The 8 Best US cities for outdoor exercise

You don't need to head for the hills to get fit in the great outdoors-these urban centers make it easy, even irresistible, for residents to get out of the gym and savor alfresco workouts. To determine which cities are the best for outdoor fitness, we factored in the quality of the parks and other green space, weather, air quality, levels of violent crime, and the enthusiasm of local residents for staying active.

1. San Francisco
Forget about famous bridges and other tourist draws, locals consider San Francisco's crown jewel to be the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It's got 80,000+ acres of waterside green space surrounding the city, including 196 miles of hiking trails (bordered by towering redwoods, rocky shorelines, and stunning vistas). Not to mention it's waterfront appeal: Crissy Field, just past the entrance to the bay, is a windsurfing and kiteboarding mecca, while Fort Funston draws dog lovers eager to unleash their beasts on the sand. While less majestic, the neighborhood parks are among the best funded in the nation, with ample tennis and basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and even golf courses. Although San Francisco is known as "fog city" for a reason, the never-freezing, never-sweltering, gently breezy weather is ideal for exercise.

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2. Portland, OR
In Portland, opportunities for urban exercise abound. Natural sanctuaries like Forest Park (5,000+ acres featuring a 30-mile trail where you can spot as many as 175 species of animals) and the Smith and Bybee Wetlands offer untamed wilderness within city limits, but Portland residents are just as likely to get active on the pavement. Since 2003 the League of American Bicyclists has given Portland a Platinum-level "Bicycle-Friendly Community" Award, a rare distinction. Yes, it's famously rainy, but all that precipitation equals an exceptionally long ski season at Mt. Hood, the 11,000+-foot peak just an hour outside of the city.

3. San Diego
An impressive 22% of San Diego is devoted to parkland (that's about 1,500 square feet of park per person), so residents have a wealth of elbow room for outdoor workouts.They run and cycle in urban Balboa Park (1,200 acres smack in center of the city); swim, kayak, and windsurf in Mission Bay;and explore the 40 miles of hilly trails in Mission Trails Park, located just 8 miles from downtown. But what puts California's southernmost metropolis over the top is the weather: With just 42 days of rain annually, low humidity, and ocean breezes, it's actually amazing that residents go indoors, ever.

4. Denver
A new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that Colorado has the fewest obese residents of any state, and the outdoors-loving residents of its capital city definitely have something to do with it. The "Mile High" metropolis boasts clean air, low humidity, and a higher-than-average number of city parks, tennis courts, swimming pools, golf courses, and ball diamonds. The parks department recently drafted an Off-Leash Dog Parks Master Plan, so canine-lovers will have even more places to run around with their pooches (there are currently eight off-leash dog parks). The snow that could keep people in other cities indoors just gives Denver residents an excuse to take a day-trip to any of the nearby ski slopes.

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5. Seattle
Yes, it rains…a lot. But temperatures almost never dip below freezing or above the 90-degree mark, and every year there are 215 or so precipitation-free dayswhen you can kayak on Lake Washington, stand-up paddleboard on Lake Union or bike, hike, or trail-run in Discovery Park, 500 acres of barely tamed wilderness right inside the city. Two city-financed boathouses offer classes and racing, including early morning, evening, and weekend programs for adults (there are several private rowing and sailing programs as well). "The Seattle area is practically an outdoor gym," says Nathan Jendrick, Seattle-based trainer and author of Gym-Free and Ripped. "From paddleboarding Lake Union and Lake Washington in the warmer months to snowy hikes on nearby Mt. Rainier during the colder months, it is an exercise enthusiast's playground."


6. Boston
In Boston outdoor activity takes an ultrapractical form: A remarkable 14% of residents walk to work, and 2% get to the office by bike. But there are lots of reasons beyond commuting to work out alfresco: Open-air classes in tai chi, yoga, Zumba, and more are offered (often free) along the Charles River Esplanade, which is also a historic route for a run or walk. Just minutes from downtown, you'll find the Blue Hills Reservation, where 7,000 acres of green offer 125 miles of trails and the very hike-able Great Blue Hill, which is 635 feet high and presents amazing views at its peak. For a half-day trip that feels like a true escape, Bostonians can hop a ferry to one of the Harbor Islands to swim, kayak, or just explore in an offshore national park. "I love to go for a run around the Esplanade and take walking tours of the city's historic trails," says Kristy DiScipio, Area Group Fitness Manager for Equinox Fitness in Boston. "The city of Boston is packed with places to go and things to do to stay fit outdoors."


7. Austin
Austin has an embarrassment of fresh-air fitness options. Just a few: biking, running, or walking the 10 miles of trail around downtown's Lady Bird Lake; getting on the water to row or stand-up paddleboard; grabbing a free yoga class in 360-acre Zilker Park; and swimming laps in Barton Springs, a natural spring water-fed pool that stays 68 degrees year-round. "As a fitness professional, I've exercised all over the country and I can't say enough about Austin," says Jared Meacham, who lives in Louisiana but travels extensively as the owner of the fitness-related company called Precision Body Designs. "Exercise happens everywhere! Austin has done an excellent job of making fitness safe and easily accessible." In the summer when the mercury flirts with (or plows across) the three-digit mark, residents just restrict their outdoor time to the mornings and evenings when temps stay in the 70s and a breeze wicks the sweat away.

8. Minneapolis
Granted, Minneapolis might not inspire you to get active on any of the 154 annual days when the temp is below 32….but the brutal winters seem to make residents extra-passionate about the outdoors during the months of the year when they can venture out in them. Every resident lives within six blocks of a park (there are 170) and most are filled with hiking, biking, and skiing trails and, often, lakes-there are 22 within city limits, the most famous of which are the Chain of Lakes, where you can swim, row, sail, canoe, or ice-skate, depending The city boasts the most golfers per capita of any in the nation, and they can tee off at seven public courses. Last year, Bicycling magazine named Minneapolis the most bike-friendly city in America because of its 46 miles of commuter lanes, 84 miles of off-street trails, and its dedicated and supportive cycling community. And the intrepid residents don't let the weather keep them indoors. "The city is very good at clearing its main streets so die-hard runners and walkers always have sidewalks available for their daily bouts of exercise," says Jared Meacham.


Tell us: What's your favorite outdoor workout?

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