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Maybe you don’t own a car. Maybe you’re too young or too broke to rent one. Maybe you don’t like to drive. Whatever the reasons, it is possible, even in this great land of terrible mass transit, to use trains and buses to get your person to some honest-to-goodness hiking—and even overnight camping.

It used to be easier. In the 1800s, railroad barons built rail out to newly established national parks (such as Yellowstone) and lobbied hard for new parks (Grand Canyon) to be created in locations conveniently close to their existing lines. Some of those old routes still exist, but in truncated form, and with infrequent schedules, frequent delays, and infinite shuttle buses.

However, those experienced in the ways of transit (both public and private) understand its most fundamental truth: as long as you’ve brought a good book, and/or a good friend, you’ll be fine. Here are a few ways to use transit to get out of the big city, and onto some dirt trails.

White Mountains, New Hampshire

I have a friend who used to kick off his weekends by taking an 8 a.m. Chinatown bus from Philadelphia to New York City ($20 round-trip). He’d take another Chinatown bus from NYC to Boston (about $30 round-trip) in order to catch the 4:15 p.m. Concord Coach line from Boston’s South Station ($64 round-trip) to the visitor center in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire. He’d hike one of the trails radiating out from the visitor center (one of which is a little path you may have heard of called the Appalachian Trail) until he found a place to camp. On Sunday, he’d run the whole process in reverse, squeezing in breakfast at the Joe Dodge Lodge across from the Visitor Center if there was enough time before he had to catch the 8:07 bus back to Boston. Just for kicks, sometimes he’d get off the Coach two stops early, at North Conway, and then hike an hour to Cathedral Ledge, a popular rock-climbing spot. During the summer months, the Appalachian Mountain Club runs a shuttle that ferries hikers to more remote locations ($23/for non-members, one-way).

It’s worth noting that the White Mountains have some crazy weather. They’re at the intersection of several different storm tracks, and unexpected rain, hail, high winds, and snowstorms have brought even experienced hikers to the point of hypothermia. Always double-check the local weather conditions at the Lodge or the Visitor Center right before you set off on the trail, and pack gear that can handle heavy rain and sudden drops in temperature.

Harriman State Park, New York

Harriman State Park is the result of a 1910 deal between railroad heiress Mary Averell Harriman and the then-governor of New York, Charles Evans Hughes. The deal was this: If Hughes halted plans to build a prison on nearby Bear Mountain, Harriman would donate a million dollars, and several thousand acres, thus making her estate into a state park. The result is 75 square miles of mostly untrammeled nature, about an hour outside of Manhattan, and the place where many New York City children experience their first overnight camping trip.

There are several ways to reach Harriman. First-time visitors may want to take NJ Transit from Penn Station, get off at Sloatsburg ($14 one-way), and hike two miles to the Reeves Meadow Information Center, which has maps and trail advice. Others get off the train earlier, in Tuxedo, New York, where the train platform is a short walk away from the Ramapo Dunderberg Trailhead.

One option that doesn’t involve having to make a train transfer is taking the short line Coach bus from the Port Authority ($13.75 one-way), which also stops at a greater variety of locations around the park’s borders.

Thru-hikers traversing the Appalachian Trail or the Long Path are allowed to pursue dispersed camping in Harriman, while short-term campers are required to either rent a campsite or cabin, or pitch their tents in or around the nine stone lean-tos that are scattered through the park, and which fill up on a first-come, first-served basis.

A popular way to exit the park is to hike to the Bear Mountain Inn, have a celebratory drink, then either take a Short Line bus back from the Inn ($13.90) or hike to the bare-bones Manitou Station (literally, a shed and a bench) and take the Hudson Train Line back into Grand Central Station ($14.50). The Hudson Line only stops at Manitou a few times a day, and only on the weekends, and also you have to actually wave at the train to make sure it stops for you. It’s why some elect to take a cab to Peekskill, where the Hudson Line stops more frequently.

Adirondacks, New York

Trailways NY is a private bus company that operates a network of bus lines that travel to multiple locations in the Adirondacks. A choice stop is Keene Valley, about eight hours away ($150 roundtrip from NYC). The bus stop also happens to be a restaurant called the Noonmark Diner, where you can load up on carbs before setting out for one of the high peaks surrounding the valley. The Keene Valley Hostel across the street provides advice, beds ($30/night), a lawn to pitch tents on ($20/night), and showers ($5).

Closer to New York City proper is New Palz, New York, a college town that is home to the Gunks, one of the East Coast’s busiest—and most expensive—climbing spots. A Trailways NY bus ride from the Port Authority takes less than two hours ($44 round-trip). Once you arrive, it’s a three-hour hike to the Mohonk Preserve Visitors Center, so many prefer to share a cab from the New Paltz bus terminal. The campground ($24-38/night, up to two tents per site) directly across from the Visitors Center is managed by the Preserve, and the American Alpine Club. The Mohonk Preserve also charges non-members a day use fee of $15 (for hikers) and $20 (for climbers).

