If you could go anywhere in the US for a couple of weeks in the summer

[Amira]

Where would you go? If you can also suggest some places that wouldn't be too hot or crowded in July, I'd love to hear about them.

[Liz CA]

Sea Ranch, CA. :)  Definitely not too hot, also not very crowded. If heat is an issue, you could also try locations along the "Inner Passage" in Alaska, or Dutch Harbor and the Bering Sea. I often dream of those places when it hits F105 here...

[Guest]

I would go to Alaska. I love it there in the summer. 

 

Colorado is a favorite, too. I wish I could afford to go every year. Mountains make me happy. 

[bettyandbob]

Maine.

[Chris in VA]

Corona Del Mar, CA. Beautiful tide pools, stuff to do nearby, lovely beach....

 

Ooo--also Bar Harbor, ME or Montana.

[Melinda in VT]

It never really gets hot up here. :-)

 

Personally, I'd go to Maine, but that's mostly because I've spent little time there and it has the added benefit of the ocean.

[msjones]

Oregon Coast

[Dandelion]

Another vote for the Oregon Coast.   :)

[FaithManor]

The Oregon Coast from Newport - Astoria.

 

Seattle

 

or Maine, the coast maybe around Booth Bay but I can't be certain if that is the area or not...it may have grown up a lot since I was there as a teenager.

[UmmiSays]

Hawaii! I want to go to Hawaii sooo bad, I dream about it all the time. I'm not sure about the weather in the summer months though.

[UncleEJ]

Alaska!!!

[trulycrabby]

Alaska, so I could see the aurora borealis, and a lot of other stuff. :)

 

Montana, Idaho, anywhere with mountains or snow so I could downhill or cross country ski.

 

Niagara Falls, Yosemite, Yellowstone...

 

Oh yeah, Hawaii and/or Puerto Rico!

[scrapbookbuzz]

Pagosa Springs, Co

[Erica in OR]

Yeah, love the Oregon coast, but not sure it would fit your criteria of not being crowded in July. Are there some secret places that don't have people in the summer? :)

 

Wish we could head to Alaska at some point.

 

Erica in OR

[plansrme]

Wyoming--Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.  We live in Atlanta and went there summer-before-last the last week of July.  Yes, it was crowded for Yellowstone, and we planned late, so we did not have a ton of choices on lodging, but "crowded" for Yellowstone is NOTHING when you are used to big city crowds and traffic.  The so-called crowds did not adversely effect us one tiny bit.  Like you, we were sick of the summer heat and wanted somewhere cooler.  Yellowstone fit the bill.  We all enjoyed it (the kids were 8-14 at the time).

[lavender's green]

I'd go to Maine.  It's just about the only thing I miss about the time I lived in Boston.  Or maybe the Grand Tetons (I once spent a summer there!) or the Outer Banks, although personally I prefer it in the early fall when its less touristy and a little less hot.

[linders]

Montana. Not the main part of Glacier Park, but maybe the western side. And I'd throw in a few days at a dude ranch, but that's something I love.

 

Another great July option is the Seattle area. A few days in Seattle, then up to the San Juan Islands for a little sailing and island exploring.

[Hunter's Moon]

I would start in Alaska, and then head down to Washington and then Oregon. Preferably a week in each state. 

[Pawz4me]

Probably Maine (Acadia).

 

Or Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Vermont . . .

 

I'm no help. ;)

[meena]

Here is my wish list in order of preference:

Oregon coast

Smoky Mountains

Travel between Maine Coast and New Hampshire. I'd rank this one higher if the water wasn't so cold! I nearly froze my Florida toes off in the Atlantic! :)

 

I don't know how crowded the first two get in summertime. Usually we travel at off times due to my husband's job. We did go to Boston, Maine, and NH two summers ago during the week of July 4, and it didn't seem impossibly busy. We are city folks, though, so our definition of crowded may be different than yours.

[Jen in NY]

http://www.ciweb.org/?gclid=CMbSyI-fnbwCFY07Mgodnz8A_A

 

I'd spend a week or two at the Chautauqua Institute! Definitely on my bucket list. :)

[MarinesWife]

Santa Cruz, CA

[MooCow]

Ocean Beach/ Point Loma.

[Mandylubug]

Yellowstone, Yosemite, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Red Wood forests, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Maine, Puerto Rico, Hawai'i

[Slartibartfast]

Hawaii! I want to go to Hawaii sooo bad, I dream about it all the time. I'm not sure about the weather in the summer months though.

 

It's never bad there. We went in the summertime. It was gorgeous.

[SeaConquest]

The Monterey Peninsula or Santa Barbara.

