FROM PHILADELPHIA:
TREXLERTOWN Friday is race night at the Trexlertown Velodrome (thevelodrome.com).

JIM THORPE Locals devour the tight root- and rock-studded singletrack of the 9.5-mile Mauch Chunk Ridge Trail (bikejimthorpe.com).

BUSHKILL The Delaware River supports rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, and shad (flyfishingguideservice.com). Campsites along the Delaware are free, first-come for canoeists, and by far the most secluded option in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (nps.gov/dewa).

NORWALK It takes less than an hour to paddle to sandy seclusion on Grassy Island (norwalkct.org). Or, from Branfor, explore the rugged granite shorelines that ring the Thimble Islands, in Long Island Sound (actionsportsct.com).

WESTPORT Paul Newman's new organic Dressing Room makes a good fuel stop (dressingroomhomegrown.com).

CAPE ANN Gritty North Shore fishing towns see smaller crowds than Cape Cod. Tour them by bike (seasidecycle.com) and try the fried clams at Woodman's restaurant (woodmans.com).

NORTH CONWAY Sticks and Stones, a new 1.5-mile freeride trail, ups the ante, with planks and banked ramps, on the way to a nest of singletrack in the Green Hills Preserve (redjersey.com).

RUMNEY Southern New Hampshire's sport-climbing hub contains 500 schist routes (mooneymountainguides.com).

HANOVER Use a canoe to scout the banks of the Connecticut for rope swings left hanging by college kids (dartmouth.edu/~lcc).

QUECHEE One of New England's best swimming holes: Quechee Gorge (vtstateparks.com).

LAKE GEORGE Thirty-two miles of open water and summer breezes make George a mandatory stop for sailors (yankeeboat.com).

STATE COLLEGE Out past Penn State, spring-fed streams grow trout like watermelons (sprucecreekflyco.com).