Hotter summers have travelers ditching popular destinations for a 'coolcation'

USA Today

23-07-2025

Summer vacations are as American as apple pie, baseball and Fourth of July fireworks. The classic version usually involves a road trip to someplace warm and sandy. Boardwalks, roller coasters and campfires are nice touches, and copious amounts of seasonal snacks are standard.
But the quintessential summer vacation is changing, according to Rose Gray, business relationship director for vacation sales at Oshkosh, Wis.-based Fox World Travel. "Destinations that were frequently requested for traditional summer vacations are no longer at the top of travelers' lists thanks to rising temperatures, over-tourism and extreme fire seasons,' Gray says.
Enter the 'coolcation.'
'In addition to seeking more pleasant temperatures, travelers are looking for destinations with fewer crowds,' Gray says. 'By choosing less-popular tourist spots with … slightly cooler temperatures, vacationers looking for a 'coolcation' are discovering remote locations with unique activities.'The mercury doesn't lie: Last summer, 180 cities in the Northern Hemisphere had at least one dangerous extreme heat wave, according to Climate Central, which says extreme heat waves in these cities are, on average, 21 times more likely than they were 30 years ago.
'Summers in the United States have warmed in general, but it's the West, South and Northeast that are warming the fastest,' says Jonathan Erdman, senior digital meteorologist at Weather.com. 'To put that into context: If your kids are off school in the summer and you're planning to take that big family trip, you have to think carefully about where you want to go. Do you really want to go to the Gulf Coast, for example, where the humidity is off the charts in July and August, and where you're dealing with throngs of people who had the same idea that you did?'
If the typical summer vacation is a sweaty cocktail of UV rays and body heat, then the coolcation is a comfortable tonic of invigorating adventure, refreshing respite and easy escapism. Here are a handful of cooler-weather locales where you can try one of your own.
Western North Carolina
When he lived in the Northeast, Neal K. Shah took annual family beach vacations to places like North Fork, N.Y., and Point Pleasant, N.J. When he moved to the Research Triangle Park area of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., he likewise relocated his summer holiday to Wrightsville Beach, N.C.
Last year, however, the family decided to ditch the beach altogether.
'Last July was nuts — 105-plus degrees in Durham,' says Shah, CEO of elder care company CareYaya Health Technologies and cofounder of Counterforce Health, an AI startup that helps patients appeal denied health insurance claims. 'It was too hot to do family activities outside, so we found a random cabin up near Mount Mitchell. It was 20 degrees cooler up there. Now we're mountain people.'
The highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains, Mount Mitchell is approximately 35 miles from Asheville, N.C., another Shah family favorite.
'Asheville proper stays, like, 15 degrees cooler than Raleigh-Durham,' says Shah, whose favorite spots to enjoy a cool summer breeze include Craggy Gardens, a popular hiking destination on the Blue Ridge Parkway that's known for its colorful wildflowers, and the historic Grove Park Inn, whose terrace offers spectacular views at sunset.
Yet another hot — or rather, cool — spot in the region is Jackson County, N.C. Check out Whitewater Falls, the highest waterfall east of the Rockies; go swimming at Sliding Rock in Cashiers, where a natural rockslide leads to a pool of cool mountain water; rent a pontoon boat to explore the islands and coves around Lake Glenville, the highest lake east of the Mississippi River or travel the Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail to witness the underwater species that inhabit western North Carolina's scenic rivers and streams.
Northern Michigan
Although her home base of Chicago is best known for cold, blustery winters, its hot and humid summers can be equally extreme, says Janice Moskoff, author of the travel blog GatherandGoTravel.com. For that reason, she escapes at every opportunity to places such as northern Michigan. One of her favorite destinations is Traverse City, Mich., where the average high temperature in July is 81 degrees.
On Lake Michigan beaches, 'Many west-facing dune-lined beaches look and sound like the ocean. And the water is refreshingly chill given its northern location, making it a perfect way to cool off on the sunniest July or August day,' Moskoff says.
