What are some good ways/exercises besides running or places to run for someone who has bad knees?

The ACL tear is not a long term impediment. I've had one and will be running a 60k later in the year. The other I can't comment on. Swimming is one of the best ways of recovering from injuries and improving fitness in a low impact way. You WILL need to get yourself a coach to learn how to swim better. Learning to swim at school and swimming fitness are two different things. either personal coaching or better yet club coaching. Clubs have regular training sessions and despite all the speedy people there is always a lane for slow beginning swimmers where you will get a lot of coaching in how to get better. I generally find that when starting to swim again I struggle to swim 50m. It is hard work. After a few weeks a 1000m session is straightforward and after 6 months you can easily be swimming 5000m. Mind you I have a background in endurance sports that probably allows me to ramp up a bit faster than a novice. An alternative is cycling. I don't know much about your knee injuries so it may or may not be appropriate for you. It can be horrifically expensive but it need not be. The easiest way to start is to head out for an hour or so on roads you are comfortable with (I'm assuming a certain level of skill and fitness here. If not head to a park or nature reserve and use the safe tracks there). To start with on flat ground you can probably do 20km/h. A hour or two of gentle peddling is great and it can be really sociable as well. I used to spend hours riding on country paths on the UK 's old canal network. Exercise and nature all at once. There are also some forms of yoga which may work for you and despite it's reputation it can take a lot out of you. You may also want to consider some Pilates which is great for improving core strength and protecting the body against injury. It can also help to rehabilitate the effects if injuries.

I would highly recommend you purchase a set of resistance bands and use them as cables to tone up your lower body without having to strain your knees.Resistance bands can be latched onto a door and then you can perform cable extensions for quads, glute kicks for glutes and hamstrings, side kicks for your abductors and inner thighs. You can also perform body weight calf raises for your calves. You can check out this detailed low impact resistance band lower body workout below with the exercises mentioned above!Take care!