6 great yoga hikes: sweat your way to enlightenment on a stress-reducing retreat - Ventureout

Before you zip up that day pack for your next nature hike, consider tossing in a yoga mat. Spas, adventure outfitters and yoga studios nationwide are now combining hiking with yoga for the ultimate outdoor mind-body experience. Ranging from spectacular one-day yoga hikes to weeklong adventures, these treks burn about 400-450 calories per hour, while sculpting your body with stretches and poses you do along the way. And even if you don't know hatha from Ashtanga, the following adventures cater to all levels.

Trips are listed in chronological order. Rates are per person; lodging rates are per night, double occupancy.

High Sierra Weekends With the Girls, Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Where A 45-minute drive south of Reno, Nev.

Guided by Call of the Wild, a women-only adventure travel company (888-378-1978, callwild.com)

When March 19-21 (Lake Tahoe Cross-Country Ski & Snowshoe with Yoga), Sept. 17-19 (Lake Tahoe Indian Summer Hikes), Oct. 15-17 (Lake Tahoe Autumn Leaves Hikes)

Amazing adventure These weekend yoga retreats just for women are geared to all levels, with instruction in TriYoga, a type of hatha yoga that unites breath and focus with flowing and sustained postures. Participants practice the technique for 45 minutes every morning of the three-day trip prior to four to five hours of trekking (distance depends on the group's preferences) through the Tahoe area. Before settling down in a cozy lake-view cabin on Lake Tahoe's North Shore, everyone can partake in a 45-minute evening session of yoga and meditation.

Details $375 includes two nights' lodging, breakfast and dinner. Recipes for your meals come from Call of the Wild founder Carole Latimer's Wilderness Cuisine cookbook. You'll likely sample her fresh-baked cinnamon coffeecake, chicken-apple sausages with hash browns, and even some ethnic-inspired entrees such as the coconut-flavored Thai Tom Yum soup with fresh vegetables. Participants bring their own lunches to eat at the warming huts along the trail. A pre-trip class on the fundamentals of selecting gear, dressing in layers, purifying water, reading maps and packing light is also included. (Snowshoe and cross-country ski rentals are an additional $30-$40 per weekend.)

Yoga in the Wilderness, Asheville, N.C.

Where About a two-hour drive west of Charlotte and 3 1/2 hours northeast of Atlanta

Guided by Life Centering Adventures (828-712-4994, life centeringadventures.com)

When April through November by reservation

Amazing adventure Hikers create their own itineraries, according to preference and ability. Trails lead to such nearby Transylvania County waterfalls as the 50-foot Laughing Falls, where you can pick blueberries. Surrounded by the peaks of the Pisgah National Forest, take time out for Sivananda yoga instruction. Known as the "yoga of synthesis," Sivananda combines the 12 classic Sun Salutation postures with yogic breathing, meditation and relaxation techniques. Choose from gentle one- to five-mile day hikes to multiday camping adventures. Days often end with a sunset yoga session and a relaxing dinner by the campfire.

Details $100 per day for two or more people; $180 for private trip. Includes guided hikes, yoga instruction, meals and yoga mat (plus camping gear for multiday trips). If you prefer to stay in a nearby hotel and drive in for hikes, Life Centering Adventures customers get a discount with the Best Western Asheville Biltmore: $75 per night except for weekends in July and October (rate code L.A.; 888-854-6897).

Appalachian Spring in the Berkshires, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Lenox, Mass.

Where A three-hour drive from New York City and two hours by car from Boston (Kripalu also offers shuttle service from Albany International Airport.)

Guided by the nonprofit Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health (800-741-7353, kripalu.org)

When Designated weekends mid-April through June and September through November

Amazing adventure Start and end your day with about an hour of Kripalu yoga, a unique form that emphasizes poses and the proper use of breath to increase the flow of energy into the body, to reduce stress and improve circulation, flexibility and strength. Guides split up the group according to fitness level or desire for adventure; hiking distances range accordingly, starting at about two miles. You'll travel along the Appalachian Trail through fields of wildflowers (including such varieties as shrubby cinquefoil, Indian pipe and jack-in-the-pulpit) and pass reflective ponds, songbirds and hawks. Come back for a rejuvenating foot massage from a member of your group (you'll learn how in a reflexology class).

Details Two-night retreats, from $318; three nights, from $462; four nights, from $524. Price includes dorm-style lodging and vegetarian meals. Meals feature fresh produce, beans, grains, nuts, seeds and optional dairy products. Kripalu also offers retreats combining yoga with other activities, such as biking, canoeing, horseback riding, skiing, snowshoeing and kayaking.