At 5 AM in Boston you’ll find dozens of people already 3 miles deep into their 6 mile jog, cyclists zipping down the esplanade, or scullers out on the Charles. It looks like the picture-perfect city to get in an outdoor workout 365 days a year. However, data from a recent analysis of the best and worst cities in America for outdoor workouts shows that Bostonians might find better luck accomplishing their workouts in a gym than outdoors.
Betting.com analyzed the 50 most populated cities in America and took a look at factors such as the number of outdoor workout facilities per capita in addition to weather statistics. The data covered the following factors to rank the cities:
- Number of outdoor trails per capita
- Number of tennis courts per capita
- Number of golf courses per capita
- Number of skate parks per capita
- Number of outdoor exercise zones per capita
- Average rainfall per month
Boston ranked as the number 8 worst city in America for an outdoor workout. There are 2.47 trails per capita, 17 tennis courts per capita, not even one full skate park per capita, 0.15 outdoor fitness zones per capita, and the average rainfall is nearly 86 mm monthly.
To put that in perspective, the top city in America for an outdoor workout is Tucson, Arizona which has 40 outdoor trails per capita, 10 tennis courts per capita, 7 golf courses per capita, 6 outdoor fitness zones per capita and average rainfall of 16 mm monthly.
Of course, there are factors overlooked by the analysis. For example, the Charles is infamously one of the best places for walking and outdoor rowing 3 seasons of the year and home to the Head of the Charles Regatta. Boston and New England also offer natural skiing terrain in the winter that you just won’t find in Arizona’s heat.
Joining Boston as the “worst cities for an outdoor workout” are:
- Wichita, Kansas
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Chicago, Illinois
- Houston, Texas
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Detroit, Michigan
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The “best cities for an outdoor workout” include:
- Tucson, Arizona
- Sacramento, California
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Portland, Oregon
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Raleigh, North Carolina