Checklist: 52 goEast New Year's Resolutions

Making outdoor-themed New Year’s resolutions is easy. Following through? Now that’s hard, especially when you don’t know where to get started. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered, with 52 suggested outdoor activities—straight from the goEast archives—to help turn your resolution into a weekly reality. Here’s to making 2018 the best year yet.

Winter

1. Hike the White Mountains’ Franconia Ridge, a true winter test piece.
2. Skin and ski Mt. Moosilauke.
3. Winter camp in style: spend the night at the AMC’s Lonesome Lake Hut.
4. Visit one, or all, of these awesome ski bars.
5. See Arethusa Falls—New Hampshire’s tallest waterfall—in its frozen splendor.
6. Feeling masochistic? Attempt one of the Northeast 115’s toughest winter climbs.
7. Climb Mount Colden’s Trap Dike.
8. Ski the “Beast of the East,” Killington.
9. Spend a weekend riding the groomers at Lincoln’s Loon Mountain Resort.
10. Sick of the cold? Head for one of these eight warmer-weather climbing destinations.
11. Snowshoe to the summit of Camel’s Hump, then reward the effort with a trip to the Prohibition Pig.
12. Ski Mount Washington’s Cog Railway (while you still can).
13. Earn your turns and ski Mount Cardigan.

Spring

14. Start the climbing season early by bouldering at Rhode Island’s Lincoln Woods.
15. Try one of these end-of-winter/beginning-of-spring shoulder season activities or invent your own.
16. Begin a quest to climb all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000 footers.
17. Sport climb at Rumney, then check out the new American Alpine Club climber’s campground. Rinse and repeat.
18. Don’t let April showers stop you; get comfortable taking a hike in the rain.
19. Still too much snow on the higher summits? Check out West Rattlesnake Mountain or one of the other family-friendly hikes in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region.
20. It’ll be warm down south. Head down and backpack the Virginia Triple Crown.
21. Try trail running on Boston’s Blue Hills Skyline Trail.
22. Take in the views from the New Hampshire 4,000 footers’ six most-scenic summits.
23. Start them young and take your kids climbing.
24. Get on your mountain bike and ride Boston’s South Shore. (Just make sure the trails are dry and your bike is tuned-up first.)
25. Head out for a post-work climbing session. If you live near Boston, Quincy Quarries and Hammond Pond are perfect!
26. Explore the family-friendly hiking at World’s End in Hingham, Massachusetts.

Summer

27. Hiking Mount Washington, climbing Cathedral Ledge, and swimming in the Saco are just some of the awesome activities found in North Conway. Take a long weekend and do them all.
28. Go alpine climbing on Mount Washington’s Henderson Ridge.
29. Visit New England’s only National Park, Acadia. While you’re there, hike Cadillac Mountain (bonus points for getting a sunrise ascent).
30. Whether you’re looking for climbing, hiking, paddling, or strolling the town, you’ll find it in Lake Placid. Spend the weekend.
31. Take not just your best friend, but man’s best friend for a hike.
32. Vacation time? Head west and visit one of the U.S.’s lesser known National Parks.
33. Ditch the tent and live the dirtbag dream for a weekend and curl up in your car.
34. Do the Presidential Traverse. Even better, do it in a day.
35. Visit one of these five New Hampshire climbing destinations and stop for a slice afterward.
36. Take advantage of the long days surrounding the solstice with one of these all-day hikes in Adirondacks.
37. Climb above the ocean at Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park.
38. Hike the Burrows Trail to the summit of Camel’s Hump, then treat yourself to an ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s.
39. Go backpacking and spend a night in a lean-to.

Fall

40. Vermont is awesome in the fall. Hike one of Vermont’s five 4,000-foot mountains. Super motivated? Try to bag all five in 24 hours!
41. Do some high-angle leaf peeping on one of these moderate slab climbs in New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch.
42. Paddle through history on Massachusetts’ Concord River.
43. Foliage is just one reason why Burlington, Vermont is great in the fall. Move past leaf peeping and explore like a local.
44. Tackle one of these fantastic fall bike rides.
45. Save some time in Rocktober to do The Eaglet in Franconia Notch, the most prominent free-standing spire in the East.
46. Enjoy the fall foliage by backpacking the White Mountains’ iconic Pemi Loop.
47. Challenge yourself to burn off Thanksgiving dinner.
48. Try one of these late-fall/early-winter hikes on the Kancamagus.
49. Be ready for ski season for once and tune up your skis in the fall.
50. Go gravel grinding.
51. Get a late-season backpacking trip in on Jersey’s Batona Trail. And if you’re afraid of the cold, check out our pro tips for staying warm.
52. Share your adventures—start a blog, Instagram account, or write for goEast and inspire others!

 

Of course these are just a few outdoor-oriented New Year’s resolutions. We want to hear about what your planning for 2018, so leave your plans in the comments.