I'm partial to North Carolina's cities...and, as you all know, especially Charlotte.

Since moving here, I am surprised and impressed that I am able to drive from the center of Charlotte to mountain skiing (the highest mountains east of the Rockies...7000') in 2 hours or to sub-tropical beaches in about 2.5 hours.

The only other place where I've lived and been able to do this is California.

Here's the question...from which major US cities (metros + 1 million) can one travel 3 hours or less and be in mountains over 6000', or, travel 3 hours or less and be on tropical beaches?

Why does a mountain have to be over 6000 feet for it to have good skiing?

From Concord, NH you are about an hour from some of the best skiing in the Northeast (regarded as the second best ski region in the country) and just 45 minutes from the Ocean. Not to mention you are also about an hour from the major city of Boston.

DC is fairly close to the beaches of VA,MD and Del., And the ski resorts of VA, MD, PA, WVA, and close to other big cities.

Seattle is close to it all. Maybe not subtropical ocean beaches but ocean beaches regardless.

How about living on the beach and being about 6 hours from skiing?

Atlanta is only a couple hours from the skiing to the north and about 3 or so hours to the nearest beach.

LA is only 2 hours from ski resorts and seconds away from the finest beaches in the continental US.

Columbia is less than 2 hours to the beach and 2 hours to the mountains. BTW, we are only 15 minutes from a large lake and 5 minutes from the rapids of the Saluda River, also.

LA is close to everything. Beaches, ski resorts, a forest, the desert.

Now that I see ex-yankee adding that new paragraph at the end, just about every metro on the east coast you can do that. I don't know why it must be tropical. So I guess it's just DC and Balt for sub-tropical beaches. I prefer tropical, but there's usually a tradeoff between beach quality and mountain quality. From skiing in NC, it's no better then VT or VA IMO. But the beaches are nicer.

Houston is only a 13 hour drive away from El Paso and the moutains of New Mexico. and a 2 hour drive from Galveston, a 6 hour drive to Corups (Beautiful) and about another 10 hour drive to South Padre.

I'm partial to North Carolina's cities...and, as you all know, especially Charlotte.

Since moving here, I am surprised and impressed that I am able to drive from the center of Charlotte to mountain skiing (the highest mountains east of the Rockies...7000')

What moutain(s) are you refering to?

Philadelphia is about 1.5-2 hours away from various ski resorts in the Pocono Mountains to the northwest of the city.

Camelback and Blue Mountain are among the better known.

As far as beaches, the city isn't in a sub-tropical climate zone but, of course, during the better weather months, Philadelphians head by the carload "Down The Shore" to dozens of beach towns lining the coasts of Delaware and New Jersey.

The new FOX show Point Pleasant is set in Point Pleasant, NJ, a shore town.

Houston is only a 13 hour drive away from El Paso and the moutains of New Mexico. and a 2 hour drive from Galveston, a 6 hour drive to Corups (Beautiful) and about another 10 hour drive to South Padre.

2 hour drive to Galveston? I don't think so. It's about 45 minutes.

that's mt. mitchell (spelling?)....it's the tallest east of the rockies...and its in the "black mountains" of nc

Yeah, charlotte has the mountains one way and the beach the other, but to be honest, I don't ski and have no interest in ever seeing snow again, so for me I see Charlotte as well-positioned because it's close to the beach but far enough away not to get hit by hurricanes.

;)

Why does a mountain have to be over 6000 feet for it to have good skiing?

yeah. Those Michigan Skiing ads are everywhere on the radio here. I know all about you Ski Pass in the UP...it sounds pretty cool--even if it isnt on some huge mountain.

wilmington is about an hour and a half from both skiing (poconos) and beaches (sussex county).

Seattle has beaches:

http://observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/education/gis/graphics/beaches/Alki_beach_4.jpg

& is 52 miles from the Summit at Snoqualmie:

http://www.summit-at-snoqualmie.com/sasassets/images/89/east_lg.jpe http://www.summit-at-snoqualmie.com/sasassets/images/89/central_lg.jpe http://www.summit-at-snoqualmie.com/sasassets/images/89/west_lg.jpe
http://www.summit-at-snoqualmie.com/sasassets/images/89/alpental_lg.jpg

76 miles away from Crystal Mountain:

http://www.skicrystal.com/images/trailmap_small.jpg

95 miles away from Stevens Pass:

http://www.stevenspass.com/html/mountaininfo/images/maintrailmap.jpg

But there are only a few days a year when the beach weather & skiing are both great.

