I know some of the ski resorts are great for summer vacations - music festivals and the like - but which would be really nice for a whole week? We like to stay in walking distance of town, "hike" (not too too strenuous, but doesn't have to be a 'walk in the park' either!), poke around shops in town, eat in nice (not necessarily fancy, just good and definitely local) restaurants. We love markets (farmers', Xmas, street fairs, other) of all kinds. Could go anywhere in the US or Canada. By way of reference, we have been in Park City, Aspen and Banff in the winter, and liked all three -- Aspen being the best for restaurants and shopping, Park City for charm (old mining town-type charm) and Banff just for being in the spectacular Canadian Rockies.

You can always come back to the East Coast... IIRC you didn't really visit the Berkshires on your last trip, did you? You can stay in Lenox, lots of fun esp during the Tanglewood Festival in July/August. Tanglewood is not just classical music, it also has James Taylor and John Williams. http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/press_de...sp?id=40200024

PamSF has a really nice TR from this fall: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...berkshires.cfm

And the Berkshires isn't too far from the upper Hudson River Valley. The CIA restaurants are in Hyde Park, NY. http://www.ciachef.edu/restaurants/r...ons_system.asp

However, if it were me and $ is not an issue, I'd love to spend a week in Quebec City. I've only been there once in winter time. I felt like I were in France! Montreal is nice too but it has a bigger city feel.

You could return to Colorado. Aspen has an international recognized music festival in the summer. Breckenridge is more like Park City (only flat) as an old mining town. And again a number of on going summer activities. There is an extensive paved bike/hiking trail system that links the whole are from Keystone/Breckenridge to Vail via Frisco and Copper Mt. And there are some great day trips to Leadville, Glenwood Canyon and Springs.

For charm, I love the alpine architecture and abundance of flowers in Vail. It's also not far from Breckenridge, Leadville, Glenwood Springs.

I will toss SW Colorado into the mix. Durango is a great town, with lots of activities, shops, restaurants at reasonable prices. It is close to Mesa Verde National Park, a real treasure.

Another possibility is Telluride. It is a bit more upscale, smaller than Durango but is an amazing location.

San Juan Skyway ["Million Dollar Highway"]is a lovely drive that connects the towns.

I have LOTS of info on both [we have a home midpoint between the towns] and have also posted lots on here.

Check out this thread - http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...suggestion.cfm

Deb

Thanks all!

gabriele's suggestion of Vail is AWESOME~but it has been undergoing major contsruction in town.

Deb's suggestion of Durango is great, but her Telluride is better, though the hiking will probably be less strenuous in Durango.....All in all either is AWESOME. You will be in AWE in Telluride.

I like Boulder for markets on Saturday. I like Boulder anyway, but in the summer it is great for the farmers' market.

Park City is my second home and I recently did a road trip from there to Sun Valley, Idaho. What a lovely town Ketchum/Sun Valley is. Another option to consider....

I would pick Aspen as a base and explore from there. Be sure to "do" Indenpendence Pass.

We've skied Vail for more than 30 years and finally visited out of snow season for the first time this past August. We had the best time hiking and biking on the mountain and seeing the town with completely different eyes. Gabriele is right about the abundance of flowers! We took a day trip to Leadville one day and rode the old mining train up into the mountains. Another day, we drove to Piney River Ranch near Vail and went horseback riding. Just a great trip.

My husband goes flyfishing near Sun Valley every summer and absolutely loves the area. It's flyfishing 24/7, so he's never commented on hiking/biking/etc., but I'm sure there's lots to do.