Clean getaways around the country

By Sarah Tuff

updated 3:48 p.m. ET Sept. 23, 2008

If we hear about another "staycation" idea, we're going to lose it. The only thing more depressing than the price of gas and plane tickets is dolling up the bathroom with Aveda products and sending ersatz postcards. But taking a real vacation isn't that hard—or expensive. We've designed 12 trips that get you worlds away by only going a few miles—and don't burn up a lot of fossil fuels. Don't think you can go whitewater rafting, take the kids to a dude ranch, or spy on bald eagles without boarding a plane or settling in for a long car ride? You can, especially if you take advantage of public transportation (hey, your tax dollars fund them anyway) and other alternate forms of travel. So get out there—and don't forget to send us a postcard.

For a complete slideshow of the Clean Getaways, click here.

Cruising around Catalina

Leave from: Los Angeles

The jaunt: Hey, hybrid owner: Congrats on the new Prius. But you still can't bring that virtuous vehicle to Santa Catalina Island, where residents have to wait ten years (yep, years) to bring a car onto the island. Everyone tools around by golf cart or on foot anyway. That's because nearly 90 percent of the 48,000-acre, Mediterranean-feeling island is protected by strict environmental regulations: Permits are even required for hiking and biking through the island's peaks and valleys. But the best way to travel is by kayak, so you can see the rugged landscape from the water and get up close and personal with the flying fish and sea lions. Descanso Beach Ocean Sports offers rentals and day tours for both first-time and experienced paddlers that take you to the base of 2,000-foot peaks, remote beaches, and bluffs studded with cherry trees. If you want to go it alone, the shop can also point you to the island's best backcountry spots to set up camp. Your only company: fox, deer, and bald eagles, without a hint of smog in sight.

Your chariot: The Catalina Express ferry has at least seven daily departures right from Long Beach.

Check into: Room 301 at Catalina's Avalon Hotel; a wraparound balcony returns paddling-weary guests to the pleasant bustle of the harbor

Descanso Beach Ocean Sports
Tel: 310 510 1226
From $32 per person for tours; from $68 for multiday rentals

Catalina Express
Tel: 800 481 3470
$67 round-trip from Long Beach

Avalon Hotel
Tel: 310 510 7070
Doubles from $295; room 301 starts at $495

Rolling in Red Rock Canyon

Leave from: Las Vegas

The jaunt: The real jackpot around Vegas is Red Rock Canyon, a desert playground just 17 miles west of the Strip. Of course, most of the 40 million annual vacationers here still prefer one-armed bandits to two-wheeling, leaving 100 miles of single-track trails yours for the taking. Escape Adventures leads two-day mountain biking trips through the canyon, leaving right from the Mirage. You'll be pedaling through a Joshua tree forest and past wild mustangs, logging a total of 10 to 25 miles per day. The trails are buffed just right for beginner mountain bikers, who can focus on cacti, cliffs, and canyon views without having to navigate tricky technical spots. Feeling lucky? You can also do the trails as a day trip and still have time to hit the blackjack table.

Your chariot: A Santa Cruz Blur full-suspension mountain bike

Check into: There's no shortage of great hotels in Las Vegas. But if you want to stay out in the wilderness, try the 115-acre Bonnie Springs Ranch, a Wild West outpost with basic rooms but dynamic desert views.

Escape Adventures
Tel: 800 596 2953
$449 for two days' riding and one night's lodging, plus meals

The life aquatic

Leave from: Chicago

The jaunt: Lake Michigan's stormy weather and rough waters make Chicago a less beachy destination than, say, Miami. But the conditions have also been responsible for some 3,000 shipwrecks littering the lake floor—in other words, a bounty for Windy City divers. Best of all, you can start exploring the wrecks right from the East Chicago Marina just south of the city in Indiana. Twice a day the N'Pursuit (the name of a boat, not a new boy band) ferries groups of six certified divers to such sites as the 73-foot Tacoma (a steam tug that sank in 1932) and the 202-foot Iowa (crushed by ice in 1915). You can swim through sunken boilers, peer into the open holds of submerged barges, and even search for the treasure chest that will help pay for your next gas bill.

Your chariot: The N'Pursuit, a six-passenger, 38-foot Wellcraft Coastal

Check into: Request a lake-view room at The Drake, right across the street from Oak Street Beach.

N'Pursuit
Tel: 219 942 5767
From $95 per person

The Drake
Tel: 800 553 7253
Doubles from $230; lake-view doubles from $250

Springs eternal

Leave from: Washington, D.C.

The jaunt: Stagecoaches started pulling up to West Virginia's Greenbrier Resort 200 years ago, filled with politicos and high-society types seeking the healing mineral waters of White Sulphur Springs. These days the decidedly less bumpy journey through the Virginia countryside—set to the clickety-clack of a lounge car from Union Station—is as soothing as the destination. The six-hour trip deposits you across the street from this 721-room estate and its 6,500 Allegheny acres. Then all the driving you'll have to do is on one of the Greenbrier's three championship golf courses, which have hosted the likes of Dwight Eisenhower and Arnold Palmer. (Well, if you insist, you can hop in a 4x4 for an off-road driving course—the fun is worth the fossil fuels.) The treatment list at the Greenbrier's spa has come a long way since the days of soaking in sulphur-water-filled tubs, though you can still do that if you like.

Your chariot: Amtrak has a daily departure from Union Station to White Sulphur Springs.

Check into: Even the "intermediate" rooms at the Greenbrier have Dorothy Draper's legendary floral prints and gorgeous views of the estate.

Greenbrier Resort
Tel: 800 453 4858
Doubles from $379

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