New York autumn hiking and fishing

[Crawford]

I'm gonna sound like a crazy homer, but NYC area is massively underrated for natural beauty. It's like the physical environment overshadows the natural assets.

You have the Palisades directly across from Manhattan. You can bike from Manhattan to wilderness, over the GWB. You can take Metro North to the Appalachian Trail. You can take a bus from PA Bus Terminal to climbing in the Gunks. You have more beaches than anywhere.

There's a lot of good stuff, not spectacular at its best like a Seattle or Vancouver, but very solid and comprehensive all around. Definitely prettiest natural surroundings for major U.S. metro outside of Western U.S. And unlike the West, tons of attractive towns in the natural environment. Places like Cold Spring, Rhinebeck, Sag Harbor, Mystic, etc.