Margo Schmiederer

Lake Erie off of Cleveland has one of the most beautiful sunsets in the Midwest! Bring your camera to Edgewater Park to capture the sun setting from land (free and easy parking), or kayak on the lake and get an encompassing view of the City at sunset.

Enjoy the thrill of rafting on Class III rapids on the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle! The Youghiogheny River has exciting whitewater boating for all experience levels. Only sturdily constructed rafts, kayaks, and closed-deck canoes intended for whitewater use may be used in the river. River levels can change the difficulty of rapids. Check-in at the Ohiopyle State Park visitor center for curre...

A serene center for meditation nestled within the jungle off the main road that circles around Ko Lanta. The International Center for Buddhist Meditation Ko Lanta is open daily meditation at 11:30am and 7pm, including individual sitting meditation and group walking meditation led by the monk. The space is large enough for a few people to join, but the less people the better as it is an exercise...

Cycle through one of the most beautiful areas of New Jersey, the Sourland Mountain Preserve area with acres of forest, wetlands, and farmland. For a shorter ride you can park at Hopewell Valley Central High School and depart from there on Pennington-Harbourton Road to Scotch Road and Bear Tavern Roads. Further north and closer to Montgomery, you can park on and depart from Ridge Road, heading n...

Capture the beautiful barn house shop on a farm while taking in the wonderful scent of lavender. Peace Valley Lavender Farm is open during the day and sells a plethora of lavender products from soaps to eats. Pull into the driveway and park behind the barn house for free.  It's a wonderful spot for portrait photography, family photography, etc. 

A beautiful paved pathway that travels 8.7 miles along beaches and historical monuments located on the Sandy Hook peninsula. The path begins at the Gateway National Recreation Area and loops around Fort Hancock, a former U.S. base that housed 12,000 soldiers at its peak during WWII. Along the way, you will catch glimpses of beaches and the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, the oldest working lighthouse in...

Kayak on Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park! It's a beautiful and quiet lake with serene views of the forest and park. You can rent boats and water bikes at the park, or bring your own, and launch directly onto the lake. To access the Lake, use the entrance to Core Creek Park on Bridgetown Pike.  Afterwards, use one of the many picnic areas in the park for lunch with family or wait until the ic...

Take a dip at Echo Lake in Acadia National Park! It's a small beach that's best driven to and easily park-able once you arrive. It's a refreshing stop for swimming that's right off of the beat and path. There are many campgrounds that rest upon the shores of Echo Lake if you want to be right on the water! Parking is easy - just drive as far as you can and park in a space that is not affiliated ...

Spend an afternoon enjoying the many indoor and outdoor baths a Szechenyi Baths. It is an ancient Roman and Turkish tradition to bathe in thermal outdoor baths, and your ticket to Szechenyi will provide towels and access to a locker room where you can shower before and after. It's a fun way to spend an afternoon and get great pictures. You can easily get tickets online and you should as there i...

Drive 15 minutes north of Quebec City for the outdoors oasis that is Montmorency Falls, officially Parc de la Chute-Montmorency. This is a fairly large waterfall whose waters lead into the St. Lawrence River and that offers lots of different points for which you can take in your surroundings. There is even a pedestrian-only bridge that crosses over the waterfall and leads to steps that allow on...

The Wethersfield Estate is a beautiful estate and property located less than 2 hours north of New York City. The gardens are expansive and extremely beautiful, open to the public each day from noon to 5pm (COVID-19 hours). Additionally, there are trails for horseback rides, carriage rides, dog-walking, and hiking that are open to the public from dawn to dusk throughout the property. The estate ...

Crawl through Budapest’s cave system in the Duna-Ipoly National Park (also referred to as Danube-Ipoly National Park). There are several companies that take groups on this expedition and depart from various locations throughout the city, or have the group meet at the caves. The tour started early in the morning and lasted for about 4 hours. It involved lots of crawling through small to very-sma...