[LibraryLover]

Summer?

 

Somewhere on Cape Cod.

[Kalmia]

Maine! Especially if you stayed over Independence Day--lots of blueberry pie.

 

 

Acadia National Park/Bar Harbor (will be crowded over the 4th)

Orono Bogwalk (on the way between Acadia and Baxter--to break up the ride)
Baxter State Park

Popham Beach * * * * (there is a little private island campground you can stay at if you make reservations soon) and Fort Popham

Reid State Park

Rockport

Boothbay Harbor (Maine Aquarium, Tall Ships, Sidewalk Art Shows, Little Train for kids), 
Rockland (Rockland Museum of Art)
Camden (Mt. Battie, Red's Eats, Merryspring Nature Center)

Ogunquit

 

This magazine's website might be helpful.

http://www.downeast.com

 

 

 

[Alessandra]

Yes, Maine, on the coast. Or perhaps Cape Cod. Or the north fork of Long Island (avoiding the Hamptons on the south fork).

[mommymonster]

Olympic National Park, Washington. Temperate rainforest. Beautiful lodge. Best pancakes in the universe. 

[Mergath]

Somewhere in northern California or Alaska.

[creekland]

We head back home for a couple of weeks in the summer.  Where was home?  Quite near the Thousand Island region of the US/Canada.

 

The temps are usually in the 70s or 80s, it's still quite rural, so not many crowds (not so many know about the area to vacation there).  The St Lawrence River is the prettiest blue you will EVER see in a river - esp on a sunny day.  There's camping, fishing, scuba, beaches (fresh water, so no salt scum afterward or jellyfish), hiking, some local lighthouses, castles, and museums and day trips to the Adirondacks (Lake Placid to check out Olympic training venues or oodles of smaller lake communities) or various spots in Canada (Brockville, Kingston, Ottawa) are easy.  Oh, and the islands?  There are far more than 1000 of them... all in the river.

 

http://www.thousandislands.com/

 

It's one of our favorite places to go - and not just for the nostalgia of growing up there.

[Angie in VA]

OBX!

[DawnM]

I would love to visit Alaska in the summer.  It is a place I have not been yet.  

[Harriet Vane]

For that time of year, definitely upper peninsula Michigan or Minnesota.

[Mama Geek]

I love Alaska, spent 1 1/2 year there.  Summer is their busy season, lots and lots of tourist and prices for lodging are through the roof at that time, also you have a much better chance of seeing the Northern Lights in the winter when it is dark much more of the day.

[Chris in VA]

So, OP, what sounds good to you?

 

I am loving this thread--we are so lucky to live in a country with this much variety!

[Amira]

So, OP, what sounds good to you?

 

I am loving this thread--we are so lucky to live in a country with this much variety!

Yes, this has been fun to read, and I was hoping to get great responses like this.

 

I've been to most of the places people have suggested in the western US and we were in Wisconsin last summer for a few weeks, and I'd probably like to go someplace new. We really like staying in yurts (then I can pretend I'm in Kyrgyzstan, at least a little), so I might see if we can find one in Maine or Alaska. The Thousand Islands sound lovely too. And Kauai...

 

I wouldn't normally choose July for this trip, but another situation makes it necessary, so we're stuck with the timing if this is going to happen.

[Ottakee]

What are you looking for?  A place to stay for a few weeks?  A few weeks to travel around a general location?  Beaches?  City Life?  Museums?  Nature?  Amusement parks?

 

West Michigan up to northern Michigan then to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island and then through the UP to pictured rocks, Whitefish Bay, etc. would be a nice trip and not too hot that time of year.

[Pam in CT]

Love this thread!  There are so many beautiful parts of this country... for July, if you don't love HOT, my top two picks would be coastal Maine, which we try to get to every summer and I will never tire of;

 

or the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - a few years ago my extended family rented a couple of RVs and drove around without particular plans.  We pulled into one drop-dead lakeside state park campsite after another, eating whitefish and collecting geodes as we went.  NO ONE WAS THERE.  Just.gorgeous.

[J-rap]

If I only based it on where I've been, then I'd say:  Northern Minnesota or the Pocono Mts. in Pennsylvania.  If it were one week, I might say San Diego or Catalina Island, even Chicago or NYC.  But if it's a two-week stretch I'd rather have it a relaxing place in a non-city setting.  Northern Minnesota is beautiful, either on Lake Superior or on a smaller lake.  I'd get a little cabin.

 

We did spend a summer once in the Pocono Mts. and loved it.  It had a whole different feel to it than Northern Minnesota, but it was really beautiful.