Go with Your Gose: AVBC’s BYOB Picks for an Idyllic Weekend Getaway
Pack a Cooler and Hit the Road with our Beer Lover’s Guide to BYOB Biking, Hiking, Bonfires, Beaches and Camping
With our vacation plans in the lurch we’re getting back to basics this summer. We’re thirsty for adventure and there’s never been a better time to pack up the car, fill up a beer cooler and escape into the great outdoors. From secluded trails, windswept sand dunes, a memorable mountain bike ride, to a bonfire on the beach we’ve put together our favorite BYOB locations where you can go with your Gose. From the Pacific Northwest to Chicago, North Carolina, Los Angeles and our very own backyard in Boonville, here’s our #GoesWithGose guide.
Build a Bonfire on the Beach in Lincoln City, Oregon
Less than two hours from Portland lies Lincoln City. From oceanfront campsites and hotels to charming bed and breakfasts where you can hear the waves crash outside your window, Lincoln City captures the quintessential charm of both a laid back beach town and an outdoor summer paradise. With seven miles of sandy beaches that are both pet and beer friendly you can bring BYOB and BYODOG. Light an evening beach bonfire and sip a Briney Melon Gose while you unwind with the scents of Western Hemlock, sea spray, and evening fog. With seemingly endless hiking options just outside of town, trails like Cascade Head will leave you marveling at the breathtaking views of the coastline and Salmon River Estuary.
Go for a Swim at Saugatuck Dunes State Park
An easy two-hour drive up the Lake Michigan coast from Chicago, Saugatuck Dunes State Park makes for a perfect day trip from the windy city. Just north of Saugatuck, MI (a gem of a beach town in it’s own right) the dunes are hiding plain sight. With no campground, they see much less traffic than more well-known beaches to the south that attract more Chicago visitation. Several hiking trails in the park make loops up to five miles possible, but the real star is the 2.5 miles of secluded Lake Michigan shoreline. With 200-foot dunes giving way to old-growth forest it’s the perfect spot to get away for a day. The state park allows alcohol (no red plastic cups needed) so pack a cooler, plop down and enjoy a Michigan cherry infused Cherry Gose.
Take a Mountain Bike Ride in Malibu
There’s a reason so many movies and television shows have been filmed at Malibu Creek State Park. Its stunning natural beauty, illusion of total isolation, and proximity to Los Angeles make it an accessible oasis nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains. With movies and television shows from MASH to Planet of the Apes, and even episodes of NCIS, filmed within the park you’ll be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu once you venture down the paths lined with ancient oaks blooming lupine. The surrounding trails and fire roads are a haven for hikers, gravel cyclists and mountain bikers thirsty for adventure. Bring your own bike or rent one nearby at Topanga Creek Outpost. From flat beginner routes immediately inside the park to mind-blowing 4+ hour routes that feature 5,000’ feet of climbing and breathtaking views of Santa Monica, Malibu, and the Pacific Ocean, Malibu Creek is the perfect place to launch your SoCal cycling adventure. Alcohol consumption is allowed at campsites and picnic areas within the park so you can reserve a site and relax for the night and pack in a Blood Orange Gose to savor while you tend to your trail wounds.
Hike and Bike through the Land of Waterfalls
The lush mountains of the Brevard, North Carolina area are well loved for their hundreds of waterfalls and countless miles of trails. It’s the perfect destination for a weekend (or a lifetime) of hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing and whitewater adventure. For first-time visitors, we recommend a day at the Dupont State Forest which holds several spectacular waterfalls that have been featured in movies such as The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunger Games. And of course, there’s also Pisgah National Forest, which spans over a half-a-million acres of hardwood forest filled with wildlife, whitewater rivers, waterfalls and hundreds of miles of trails. After a day on the trails, we think a Framboise Rose Gose pairs nicely with the mountain scenery.
Our Local Pick: Fall Off the Grid in Hendy Woods
Just up the road in Philo, our Anderson Valley northern neighbor, is Hendy Woods State Park. What better place to escape than a park named after Petrov “Petro” Zailenko AKA the Hendy Hermit, a Russian immigrant who called this park home for over eighteen years during the 1960s and ‘70s. If peace and solitude bekon, you’ll find no better sanctuary than Hendy Wood’s towering groves of 1000+ year old redwoods. Miles of hiking trails are pet friendly and traverse groves of fern, meadows and streams. Four cabins and ninety-two campsites make it the perfect place to isolate yourself for the weekend…or two decades. Did we mention that this BYOB state park is less only ten miles from our doorstep? (We like to call it a BYOG [bring your own gose] state park.)
Have a favorite summer adventure? Tag it with #GoesWithGose to let us know!
