Where to Live Now (and in the Rapidly Changing Future) – Outside

(Photo: DenisTangneyJr/iStock)Newburgh, New York

Population: 34,293

Newburgh was once dubbed the murder capital of New York, and while the small city on the Hudson River still has its challenges, a wave of investment from New York City transplants is driving a revival. A citywide trend is transforming vacant lots into parks and historic buildings into restaurants, boutique hotels, and artist studios. An event space called Lodger hosts dinners and art shows in a former undertakers office; Wireworks is a new coworking hub and artist studio in a renovated factory; and Graft Cider ages brews in an old textile plant. The town is also near the regions best adventures. Stewart State Forests 20-plus miles of singletrack are just west of town, the multi-pitch trad routes of the Shawangunk Mountains (a.k.a. the Gunks) are 30 minutes north, and the Hudson River offers paddling galore only steps from downtown. G.A.

Population: 2,806

The state recently began an initiative that pays remote workers $12,000 to move to certain townsand also covers a years worth of outdoor recreation. The smart ones will skip the perks and head straight for Fayetteville. Sitting on the edge of our newest national park, New River Gorge, with a footprint not much bigger than its small town square, Fayetteville has two world-class rivers in its backyard, the New and the Gauley, as well as more than 3,000 sport and trad routes on sandstone cliffs, paddling on nearby Summersville Lake, and a growing network of mountain-bike trails that starts on the edge of downtown. G.A.

Population: 1,004

Old Fort, surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest and located at the base of the Black Mountains, emptied out when manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas beginning in the eighties. Now some of those buildings are humming with life again. In 2019, Kitsbow Cycling Apparel renovated a former hosiery factory and moved its operations there. Last year, apparel and gear brand Triple Aught Design made the same move to town. Other warehouses are being turned into breweries, coffee shops, and CrossFit gyms. And the great outdoors is just minutes away. The tallest mountains in the East rise above 6,000-plus feet starting from the edge of downtown, offering gravel grinds, road climbs, trophy-trout waters, and ridgetop hiking and backpacking. A new 42-mile multipurpose trail system is in the works, and recreation gems like Kitsuma and Catawba Falls await. G.A.

Population: 24,565

Located in the middle of the Flathead Valley, about 30 miles southwest of Glacier National Park, Kalispell has been the regions agricultural and industrial hub for decades, but several new projects are shifting to tourism and sustainability. The city recently broke ground on the Kalispell Parkline, replacing old railroad tracks to develop a two-mile-long linear park and multi-use trail. The industrial businesses that used to occupy the towns center have moved to the outskirts, making room for stores, restaurants, and multi-family housing. The city wants to keep Kalispell affordable for locals who have called it home for generations. G.A.

Population: 5,000

This out-of-the-way place, located at the eastern end of Highway 50 an hour northwest of Great Basin National Park, has a thriving mountain-bike scene thats only getting better. To add to the 50 miles of existing singletrack that starts at the edge of downtown, the local trail club and tourism bureau are building 51 more miles: a 30-mile stretch south to 10,936-foot Ward Mountain, and a 21-mile system north to the Garnet Hill Recreation Area, a rockhounding site. Both projects, funded by a grant from the International Mountain Biking Association, are expected to be completed in a few years. G.A.

Population: 1,047

A lot of locals left Rangeley, 120 miles north of Portland, six years ago, when the Saddleback Mountain ski resort closed. Those who stuck around focused on diversifying the areas outdoor draws and capitalizing on its location along the shores of 6,000-acre Rangeley Lake. Locals opened a brewery and bike shop, and in December 2020, Saddleback Mountain reopened under new ownership. It now has a lift system that serves a 440-acre area with 2,000 feet of vertical drop and numerous fat-bike trails. If thats not enough, Sugarloaf, the largest ski resort in the East, is located just 29 miles away and has a 450-acre expansion in the works. G.A.

Population: 28,878

Desert Hot Springs has always been about relaxation, thanks to numerous mineral-water pools that dot the parched landscape. Recently, it has leaned into another natural form of leisure: marijuana. The historic spa town, 100 miles east of Los Angeles, was the first in California to legalize cultivation. The decision saved it from bankruptcy by generating a viable tax base, and in December the town council voted to lean further into cannabis tourism by legalizing the sale and consumption of weed at entertainment venues and hotels. As for the great outdoors, Desert Hot Springs sits just south of both Sand to Snow National Monument and Joshua Tree National Park, and the brand-new, 12-mile Long Canyon Trail connects less-frequented areas within the two sites. G.A.

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Where to Live Now (and in the Rapidly Changing Future) - Outside