2 hour drive to Galveston? I don't think so. It's about 45 minutes.
from the north side of town, its 2 ;)

i live about 10 miles from Downtown LA at the base of the angeles Forest and i can drive 30 minutes and be at a great beach or i can drive 45 minute and be at a pretty good ski resort (mountain High) or two hours to big bear, 4 hours to Mammoth, etc. In fact, i went to the beach on Thursday and i mgoing snowboarding on tuesday. :)

For chicago, the closest Mountain might be in Upper Wisconsin/Upper Minnesota, while the subtropical beach will be at Miami/Tampa/Galveston, but who needs subtropical beach, where there is a nice urban beach on the city's lakefront. I will rather take Chicago beaches, in the shadows of 1000 footers than a beach where the closest 1000 footer is far away...

And on that chilly March evening Chicago's Silverlake was born!

I just looked at a map, and Minneapolis isn't close at all to sub-tropical beaches. :)

There are a few skiing areas in the metro, but for the best skiing close by, and some of the best skiing in the midwest, you have to go to Lutsen "Mountain" in northern Minnesota.

Kinda hard to believe that people could be doing this in the middle of the country, but the lakeshore is great in the summer.
http://florio2.home.mindspring.com/HarborBeachPark/DCP_0533x.JPG
http://www.illinoisbiz.biz/film/filmtrial/Images/chicago/0~039C_NorthAveBeachVolleyb.jpg
http://airsignsandbanners.com/images/beach.jpg
http://florio2.home.mindspring.com/HarborBeachPark/DCP_0524x.JPG
http://florio2.home.mindspring.com/HarborBeachPark/DCP_0452x.JPG
http://www.neotool.com/training/hl7/hl7btbab/open/sessions/200309/Chicago_Opt_Pics/sailinglakemi.jpg

One of the best, if not the best beaches not near the Atlantic/Pacific Ocean

There are a lot of Mediterranean and Southeast Asian beaches I'd probably take over this one but it is nice. It's a nice place to chill during the summer, how is the water though? Is it clean and good temp?

Either way it seems like it's a fun place to see people and hang out for people in the area.

There are a lot of Mediterranean and Southeast Asian beaches I'd probably take over this one but it is nice. It's a nice place to chill during the summer, how is the water though? Is it clean and good temp?

Either way it seems like it's a fun place to see people and hang out for people in the area.

I spend a month in Greece every other summer, so I know what real beaches are.
As for the lake being clean, yes. For a big metropolis being right on it's shore, it is pretty clean. Water temps are in the mid to upper 70's in the summer. I realy didn't notice a difference in water temp. from the Pacific ocean when I was in L.A. last June.

More Chicago beach pics
http://mvpvolleyball.com/images/20020810rjt/images/20020810b001_jpg.jpg
http://samsonstravels.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/chicagobeach1.jpg
http://www.berserkur.net/photos/lakeshore_beach_03.jpg
http://www.chicago-scene.com/albimg/2000photos/aug2000/aug27-st.tropez/dsc00175.jpg
http://www.chicago-scene.com/albimg/2000photos/aug2000/aug27-st.tropez/dsc00188.jpg
http://www.chicago-scene.com/albimg/2000photos/aug2000/aug27-st.tropez/dsc00178.jpg
http://home.att.net/~keiichiro/chicago/photo/FullertonBch.jpg
http://home.att.net/~keiichiro/chicago/photo/GoldCost.jpg

[IMG]http://www.kheris.net/images/air_show/ohio_beach.jpg
http://www.getmypics.net/Special_events/CHICAGO/pics/chicago_beach2.jpg
http://www.getmypics.net/Special_events/CHICAGO/pics/northbeach.JPG
http://www.aceitup.com/images/20020713rjt/images/20020713b035_jpg.jpg
http://www.guisolutions.ca/sail/images/chicago1.jpg
http://www.fizzle.net/images/other_stuff/sailing/640x480/july_8_2000/dsc00771.jpg
http://www.fizzle.net/images/other_stuff/sailing/640x480/august_12_2000/dsc00856.jpg
http://www.fordsoccerclub.org/photos/chi_lifeguard_nightmare.jpg
http://www.fordsoccerclub.org/photos/chi_volley_skyline.jpg

Last spring is San Francisco, I went snowboarding in Heavenly (Lake Tahoe) on a Saturday and sun bathing in Baker's Beach (by Golden Gate Bridge) the next day. :-).

