Hike in the morning, chill and swim in the afternoon.

When do we leave?

A hike.

Forests are much more fun IMO. There’s always so much to see and experience. Bring binoculars with you, and you can try identifying birds. If you’re into botany, there’s no shortage of plants to explore. If chilling is your thing, find the nearest fireplace. If there’s a lake or a pond, you could combine that with swimming too. Bring a fishing rod, and you’ll have a chance to get some food.

Forest hike.

I'm not super into chilling in that way and the sun hates me. I enjoy hiking much more.
Of course, there are variables that affect the decision here but in general: forest hike.

Edit: bunch of hiking buds in here! Love it.

I'm lazy and tend to sit around a lot. That said, I'd still take woods over beach any day. I got my camera and telephoto lens for wildlife photos, walking in the shade at a comfortable pace... That's a good way to spend a couple hours.

Hike for sure. Only thing a beach has going for it are the girls in bikinis.

I'd prefer the forest. I love learning about local flora, and take tons of plant photos on my hikes. At least in my area, beaches are dominated by 1-3 invasive species, while forests mostly have intact native species diversity.

I'm sure if i were into birds i'd have a different answer.

I need more details! Is it a sandy beach or cliffs? Is it secluded or populated? Is it tropical or temperate?

There was a time I wouldn't have been able to choose. Truth be told, the only reason I can choose is that I can't hike any more, so that's what I really want back.

But, ngl, at my age, I think I'd end up choosing the beach more often than hiking if the ability came back.

From the comments and my experience being among vegetation versus getting sand everywhere, it's clear that we all came from the trees. To fully self-actualize we must all return to monke.

There's a forest with a beach near me, I don't need to choose!

I prefer the forest, although I think that it's at least partly down to me preferring hiking. There are some beaches not too far from me with interesting caves and rock formations, and I like visiting them

Depends on the temperature! Right now, hiking sounds preferable since it's about 10c here during the day. On a hot day, the beach sounds nice :)

Forest for sure. I can't exactly say that I'm big fan of sand, salt, and sun, plus I love the local woods.

Forest. Any day, any time.

I'll bump the curve a bit.

I choose beach. But mainly because I live in a forest.

Is it mosquito season?

I'd go to the forest if the law prohibited the bears from eating me.

Hike through a forest to reach the beach for chilling.

Fuck I miss Vancouver Island...

Beach for me! For one, I live in a semi-rural forested area. For two, as a kid we went to the beach every summer for a couple weeks at a time and it was THE BEST. Dozing off under the parasol with my toes in warm sand, feeling the rumble of the waves nearby, hearing the muffled sounds of children playing, smelling sunscreen and seaweed and corn on the cob...

Are either required activities????

Beach with other people? Nope. No interest at all.

Deserted beach, where you can roam, explore cliffs and rockpools and so on? Well, they have an atmosphere, so maybe sometime.

Forest? Yes, definitely. Hiking will take you away from anyone else, and there will be plenty of opportunities for wildlife spotting one way or another.

Honestly, either. Better photography opportunities in a forest (more birds), but a beach let's me bring out the drone and soak up some heat

I live in California. I could start in the forest and ski down to the beach. 😎

I can walk out any door and be in the forest, so overall I'd say forest....but if you're teleporting me there and back for thr day, I'd pick a bit of beach.

I lived in Florida for 20+ years. The beach is wildly overrated. Unless you surf or dive (and FL sucks for surfing), there's literally nothing to do except walk and sit on sand. Though I will say this: if you're allowed to have a bonfire on the beach at night, it becomes infinitely more fun. But that's pretty much banned in FL.

So yeah, I will opt for the forest almost every time.