When it came to ranking North America's best places to learn, live, work, and play, Outside Magazine did their homework, canvassing hundreds of colleges and enlisting an able crew of undergrad reporters. Here is their top ten list of schools that turn out smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environmental ethos, and an A+ sense of adventure.

1. University of California at Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)

Beautiful beaches, great surf, redwood forests, coastal mountains, and a Mediterranean climate make UC Santa Cruz, on the northern tip of Monterey Bay, a hard place to study. Everything about this seaside oasis (pop. 55,000) is eclectic, from the surfers, farmers, students, and Silicon Valley refugees who call it home to the quirky early-20th-century architecture. On weekend mornings, you'll find kayakers on the Class III-IV San Lorenzo River, surfers paddling out to Steamers Lane, at Lighthouse Field State Beach, and scuba divers descending to the kelp forests in Monterey Bay.

2. University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, CO)

At 5,430 feet and framed by the Flatirons, Boulder, about 30 miles northwest of Denver, is the quintessential modern mountain town. Of the 95,000 people who live here, a whopping 70 percent have bachelor's degrees, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Software development, biotech, engineering, and university jobs are plentiful, and, equally important, Boulder's mountain parks system offers 200 miles of multi-use trails.

3. Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)

With white-steepled churches, clapboard houses, and a central green, Middlebury (pop. 6,000) is so cute it's almost a cliche. Vermont's longest river, Otter Creek, runs through the middle of town, and experienced kayakers paddle under the old Main Street bridge and run 18-foot Otter Creek Falls, the same water that's used downstream to brew the local Otter Creek ale. Fifteen minutes east, the Green Mountains offer more than 500 miles of hiking trails, singletrack in Branbury State Park, and cross-country ski routes out of Middlebury College's 1,800-acre Bread Loaf mountain campus (site of the eponymous summer writing conference).

4. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC)

Tucked into the hazy Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville (pop. 69,000) is an enclave of liberal Appalachian hip, with more art deco architecture than any American city north of Miami. Sixth-generation landowners share hillside neighborhoods with transplanted New Englanders and California yuppies. Just out of town, the Green River Narrows hosts one of the most extreme whitewater races in the world each November.\

5. Montana State University (Bozeman, MT)

It's not hard to see why Bozeman, the hub of southwestern Montana's Gallatin River Valley, appeals to the adventurous. The trout-filled Yellowstone, Gallatin, and Madison rivers offer world-class fly-fishing, rafting, and kayaking just outside town, and Bozeman is surrounded by four Rocky Mountain ranges, which draw hikers, bikers, and rock climbers. Residents (28,000 of them) and visitors (tourism is Bozeman's top industry) satisfy their cultural cravings downtown, home to art galleries, performance spaces, and coffeehouses.

6. Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC - Canada)

Bounded by Burrard inlet, the Coast Mountains, and the Fraser River, this hilly 197,000-person suburb of Vancouver has nowhere to go but up. Amid the cosmopolitan flair, locals maintain an outdoor lifestyle, running or cycling around the seven-mile seawall at Stanley Park, kayaking down False Creek, scuba diving in Porteau Cove, or playing ultimate Frisbee on one of Vancouver's 200 teams. And, of course, there's the whole North Shore freeride mountain bike scene and Olympic-caliber downhill terrain at Whistler Blackcomb, 90 minutes away.

7. Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)

An affluent, intellectual town of gifted college kids, tweedy professors, overworked med students, and young families, Hanover (pop. 11,000) serves as a mini metropolitan area for the surrounding New Hampshire farm country. Picturesque Main and Lebanon streets house student bookshops and immensely popular Co-Op, Hanover's natural-foods grocery, while downtown's 18th-century look is offset by the sleek, modern Hopkins Center for the Arts. The Appalachian Trail runs right through the middle of town, and on the west end, the wide and lazy Connecticut River is perfect for kayakers, rowers, and swimmers.

8. University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia)

Charlottesville, a town of 45,000 in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, is like the most popular boy in school: Don't hate him because he's beautiful. With gorgeous Jeffersonian architecture, a fertile live-music scene (Dave Matthews got his start playing at Miller's), and all the culinary perks you'd expect from a thriving college town (the White Spot's greasily delicious Gusburger is a fine hangover remedy), C'ville has substance and style - and plenty of outdoor cred. There are miles of hiking trails close to town, in the Ivy Creek and Ragged Mountain natural areas: cycling on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, 20 miles north and canoeing, fishing, and tubing on the neary James River.

9. Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ)

Those who think of Arizona as a hot, saguaro-dotted sandbox haven't been to Flagstaff. Just 140 miles north of Phoenix, Flagstaff (pop 57,000) is perched at a cool 6,910 feet and surrounded by thousands of acres of ponderosa pine forest. Locals - a mix of liberal mountain-town types, conversative ranchers, Native Americans, and a fair share of snowbird retirees - take advantage of the adventure-perfect landscape and mild climate to get outside whenever they can.

10. University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)

In the middle of miles of cornfields, Iowa City is one of the ten most literate and enlightened towns in the nation, according to the American Booksellers Association. This city of 62,000, set on the winding Iowa River, is a pocket of sophistication with the feel of small-town America. Iowa has 41,000 acres of lakes and 90 state parks, recreation areas, and preserves, giving locals plenty of room to roam. 

Click here to see Outside Maganize's entire list of 40 best college towns.