New England States ~ Vacation ideas please....

[It's A Happy Day]

Looking for some new ideas for places to go/see during our summer vacation. We live in Central Massachusetts and we like to venture out & about and look for new things (maybe not so well known things). Past trips have been to NY to the Great Escape Lodge up near Lake George, Storyland in NH, Six Flags (various locations), Coco Keys Water Resorts (and other indoor water parks), zoos, aquariums, the beach, Patriots summer camp. But we also like to do local hiking and geocaching/letterboxing. I am looking into possibly going to Ben & Jerry's in Vermont (I think)...

Family of 4:
Mom 37
Dad 41
Son 9 (total sports nut)
Daughter 8 (artsy/crafty kid)

Staying overnight for a few days is an option so travel is not out but I want to stay under 6-7 hours driving distance.

I know that there are so many great places to go that don't get the exposure that the big touristy places do so I thought I'd put this out there to find some different fun things to do....

Thanks!

 

[kirbydog48]

There's an awesome place in northern Vt. called the Tyler Place. You stay there a week, they have great kids' programs and lots of activities for the parents (they take the kids at dinner time so the parents can socialize!!). Biggest drawback is the cost, but everything is included, and the food is amazing. It's also about an hour from Montreal, so that could be a daytrip (need passports). You could visit the Ben and Jerry's Factory on the way. There's also some nice places in Stowe Vt. New Hampshire is also nice. We've stayed in the Loon Mountain area several times and there's tons to do, hiking, etc. Maine is beautiful in August. We've gone to Acadia National Park several times. There are several mountains for hiking, there's a beach (brrrrrr!), a nice lake for swimming, lots of reasonable accomodations. IT is a bit of a drive, but once you're there it's great. Lots to explore. There's also the Cape I love the Welfleet area. You could take a ferry to Nantucket for a day (from Hyannis). Check out tripadvisor foums to get ideas.

 

[PatsMom]

If you enjoyed the White Mountain area of NH when you visited Storyland, right up the road from Storyland is Mt Attitash with the Alpine Slide and water slides. You can easily spend a full day there.

Just north of here is Santa's Village and Six Gun City. They are both nice. And there are hotels and camping both available nearby.

The Mt Washington Auto Road is a very interesting excursion and pretty reasonably priced.

 

[HeatherC]

If you like beaches, I'd suggest Block Island off the coast of RI. It kind of flies under the radar here in Mass because of the Vineyard and Nantucket. It is an hour and a half to the ferry from central Mass and then either a 1 hour or half hour ferry ride (high speed.)

You can bike the entire island in an afternoon. It has gorgeous beaches, two light houses, little shops.
It's called the "Bermuda of the North".

Stowe, VT is also beautiful. We also love coastal Maine.

Another beautiful spot is the North Fork of Long Island. It has beautiful wineries, farms, gorgeous beaches, etc.. You can take the ferry (with your car) from New London and be there quite fast.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Martha's Vineyard! Lovely!

 

[DisneyKT]

If you enjoyed the White Mountain area of NH when you visited Storyland, right up the road from Storyland is Mt Attitash with the Alpine Slide and water slides. You can easily spend a full day there.

Just north of here is Santa's Village and Six Gun City. They are both nice. And there are hotels and camping both available nearby.

The Mt Washington Auto Road is a very interesting excursion and pretty reasonably priced.

I second all of those also.

I love NH. So many great trails to visit. My kids also enjoy Santa's village.
Mt. Washington Auto Road is fun but don't look over the side. LOL.

I like Block Island also for a laid back type of outing. Boston is great for the kids. Lots to see and do. The Museums, Duck Tours, Aquarium. All sorts of things. Have Fun.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Musikfest in Bethlehem PA during August is always a whole lot of fun and while you are here you could visit Dorney Park, about 20 minutes away from Bethlehem's historic district. If you didn't have little kids I'd suggest the new Sands Casino, which is within walking distance from Musikfest, but unless you are traveling with friends you'd be stuck. If you wanted to do so you could also make your way to Hershey PA for the day because it's only about 1 1/2 hours further West. On your way back home you could always swing through Newark and see the Liberty Science Center or through NYC and check out The American Museum of Natural History.

 

[npmommie]

vermont is fun, you could go to Ben and Jerrys, the Vermont Teddy Bear factory, and also the Hero Islands are beautiful, we stayed at a resort there and it was sooooo nice, very relaxing,
then Burlington is not far and is also fun, there is an Aquarium there, and you could also pop over the border to Montreal

another fun trip we have done in the summer is Lake Placid, lots to do, the kids loved it. I would go there again. There is a quirky park called Santas Land or something like that, its in North Pole NY........

Maine is always fun, York Beach, Ogunquit........
Rhode Island, Block Island is beautiful, we have only day tripped out there, we biked the whole island, very nice..........
Narragansett RI is fun, nice beaches.
Newport gets very crowded in summer, but its fun.

we have also stayed up on the North Shore in Gloucester, by Good Harbor Beach,beautiful spot, and you are right down the road from Rockport.

some more ideas out of new england
New Jersey, Point Pleasant beach is a fun beach town, kid friendly and clean, and its within your driving distance.
if you go further down, Cape May is another favorite spot of ours

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Come down to RI!

If you come during baseball season, I think your 9 yo would love McCoy Stadium. Excellent seats, decent prices, and it's ranked as the top Minor League Stadium in the U.S.

Roger Williams Zoo is okay; I prefer Southwick's in MA.

Newport is fun, but pricey.

Narragansett has beautiful beaches.

Not much noteworthy where I'm from (Warwick), but Providence has a Children's Museum that's very nice and cute. There's lots of crafty places for your 8 yo (BeadWorks on Thayer Street in Providence is wonderful; I've made several pieces of jewlery there). Check out the RISD art museum too.

Perhaps Slater Mill in Pawtucket? That's also fun.

 

[dizluvah]

Not sure if your family likes baseball - but we like going to Baseball Hall of Fame in the summer in Cooperstown, NY - we live in NH and do a long weekend trip. Just be sure to avoid induction weekend - it will be packed all area hotels/B&Bs will be booked