walk from Edinburgh Castle is the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh. It’s worth a stop and you could easily spend 1-4 hours here. Plus, it’s a fun walk from downtown Edinburgh. There’s plenty of shops and restaurants along the walk, or just soak in the architecture. Additionally, you’ll be right by the Water of Leith river once you arrive at the Gardens.
The plants are beaut...
Catch A Sunset at Escambron Beach
San Juan, Puerto Rico
4.0
I took my first cruise earlier this year and Puerto Rico was one of the stops. This beautiful beach is only a 33 minute walk from the cruise terminal and you’ll get to see a decent amount of Puerto Rico on the walk. Check out the murals across the street too!
At the beach
You are able to snorkel and the reef makes it easily swimmable. The views are great too; to the west you can see the Capi...
Hiking through Owen Conservation Park
Madison, WisconsinThere are no specific trails in this conservancy, so just choose the path that looks the best to you. It would be hard to get lost here and all the trails put together are only about 3 miles. There are some hills, but nothing too serious.
bathrooms in the parking lotsmall parking lotfreecommonly will see turkeysoutstanding colors in the fallHere is a link to a map of the Conservatory (includ...
Hike to Pele's Chair
Honolulu, Hawaii
1.3 mi
/ 150 ft gain
Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, is said to have sat here just before finishing her volcanic activity to form Oahu. She left here and moved on to the islands of Molokai and Lanai.
The hike is only about a mile to the beach. You start at the parking area for the Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail. Take the side trail on the right, down into grass. It’s an easy to follow path. Once you reach the...
Au Sable Point Lighthouse
Seney, Michigan
3.01 mi
/ 157 ft gain
This was a fun visit while at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. There was a volunteer couple running the lighthouse portion and they were friendly, kind, and well informed. The tour itself (led by a NPS ranger I believe) was just ok, but it was still interesting. The views at the top of the lighthouse make this a worthy $3 and hour visit!
This lighthouse was built in 1873-1874 and sta...
Stroll Victoria Street
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
5.0
It’s a must do while in Edinburgh. It’s featured in films like Cloud Atlas, One Day, and Eurovision. It’s even said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter!
Check out the shops, grab a drink at one of the coffee shops or restaurants, and be sure to take some pictures of this gorgeous street with its winding road and popping colors.
Hike up to Garvin Heights Overlook
Winona, Minnesota
1 mi
Park on Huff Street on the bridge that divides Lake Winona (we parked in the lot by the Visitor Center). Walk on Huff St. towards the highway (14/61) and turn left on W. Lake Boulevard (be careful here, it’s a busy road). Continue on Lake Blvd. past Cty Rd. 44 . Before the first house on Lake Blvd. you’ll see the wooded path. Follow the path up and you’ll eventually get to Garvin Heights Pa...
Catch a Sunset at the The Necropolis
Glasgow City, United KingdomThe city of Glasgow has a lot to offer and this is a gem I am happy we had the opportunity to check out while we were here. It may seem odd to suggest a graveyard, but it’s a beautiful site. The graves are intricate and the views are endless.
Some history:
The burial ground was intended to be interdenominational The first burial was in 1832: Joseph Levi, a jewellerThere have been 50,000 b...
Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden
Kaneohe, Hawaii
5.0
Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden is on my list of the top ten most beautiful nature places you can drive to.
Hoʻomaluhia means "to make a place of peace and tranquility." This breathtaking gem was built in 1982 by the US Army Corps of Engineering to prevent flooding.
There’s a lot to do here, you can even camp and fish. There’s a nature trail by the Botanic Library that takes you to a lake. It...
Big Falls County Park
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
5.0
When I went in 2019 it was free, but their website says there is a fee now. Hike around for an hour or so and then have a picnic. I went around 6pm after work one day and had a wonderful time. We only saw about a dozen people and during our picnic we had the place to ourselves!
This is a 135 acre park, so there’s plenty to do. The falls are beautiful and if you cross the rapids there are san...
Hike The Devil's Staircase (segment of the Ice Age Trail)
Janesville, Wisconsin
1 mi
This segment of the Ice Age Trail features stairs, river views, pretty rocks, a nice park, and a golf course.
We started at the north end (not the park end) and enjoyed it. If you have kids, I would recommend starting at the park end. It is an out-and-back type hike.
From the south end of the parking lot (away from the map display and towards the golf course) you’ll see the trail. The trai...
Hike through Pope Farm Conservancy
Middleton, WisconsinMore info can be found about that here.
This is a beautiful 105 acre conservancy with several different trails. It’s a great spot for a picnic and to bring the family. There are interpretive signs so you can learn about the history of the land like glaciers and the different settlers. They even have a 12 acre food pantry garden now called “Forward Garden.”