Take a break from the beach and visit the locally owned wineries that constitute the Traverse Wine Coast — for example, Gilchrist Farm, which is known for sustainable viticulture and farm-to-table cuisine, and Chateau Grand Traverse, a family-owned winery celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Cherry picking at the many local orchards also is a favorite pastime, as are camping, hiking and paddling at picture-perfect Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Elsewhere in Northern Michigan, don't miss Mackinac Island and Marquette County. An exclusively pedestrian destination that's as mild as it is charming, the former offers parasailing, biking, horse-drawn carriage rides and oodles of world-famous fudge. Located in the Upper Peninsula on the southern shore of Lake Superior, the latter is packed with picturesque waterfalls, lighthouses, rivers and hiking trails.
New England
Plymouth, Mass., antiques dealer Molly Garcia grew up on nearby Cape Cod, where beaches, bonfires and clam bakes make for quintessential summers. Although the Cape is cool, it's also extremely crowded in summer, which is why Garcia and her family have started spending the season in New Hampshire's Mount Washington Valley.
'Originally, we would make a few trips up over winter, stay at the (Omni Mount Washington Resort & Spa) and ski at Bretton Woods,' says Garcia, owner of White Whale Antiques & Vintage Goods. 'We then decided to take a summer vacation (there) … and that's when we realized how much we loved the area year-round.'
Days can be warm at summer's peak, but evenings are 'cool' and 'magical,' according to Garcia, who says the valley's sky is filled with stars at night. She recommends tubing down the Saco River, swimming in the scenic waterfalls known as Diana's Baths, riding the Cog Railway to the peak of Mount Washington, visiting the Story Land theme park if you have young children or hiking at White Mountain National Forest, which is home to 48 4,000-foot mountains that adventurous climbers can try their hand at summiting.
Moskoff also loves New England and spent a recent summer vacationing in Vermont with her husband.
'I wanted to be in the mountains and the coolness of the northern woods at the height of its summer season. So, we opted for an utterly relaxing and lovely inn-to-inn hiking trip,' she says, recalling stops in Bridgewater, Woodstock, Chittenden, Middlebury and Burlington.
'The historic inns overflowed with character, the cuisine was local and excellent, and the trails — some of which allowed us to pick wild blueberries as we walked — were uncrowded,' she says.
Upstate New York
When he moved with his fiancée from Massachusetts to the Las Vegas area, journalist and psychologist Jamie Bichelman thought he might melt. So come summer, the couple beelines it back to the East Coast.
While Bichelman is partial to the Catskills region — it's 'extremely beautiful' and 'such an enjoyable drive' from New York City — an even better bet for coolcationers might be the Adirondack region further north. Birthplace of the word 'vacation,' which is said to have originated there when Gilded Age New Yorkers would 'vacate' for holidays upstate, the Adirondacks boast comfortable summer temps that average in the mid-70s.
Visitors will find 2,000 miles of shady hiking trails, 3,000 ponds and lakes with water originating from cool mountain peaks, 30,000 miles of fresh and often chilly rivers and streams and millions of acres of sun-filtering forests. Favorite activities include walking beside gorgeous Mirror Lake in Lake Placid; cruising Lake George with Lake George Steamboat Company; jumping from 'The Bluffs' into the swimming hole at Big Tupper Lake; camping and fishing on Lake Champlain; and riding the whimsical Adirondack Carousel in Saranac Lake.
The Rocky Mountains
Often times, the best direction to go for heat-weary travelers is up. That makes the Rocky Mountains an ideal destination.
Because they often fly under the radar in summer, ski towns that are crowded in winter can be especially attractive. In Snowmass, Colo., for example, temperatures average in the 70s during the day and dip into the 40s at night. Snowmass Village, near Aspen, is surrounded by 2.8 million acres of wilderness for hiking, biking, fly-fishing, horseback riding and more.
The ski resorts in nearby Summit County, Colo., likewise are full of outdoor adventure, including whitewater rafting, dog sledding through wildflower-filled meadows, gondola rides and zip-lining. Or try e-biking along the 9.3-mile Blue River Bikeway from Breckenridge to Frisco, which features stunning views of Colorado's Lake Dillon along the way.
Jackson, Wyo., is similarly cool and outdoorsy. Gateway to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, it's home to epic wildlife viewing and a culture-rich town square that's flush with art galleries, theaters, breweries, shops and restaurants.
Moskoff's favorite Rocky Mountain getaway is Montana's Glacier National Park, where chilly morning hikes are the norm even on the hottest days. 'I wanted to come to Glacier for its majestic scenery, outdoor experiences, and the chance to see and drive through the open spaces in Montana,' she says. 'It delivered and was gorgeous.'