4 days ago
These are the 10 best cities for sober travel in the U.S.
We can all be thankful that sober travel is on the rise. While drinking a beautiful cocktail while light filters through your glass at sunset constitutes many a travel photo—and while a raucous bar or club scene may also be part of your itinerary—the fact is that alert and appreciative experiences (i.e., sober experiences) make for a stronger vacation. And for those in recovery, it's not just a preference; it's a requirement.
A mocktail can be a band-aid, but a better alternative is to seek out different activities that keep you away from that shelf of glistening bottles. A new study from Sana Lake Recovery has just come out that analyzes and ranks American cities for their availability of sober-friendly activities. Some examples of these activities include hiking trails, fitness studios that welcome drop-ins, museums and even AA meetings.
The first city on the list of best places to travel sober is St. Louis, Missouri. Along with 123 hiking trails and 120 fitness studios to choose from, the city boasts several greenspaces to bring a picnic and connect with nature. At Forest Park, visit a 75-foot waterfall, see animals at the zoo and enjoy the World's Fair Pavilion. St. Louis has 10 mocktail bars, such as the Sans Bar STL, whose charming motto is 'shaken not slurred.' (Sans is French for 'without,' which is fitting). Museums like the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum also fill your vacation days with interesting experiences.
Second on the best sober cities list is Oakland, California. Hiking here is amazing—in the Oakland hills you'll find aromatic quietude in the trails that wind through redwood groves. And for a quick urban walk, Lake Merritt's circumference is about 3 miles. There are more than 300 hiking trails, 120 fitness studios and 33 different museums to stimulate your travel. Oakland has five mocktail bars and two gorgeous, restored movie palaces (the Fox and the Paramount) where you can take tours or see live shows, depending on their schedule.
Coming in third is Portland, Oregon, which has the most mocktail bars of any city on the list: 11. It also has 270 hiking trails to choose from, some of which are found in the 5,200-acre Forest Park—one of the largest urban forests in the country. Eighty miles of trails run beneath its sun-dappled canopy. Portland offers 122 fitness studios and 34 museums, including the Portland Art Museum and Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. We also love the Food Truck Park that offers fun browsing and even more fun eating.
With not too much effort, you can locate experiences in most cities that support a booze-free vacation. Look for drop-in yoga or Zumba classes, bring your tennis racket, get a NARM membership to visit museums for free wherever you travel and take time to organize a picnic in nature.
Here are the top 10 cities for sober travel:
1. St. Louis, Missouri
2. Oakland, California
3. Portland, Oregon
4. Minneapolis, Minnesota
5. Seattle, Washington
6. Colorado Springs, Colorado
7. Tucson, Arizona
8. Miami, Florida
9. Tampa, Florida
10. San Francisco, California
