Family VACA East Coast

[Soror]

Next year we want to take the kids to the east coast since we've been south and west coasts. Where would you recommend?

We will have kids from 7-15/16 yrs old

Absolutely must have tide pools (that was one of the biggest highlights from our California road trip)

outdoor and indoor activities, our short family vaca this year is going to the rock climibing and ninja gyms. We love to hike and do other outdoor activities, some canoeing or kayaking would be fun.

Prefer less busy/touristy areas

Warm enough to at least wade in

We would probably be going late May/early June or late July/beginning of August to accommodate the oldest' school schedule

TIA!

[HomeAgain]

Beginning of August you could go north to Maine, but you'd be better off going mid or south in May/June.  Cape Cod/Islands would be a possibility late summer, too, but you should really plan that to arrive/leave opposite of the normal tourists because of the bridges.

[Farrar]

Just so you realize, tide pools aren't as common on east coast beaches. You will find more of them way up north, like in Maine. And I guess at Cape Cod? And in some other spots here and there. But they're not, like, nearly as much of a thing - it's because the beaches are so sandy and there are fewer rocky beaches.

If tide pools are important, I'd go to Maine and maybe to Arcadia? It would certainly satisfy your less crowded, outdoor vacation interests. And you could dip down and do some Vermont. And maybe even, if you can stand it with the crowds and tourists, fly in and out of Boston and do some Boston history stuff.

But you could go a really different direction and do something like way down south... Okefenokee in Georgia, less crowded Florida beaches.

I feel like the east coast's best beauty spots are in the mountains though, not at the coast. Like, rafting, climbing, caves, etc. out in western Virginia is lovely.

Lots of possibilities.

[Clemsondana]

In general, north FL and NC/SC beaches don't have the same kind of tide pools that the CA ones do - temporary pools can be fun to play in, but they don't have a lot of permanent residents so when the water goes out, the fish swim out and then it's just sand.  Many of the Carolina beaches have salt marshes, though - you often go over a waterway bridge to get to the beach part, and the back side along the waterway has marshes with crabs, etc.  They're mucky - you sink when you walk in them - but when my kids were younger that was a highlight.  Carolina beaches tend to have more churning waves, while in north FL the water can be placid - almost lake-like (of course, they sometimes have riptides, too).  I love the beaches, but mountains are also beautiful in this area.  My summer has involved road-tripping from TN to a destination in NY, then later from TN to the beach in SC and then across to the Gulf Coast in FL.  I didn't get to sightsee much along the way but I love seeing the differences - the mountains, the rolling green hills of horse farms in KY, the flat farming areas of  GA and AL, the way that you move from scrub pines to tall pines to the gothic Spanish moss-covered oaks  to the palm trees, with everything fighting agains the kudzu.  

If you love hiking, there's lots to be found in the Smoky Mtn area - if you want touristy stuff, too, you can go somewhere like Gatlinburg but there are lots of less populous areas to explore if you'd prefer that.  I grew up in north FL, am now in TN and have lived in many of the states in between and others and enjoyed them all.  

[MEmama]

We have tide pools and rocky beaches aplenty here in Maine. :)

If you’ll want to swim, plan to visit after 4th of July and before Labor Day. Any other time the ocean is probably too cold, even the lakes are good for about 6 weeks of swimming. Acadia and the Bold Coast are perfect for what you are looking for. Acadia can be busy but it’s not nearly as bad as “they” say. We were just there last week and it was quiet, quiet. Even Bar Harbor was quiet. So lovely. 

The Maine coast has tons of hiking no matter where you go. Do be aware our “trails” tend to be roots and granite carved out of the woods.  You’ll want good boots :). But you’ll get majestic views and a good workout, and very few people. 

Of course we have unlimited kayaking and canoeing opportunities. Most decent towns and areas have kayak rentals available.

Unless you love traffic and extra driving,  I suggest flying into Portland (instead of Boston) and starting your trip from there. Unless you’ve never been to Boston and think it would be worthwhile while you’re “in the neighbourhood”.

Have fun planning!

[PeterPan]

4 hours ago, soror said:

Absolutely must have tide pools

I haven't been to every spot on the east coast, but I will say that it's not going to be like the west coast. The starfish in Oregon/CA were amazing, the rocks on the coast are amazing, the whole thing is amazing. I don't know that I'd go to some bizarre crag of wherever hoping for a tide pool if the most typical thing for the east coast in general is something else, kwim? Like Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, Charleston, whatever, just pick what it really is and roll with it. 

Haha, everyone else is bearing the bad news too, lol. Well there you go. 

Have you already done things in VA like Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Monticello, the caverns, etc? If not, I would do those because you can have them *and* the beach. Charleston would be similar, with the Yorktown, some historic stuff, beaches. But to me if you haven't done VA then that would be the obvious thing to do. I got pregnant with ds after visiting Williamsburg, and I had all this toffee coated peanut brittle stuff from the Peanut Shop there. It was my first clue I was pregnant, because I couldn't stop chowing it down. 

And yes, I plan my vacations around the food. LOL

https://www.thepeanutshop.com/category/chocolate-nuts  Here, I think it may have involved chocolate too. The shop has samples.

Edited July 29, 2019 by PeterPan

[Soror]

Thank you ladies for the information. So, it looks like we'll have to go further north than we planned if we want tide pools. We'll have to think about that b/c flights would be more than we want to spend. I don't know if we're up for another 20+ hr roadtrip vaca. 

The kids absolutely want to go to the beaches and aren't much interested in historical places. 

[HomeAgain]

Here's a list of tide pools around the Boston area: https://mommypoppins.com/boston-kids/beaches-lakes/6-natural-tide-pools-where-kids-can-explore-crabs-sea-stars-and-marine

[Farrar]

How about Assateague? No tide pools, but there are horses and camping. It’s beautiful there. You could fly through DC.

[Innisfree]

I agree that Assateague is great. It's easy to stay on Chincoteague if you'd rather not camp. I like Assateague much more than Virginia Beach. It seems to go on forever, and as you walk the people thin out and then disappear and it's just wild. 

Another option to consider would be western Virginia, as Farrar suggested, or western North Carolina or West Virginia. Mountain rivers and streams have their own charm: cool water even in summer, crayfish and various other critters to spot, wading or swimming depending on where you are. Somewhere I saw a list of swimming holes I could dig up if this appeals at all. Tubing is popular in some areas. Caves are fun and plentiful, hiking unlimited, views spectacular. If you wanted to also do an east coast beach, a day's drive takes you from mountains to the coast.