Yosemite National Park, California

The Yosemite Valley Railroad closed in 1945, but you can still take the YARTS bus, which experienced riders have described to me both as “pretty entertaining” and “full of lonely men with their lonely one-man tents.” YARTS runs a loop between Yosemite and several train stations, bus stations, and airports in cities within a few hours of the park. Prices vary for round-trip tickets based on departure and destination, but always include free admission to the park.

Marin Headlands/Muir Woods, California

MUNI, one of San Francisco’s public transit systems, operates a weekend bus called the 76x that runs between downtown and the wind-swept cliffs and chilly beaches of the Marin Headlands, found on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The spectacle of witnessing a lumbering city bus navigate the twists and turns of the narrow cliffside roads is probably the most adventurous use possible of your $2.75 MUNI fare. First-timers will want to stop at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center, which has plenty of free maps and trail advice, but be sure to check with the driver about the exact location of where the bus picks riders up on the way back into the city, since stops aren’t all well marked.

The few campsites in the area tend to book up fast, but it’s worth checking for last-minute cancellations, especially between Monday and Friday. If it seems unusual to have so much empty space so close to a bustling metropolis, that’s because it is—much of the former military base was approved to become a subdivision called Marincello in the 1960s, but nature lovers stymied the plan until the land was sold to the Nature Conservancy, which gave it to the National Park Service.

During the summer months, Marin transit runs a bus between the ferry terminal in Sausalito and Muir Woods, seven days a week, at $5 round-trip. Both buses stop running around 6 p.m., so those in search of a romantic sunset hike risk getting stranded.

Backbone Trail, Los Angeles

The Backbone Trail runs through some of the most spectacular scenery and fanciest neighborhoods of Los Angeles and Malibu. It’s been decades in the making, but officially opened in June 2016. Zachary Slobig, who hiked all 67 miles of the trail for LA Weekly, recommends taking the LA Metro Local Line #2 bus ($1.75 one-way) to the eastern terminus of the trail, in Will Rogers State Park. There are a few campsites along the trail, but they aren’t all that well-spaced for thru-hikers. Plans for additional camping sites are in the works.

LA Metro’s #2 also runs close to Griffith Park, meaning riders who get off at the Sunset/Western stop can hike up to the iconic Griffith Observatory.

The Issaquah Alps, Washington

Catch the Sound Transit 554 bus ($2.75) from downtown Seattle, take the 30-minute ride on the Issaquah Park and Ride, and you can hike through Issaquah and into the Issaquah Alps—AKA the Cougar, Squak, and Tiger Mountains. Cougar Mountain makes a regular appearance on various “Best Trail Running in America”-type lists.

Those who stay at the Park and Ride and catch the comes-every-two-or-three-hours Metro 208 minibus (also $2.75) can get off at the High Point bus stop, which is only a 10-minute hike away from Tiger Mountain. Tiger Mountain State Forest was once home to a fairly elaborate logging operation, and is now host to a much less elaborate one. This means that many trails are wide and nicely graded because they were railroad tracks a century ago, and that many of the trees are younger than they look. This noble forest is home to Poo Poo Point, one of the most amazingly named hiking destinations in the history of hiking destinations (Loggers christened it that, they claim, after the sound of the steam train whistle, but do you believe them?) Weekend hikers should note that the Metro 208 does not run on Sundays.

Juneau, Alaska

Take the #5 bus ($2) to the Federal Building at Glacier and 9th, then walk 10 minutes to Evergreen Avenue, which dead-ends at the Flume trail, a wooden footpath bolted to the rock at the base of Mt. Roberts. The Flume Trail becomes Basin Road and from there, you can hike a ridge that connects Mt. Juneau to Mt. Roberts. According to a friend and former Juneau resident, a hiker in good physical shape can make it up and back on foot, in less than half a day.

Warning, All Destinations

Like many good things in life, transit can disappear on you. Utah’s Elevated Transit buses only ran for three-and-a-half years before shutting down last month, with plans to reconfigure itself as a private charter and shuttle service. Glacier National Park has three Amtrak stops within its borders, but getting from those stops to anywhere else in the park presents an epic challenge. Only one shuttle running just a few times a day, for a few months a year, connects just one of the stops (West Glacier) to the park’s free National Park Service Hiker’s Shuttle. Trump’s proposed budget would eliminate funding for Amtrak’s long-distance routes, which would close rail access to the park—and many other remote parts of the country—entirely.

Which is one way of saying: When you do find a way to use transit to get yourself out into nature, be sure to use it—and be ready to fight for it.