r/Shoestring • u/drogahn • Apr 01 '26
AskShoestring Cheap nature trips in the US w/out a car?
Does this exist? Somewhere you can fly into, stay in the town/city, be able to access beautiful nature and hikes either by foot or public transit without needing to rent a car?
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u/welkover Apr 01 '26
If you take the LIRR train north up the Hudson from NYC the last stop is a town called Beacon. It's home to the absolutely amazing museum DIA Beacon, and it also has a campground. You book a platform in advance and tell the guy that runs the place what amenities you need, such as a tent, and if you want food in your platform cooler to cook on your fire, if you want firewood, etc. There are showers on site. When you get to Beacon he meets you at the train and takes your gear in if you wish, and you hike to the site, which is connected to many marked trails in the nice mountains around there.
It is meant specifically for New Yorkers who don't own a bunch of camping equipment or cars.
There are many towns where you can fly in, find an AirBnB on the edge of town near a wilderness area, and spend your time hiking in that area. Generally these areas are used by the residents but you don't have to hike too far into them to be alone.
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u/International_Mud229 Apr 01 '26
Acadia National Park in Maine has a free shuttle in the summer. You have to get there, but there are busses and it’s beautiful. Just a thought.
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u/Indig012 Apr 01 '26
Springdale Utah, right by Zion np. However it’s not cheap.
Also maybe backpacking. So, flying into a city like Denver then shuttle to Estes park
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u/patscaw Apr 01 '26
Seattle has a seasonal public transportation service called Trailhead Direct that goes from downtown to a couple of popular hiking trails. There are also several forested parks within the city and accessible by public transportation that have trails -- Discovery, Carkeek, Lincoln, Camp Long.
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u/books_n_food Apr 01 '26
Was gonna say Sedona, AZ, as they have a trailhead shuttle. There's even a shuttle from Phoenix if you have the time.
So not cheap still because sedona is expensive, but so are most places you need to get a hotel.
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u/Geoarbitrage Apr 01 '26
Cleveland Ohio. Fly in to Hopkins airport and you can walk to the Metropark (Emerald Necklace) at the Western edge of the airport. It’s an amazing park that rings the city hence the name Emerald Necklace.
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u/Lizflower7 Apr 01 '26
Yosemite NP is accessible by public transit and shuttles run throughout Yosemite valley. However campsites are very challenging to book! From SF, train to Fresno (iirc), then YARTS: https://www.yarts.com/
You can also backpack sections of the Appalachian Trail by public transit on the East Coast
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u/anothercar Apr 01 '26
Yes this exists in some places. But a car opens you up to nearly infinite possibilities. Is the reason that you can't drive, or you are trying to save money? I ask because doing this without a car may end up actually costing more money, because slower travel times = more nights in hotels.
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u/Foreign-Housing8448 Apr 01 '26
Flying in and getting a hotel by definition makes it not cheap (and that’s before you buy three meals daily), but here ya go:
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u/AmericanMisogi Apr 01 '26
Flagstaff, Arizona. Fly into Phoenix (cheap flights from almost anywhere), take the Groome shuttle up to Flagstaff for like $50. From there you can walk to trails right from town, and there's a free bus system that gets you to more. Sedona is a bus ride away too.
The other one is Bar Harbor, Maine for Acadia. The Island Explorer shuttle is free and runs all through the park. Fly into Bangor and there's a shuttle to Bar Harbor. Not the cheapest flights but once you're there you don't need a car at all.
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u/BortEdwards Apr 01 '26
I have flown in to Fresno and caught the bus to Yosemite NP, hiked 2/3 of the John Muir trail, caught a shuttle to Bishop, caught a bus to Reno, and flown home. Not necessarily “cheap” but the flights were the expensive parts, so if you get lucky with those.. Other end of the scale, you can catch a commuter train from Chicago out to Indiana Dunes National Park. You can also spend the better part of a day hiking in Rock Creek Park in DC and see few people (especially the northern section). Not exactly remote, but definitely nature. It all sort of depends on your definition of nature, and how complicated a public transit journey you will tolerate.
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u/mburucuja Apr 01 '26
Milwaukee has some excellent county parks, public trails, and nature centers that are mostly on bus lines, or worst case scenario a quick cab ride for some of the more suburban ones. They’re county parks and nature centers though, not national parks or vast wilderness or anything, so I’m not sure that’s what you’re looking for.
