If you’re looking for the ultimate outdoor adventure destination, buycycle, the leading marketplace for bikes, reveals the best places for an adrenaline packed experience this year.
In recent years, multiple studies have suggested that the US is one of the world’s thrill-seeking capitals, responsible for 14%* of global adventure tourism in 2019.
With iconic spots like Universal Studios for theme park lovers, the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada for mountain adventures, and the Great Lakes and Lake Tahoe for water sports, Europe’s leading marketplace for high-value, pre-owned bikes, buycycle, have compiled a list of the best destinations for thrill-seekers to visit this year.
They analyzed various thrill-seeking factors, including the number of hiking trails, climbing routes, amusement parks, and skydiving centers, among others.
Additionally, they considered several cycling factors, such as the length of bike paths and mountain bike routes, to identify the best adventure cycling locations to explore.
The top 10 locations for thrill seekers:
| Rank | State | Total thrill-seeking index score |
| 1 | California | 85.63 |
| 2 | Florida | 53.53 |
| 3 | New York | 41.83 |
| 4 | Colorado | 40.51 |
| 5 | Washington | 35.06 |
| 6 | Texas | 33.90 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 31.93 |
| 8 | Arizona | 31.17 |
| 9 | New Jersey | 29.09 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 27.12 |
California takes the top spot as the ideal destination for thrill seekers in the US, scoring an impressive 85.6 out of 100.
The Golden state boasts 83,109 cycling routes, including 16,183 mountain bike trails, and 18,467 miles of hiking trails. Additionally, California offers over 31,000 climbing routes, 26 skydiving centers, three bungee jumping centers, 26 amusement parks, and 33 hot air ballooning stations – the most among the top five adventure states.
Though it ranks seventh for kayaking, California still offers 219 canoeing routes, making it the ultimate location for a wide range of thrilling outdoor activities.
Florida comes in second place scoring 53.5 out of 100 as a thrill seeking destination.
Despite being famous for its beaches, the state has 36,043 cycling routes and 2,637 mountain bike trails, providing ample options for cyclists. For kayaking enthusiasts, Florida is a top choice, leading the nation with 4,180 kayaking opportunities.
The state also ranks high in other activities, coming in second for amusement parks (22), third for skydiving centers (22), and first for bungee locations (4). While it offers 2,670 miles of hiking trails, placing 19th in this category, Florida falls short in climbing, ranking 46th with just 17 routes.
However, if you’re looking for a mix of world-famous cityscapes and thrilling outdoor adventures, third place, New York is the ideal destination.
The state features 43,143 cycling routes and 6,048 mountain bike trails, providing plenty of options for cyclists looking to explore new scenery. With 4,447 miles of hiking trails and 5,276 climbing routes, there’s something for every outdoor enthusiast.
For those seeking a different type of adrenaline, New York offers 26 hot air balloon locations and 12 skydiving centers. The state also has 18 amusement parks, the third highest on the list, along with 362 kayaking trails and two bungee jumping centers.
Expert tips for staying safe when adventure cycling
For those looking to plan their next adventure holiday before the year ends, buycycle experts recommend the following top tips to ensure safety:
- Wear a helmet – No matter what cycling your ability, always wear a helmet when doing any form of mountain biking or road cycling.
- Invest in protective gear – While not as essential as a helmet, investing in the right cycling gear can prevent unforeseen injuries that could put a downer on your trip. Use body armor and goggles to prevent injuries and protect against dirt and grit. Also, avoid loose clothing that could get caught.
- Take a first aid kit – Bring a well-stocked kit with essentials like bandages, painkillers, and gauze for any emergencies you might face.
- Pack a tool kit – In the same way that you could get hurt while out on the track, the same is true for your bike as well, particularly on harder routes where the ground is that much rockier. Therefore, it’s vital that you bring a tool and repair kit along with you, just in case.
- Plan your route – If you’ve never been to a particular cycling area before, it’s essential that you plan your route beforehand to avoid getting lost. And even then, should you deviate from your route, there’s a good chance you won’t have any phone signal, making a GPS an invaluable piece of kit to have with you to navigate back home.
For more information on the study and to see how other US states compare, please visit:
To view the full data breakdown, check out the table here:
Notes to editors
Methodology
This dataset ranks all 50 US states, based on how good they are for thrillseakers. To do this, nine different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given.
The normalised values were then summed and multiplied by 11.1, to give each location a total score out of 100. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
- Cycling Routes – The number of cycling routes in each state, according to bikemap.
- Mountain Bike Routes – The number of mountain bike routes in each state, according to Trailforks.
- Hiking Trail Length – The total length of all hiking trails in each state, according to destinationhikers in miles.
- Climbing Routes – The number of climbing routes in each state, according to thecrag.
- Amusement Parks – The number of amusement parks in each state, according to Coasterpedia.
- Skydiving Centers – The number of skydiving centers in each state, according to dropzone.
- Canoe/Kayak Trails – The number of canoe and kayak trails in each state, according to wikiloc.
- Bungee Jumping Centers – The number of results on Google Maps for the prompt “bungee jumping centers in X”, where X is the state. Results were further filtered for the business category containing “bungee_jumping”.
- Hot Air Balloon Locations – The number of results on Google Maps for the prompt “hot air balloon ride in X”, where X is the state. Results were further filtered for the business category containing “balloon”.
The factors were indexed as follows:
- All Factors – High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.
All data is correct as of 09/08/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided.
About buycycle:
buycycle was founded in 2021 by Jonas, Florian, and Theo – three friends who met through their love of cycling. Back then, it was extremely challenging to get hold of affordable beginner bikes, especially pre-owned ones. When Jonas went to order his first triathlon bike, he didn’t feel comfortable transferring money to a stranger on a local online marketplace, as he was unsure of whether the bike would actually arrive.
From this experience, the idea for buycycle was born, and the three cycling enthusiasts were able to turn their passion into their profession. Today, the founders are thrilled to be working on buycycle’s vision of creating the world’s leading marketplace for high value pre-owned bikes, making selling and buying pre-owned bikes just as easy as riding them.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
