What is a good place for a summer vacation?

Where is a good place in the United States for a vacation in summer?

• hi, my granpa my dad and i are going on a vacation in the states in june. and we need a place to relax for the last couple of days but i have no idea where we could go. well it doesn't need to be a place next to the ocean but like some place where you would not get bored. oh and some place close to cleveland or like in the north west would be even better. thanks a lot!

• Answer:

  Are you coming from a different country? The northwest is a long, long way from Cleveland. Much further away from the U.K., but a little closer to Australia. It offers something that Cleveland doesn't, and something that may not exist in the world for very much longer -- glaciers. So, as enjoyable as Cleveland can be in the summer (to the surprise of many), you may not want to pass up a journey to the northwest if its available to you. http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/shrinking-glaciers.htm I'm not certain what you mean by relax and yet not be bored. I'm guessing by "relax," you mean not traveling a long distance and not having to do compulsory sight-seeing. Perhaps by relaxing and not being bored, you mean arriving at some place like a national park and just being engulfed by the surrounding beauty. Seattle would be the most convenient destination in the northwest. It is beautiful and entertaining in its own right. Importantly IMO, it is less than three hours drive time to three spectacular national parks. http://www.tripadvisor.in/Attractions-g60878-Activities-Seattle_Washington.html <<Of the public land in the continental United States, few compare with the diversity and beauty of Olympic National Park. I can think of no other place where it is possible to begin a hike on on an ocean beach, walk through several distinct ecosytems and finish on a moraine overlooking a glacier.>> http://www.photo-mark.com/articles/olympic/ http://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm John Muir, famed naturalist and spiritual father of the national park concept wrote this of the Mt. Ranier region: <<"…above the forests there is a zone of the loveliest flowers, fifty miles in circuit and nearly two miles wide, so closely planted and luxuriant that it seems as if Nature, glad to make an open space between woods so dense and ice so deep, were economizing the precious ground, and trying to see how many of her darlings she can get together in one mountain wreath, —daisies, anemones, geraniums, columbines, erythroniums, larkspurs, etc., among which we wade knee-deep and waist-deep, the bright corollas in myriads touching petal to petal. ">> http://www.rainiervisitorguide.com/rainier-history-1.html http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/index.htm North Cascades National Park is one of the newest and most wild of American national parks, but it also features some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the U.S. As they are glacier-fed, they are not seasonal like the famed falls of the Yosemite Valley. http://www.world-waterfalls.com/database.php?s=T&t=G&category=continent&search=North%20America&orderby=ratSce%20DESC http://www.nps.gov/noca/index.htm If you don't make it to the Northwest, Cleveland in June does offer opportunities to relax without being bored. Although Lake Erie may still be may be marginally cool for swimming in early June, it should be approaching 70 degrees F. by month-end. You could relax at Put-in-Bay, the Key West of the North Coast, enjoy one of the best beaches in America at Kelleys Island, or enjoy the thrills and shows of Cedar Point, ranked as the best amusement park in the world for a decade by Amusement Today magazine. http://www.lake-erie.com/ http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/laketemps/LakeTempsJun.php Another relaxing alternative near Cleveland is to explore Ohio Amish country and visit one of the legendary Hollywood haunts of the mid-20th century, preserved in time as if the legendary Hollywood stars who once frequented it were still expected for a summer vacation; if you time your visit well, you also could enjoy a barn dance! http://www.oacountry.com/ http://www.bookthink.com/0078/78brom1.htm http://www.malabarfarm.org/activities_content.cfm?coverpageid=2&storynbr=2 A good base of operations when visiting Ohio Amish country and Malabar Farm is Mohican State Park. Its cottages have an outdoor Olympic-sized pool. The park's resort, managed by the same firm that manages many of the great national park lodges, has an Olympic-sized indoor pool, but resort guests can use the outdoor pool. Resort rates normally are much lower on nights other than Friday and Saturday night. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/tabid/769/Default.aspx http://www.mohicanresort.com/activities-979.html https://www.mohicanresort.com/reservations/index.php?action=check&destination=OHMO Mohican State Park has one of the last seven forest watchtowers left in Ohio. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/19144/Default.aspx The Mohican River offers enjoyable and memorable family canoeing, other than in stormy weather when the river can become more formidable, and Loudonville may be that nice little town you would like to visit. http://www.loudonvillecanoe.com/ http://www.loudonville-mohican.com/activities-rec-canoeing.html http://www.loudonville-mohican.com/ The nearby Pleasant Hill Dam also is fascinating for those that haven't visited larger dams. http://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/Photos/index.cfm?id=12552&pge_prg_id=0&pge_id=0 http://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/_kd/go.cfm?destination=Page&Pge_ID=1235 Also nearby Mohican is the Mansfield Carousel District and the Richland County Carousel. http://www.carrouseldistrict.com/ The Richland County Carousel is the first new handcrafted carousel built in the U.S. since the 1930s. The carousel is open daily most days of the year. http://www.richlandcarrousel.com/ You also could explore the rich history of American professional football at its location of birth: http://www.profootballhof.com/