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4 of the Best Summer Vacation Options Right Here in America

Take me out to the ballgame or a beach or an amusement park. Wherever you go, a vacation is the cure for the summertime blues

a man's point of view while relaxing in a hammock amid palm trees
Cody Hamilton/Gallery Stock
By

Greg Carroll, 

 
AARP
Published August 03, 2023

Contrary to what the Who told us in their 1967 song, there is a cure for the summertime blues! So, how about a nice vacation?

Vacations are as personal as our choice of the books we read, the cars we drive and the houses we live in. They reflect our personalities and preferences. So what are some of Americans’ favorite ways to spend their leisure time?

Baseball tours

Baseball is as American as ice cream cones, apple pie and jazz. I’m a huge fan of baseball, and almost everywhere I go in the United States I try to take in a live game. I have been to more than a dozen major league baseball team stadiums and as many minor league parks.

Several websites are dedicated to baseball vacations, and most MLB parks have tours. The two oldest, Fenway Park in Boston, built in 1912, and Wrigley Field in Chicago, constructed in 1914, are National Historic Landmarks and evoke the ghosts of Babe Ruth (and the curse of the Bambino), Rogers Hornsby, Jimmie Foxx and Ernie Banks.

Beaches

If you prefer a little time with your toes in the sand and the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, you are in luck. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. has almost 95,500 miles of shoreline, which provides plenty of options for vacationing at the beach.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Maui, Kaua’i and Honolulu-Oahu in Hawaii and Destin and Clearwater Beach in Florida as the top five beaches in America in 2023. My favorite beaches are along the 200 miles of coast in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. OBX spots like Kitty Hawk, famous for man’s first airplane flight, Hatteras and Ocracoke, where James Teach (Blackbeard) met his end, are just a few of the places to see there.

Amusement parks

If thrill-seeking is more your thing, then hitting some of the country’s amusement parks may be right up your alley, especially for a family vacation. With 70 million visitors a year, Orlando, Florida, is a top vacation destination thanks to Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World, but it may be beyond the budget of many families. According to budgetyourtrip.com, it costs about $9,000 for two people to spend two weeks there.

Other amusement park vacations won't break the bank. Cheapism.com lists 25 less expensive options, including Beach Bay Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconisin, with free admission and rides starting at 25 cents; Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, with free admission (for the last 90 years) and rides under $5; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina, with admission of $35; and Knott’s Berry Farm in Anaheim, California, where admission prices start at $59.99. Or you can check out Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, where $89.99 will take you to a step back in time with music, Vaudeville acts, a steam locomotive and a great outdoors vibe.

National parks

You could actually go to the great outdoors. The National Park System of the United States has 424 parks — at least one in every state — that cover more than 84 million acres. Explore the Grand Canyon’s north rim for uncrowded hiking or its south rim for incredible views and tourist locations. Yellowstone provides many opportunities for camping, hiking and sightseeing. Enjoy wildlife, geysers and hot springs, and vistas of mountains, lakes, rivers and so much more. A few weeks won’t be enough there, nor in Yosemite, where you can climb El Capitan, hug giant ancient sequoia trees and feel the mist of giant waterfalls.

Thousands of campgrounds with scenic trails dot the landscape outside the National Park System. Campspot.com put out a list of the 10 best summer camping locations. Top of the list is Sun Outdoors Rehoboth Bay in Millsboro, Delaware, with nearby attractions including DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum, the Bethany Beach boardwalk and Rehobeth Beach’s Funland. Other top destinations included campgrounds in Maine, Wisconsin, New York and Georgia.

If you aren’t a tent kind of person, then glamorous camping, or glamping, may be the route for you. You can be close to nature without setting up a tent or towing a travel trailer. Ruben Martinez, Glamping Hub founder and chief strategy officer, told Fox Business that hotels can’t get you that close to nature, but a beautiful treehouse or other type of amenity might.

Can’t choose from so many options? Why not do it all in one trip? Camp on the beach at East Harbor State Park, Ohio, on the banks of Lake Erie, and take day trips to Cedar Point Amusement Park and to a Cleveland Guardians game (with a side trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). Visit Marblehead Lighthouse and hike in Cuyahoga Valley National Park along the Cuyahoga River.

Share your experience: What is your favorite American vacation destination? Tell us in the comments.

Greg Carroll started his career in marketing and advertising, writing ad copy for several small agencies and private companies after college. He spends his time writing policies, training courses and the occasional article for a federal agency newsletter. At some point, he hopes to get back to the novel he and a friend never finished writing a decade and a half ago.

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