Where to go in USA in August
 

I am a big fan of USA (I am a Brit) and would love to visit USA again this year. Due to school holidays the trip would have to be in the 2nd half of August. Where would you suggest to go with my wife and sons aged 16 and 13 this August. I was thinking KY and TN but will it be too hot?

Alistair

What do you want to do on your vacation? Museums, sports, camping?

We want to drink in US culture. Maybe see some sports eg football, cojntryside. We normally stay in hotels.

Perhaps you can tell us where in the US you have visited previously? How long of a vacation are you think of?

P.S. American football season starts in September. Summer sports = baseball.

I would plan on 2 to 3 weeks flying from Birmingham, England to USA via Newark, NJ. We have so far been to: NYC for 4 hours, San Francisco, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Grand Canyon, AZ, Orlando, FL.

Well, August on the East Coast and Southern States tends to be very hot and humid. Any place in the mountains will be cooler or West Coast will be cooler.

If you enjoy national parks August is a good time to travel in and around the Rockies. A possible itinerary strong on Americana would take you from Denver up to South Dakota (visit Denver, Rocky Mountains NP, Mount Rushmore, Badlands NP), then west to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP (via Cody, Wyoming), back south to Salt Lake City, from there you could visit some of the Utah national parks (Capitol Reef, Arches etc...), before returning to Denver, perhaps via Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP.

Brilliant advice jpl88. Thank you.

Or another thought Alistair, you might look into visiting the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Oregon, Washington and perhaps even up to British Columbia. Cooler weather normally than a lot of the US and lovely relaxed people and lots of beautiful scenic areas.

Have you spent time in San Francisco? Weather is usually great the last half of August!

Summer in New England is also great. Lots of beach resorts (from Cape Cod up to Maine) as well as parks and small towns inland. Also Boston for something besides just natural beauty - great history and culture.

The only things to be avoided are the deep south and the southwest - since the weather will be incredibly hot (from high 90s and humid in FL to over a hundred in the SW).

Sorry - wherever you go August is our school vacations s well - so you will need to make reservations far in advance - esp for National Parks - which sell out in the summer.

I vote for the Pacific NW as well - Seattle, Portland, perhaps Vancouver Canada? So much to do, beautiful time of year to be there. I also echo nytraveler's suggestion to make reservations in advance. August is busy here too.

I would say NYC and/or Boston. There is always pleanty to do in NYC and there should be something to make everyone happy. Boston is smaller and more manageable and still has great museums, restaurants, history, with some great beaches and other day trips nearby. Both cities have great baseball teams and stadiums. It's only about a 4hr drive beteen the 2, so you could conceivably do both. Summers can be hot and humid, but the real oppresive heat and humidity rarely last for more than 3 days staright unlike other parts of the country. I live in the Boston area and have spent plenty of time in NYC.

Come to the Northwest! August is beautiful here. You can fly directly from Newark airport to Seattle on Alaska Airlines. visit Seattle, Portland, Vancouver BC in Canada, plus some beautiful national parks (Rainier and Olympic). You probably have time to include Montana and Glacier National Park.

And nytraveler is correct that the national parks usually book up long ahead----but not this year. I have been looking at Glacier National Park in August (3rd week) and found lots of rooms available---at every hotel in the park.

It's a long haul from England but Alaska is also a possibility. There is no where like it in the world and everyone ought to see it at lease once.

In 3 weeks, I'd spend ten days on the Kenai Peninsula (Homer, Seward, Valdez); a few days Central AK (Denali, Talkeetna); and, if money was not a huge issue, fly to Kodiak Island for 3-4 days).

I'm not a big fan of the Anchorage area (local motto: Only 30 minutes from Alaska) but I know many folks enjoy a visit there as well. For me, Anchorage is only a place to pass through on the way to somewhere else.