Top 10 States for Adventure Travel in 2021

Many travelers will be more motivated than ever to experience the great outdoors in 2021 but settling on the perfect destination depends on what activities are of the most interest. Fortunately, there are a handful of places across the United States that excel in terms of both their prolificness and variety.

Outforia recently revealed its 2021 Adventure Index ranking all 50 states based on the number of available adventure activities across 10 different categories, including rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, skiing, zip-lining, surfing, caving, skydiving and hang gliding. Here's a look at the 10 states that offer the most to do for adrenaline seekers in the new year.

Narrowly edging out Washington and Utah for 10th overall, Texas features 248 unique kayaking spots, which ties Virginia for the most in the country. In addition to thousands of rock climbing routes and hundreds of hiking trails, Texas even offers visitors opportunities to surf along the Gulf Coast.

Florida doesn't lead the nation in any one category but, like Texas, offers adrenaline seekers a variety of experiences, including more than a dozen skydiving drop zones, an East Coast-leading nine hang gliding locations and over 1,600 hiking trails.

Hikers, mountain bikers and kayakers traveling to the Midwest will fall in love with Michigan, which offers no shortage of scenic trails and routes to explore in addition to an incredible 44 ski resorts and 13 zip lines.

Nearby Wisconsin barely beats out Michigan for seventh overall but is propelled further up the list by its whopping 4,290 rock climbing routes, 380-plus mountain biking trails and eight sky diving drop zones. The Midwestern state is also a kayaker's dream.

North Carolina's 21 zip lines are more than any other state and it also happens to be one of the best places for surfing, sky diving and mountain biking as it features one of the country's most ideal blends of beaches and rugged terrain.

One state to the north, Virginia ties Texas for the most kayaking spots in the country (248) and is home to a U.S.-leading 14 caving grottos. The Mid-Atlantic destination also offers more than 5,000 rock climbing routes, making it a premier destination for climbers on the East Coast.

While Pennsylvania strikes out with surfers and only offers one hang gliding location the state is well-balanced across the other categories that Outforia analyzed and performs remarkably well in terms of ski resorts (25), zip lines (17) and caving grottos (12).

New York is a versatile state when it comes to adventure as it offers visitors the opportunity to get their heart racing from land, air and sea. New York's 50 ski resorts are the most in the nation but it also features 11 surfing spots, 11 sky diving drop zones and 13 zip lines to choose from.

While Colorado trails New York in terms of overall ski resorts, the Rocky Mountain territory still offers visitors more than 30 to choose from, including some of the world's most iconic like Aspen and Vail. Colorado also leads the nation in mountain biking trails, claiming more than 1,300 within its borders.

California is the top state for adrenaline seekers this year and it's not even close. The Golden State is home to more than 45,000 adventure activities in all, Outforia found, and boasts more options for rock climbing, surfing, hiking, skydiving and hang gliding than any of the other 49 states.