Northeast summer vacation spots

Lake Placid, New York

The village of Lake Placid, tucked within the Adirondack Mountains, may best be known for hosting the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games, but it makes for a fabulous family vacation destination for anyone who wants to enjoy the great outdoors. Look forward to swimming, paddling, and hiking during the warmer months, and in the winter, activities like skiing and snowboarding. Autumn brings a breathtaking scene to enjoy this popular New York weekend getaway, with the oak, maple, birch, and beech trees bursting into fiery red, vivid orange, and yellow hues.

Falmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The westernmost region of Cape Cod includes Falmouth, along with villages like Woods Hole, Mashpee, and Sandwich. This area is more laid-back than what you’ll find on the Outer Cape with quieter beaches and often lower prices too, making it easier to enjoy a family vacation. Enjoy strolling the dunes, visiting lighthouses, summer swimming, and more in this charming town in Massachusetts. You might want to rent bikes and pedal along the Shining Sea Bikeway which starts here, traveling 10 miles along the canals and coast.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Boothbay Harbor looks like a coastal dream and is one of New England’s most charming towns. It boasts a rich history and lots of quaint local shops, numerous dining opportunities that include lots of fresh lobster, and all sorts of activities. There are over two dozen boat excursions leaving daily, offering encounters with whales, puffins, seals, and other wildlife. The area has several outstanding beaches for swimming, picnicking and more, like Barrett Park, a beautiful hidden gem with a scenic slice of shoreline and grassy lawn.

Mystic, Connecticut

BEST PLACES TO STAY

Mystic is a small town located between New York City and Boston, with a long ship-building history and a recreated 19th-century village. It lies along Mystic River which flows into Long Island Sound, providing easy access to the Atlantic, and it offers many other attractions of its own. Mystic Seaport is one of the country’s largest maritime museums while the Mystic Aquarium hosts penguins and beluga whales, touch tanks, a 4D theater, and a sea lion show. Bite into a heavenly slice at Mystic Pizza, the setting for the Julia Roberts’ film that put Mystic on the map, then go sailing or visit one of the nearby historic sites.

Jersey Shore, New Jersey

There are many fabulous coastal towns along the Jersey Shore, from Sandy Hook in the north down to Cape May in the south. Enjoy beaches, boardwalks with rides, games, and food, as well as a wide range of other attractions that have brought families here for generations. Spend your days soaking up the sun, swimming, boogie boarding, tossing a Frisbee around, and more. There are whale-watching excursions available, an aquarium to explore, and lighthouses to visit.

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is a great place for kids and adults to see history come to life and many attractions in this city are free. Take a stroll along the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail from Boston Commons and you can visit many landmarks and attractions like Paul Revere’s House. If you’re here during baseball season and the Red Sox are playing at home, be sure to catch a game at historic Fenway Park. You can do some stargazing at the Observatory at Boston University on public open nights and tour the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world.

Ocean City, Maryland

Ocean City is a barrier island, packed with attractions from the ocean at its east to the bay at its west, with boardwalk amusements, mini-golf, go-kart courses, wide sandy beaches and restaurants galore, including lots of menus serving the region’s famous blue crabs. The three-mile-long boardwalk at its southern tip has been open for nearly 120 years and is a popular focus for most family vacations with games, rides, eateries and shops, including its original 1902 Herschel-Spellman carousel. The Life-Saving Station Museum offers an interesting glimpse of the shipwrecks and rescue teams that came to their aid.

Northeast summer vacation spots