voyager61

What's the best spot in New England for a Northwest family (14 yr.old son) to truly relax, but have activities/great dining close by? We like hiking, boating and historical sites. This would be for a trip in late June/early July. Thank you!

Jr44

would you be staying in one place? would you have a car? when you say boating - do you mean you would like to be by the ocean or will lakes do?

the more north you go in new england, the cooler it will be at that time of year. There is alot of hiking close to almost anywhere in New England. Historical sites are close by too. Maybe northeastern Massachusetts, so you'd be in driving distance to Boston, Salem, Lexington and Concord, and can also drive to NH and Maine.

voyager61

We want to combine a New England experience with either Washington, D.C. or New York City, but we would like to stay in one spot in New England for a relaxing week. Lakes are fine, as long as they aren't too "buggy" and have good dining available. Yes, we would have a car.

PhotoDad

Portland, Maine is a great city. Wonderful old buildings, great food (and beer), on the ocean, near Sebago Lake, near hiking etc. LL Bean is just 15 minutes north in Freeport, which you really ought to see. Brunswick is a cute little city with a few nice restaurants (try the Sea Dog Brewing Company), scenery, and friendly people.

Boston is a great place for historical stuff and there is good biking along the Charles River in Cambridge, but more of a city experience than Portland (it's easier to get out into the boonies from Portland). Boston is, however right between Portland and NYC, so while you're passing through...

Lake Champlain in Vermont offers tons of great adventures as well as good food (Burlington is a college town). The drive from Vermont, through western Massachusetts, into Upstate NY then down into the city is nice.

And then there's Cape Cod...

To me, the New England experiece must include seafood and ocean, but there are really two New Englands: coastal and western. Hard to hit them both (at least at a relaxing pace) in a week, but it could be fun to try!

Have fun,
Dan
familyroadtrippers.blogspot.com

lindsyb

Not sure if you will be flying/driving to NY or DC - but we are from New England and loved our trip to Bar Harbor and the Acadia Nat'l Park. Fabulous seafood, beautiful Nat'l Park with lots of activities (hiking, biking, carriage horse rides) and we also did a harbor cruise although there is whale watching as well.

dfrostnh

That's a tough one. I don't think there's a "best" spot. To truly relax, having a cottage on NH's Lake Winnipesaukee comes to mind. If you choose Wolfeboro you would be closest to the North Conway area. I think black flies should be done by late June but earlier they would make hiking in the woods/White Mountains a problem. For historical sites look at the Remick Museum in Tamworth, Castle in the Clouds, Canterbury Shaker Village to the south and Portsmouth's Strawbery Banke about an hour or so away. You will find great restaurants in Portsmouth. There's a military museum in Wolfeboro that we haven't visited. Wolfeboro is a lovely town. I would however, avoid anything in the Weirs Beach area as too crowded and congested with traffic although a 14 yo might like a visit to Funspot or the arcades at Weirs Beach. There are hundreds of hiking trails throughout the White Mountains. There is a real estate agency that handles private cottage rentals. Lake Winnipesaukee is NH's largest lake. Popular for sailing. A day trip to Portland ME would also be easy. One of our favorite restaurants is the Homestead in Bristol NH. Very good, located in an old farmhouse but I wouldn't rate it as great. Good luck choosing a place!

Dreamer2

" hiking, boating and historical sites" screams Portsmouth, NH to me.

Hikes along Marginal Way or Odiorne Point, or Rye Beach, tons of harbor/coastline cruises, Coast Guard station, Strawberry Banke, etc.

Don't know about the "hiking," but Newport, RI would also give you two of the above, and warmer beaches.

zootsi

First, you'll need to decide if you want seacoast or mountains. For seacoast, you can choose between Cape Cod, or the the extensive Maine/NH seacoast. If you want a more rural, mountain experience, then you can choose Vermont's Green Mountains, New Hampshire's White Mountains, or Massachusetts Berkshires. All things being equal, Vermont is probably the most rural, bucolic state, with a nice mix of farmland and forest. New Hampshire's Whites are a hikers dream - more rugged and scenic than the Greens or Berkshires. The Berkshires are a little more built up, with more dining and shopping options. ALL of New England offers lots of boating opportunities, with lakes, rivers, and saltwater bays.

LarryBee

I'll say Newport RI, as well. More history and boating than any other single town/city in N. England (with the possible exception of Boston). And hiking? Entire Cliff Walk is quite a hike, and one overlooked gem is the Norman Bird Sanctuary which has over 7 miles of hiking trails. Plus, as Dreamer2 said you have better chance for warmer water for beach going than you will have in NH or Maine.

tovarich

Jackson NH for mountains and lakes.
Bar Harbor;only Nationalpark in N.E.-whale watching. Paul

voyager61

Thank you for all the great ideas. I'm beginning to think we should try to extend the trip in length and hit one inland spot like Lake Champlain and a seacoast town like Newport, Bar Harbor or Portsmouth. We like to do cabin rentals when possible vs. hotels. Please provide any recommendations for cabin resorts, mid-range in price with charm and a nice setting (luxury amenities unnecessary), in these areas. Someplace with dining spots within walking distance or a few minutes drive would be ideal. Thank you again!

wyatt92

You won't find any cabins in Portsmouth or Newport. You'd have to do hotels or B&Bs in either of those locations. That being said, they are both fabulous vacation spots.

bm

If you end up on the Maine coast, we stay at either the Inn at Goose Rocks or the Cape Porpoise Motel, both in Kennebunkport. The Cape Porpoise is just across the road from Nunan's lobster shack - YUM.
For Vermont, I would suggest looking into the Basin Harbor Club. It's right on the lake.

zootsi

Most small accommodations in New England are small hotels and b&b's. For cabins on the Maine coast, Cabot Cove in Kennebunkport is very nice. You also might want to consider a farm b&b in Vermont. Harvey's Mountain View is very nice, although quite remote. Realize that if you stay near Lake Champlain, you won't be in the mountains. The Champlain Valley is Vermont's flat, farm country.

bm

Zootsi makes a good point about the Champlain Valley being flat.
That said, it's a short drive to a couple really easy hikes (Mt. Philo or Snake Mountain) and an hour or less to the Green Mts. and/or ADKs of NY.

PhotoDad

Almost forgot about the mouintains of western Maine. Rangely Lakes Region is fantastic for wilderness(ish) boating and hiking. Mooslookmeguntic lake, the Bigelow mountains, Saddleback Mountain.

And yes, Portsmouth NH is rich in history.

Shandy1977

I would recommend Lake Winnipesaukee in NH. An absolutely beautiful lake with no bugs that time of year. It is fed by springs so it stays clean fro great swimming, fishing, and so forth. There is some local hiking, or you can drive 45 minutes to the White Mountains and hike various larger mountains there. My favorite is going up Mt. Lafayette, the second tallest in NH, but that is an all day hike. There are also some great places to eat around the lake such as Sandy Point, The Camp, and The Boathouse. A lot of the places are more casual but they have great food.

I have always stayed in Gilford myself, and loved it. There are some places that rent Condos on the lake. One is called Samoset.

As for side trips to NYC or DC... that is tough. If you are flying you may be able to do it. By car... you are looking at a minimum of 5 hours to NYC and about 8 hours to DC. That is with little traffic. If there is traffic, which there typically is, it is much longer by car.

Shandy1977

One more side note...

Staying around Gilford you will only be a couple hours out of Boston. It would be very easy to have a good day trip into the city, which is one of the best in the country. Of course, I am biased having been born and raised in Boston, though. =)