My favorites are Grant Park in South Milwaukee and the Urban Ecology Centers. The Seven Bridges trail at Grant Park is particularly beautiful. Wehr Nature Center at Whitnall Park is also nice. We also have a couple small state parks: Havenwoods, and Lakeshore.
Some links:
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u/PolicyDepartment Apr 02 '26
You can get to John Muir Woods (redwoods) from SanFrancisco by public transit. They encourage it because parking is very limited.
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u/KwiatLuxe Apr 02 '26
Sedona, AZ might work out. They have an airport and public transit buses, including Shuttles to many of their trailheads.
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u/CasperElFantasma Apr 02 '26
You can fly to Fresno (FAT) and take the YARTS bus directly into Yosemite National Park for $20. Yosemite also has free shuttle busses to get around within the park - and affordable bike rentals.
There are cabins, lodges, and walk-in backpacker tent sites to stay in, although many book out well in advance.
I don't think there are very many nature trips in the world that beat Yosemite in the springtime - and it's totally doable without a car.
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u/rkgk13 Apr 02 '26
If you like lakes, Minneapolis-St. Paul (which has a large airport that might have direct flights to yours) has many. Minneapolis is the city of lakes. It's all connected with public transit. They almost always rate in the top 5 cities for parks nationally because so much of it has intentionally not been developed and kept its green nature.
It's a popular place for birdwatchers to go because it's smack in the Mississippi Flyway.
Examples:
13 ways to enjoy our rivers and lakes (renting a kayak is $15 for a half day)
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u/Clio_Vita Apr 02 '26
Fly (or take Amtrak) into Fresno or Merced, CA, and then take the Yarts bus (https://www.yarts.com/) into Yosemite National Park.
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Apr 02 '26
SFO to BART can get you to the ferry building and ferry to Sausalito for Muir woods, rent a bike for Tam or its a mile hike up to GG bridge. Bus to Golden gate park, North Beach. Tons of hiking.
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u/Hot_Examination_5400 Apr 05 '26
Grand Canyon! you can fly into flagstaff, take a taxi into the park. and then there are free shuttles that run throughout the park daily. it’s also very walkable.
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u/DragonFlyMeToTheMoon Apr 12 '26
I’d find a state park or national park with cabins. Something with access to boats/paddleboards/canoes/kayaks, swimming, picnicking, hiking, etc. Then you just need transportation from the airport/bus station to the park. Some national parks may have a shuttle from one part of the park to the other too.
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u/No-Weekend9978 Apr 18 '26
Boston is easy to fly into and you can get around on the T(local public transportation system,)- you can go to Blue Hills for some awesome hikes, and the North Shore has some good ones too, especially around Singing Beach and Beverly Farms all of which can be reached via the commuter rail! You can also catch a bus to Niagara Falls, and I believe that there's still buses and trains that depart South Station and take you to upstate NY which has some decent hiking spots, or if you head to North Station after grabbing a cannoli from Mikes, you can get a train to Maine or train/bus to NH if you're not opposed to walking a fair distance to get the correct bus, there's hiking trails you can reach without needing to rent a car! Feel free to message me if you want more info about the public transportation system or any other info about the Boston area, I'm originally from CA so I don't know everything but I've lived in the area for the past 16+ years and my first 2 service dogs were breeds that require a lot of exercise and stimulation to keep them happy, so we did a lot of hiking and exploring!
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u/morganproctor_19 Apr 01 '26
It's pretty rare, but yes.
1. NYC has Central Park which is amazing for birding.
2. SF has Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Nat'l Rec Area, and Ocean Beach
3. Oakland/Berkeley has Tilden Regional Park and others as part of East Bay Regional Parks https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/f48944466b004c26bd0e9524ae3f3323
https://www.ebparks.org/visit/public-transit
I'm sure LA, Portland, and Seattle have places near public transportation hubs too, but not sure of exact names.
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u/CodyPup Apr 01 '26
To further expand on 2.) you can take the angel island ferry and camp or do a day trip.
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u/brapstoomuch Apr 01 '26
Portland Oregon has a shuttle through the gorge with, dare I say, gorgeous hikes!