Those Chicago pictures are awesome....

San Diego has miles of beaches within it's city limits and is about 2 hours from the nearest ski resort.

Is chicago near any places to ski? I thought there were no mountains near it at all.

closest its probably Upper Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Michigan

Chicago summer fun!
http://www.theblakeys.net/images/Chicago_Beach_x.jpg
http://www.theblakeys.net/images/Belmont_Harbour_x.jpg

http://www.huttstuff.com/albums/chicago/00870_G.jpg
http://www.sidcolton.com/dirR/beachBikiniFlag.jpg
Someone was thirsty!
http://www.huttstuff.com/albums/chicago/00867_G.sized.jpg
http://www.mosaics.org/Chicago/images/beach_11.jpg
http://www.arch.chalmers.se/projekt/high_structures/projektmappar/chicago/beach/beachagain.jpg

http://norum.homeunix.net/~carl/photos/ChicagoSummer2004/ChicagoSummer2004-Images/104.jpg
Just a cool pic of the lakeshore during the summer
http://norum.homeunix.net/~carl/photos/ChicagoSummer2004/ChicagoSummer2004-Images/105.jpg
http://norum.homeunix.net/~carl/photos/ChicagoSummer2004/ChicagoSummer2004-Images/120.jpg

Utah's Wasatch Mountains are home to SEVEN world-class ski resorts all within a 20 to 45 MINUTE drive from the Salt Lake Valley.

Is chicago near any places to ski? I thought there were no mountains near it at all.

There are ski areas in the hills of Indiana, a few hours away.

As you can see from this picture, LA is squeezed between the beaches and the mountains. Angelinos can ski and surf in the same day if they pleased ;)

http://img98.exs.cx/img98/6066/dsc1047c0xl.jpg

Is LA really the only place like that in the US, that really looks like it could be in South America or something.

Depends on what you define as a sub-tropical beach. I would consider Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and the gulf states, and Southern California beaches to be the only real subtropical ones

For Huntsville, skiing and beaches are 5 1/2 hours away, except if you consider Cloudmont Ski Resort in Mentone, AL "skiing". They can only make snow in January because the temperature fluctuates so much here during the winter. the rest of the winter you ski on beads. For a better skiing experience, you can go to NC or Indiana.

Is LA really the only place like that in the US, that really looks like it could be in South America or something.

probably, I cant think of anywhere else in the US ;)

probably, I cant think of anywhere else in the US ;)

It is the only place in the US like that. What other city in the US is on the ocean, has warm weather year-round, and 10,000 ft. peaks? None. I was there in the winter and it was in the 70's and I remember seeing snow capped mountains. I thought it was just crazy seeing snow capped mountains, palm trees, and it was warm out too! That's nuts!

Hawaii but you are probably talking about continental US.

Houston has round trip non- stop jet service to Aspen now,as well as Vail,and Santa Fe. Galveston has some great vacation homes on the west end especially Pirate Beach.

Does water skiing count?

Depends on what you define as a sub-tropical beach. I would consider Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and the gulf states, and Southern California beaches to be the only real subtropical ones

"Subtropical" includes SE North Carolina.

Beaches 20 mins.
Snow Skiing 2 hrs.

But our beaches are far from Tropical. LOL

"Subtropical" includes SE North Carolina.

N0 , I dont think so. :weirdo: :)

Ex Yankee is about right.

N0 , I dont think so. :weirdo: :)

Ex Yankee is about right.

Huh?

From Wikipedia: There are various definitions of what characteristics make a climate "subtropical." Climatologist John Griffiths, for example, includes all places with a mean temperature in their coldest month of 6 °C (42.8°F) or warmer but colder than 18°C (64.4°F), while in Glenn Trewartha's scheme this climate is defined as having eight or more months with mean temperatures of 10 °C (50 °F) or warmer but with at least one month averaging colder than 18 °C.

From the NWS: The average January temperature in Wilmington, NC is 45.8F; with 212 sunshine days and a mean average temperature of 63.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Average rainfall is 50.85 inches. Snow is rare, and the average winter temperature is about 50 degrees.

LA is close to everything. Beaches, ski resorts, a forest, the desert.

LA is crazy. For one who loves nature in variety and geography, LA is it. As this dude said. Forrest, desert, the ocean, lakes, ocean, skiing. It is just so diverse. And of course the urban environment. It has everything.

Thats why i love LA!!