8 Weekend Trips in New England for Summer Fun

Join the editors of Yankee magazine as we buckle in for adventure. We’ll take you to our favorite beaches, breathtaking mountain views, lobster shacks, and scenic hiking spots.

We really do have it all in New England. Where else can you enjoy a summer drive that takes in expansive ocean views, sandy beaches, rolling farmland, glacial streams, and the solitude of mountain peaks? Want to visit a 17th-century village? Head to Plimoth Plantation. Need to breathe some cool mountain air? Take a trip to the Green Mountains. Feeling like a fresh lobster roll for lunch or dinner at a vineyard? You can do that in Connecticut. New England day trips have something for everyone, and it’s all within a short drive. The eight Best Summer Drives we include here don’t cover many miles (the longest is 96 miles and the shortest is 23), but that’s on purpose. You don’t have to cover a lot of ground to cover a lot of adventure. These drives are hand-picked for the breathtaking scenery and history, and they allow for the best part of any road trip: easy detours for hiking, kayaking, antiquing, wandering a coastal village, or partaking of a classic New England cider doughnut! In fact, one such drive on our list takes you to a legendary seafood shack where, according to local lore, the very first fried clams were made in 1916. Explore centuries-old New England villages, visit art galleries, or just sit and enjoy the harbor on this Massachusetts trip.

If you prefer something on the quieter side, head to Maine for a 42-mile drive through some of the most undeveloped areas in the Northeast. Filled with colossal lakes, long rivers, countless ponds, and 4,000-foot peaks offer plenty of opportunity to park the car and enjoy the outdoors. Not to be outdone, Vermont is also home to astounding vistas and short hikes where you can take in the Adirondacks or reflect on the beauty of the 4,017-foot peak of Mount Abraham in the Green Mountains. This drive takes you from the mountains to a rolling tapestry of farmland and meadows, and to a rare double-barreled covered bridge. If you prefer the indoors, a drive in Connecticut can take you from the waters of Long Island Sound into the heart of the state, where you can walk the grounds and tour the 24-room medieval-style fortress of an actor who amassed a fortune for his talents at the turn of the last century. It may even be likely that the actor traveled by stagecoach to New Hampshire for a drive that is still popular today. Narrow and steep mountainous passes, called notches, cut sharply through walls of granite, including one 6-mile section of sinuous curves. This drive is nothing short of spectacular, but the view are even better if you have time for a short, steep hike to an exposed ledge that juts out over a cliff and offers stupendous views. From soaring summits to soft forest and bucolic farmland to hidden beaches, you can get the inside scoop on all eight summer drives in Best Summer Drives. Don’t miss out on the best photo stops, the most-painted lighthouse on the New England coast, the landlocked fjord, or the Victorian homes and gingerbread cottages this summer. Start planning your summer drives with our Yankee Dynamic Collection: Road Trips. Discover New England’s favorite day trips, hiking excursions, ocean views, and more all across New England. Map your route with these fantastic summer drives. Find out more in our Yankee Dynamic Collection: Road Trips! From the hidden gems of New England to late summer adventures, and from the lakes of Maine to the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire, you’ll discover what makes summer in New England so special. Our Yankee Dynamic Collection: Road Tripstakes you across New England to explore the wonderful world that we call home. With your Yankee All-Access Charter Membership, you’ll have full access to everything in the Yankee Dynamic Collection: Road Trips, including:

• A drive along the water’s edge enjoying the idyllic scenery, where farmyards and fishing boats live and work side by side, in A Hidden Beauty: Exploring the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Farm Coast.
• The Road Less Traveled, where you can find out what happens when a travel writer gets completely, almost hopelessly lost in the deep woods of New Hampshire.
• 12 guided tours of some of New England’s most noteworthy locations and experiences, in Travel Like An Expert: Best Guided Day Trips.

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