Next week our puppy will have all of the shots necessary to be boarded at the vet. We're looking to take a 3-7 day trip within driving distance of our home. DH is against flying, and there's no chance I'll be able to talk him into any time soon.
We have family in Maine, so I'm actually inclined to avoid that destination if we want a true vacation.
We need pool or beach access. Ocean, lake, or pond is find. We like museums, adventure, and the outdoors. Shopping means nothing to us. Good restaurants that are also family friendly / you don't need to dress up for are a plus. Not very interested in a city or busy beach boardwalk with arcades.
The summer before last we spent a week in the Berkshires (Williamstown, MA), so that is our fall back option as we're familiar with it and truly enjoyed that trip. The dining was superb, yet casual. There were museums left and right, we went horseback riding, hiking, swimming, the works.
Being on the coast really limits our destinations as our 6 hr perimeter is sliced in half. Ha! I'm jealous of those in the mid-west. I think 6 hrs is our max because we're bound to encounter traffic and need to stop at least once for a meal and bathroom break. If there's anything a little farther we should consider, let me know. We just don't want to eat up too much time in the car.
I am open to the most random suggestions. Have never been to Ohio, for instance, but that might be a bit too far.
ETA: We are sitting on a boatload of Hyatt points. Enough to carry us through about 2 wks at one of their higher end resorts. (Hawaii destination, etc.) We have been holding them for a big ticket vacation, but are willing to use some points this summer.
Post by Velar Fricative on Jun 29, 2021 7:48:40 GMT -5
I wouldn't say the dining is all that great (but admittedly we just go stay in my ILs cabin there and mostly cook anyway), but the Poconos has lots of lakes and outdoor activities you guys might like. It's only about 2 hours from parts of NYC.
Charlottesville, VA might work. Tons of historical places to visit - homes of Jefferson, Monroe, Madison, plus UVA campus. Shenandoah National Park close by. Lots of nature around. Good food, all pretty casual.
Post by awkwardpenguin on Jun 29, 2021 8:04:22 GMT -5
When I was growing up we spent a lot of time in the Burlington, Vermont area. Especially Grand Isle state park, which has proper lake beaches. You can drive to Plattsburgh and take the ferry to Grand Isle, or there's a bridge from the Burlington side. Burlington proper has some great restaurants, and the Church Street pedestrian area with shops and galleries.
I wouldn't say the dining is all that great (but admittedly we just go stay in my ILs cabin there and mostly cook anyway), but the Poconos has lots of lakes and outdoor activities you guys might like. It's only about 2 hours from parts of NYC.
Yea I was thinking Poconos too - we stayed in Jim Thorpe a few years ago and it was really cute and a lot of fun - but that was the southern edge so I’m sure there’s just as nice places closer to you.
Vermont? This was years and years ago but we rented a house on a lake that came with a row boat and canoe. We also did the Alpine slide which was a blast.
I'm going to just advocate you return to the Berkshires, since it is my favorite place. Mystic seaport might be fun too. Lots of my friends enjoy the finger lakes as well.
I'm going to just advocate you return to the Berkshires, since it is my favorite place. Mystic seaport might be fun too. Lots of my friends enjoy the finger lakes as well.
Talk to me about the berkshires.
Could I rent a house there over thanksgiving weekend for about 15-20 people? 6-ish bedrooms? Can be flexible on what you’re calling a bedroom.
We would need to cook and hang out. Somewhere to take nice walks would be good, and yard for kids ages newborn-12 to run around/be in would also be great.
We are going to Lake Placid at the end of July. I've never been but it looks gorgeous and I think checks all your boxes.
Deep Creek Lake Maryland would also be within 6 hours depending on where exactly you are. My son went last year with a friend and had a fantastic time on the water.
I'm going to just advocate you return to the Berkshires, since it is my favorite place. Mystic seaport might be fun too. Lots of my friends enjoy the finger lakes as well.
Talk to me about the berkshires.
Could I rent a house there over thanksgiving weekend for about 15-20 people? 6-ish bedrooms? Can be flexible on what you’re calling a bedroom.
We would need to cook and hang out. Somewhere to take nice walks would be good, and yard for kids ages newborn-12 to run around/be in would also be great.
Does something like that exist?
I live in the Berkshires so I'm not super up to date on what the short term rentals look like here. I live in North County (North Adams, Williamstown area). Williamstown has some good sized houses, and a good deal of summer only folks, so that might be a good place to look for an airbnb. They have great places for walking. Clark Art in Williamstown has fantastic walking paths. Williams College has a stunning campus to walk around. Tons of museum options. I don't ski, but I think that ski places might be open if that's your thing.
South county (great Barrington area or Lenox and Lee) might have more options for rentals since they have a lot of summer people down there too. I don't go down that way too much.
We can get large snowstorms that late in November and it has the potential to be extremely cold, so the weather might not cooperate for outdoor activities.
We are going to Lake Placid at the end of July. I've never been but it looks gorgeous and I think checks all your boxes.
Deep Creek Lake Maryland would also be within 6 hours depending on where exactly you are. My son went last year with a friend and had a fantastic time on the water.
I really like the Finger Lakes region but I don't desire to go there right now with 7 and 3 year olds.