Trail and maps
The address is 744...
PWC Beach in Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Boulder City, Nevada
4.3
This man-made lake on the Colorado River is underrated in my opinion. It has everything an outdoor enthusiast could want from scuba diving, hiking, horseback riding, all kinds of water sports, and plenty of camping options.
This beach is near Boulder City. Use the Boulder City Entrance, go north on Lakeshore Road for 2 miles. Turn right and follow the signs to the lake.
watercrafts an...
Photograph The Dells Mill
Augusta, WisconsinThis is a fun and scenic stop near Eau Claire, WI. It is beautiful all year round, but especially in the fall. The mill was initially used to ground wheat, which was a very important part of Wisconsin's economy during the Civil War era. It has been used for many different things since then. Currently it is owned by Amish folks. They have a store you can walk through and there is a museum. ...
Explore Mullaghmore Head
54.470081,-8.464038, IrelandAlong the Wild Atlantic Way north of Sligo sits Mullaghmore, a small fishing village with sandy beaches and world famous surf waves that reach almost 100 feet tall. We walked along the coast for a while here and truly enjoyed ourselves, it was our last few hours in Ireland and was the perfect way to end our time in such a breathtaking country.
Inishmurray Island is just a boat ride away a...
Camp at Devil’s Backbone Basecamp
Roseland, Virginia
5.0
This place has it all : a bomb fire pit, live music, distillery, restaurant, 48 taps, mountain views, and more! Not to mention, it’s in a great location for exploring. It’s close to tons of breweries, wineries, and cideries, it’s just a few miles from the Appalachian trail, and close to Shenandoah National Park.
My husband and I camped here for a weekend getaway May 2019. We had such a go...
Explore Eklutna Lake
Palmer, AlaskaThis beautiful lake is fed by Eklutna Glacier.
There is so much to do here:
Rent bikes or kayaks (bring your own too). Info about renting is here. Walk or bike along the trail that wraps around the lake Hike Twin Peaks TrailIf you want a more difficult hike, do Pepper Peak. This hike incorporates Twin Peaks, but takes you farther and actually up the twin peaks that the other trail is name...
Explore the Canals of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
4.7
Amsterdam has about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. That makes getting around it fun and unique. You can take a boat tour of the canals. I would recommend renting a bike. That’s how the locals get around. According to “IamAmsterdam,” there are over 880,000 bikes in the city. Additionally, over 2 million kilometres are cycled by Amsterdammers each day; that’s over 1,242,742 miles! Some of th...
Beach day at Bradford Beach
Milwaukee, WisconsinThere are not many sandy beaches in the lovely state of Wisconsin. This might be the best one. If you are from Wisconsin, you also might consider Lake Michigan an ocean when you are craving a real ocean. And it comes close! Even though it’s not on a real ocean, this beach has it all. There’s tiki bars, beach volleyball, incredible sunrise views, and more!
https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/P...
Soak in the views along Skyline Drive
Homer, AlaskaThis is an easy drive with nice views. On a clear day you can see across Kachemak Bay, showing off glaciers, mountains and Mount Augustine Volcano, a stratovolcano.
Start at either West Hill Rd. or East Hill Rd. Then turn left or right onto Skyline Dr.
Other recommendations in the area: We had a nice dinner at the Little Mermaid. Huge menu, but tiny restaurant, get a reservation. Two sisters...
Bike the Lower Yahara River Trail at McDaniel Park
McFarland, Wisconsin
2.5 mi
This lakeside park has a newer bike/walking path. The park itself is an excellent spot for a picnic or catching a sunset! There is a nice play area and a rocky beach.
The path is known as the Lower Yahara River Trail and opened in 2017. It provides a non-road connection between Madison and McFarland via Madison’s Capital City Trail and McFarland’s McDaniel Park. There is a map at the park wi...
Visit the public gardens at West Madison Agricultural Research Station of UW-Madison
Verona, WisconsinThis garden is open to the public from dawn to dusk, 7 days a week, free of charge. The gardens are tended by summer interns. During the off-season they are maintained by volunteers and apprentices. We made our first stop here earlier this week. It was beautiful. Tons of plants and lots of space to wander. They have perennials, annuals, fruit trees, vegetables, grapes, and more! There are...
Beach Day at Lighthouse Field State Beach
Santa Cruz, California
4.0
This beach is less crowded compared to other beaches in Santa Cruz. I got there early on a Saturday and found easy street parking. There was plenty of space to spread out on the soft sand. Later in the day I saw dolphins several times!
This is close to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. It’s also not too far from the boardwalk. Expect to see Monarch butterflies if you come in the winter as it...
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