The Charles River Path becomes a center of activity in Boston, especially during the summer, and you can run (or bike) it! It is a paved pathway that travels along both sides of the Charles River from the North End of the city to Allston and beyond. There are several bridges along the way with pedestrian walkways so you can access both sides. The path often parallels green space, including the ...

Running or biking on Old Mamalahoa Hwy is a treasure! The path is marked as a 'Scenic Drive' but you can park your car along the way and run, or bike through. This area is north of Hilo's downtown so you'll follow Mamalahoa Hwy north (the only highway that goes around the north side of the island) until you see a blue sign pointing east for a scenic drive. This will bring you to the start of th...

Enjoy a 2 hour horseback ride on Kohala Mountain in Waimea on the north side of the Big Island! There are several ranches in the area through which you can take a guided tour - I would recommend Paniolo Adventures, but you can look up the ranches in the Waimea / Kohala Mountain area. The ranches typically offer morning and afternoon rides, as well as sunset rides for a higher price.  On this to...

Take advantage of the abundance of snow in Northeast Ohio with snowshoeing! Only 30 minutes outside of Cleveland, the North Chagrin Reservation has snowshoe and pole rentals for use on any of its trails when there is more than 4 inches of snow on the ground. It is a beautiful hike through the snowy woods on the top of a small gorge that leads town into a creek. The trails start at 2 miles and e...

Enjoy an hour of horseback riding on Rolling Hills Ranch in Bridgeville, PA, 20 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. The ranch accommodates large groups and provides a guide for trips, who will leave the group for some time as the horses know the route so that you can enjoy the trip alone with family and friends. You will begin your ride looking at a hill and descending into a forest. In the forest, ...

There are few places as beautiful and serene as Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden! Located right in Coral Gables, near Miami, this garden boasts an extensive amount of well-groomed acres with hundreds of different tropical flowers and species of plants. When exploring the gardens, it is likely that you will come across small smoothie stands using the fruit grown right there. The gardens are als...

Honoli'i Beach Park is a favorite spot among locals for surfing, especially if you are a good surfer! Park along the street and walk down the stairs to the shower area. To the left leads to the black sand beach where surfers will leave from, but if you are just looking to hangout, you can also go to the right of the bathroom for a more spacious and grassy area. On the beach, you will find peopl...

A popular activity during the winter for many locals and tourists alike, ice-skating in Nathan Phillips Square is right of passage for any tourist visiting Toronto. It only costs money to rent skates, the ice-rink is open to the public between November and March, weather permitting. It's a wonderful attraction right in downtown, don't miss it if you're visiting Toronto! Check the website for da...

Take a trip back in time at the Warwick Drive-In and watch a feature film on the big screen. The Drive-In shows movies just in theaters and older films with three different screens / options to chose from. The theater sells tickets for both one movie and for double features, i.e. watch two movies in one night with the double feature ticket. There are two concession stands on the site where you ...

Bike along the path that runs parallel to the Mediterranean Sea in Ashdod. The path is along the Sderot Moshe Dayan Road, and you can enter at Reviera Beach in the south, or Oranim Beach in the north. Between these two points is 5.1km/3miles so it is an easy and flat ride for cruising along and not taking in too much of the desert sun. Be sure to stop and take pictures! Continue along the path ...

See Cleveland from a new perspective by kayaking the Cuyahoga River through the Flats neighborhood of Cleveland. You can rent the kayaks or bring your own and depart from a boat launch in the area. It is a very scenic and picturesque paddle, although there are lots of motorized boats to look out for and steer clear of on this river as it leads out to Lake Erie. 

Right off of River Road (Rt. 32), Bowman's Hill is one of the best views in Bucks County. When driving on River Road, you will see a sign for Bowman's Tower that leads to the top, where there is an ample amount of parking. From there, walk a short distance and then climb the tower for the view.  The Tower was built in 1929-1931 to commemorate what may have been a lookout point for Washington’s ...