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<p>If you want to be in or near a large metro area, Swarthmore and Haverford are the best choices on that list. If you want to be in or near a beautiful, yet more rural area, then Middlebury, Bowdoin, or Williams probably are the best choices on your list. If you want both, and are willing to look outside the Northeast, then check out Colorado College. It has a very outdoorsy, physically active student body as well as a pretty good arts scene, set in a mid-sized city on the edge of the Rockies. For the arts scene alone (especially film and music), Wesleyan would be a good choice.</p>
<p>[The</a> Best Colleges For Outdoor Recreation | California | OutsideOnline.com](<a href=“http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/north-america/united-states/california/Outside-University--The-Top-40.html]The”>http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/north-america/united-states/california/Outside-University--The-Top-40.html)</p>