Adventures offered nowhere else
In Northern Virginia, the Tides Inn sits on a creek that feeds into the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay, has hired a resident ecologist, Will Smiley, and embarked on a $3.6 million Shoreline Restoration Project slated for completion in October.
Since Smiley came aboard in January, the property has introduced a series of outdoor activities that give guests a taste of what it’s like to work the waters of the country’s largest estuary and of the seafood for which it is famous. He takes people out on boats to learn about catching blue crabs and an oyster’s role as a water filter, all the while peppering them with information about the ecosystem and conservation.
“We’re setting crab pots, learning about modern aquaculture and then harvesting and coming back to the dock and eating. We steam crabs and roast oysters right on the dock for them,” Smiley said. “The guests are sometimes a little timid at first about getting dirty, but once they’re in it, they have a ball. They’re shoveling shells, pulling crab pots. It’s been amazing, something that offers a culinary aspect on top of the adventure.”
At the 550,000-acre Ted Turner Reserves Vermejo on the New Mexico-Colorado border, one of the newest experiences offered is the Vermejo Game Drive, a privately guided, half-day tour styled as a North American safari, offering guests the opportunity to see an array of wildlife, such as bison and elk, in their natural habitat.
For Hyatt’s Explor-cations series, the archery and tomahawk-throwing experience at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Texas have proven popular, and guests have also been eager to do their best impression of Brad Pitt in the 1992 film “A River Runs Through It” and try fly-fishing at the Grand Hyatt Vail in Colorado.
as part of Hyatt’s Explor-cations program, the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Texas is offering an archery and tomahawk-throwing experience. (Courtesy of Hyatt)
as part of Hyatt’s Explor-cations program, the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Texas is offering an archery and tomahawk-throwing experience. (Courtesy of Hyatt)
“Many of these programs we anticipate sticking around,” Ahmed said. “Some things will change with seasonality, but we are definitely looking at bringing back the programming and also using what we’re learning to think about programs moving forward …. This is not a one-and-done program that goes to the back burner as soon as masks are off.”
Krantz agrees there is no slowdown on the horizon in demand for outdoor, adrenaline-pumping fun, saying, “2022 is going to be huge.”
“I’m finding some of the better-known river rafting trips, like the Columbia River or the Grand Canyon, are already booked up for next year. One of the biggest trends moving forward will be bucket-list items. It was already huge before this, but I think the last year and a half has shown everybody that there are no guarantees for the future. We have no idea what else will happen, so if there’s a trip you want to take, now is the time.”
If the trend holds, the recent updates and continuing improvements will be more than worth the investment.
The Inns of Aurora’s new 3.5-mile nature trail and accompanying outdoor programming was led by Matt Stevenson, an outdoor enthusiast who was already on staff at the property’s Fargo Bar and Grill. In addition to sweeping vistas of the lake and ridgeline, the trail features an archery range where private lessons are offered and an overlook platform that serves as a perch for watching eagles, ospreys, hawks and other birds.
Stevenson eventually moved from his post at the restaurant to become a resident “Outdoorsman,” leading private experiences like fishing, archery, wilderness identification, snowshoeing and ice fishing. The demand for the activities proved so great, the property moved another member of the existing staff to partner with Stevenson on the outdoor programming.
“Private fishing lessons with the resident outdoorsmen have been incredibly popular,” said Coburn. Last winter several guests signed up for ice fishing outings. And the resort was also pleasantly surprised by how many people signed up for sunset hikes in “deep winter” where a trek to a ridgetop is followed by hot cocoa and roasting s’mores around a campfire.
Back at the Amangiri, the resort continues to introduce features and activities following the Cave Peak Stairway. The trail system around the resort was recently updated, a partnership for personal watercraft and ATV tours was started and a new kids program is under development.
“We want to give guests as much opportunity as possible to go out and explore and ‘rewild’ themselves within the comfortable confines of the property,” Surget said.