Not quite as far as Ohio would be Niagara Falls so still within NY. I would like to take my kids there next summer. In order to have lake/beach access you would need to look into staying on Lake Ontario somewhere and doing Niagara Falls as a day trip. The border is not open so you are restricted to the NY side anyways.
I've heard people go to Lake George and enjoy it. Probably closer to you.
If you want low key, we just returned from a nice time in Lancaster PA. Hershey isn't far either - lots to do, and very family friendly.
I will also second central PA for a low key choice if you haven't been before.
I forget how old OPs kids are, but if they are, say, 7 and under Dutch Wonderland is fantastic. There are some fun stops in and around Lancaster, then head toward Hershey.
Could I rent a house there over thanksgiving weekend for about 15-20 people? 6-ish bedrooms? Can be flexible on what you’re calling a bedroom.
We would need to cook and hang out. Somewhere to take nice walks would be good, and yard for kids ages newborn-12 to run around/be in would also be great.
Does something like that exist?
I live in the Berkshires so I'm not super up to date on what the short term rentals look like here. I live in North County (North Adams, Williamstown area). Williamstown has some good sized houses, and a good deal of summer only folks, so that might be a good place to look for an airbnb. They have great places for walking. Clark Art in Williamstown has fantastic walking paths. Williams College has a stunning campus to walk around. Tons of museum options. I don't ski, but I think that ski places might be open if that's your thing.
South county (great Barrington area or Lenox and Lee) might have more options for rentals since they have a lot of summer people down there too. I don't go down that way too much.
We can get large snowstorms that late in November and it has the potential to be extremely cold, so the weather might not cooperate for outdoor activities.
Thanks. We don’t care about cold - can bundle up. Snow would only be an issue if it means we somehow can’t get to the location. Prior to this we have either been getting together outside of Boston or in northern NH do that he weather is what we are used to.
I really like the Finger Lakes region but I don't desire to go there right now with 7 and 3 year olds.
Not quite as far as Ohio would be Niagara Falls so still within NY. I would like to take my kids there next summer. In order to have lake/beach access you would need to look into staying on Lake Ontario somewhere and doing Niagara Falls as a day trip. The border is not open so you are restricted to the NY side anyways.
I've heard people go to Lake George and enjoy it. Probably closer to you.
I wouldn’t go to Niagara Falls without being able to cross the border. The views are so much better from the Canadian side.
I think the Poconos might be a good fit. No dining recs because we’ve only ever been to Kalahari during April break and stayed on site the whole time. I remember looking into other area things to do and it seemed like there was a lot for the summer season that opened in mid to late May.
This would be my recommendation (along with Mont Tremblant, which is 90 minutes or so from Montreal and so much fun for kids in the summer even though it's a ski resort), but the border is still closed. We were hoping to go again after a great trip in August 2019 but I don't think the border will reopen until fall at the earliest.
Also agree with Lake Placid as a great travel spot too.
If anybody is really into naval stuff, it's worth looking into Mystic CT. Definitely beaches available. There's a Submarine museum in New London too. I've only ever gone for day trips, so can't really make hotel recs though.
I really like the Finger Lakes region but I don't desire to go there right now with 7 and 3 year olds.
Not quite as far as Ohio would be Niagara Falls so still within NY. I would like to take my kids there next summer. In order to have lake/beach access you would need to look into staying on Lake Ontario somewhere and doing Niagara Falls as a day trip. The border is not open so you are restricted to the NY side anyways.
I've heard people go to Lake George and enjoy it. Probably closer to you.
I wouldn’t go to Niagara Falls without being able to cross the border. The views are so much better from the Canadian side.
We actually just went (as part of another trip) and the views from Maid of the Mist were pretty impressive even without being able to cross into Canada.
I really like the Finger Lakes region but I don't desire to go there right now with 7 and 3 year olds.
Not quite as far as Ohio would be Niagara Falls so still within NY. I would like to take my kids there next summer. In order to have lake/beach access you would need to look into staying on Lake Ontario somewhere and doing Niagara Falls as a day trip. The border is not open so you are restricted to the NY side anyways.
I've heard people go to Lake George and enjoy it. Probably closer to you.
Both Niagara Falls and northeast Ohio are about a 7 and a half hour drive from greater NYC, just in slightly different directions.
The Adirondacks are really pretty (Lake George, Lake Placid, Lake Champlain, etc). I also love Cape Cod. I've heard good things about the Catskills, but don't have any personal experience.
I really like the Finger Lakes region but I don't desire to go there right now with 7 and 3 year olds.
Not quite as far as Ohio would be Niagara Falls so still within NY. I would like to take my kids there next summer. In order to have lake/beach access you would need to look into staying on Lake Ontario somewhere and doing Niagara Falls as a day trip. The border is not open so you are restricted to the NY side anyways.
I've heard people go to Lake George and enjoy it. Probably closer to you.
Both Niagara Falls and northeast Ohio are about a 7 and a half hour drive from greater NYC, just in slightly different directions.
The Adirondacks are really pretty (Lake George, Lake Placid, Lake Champlain, etc). I also love Cape Cod. I've heard good things about the Catskills, but don't have any personal experience.
My family has made it in under 7 coming from central NJ. I’ll ask my brother when I get home, he just drove back with a friend on Tuesday from Buffalo.