were going on a 10 or 12 day road trip on the east coast. were looking to stay in the same place for around 3 days at a time. were looking for hikes lakes and nice places where do you suggest to go
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Where are you coming from or starting from?

Northern New York State has a lot of lakes & hiking. The Lake Placid area is a good base with several accessible lakes and countless hiking trails ranging from rolling hills to steep mountain hikes.

Take the Blue Ridge Parkway--it's very scenic though the speed limit is 45 mph because of the mountains. https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/ https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

Try to hit the national parks in NC, VA and WV: Great Smoky Mt., Shenandoah and New River Gorge. Plenty of trails and lakes along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I don't think you will have enough time to see SC, KY, and TN.

were coming from nj with no particular destination

were coming from nj and just looking for the best places to go south.

General suggestions:

1. The Wilmington DE area has several gorgeous DuPont homes
2. Western Maryland's Deep Creek Lake
3. Washington DC has every thing
4. Blue Ridge Parkway
5. Asheville
6. Williamsburg and area
7. Eastern Shore of Maryland

Another vote for the Lake Placid(NY) area which offers miles and miles of beautiful hiking trails, mountains and lakes.

The point might be that they can go to northern NY for a short visit from NJ and want to explore places more southerly.

Blue Ridge Parkway offers these opportunities as others have said.

how long do you suggest staying in shenandoah and new river gorge for?

I think you should look up these and see what they offer. Blue Ridge Parkway. Shenandoah. New River Gorge.
See what overnight accomodations are available. For BRP I would suggest Little Switzerland as a place you could explore up and down the BRP from there.
You will need to do some spelunking on google to see what is available for your interests IMO
A stay in Asheville would be nice break from hiking--eating, going to Biltmore, etc.
YOu don't say "who" is going on this trip. Children? Seniors? Other ideas might come up for different ages.

im going with 5 guys 21 years old

We spent five nights in the New River Gorge area.

World class trails include the Endless Wall Trail and in Hawks Nest State Park the Cliffside Trail.

There are abandoned mining towns in the national park... you can explore at Nuttalburg.

Great eating to be done at Wanderlust and the 304 in Fayetteville.

Also great hiking at Harpers Ferry.

Mount Rogers is the tallest peak in Virginia and makes for great hiking. Does not look like the East Coast, more like what you'd see on Bonanza.

Asheville does seem to have a lot going on. thetricitiestribune.com/asheville-north-carolina/
The Biltmore gardens look like a blast. biltmore.com/visit/biltmore-estate/gardens-grounds/

Depending on the month of travel (not in the winter-time) you could go north... Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine have what you ask for.