BIKE
• Take in the city’s unbelievable skyline while cruising the 18-mile paved path along the Charles River. 617-542-8623; www.communitybicycle.com.
• Just miles north of the city, steer some of New England’s best beginner and advanced trails in the 2,075 wooded acres of Middlesex Fells Reservation. www.fellsbiker.com.
• Bike through the area where the American Revolution began. Ride the 11-mile Minuteman Bikeway, an inactive railroad from Alewife Station to Bedford. www.minutemanbikeway.org.
• Rent bikes or find second deals at Wheelworks Too. 617-484-9247; www.wheelworks.com.
• Avoid the traffic. Commute between South End, Back Bay, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain on the six-miles of paved paths in Southwest Corridor Park. www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/southwestCorr.htm.
• Learn to cycle more safely and effectively with day-long bicycling skills classes provided by the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. 617-542-BIKE; www.massbike.org.
• Tour 16 historical sites in downtown Boston and Charlestown on the 4-hour, guided Freedom Trail ride with Boston Bike Tours. 617-308-5902; www.bostonbiketours.com.


PADDLING
• Explore the Boston Harbor Islands national park area and its 34 islands by sea kayak. Difficulty depends on sea conditions. For mild entry, launch from Hull Peninsula into the Hingham Harbor’s relatively protected waters. Rent from Charles River Canoe and Kayak. 781-891-6575; www.paddleboston.com.
• Get your feet wet with some beginner classes or guided trips with Charles River Canoe and Kayak. 781-891-6575; www.paddleboston.com.
• Discover the gentle waters of the North Shore’s 3000-acre Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding estuaries.
• Get everything you need, including shuttle service, at Foote Brothers Canoe Rentals. 978-356-9771; www.footebrotherscanoes.com.
• Start with “Soup to Nuts” training with Essex River Basin Adventures and reward yourself with a 3-hour Moonlight Tour in the Essex River Basin. 800-KAYAK-04; www.erba.com.


RUN
• Join joggers, walkers and marathon runners on the paved running trails along the Charles River. Bridges crossing between the river’s Cambridge and Boston sides make loop runs of variable lengths.
• Get away from the crowds to the wooded trails in Jamaica Plain’s Franklin Park www.cityofboston.gov/parks or Roslindale’s Arnold Arboretum. www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
• Train with runners of all ages and abilities at the regular “group fun runs” of the L  Street Running Club in South Boston. www.lstreet.org.
• Lap the relatively flat, paved path around the Fresh Pond Reservoir in Cambridge, and prepare for North Medford Club’s weekly 2.5- and 5-mile races, year-round for runners of all abilities. www.northmedfordclub.org.
• Explore 640-acres of wooded trails and gravel fire roads in Breakheart Reservation. Push up the hills for stellar views of Boston, southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts. (781) 233-0834; www.mass.gov/dcr.


HIKE/CAMP
• Hike, camp or canoe where Henry David Thoreau found inspiration for his writings — Walden Pond State Reservation. Surrounded by 2,680 acres of “Walden Woods,” it’s an isolated retreat from urban life. 978-369-3254; www.mass.gov/dcr.
• Wander the 125 miles of trails in the Blue Hills Reservation. View the metro area from the top of Great Blue Hill — the highest in the Blue Hill mountain chain at 635 feet.
• Camp at rustic cabins on Ponkapoag Pond. 617-698-1802; www.mass.gov/dcr.
• Escape by ferry to Boston Harbor Islands. Hike scenic trails or shorelines. Pitch a tent at the campgrounds on Grape, Bumpkin, Peddocks or Lovells. 617-223-8666; www.nps.gov/boha.
• Camp at one of the 262 wooded sites in Wompatuck State Park. Mountain bike or hike the park’s forested trails and 12-miles of paved paths. 781-749-7160; www.mass.gov/dcr.
• Navigate the forested trail and rocky ledges in the Middlesex Fells Reservation.
• Trek the 7-mile Skyline circuit for awesome city views from atop Pine Hill. 781-662-2340; www.fells.org.