Coffee Shops

THUS FAR,

the promise of free wireless Internet access for the masses has proven to be a pipedream.

For years now, cities throughout the U.S. have attempted to launch Wi-Fi Internet projects that offer fast web access on the cheap, but many have failed. Philadelphia, for example, will have to scrap its citywide Wi-Fi service come June 12 after network provider EarthLink failed to attract enough subscribers to the service.

For travelers, such delays and false starts can prove costly. Hotels, for example, can charge as much as $15 a day for Wi-Fi access. "Paying for Wi-Fi on the road is not the best value for your dollar. That's why some people work so hard to find someplace for free," says Craig Settles, a wireless business strategist in Oakland, Calif.

Online hotspot directories such as Wi-Fi HotspotList, WiFi411 and Wifi Free Spot can help travelers sniff out free web connections at their destination. "These [sites] are probably the best way for someone coming in from out of town who doesn't know the area. Otherwise you're in hope and hunt mode," says Settles.

Even without the help of these sites, finding free wireless internet doesn't have to entail hours of wandering strange city streets. You just need to know where to look. View our slideshow to find out where you can surf for free:

Coffee Shops

Coffee empire

Starbucks

card with at least $5 on it. Also, free access is limited to just two consecutive hours meaning you can't go online for an hour in the morning then come back later to use the second free hour. Starbucks says it's "working on making this available across multiple sessions per day."

Starbucks isn't the only java shop in town to turn to, however. Other chains, as well as independently-owned coffee shops, offer free Wi-Fi. Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee provides free access at nearly half of its stores, for example, and San Francisco-based Peet's Coffee & Tea is rolling out free service at some of its California locations this summer.

Libraries

You probably haven't used your library card since that college term paper on Voltaire, but it might be time to dig it out. About two-thirds of U.S. public libraries now offer free wireless access, according to the American Library Association.

All of Boston's public library branches, for instance, offer free wireless service, as do Seattle's. If you're on the road and "can't find anything else, or you just want a quiet place to work, check the city's library [for Wi-Fi],"says Glenn Fleishman, editor of Wi-Fi Net News, a Wi-Fi networking news site.

Buses and Trains

Thanks to Wi-Fi-equipped commuter buses, employees at

Microsoft

Google

For those traveling a longer distance, Greyhound's new BoltBus line, which serves Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia and Boston, includes Wi-Fi access in the price of a ticket.

Parks

Checking sports scores or answering the boss's emails in the middle of a mountainside hike may not be the essence of communing with nature, but you can if you need to. Hoping to attract more visitors, many state parks are installing Wi-Fi networks in their facilities. As part of a trial program, Minnesota's oldest state park, Itasca, for example, is offering

through Dec. 31. On the national level, Wi-Fi access is growing but still generally restricted to major facilities like hotels and lodges, says Derrick Crandall of the National Park Hospitality Association.

Smaller, city parks tend to be a great place to find wireless web connections. In New York, for example, there are 17 designated hotspots in the city's parks. And as part of a six-month pilot project started in February, Miami-Dade County has made Wi-Fi available at four of its parks.

Airports

Small and midsize airports have one big advantage over larger ones: free Wi-Fi. Surprisingly, some major international airports like Los Angeles's LAX and Chicago's O'Hare charge for such service. Fliers at O'Hare, for example, pay $6.95 for a 24-hour Wi-Fi subscription. What gives? Big airports "have a captive audience, so there's not a lot of motivation to go free there," says Fleishman.

But find yourself at San Jose Airport (Calif.), Harrisburg International Airport (Pa.), Las Vegas's McCarran Airport or Portland International Airport (Ore.), and you can go ahead and surf all you want it's on the house. In addition, many airline club lounges offer free access, either in the entire airport or at specified terminals or waiting areas.

Corrected on June 9, 2008.
The original version incorrectly stated that visitors to many of California's state parks and certain Amtrak stations could access Wi-Fi for free. In fact, they must pay a fee for the services.