America's 10 Best Outdoor Towns

From Alaska to Maine, these spots offer a walk on the wild side for fans of everything from windsurfing to fly-fishing. You can even try the luge.

In choosing the "101 Best Outdoor Towns: Unspoiled Places to Visit, Live & Play" (The Countryman Press, 2007), authors Sarah Tuff and Greg Melville researched access to national and state parks, major bodies of water, hiking and mountain biking trails, and ski and snowboard terrain; population; affordability; and such downtown resources as gear shops, brewpubs and coffee houses.

This top 10 is adapted from the book; these towns have not only back doors to some of the country's best adventure terrain, but also lively, livable communities that are dedicated to playing in and preserving the great American playgrounds.

Lake Placid, New York

The numbers speak for themselves: 6 million acres of the surrounding Adirondack Park, 2,000 miles of trails, 3,000 lakes and ponds and five Olympic Rings. Lake Placid has hosted the Games twice, and somehow still glows with an inimitable, warm-fuzzy feeling about winter sports. Hockey fans can check out the 1980 Miracle on Ice site at the in-town Olympic Center, also home to the Olympic Speed Skating Oval (518-523-1655), which is open to the public all winter. Then venture to the toboggan run on Mirror Lake for a plummet down a track and a skitter across the ice; if you're even braver, try the bobsled and luge runs at the Olympic Sports Complex (518-523-4436), just outside of town. In the summer, hikers hit 5,344-foot Mount Marcy while triathletes compete in the Ironman; year-round, you can refuel with the legendary UBU ale and refresh at the rustic Adirondack Loj (518-523-3441).

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