By Katie Rosenbrock
TheActiveTimes.com

Vacation: A time to relax, unwind, let loose, and recharge.

Sure, this is how the average traveler thinks of their time off, but as a fitness fanatic, for you, getting away also means engaging in exciting activities and maybe even taking your workout game to the next level.

You’re all about exploring new areas on foot, learning how to exercise like the locals, and embracing new adventures. These days, almost every resort and hotel has a fitness center, but working out in a gym is what you do while you’re at home. You have no need to travel far just to hop on a treadmill or pick up some weights.

You're looking for a destination that can offer an exhilarating escape from your daily workout routine. Maybe you’re in search of a challenging hike or perhaps you’re after a sanctuary where you can re-connect with your yoga practice.

Top Vacation Spots For Fitness

 

Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort

Located about 45 minutes north of the Las Vegas Strip, this high-elevation resort (it sits 8,510 feet above sea level in Lee Canyon) provides exercise-loving guests with an array of outdoor activities to choose from, and not only during ski season.

 

Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort

Popular outdoor activities include hiking in the nearby Spring Mountain National Recreation Area (home to 51 miles of trails) and disc golf games amidst Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The first hole of this popular course has an elevation of 9,300-feet, and while there is a chairlift that will take you to the first tee, exercise enthusiasts are welcomed to hike their way up as well.

 

Reebok Fitness Vacations: Montana

Travel outfitter Austin Adventures recently partnered with Reebok to offer fitness fanatics travel opportunities that combine the best of adventure and fitness in one simple package. The program’s Montana trip features a six-day itinerary which includes everything from backcountry yoga sessions and trail running to canyon paddle rafting and outdoor bodyweight workouts.

 

Reebok Fitness Vacations: Montana

All of these activities take place amidst the beauty of Montana’s Yellowstone National Park, Big Sky, and Paradise Valley and each day’s workout gets progressively more difficult so that you’ll return home fitter and stronger than before.

 

Hiking at Macchu Picchu

“The trek up Salkantay and Machu Picchu is challenging, breathtakingly beautiful, and different trail elements provide additional fitness stimulation,” says Amy Hendel, a health coach, nutritionist, and fitness expert. She recommends this active trip, which can be booked through REI Adventures, to everyone from kids age 10 and up to older adults in their 70s, so long as they’re in shape. “We chose a six-night, seven-day climb allowing for a climb up Salkantay and then on to Machu Picchu.”

 

Hiking at Macchu Picchu

A few things she mentioned to keep in mind: the lodges need to be booked many months in advanced, you should prepare for the high altitude with some light training, like hiking or on a stair climber machine, and a trip in late June or early July will allow you to enjoy the trek ahead of the area’s rainy season.

 

Colorado Rockies

There’s nothing like a challenging hike to get your heart rate up, and with more peaks above 14,000 feet than any other state, Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are essentially a fitness fanatic’s paradise.

 

Colorado Rockies

Timberline Adventures offer multi-day hiking and bike tours through the range, and to top it all off, nearby Boulder (America’s fittest city) is basically a mecca for exercise enthusiasts.

 

Lake Placid, Adirondacks, N.Y.

According to the Lake Placid Visitors Bureau, this upstate New York resort village has been a premier destination for outdoor and exercise enthusiasts since the late 1800s. Summer and fall activities include everything from kayaking and golf to mountain biking and rock climbing. In the spring and winter visitors can go ice climbing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, skiing and snowboarding, and ice skating.

 

Lake Placid, Adirondacks, N.Y.

Plus, the area is home to one of only two Olympic training centers in the U.S. and serves as home to several athletic events, including the Ironman Lake Placid, two marathons, the long-running Summit Lacrosse tournament, and Can Am Rugby.

 

Turks and Caicos

Business Insider recently named Turks and Caicos the “best island for health nuts,” noting its many health and wellness retreats. But spa treatments and yoga aren’t all that this island has to offer. This exotic escape includes opportunities for almost any activity you can think of, including snorkeling, kayaking, kitesurfing, stand up paddleboaring, running, and cycling.

 

Turks and Caicos

Also noteworthy: Turks and Caicos host two triathlon races every year, the Race for the Conch open water swimming race, and a 50-mile running race and 65-mile bike race on North and middle Caicos.

 

Cycling Tours

Why limit your enthusiasm for fitness to just one location when you can exert energy cycling from one location to the next? Of particular interest in the world of cycling tours, is the new “Hannibal Expedition” from Ride & Seek. This 26-day, 1,543-mile journey begins in Barcelona and ends in Rome, following the historic path of Carthaginian general, Hannibal through Spain, France, and Italy.

 

Cycling Tours

The tour is broken up into four stages and covers about 60 miles per day. Riders can choose to participate in one or all of the stages, but the tour is designated as “advanced” and was not designed for beginner cyclers.

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No matter what type of destination you’re itching to visit, and no matter what your favorite way to work out is, you can easily combine your passion for both exploration and exercise at one of these top fitness-focused vacation spots.

For the complete list of the Top Vacation Spots For Fitness Fanatics, go to TheActiveTimes.com.

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