Where to go...East coast for a month (reverse snowbird)

flguppie wrote:
We live in S. FL and want to escape the summer heat. We love history and would like to find somewhere to book by the month (cheaper that way) and sight-see out from there. We don’t mind a motel night out if the sight-seeing takes us a bit far too.

A few years ago we loved our summer near Williamsburg, VA. There was so much to see from there.... and a weekend trip to DC to boot.

We were thinking this summer to head to somewhere near Gettysburg or Lancaster and Amish country with a trip by car to Philadelphia one weekend.

So.... Where would be the best places to stay for a month in that area and what things to see, etc.

And is this the best plan? Is there somewhere else we should be looking at?

Having lived and traveled all through the East Coast I'd Suggest either closer - Lake Toxaway/Cashiers area (RT 64 in the mountains, cooler) biggest issue is you might just need to get a place here every summer, it's that nice!

Rehoboth Beach area, water - good food - beach - we still get everyone together there for two weeks for the last 40 years.

Upstate NY, Finger Lakes - or up by Lake Placid - just a beautifully amazing area, with lots of History and great people.

Summer in the rest of the East is just Hot and Muggy - that's why we love Colorado.

JMHO,

Wow, great suggestions!. Some great new areas to research. Keep these great ideas coming. Thanks.

Hey Soren, what camping places would you recommend in the Lancaster area?

I think Harley-Davidson has a plant near Lancaster. New Holland farm equipment has a plant, well, in New Holland. Don't pass up Shady Maple Restaurant. Cabelas nearby as well.

The further north you go the better. Think Maine or the Maritimes. The other option is altitude. Along the Blue Ridge, the higher the better.

Love Gettysburg but beware it can be extremely hot there in the summer. There are a lot of small museums in the area, ghost tours and you can take a horseback ride through the battlefields. Gettysburg and Lancaster are only about 1.25 hours apart so it's not a bad place to start.

My location should give a bit of a hint about my answer. We spent two decades camping in Lancaster County and last year we moved there, and still love every minute of it. The PA. Grand Canyon and the whole "northern Tier" area (defined as the counties touching the NYS border, Bradford, Tioga, Potter,etc) is a great place to stay. There is plenty to do, and even more if you jump the border to Corning, and the finger lakes, but be cautioned that specific destinations can be really spread out. I have a long history of extended family, childhood experiences and time at the family hunting camp there. Nothing to put 2-300 miles on the clock, while tooling around the northern tier for a long weekend. Have a great time, wherever you decide to land this summer.

If you want to head a little further north, Cape May New Jersey would be my recommendation. And it gives you the option of taking the ferry over from Delaware, but it can get pricey when you’re towing a trailer.

Lancaster area is a really nice area.... I stayed in Kinzers, Roamers Retreat
Very nice, out of the main hub of Lancaster, but close enough to a grocery store and great trips out to see the area. I, too, try to head to the No. GA mountains to escape the heat of the summer.

Williamsburg is a great start.... If you want to stay near Lancaster, we stay at Spring Gulch and enjoy it.. From there you are roughly 1-1/2 hrs from Philadelphia, perhaps 45 minutes from Hershey, 45 - 60 minutes from Gettysburg, maybe 1-1/2 hrs from Baltimore’s Inner harbor..