Where to Long Weekend in the US This Summer

Two hours south of San Francisco, Carmel Valley, with its fine-dining and wineries, feels like a lower-key Napa. Spend the weekend visiting the Moto Talbott motorcycle museum, hiking Garland Ranch Regional Park, sipping wine by the pool at Bernardus Lodge and feasting at the their award-winning Lucia Restaurant & Bar where veggies come right from their garden.

Close to beach—it’s a short walk to family-friendly Aliso Beach—but also totally tucked away in the canyons, The Ranch at Laguna Beach strikes an ideal balance between enlivening and utterly relaxing. Venture out to explore the region’s seven-mile coastline and hundreds of galleries, or take advantage of the spa, saline pool and 9-hole golf course on site.

Satisfying both city and country cravings, Willows Lodge is perched on a verdant riverside in Woodinville, part of Western Washington wine country, while also being just a 20-minute drive from Seattle. Guests can even cycle into town if they so wish along the 26-mile paved Burke Gilman Trail. Other weekend activities include spa treatments, wine tours and golf.

With no sales tax, a slew of craft breweries and quite possibly the largest independent bookstore in the world (Powell’s Books), Portland is a no-brainer any weekend of the year. Inspired by Abigail Scott Duniway, a prominent women’s right advocate in Oregon, The Duniway Portland even stocks its rooms with Powell’s selection. Their rooftop oasis, Abigail’s Hideaway is the kick back and play a giant game of chess.

Ten minutes outside downtown Santa Fe, the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado is set on 57 acres in the Sangre de Cristo foothills. Their Southwestern-style casitas have indoor and outdoor fireplaces to cozy up by on cooler desert nights. During the day, hit up the pool, spa or adventure center—they offer a complimentary guided hike along the Camino Encantado Trail to give guests their bearings.

For the most nostalgic sort of family fun, there’s Stonewater Cove Resort in Missouri’s Ozarks. On the quiet side of Table Rock Lake, the resort is all-inclusive to make holidaying extra easy—that includes meals, parking, internet and on-site activities such as fishing, kayaking and bocce ball. Then there are the extra guided adventures you can book, including ATV rides, zip-lining, wake boarding and boating.

In Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains, Blackberry Farm whisks guests away from the chaos of urbanity and into the quiet rhythm of their operational farm. Go fly fishing, horse riding, clay shooting and canoeing, or read a book in a wicker rocking chair. Come dinnertime, you can count on the freshest fare.

In Lake Placid, New York, tucked into the six-million-acre Adirondack Park, The Whiteface Lodge is like summer camp for all ages. The area offers a long list of seasonal activities, and the property itself has a tennis court, basketball court, games room, movie theater and an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Whoever loses the canoe race on the lake, pays for everybody’s cones.

Sitting on a veranda basking in the sea breeze with a daiquiri in hand—this is the sort of New England summer Jackie O would have had. Rebuilt to its original 1898 Victorian styling, Rhode Island’s Ocean House is all turn of 20^th century charm. Special to summertime, they have an outdoor Veuve Clicquot champagne bar and beachside lobster boils.

At The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort on the coast of South Carolina, guests can work on their tennis serve, golf swing or tan. Sunbathing can be done from one’s own balcony—all the rooms have one—the pool or the beach. The activities for adults and kids are nearly endless, including arts programming, nature tours and surf lessons, so it’s impossible to get bored.