Leave it all behind: Off-the-grid vacations - Military Off Duty, Air Force Travel, hottest destinations - Air Force Times

Leave it all behind: Off-the-grid vacations

Longing for a long weekend off the grid — but within range of your duty station?

“Going off the grid can be a lot easier than most people think,” says former-Marine-turned-survival instructor John McCann.

McCann lives just a few hours from New York City, but he can take you to places that show few if any signs of civilization. Sure, wild places are harder to find these days, but they’re also all around us in the form of state and national parks, protected forests, and wildlife preserves.

Try one of these off-the-grid vacations. Numbers correspond with the map at your upper right, which you can enlargen by clicking on it.

1. Teklanika River Campground, Denali National Park, Alaska

You can’t get much farther off the U.S. grid than at the 20,320-foot summit of Alaska’s Mount McKinley — “Denali” to the locals, North America’s tallest peak. But if vacationing off the grid in the comfort of your own RV is what you have in mind, you can’t get any closer to Denali’s snowy peak than Teklanika River Campground. The park has only one 94-mile-long road, and you literally have to win a lottery to drive onto the reservation. Tek is your pass for the rest of the year. Those staying at the campground are allowed to drive all the way up to the 29 mile marker.

• To do: RV/camping, mountaineering, wildlife photography.

• Close to: Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright, 3.5 hours; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, 5 hours.

2. San Juan Islands, Wash.

With orca pods, porpoise, seals and hundreds of rocky and wooded outcroppings to explore, it’s easy to see why the San Juans are a sea kayaker’s paradise. Beachside campgrounds at state parks on 15 San Juan islands are accessible only by boat, so it may come as a surprise that the San Juans are equally popular with cyclists. Leave your car at the Anacortes ferry terminal on the mainland and spend days exploring the major islands, each with abundant housing rentals and campgrounds.

• To do: Whale and wildlife watching, sea kayaking, fishing, hiking, camping, cycling

• Close to: Naval Station Everett, 2.5 hours; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, 3.5 hours.

3. Joshua Tree National Park, Calif.

Who wants a cell phone ringing when you’re hanging from the side of a cliff? Not likely to have that problem at Joshua Tree National Park, home to some of the best crack, slab and steep-face rock climbing in the world — 8,000 routes among the park’s 400 rock face formations. Stay at one of nine campgrounds, or go backpacking in the park’s nearly 600,000 acres of wilderness. Catch the park’s namesake in bloom from February to late March.

• To do: Rock climbing, backpacking, mountain biking, off-road driving.

• Close to: Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, 1 hour; Naval Base San Diego, 3 hours; Fort Irwin, 4 hours; Edwards Air Force Base, 4 hours.

4. Prescott National Forest, Ariz.

When survival expert Cody Lundin built his off-the-grid home, he made Prescott National Forest his backyard. Stretching across 1.25 million acres, Prescott and the rest of northern Arizona offer some of the most diverse backcountry on the continent, Lundin says. The co-star of Discovery Channel’s “Dual Survivor” offers classes on off-the-grid survival and living starting at about $400 for a weekend.

• To do: Horseback riding, four-wheeling, backpacking, whitewater, prospecting.

• Close to: Luke Air Force Base, 2.5 hours; Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, 4 hours; Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and Yuma Proving Ground, 4 hours; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., 4.5 hours; Fort Huachuca, 5 hours.

5. San Juan National Forest/Silverton-Durango Narrow Gauge Train, Colo.

This steam-powered miners’ commute-turned-tourist train makes periodic stops to top off with water as it chugs and puffs its way through the San Juan National Forest between Durango and Silverton, Colo. The stops give backpackers access to some of the most remote parts of the Rocky Mountain high country. Jump off with your gear, bag a 14,000-foot summit in the Chicago Basin, and then flag the train down when you’re done.

• To do: Backpacking, fishing, mountaineering.

• Close to: Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base, 5.5 hours.

6. Shenandoah National Park/Appalachian Trail, Va.

Not everyone can “thru-hike” the entire 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail. Shenandoah offers one of the best places to get a taste of it. With nearly 80,000 acres set aside as designated wilderness areas, the park is crisscrossed by 500 miles of trails, including a 101-mile stretch of the AT. Although there are four campgrounds plus hiker huts along the trail, backcountry camping is permitted throughout most of the park.

• To do: Backpacking, camping, bouldering.

• Close to: Washington, D.C.-area military bases, 2.5 hours; Langley Air Force Base, 3 hours; Naval Base Norfolk, 3.5 hours.

7. St. Regis Wilderness Canoe Area, Adirondack Park, N.Y.

When McCann wants to get his survival students off the grid, one of his favorite places is the St. Regis Wilderness Canoe Area of New York state’s Adirondack Park. A string of 58 ponds and lakes stretch across nearly 20,000 acres, all closed to motor vehicles, motor boats and aircraft. Canoes and kayaks are the only way to reach numerous primitive campsites throughout the wilderness area.

• To do: Canoeing, kayaking, fishing, camping.

• Close to: Fort Drum, 2.5 hours; U.S. Military Academy, 5 hours.

8. Wengen, Switzerland

You don’t have to climb the iconic North Face of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau to appreciate their rugged beauty. If you want to do it in style, try the car-free mountain village of Wengen, nestled among Europe’s most spectacular peaks. With no roads leading to its lofty hotels and chalets, the only way to Wengen is by mountain train or cable car. From there, not even the sky is the limit — hang glide, explore glaciers, hike endless trails, climb peaks — it’s literally a walk away.

• To do: Hiking, mountaineering, hang gliding.

• Close to: U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, 4 hours; Heidelberg and Mannheim, Germany, 4 hours.

9. Triglav National Park, Slovenia

Close to Italy and Austria, Slovenia’s Triglav National Park — one of Europe’s largest — dodges crowds while offering stunning access to the Julian Alps, home of Mount Triglav, the 9,396-foot national symbol of Slovenia. There’s no camping in the park, but you can spend days among its alpine villages, deep gorges and breathtaking vistas by hiking hut to hut. The hostel-like huts usually offer a simple bed and a meal for a modest price.

• To do: Hut-to-hut hiking, mountaineering, whitewater rafting, canyoning.

• Close to: Aviano Air Base, Italy, 2.5 hours; Army Garrison Vicenza, Italy, 3.5 hours; Ramstein Air Base, Germany, 7 hours.

10. Ulleungdo Island, South Korea

Off South Korea’s east coast, Ulleungdo is where Koreans go to get away from it all. The lush, rugged island is home to squid fishermen and a long-silent volcano. “It has been said that there are no thieves, pollution or snakes on Ulleungdo Island,” reads South Korea’s official tourism website. “On the other hand, there are many aromatic trees, wind, beautiful women, water and rocks.” “Its jagged coastline could easily be from the set of ‘Lord of the Rings.’ It’s that beautiful,” gushes the Lonely Planet guidebook. To really get off the grid, take the 3-hour round-trip cruise to Dokdo Islet, an uninhabited chunk of sea-carved rock that is so cool, the Japanese have spent the past hundred years insisting it’s theirs.

• To do: Hiking, mountain cable car, swimming, sea tours.

• Close to: Army Garrison Daegu, 1.5 hours; Seoul, 5 hours by train.

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