Destination Ideas

[cipher]

I'm starting to plan what I might do this summer and one thing I would like to accomplish is a photography road-trip (or two). I am pretty good for places to go here in Canada, but I am at a total loss as to where to head in the United States.

I'm looking for ideas of great photo locations in the Eastern US from the Canada/US border to about North Carolina and west to about Kentucky/Ohio.

My plan is to go to various places, take photos, visit other nearby attractions (I'm a huge history junkie, so Gettysburg is already on the list), and camp. Any suggestions as to where I should point the car are greatly appreciated.

[JDDriver]

I'd recommend Willamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown in Eastern Virginia, both for the history and some great photo opportunities. Planning one day for each location might be wise, although they're located within a few miles of each other. Fall may be the most pleasant time to visit the area (it can get hot and oppresively humid there during the summer), plus you have the Fall colors to enhace your pictures. The Shenandoah Valley is also really nice, with some interesting Civil War sites like New Market Battlefield. Central VA has plenty of other historical sites like Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and James Madison's Montpelier (the restoration work they've done on Montpelier is amazing). You also can't go wrong driving the Blue Ridge Parkway through VA and NC and checking out some of the overlooks and other attractions.

[Doug Sundseth]

DC is always worth a visit.

The Sharpsburg/Antietam battlefield is quite nice, especially if you're interested in ACW history. (Also true of the NE Virginia and Tidewater areas already mentioned.)

The sand islands of the DelMarVa peninsula and the North Carolina Coast can be interesting and Kitty Hawk, NC has a certain historical interest.

The USAF museum in Dayton OH (Wright-Patterson AFB) is one of the best collections of warbirds anywhere, and they have a fair amount of spacecraft as well.

The Hudson River Valley, including West Point is gorgeous at the right times of the year.

Western Maryland and West Virginia are quite pretty.

How much time did you have again?

[ravncat]

I'd add valley forge and the blue ridge parkway, there's just soo many places to go...

[dvtldav]

Around the Great Lakes photographing the lighthouses could take up a lot of the summer.

Dave

[mikoyan]

Originally Posted by dvtldav

Around the Great Lakes photographing the lighthouses could take up a lot of the summer.

Dave

Michigan alone has over 100 lighthouses.

If I were going to add to your list...Cumberland, MD is pretty nice. You might want to stop in Detroit, lots of nice old buildings. If you like ships, Detroit will work for that as well especially if you are going there in the middle of the summer. After Detroit, head up north to the Mackinac Bridge, Tahquamenon Falls, Soo Locks, Pictured Rocks, etc. I could say many more places but I'm sure you don't want to spend all your time in Michigan.

[dvtldav]

Originally Posted by mikoyan

Michigan alone has over 100 lighthouses.

And I would like to photograph every one of them.

Dave

[dakwegmo]

I would definitely recommend Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Also, if you like waterfalls, there are a lot of waterfalls in North Carolina.

[dlambert]

Awesome thread. I did a trip up through Mackinac Island and Michigan's UP a few years ago, hitting Sault Ste Marie, Whitefish Point, and Tahquamenon Falls. Great trip. If I were to do it again, I'd plan on some more time at Pictured Rocks and the Seney Wildlife Refuge (depending on the time of year, plan on some *serious* bug spray for the last one).

[RichardTaylor]

A couple of highlights frompart of a vacation to North America a couple of years a go.
Although I don't know how it would be in summer (we were there in september/october).

(1) Woodstoock, Vermont - A beautiful small town.

(2) Deerfield, Massachusetts - A big dose of history.

(3) The Berkshires (Massachusetts) including Norman Rockwell Museum & Gallery and the Hancock Shaker Village. - Small towns, sublime scenery and a very different lifestyle.

(4) Mystic Connecticut - Maritime history.

(5) Groton Connecticut - The sub base - A dose of technology and history.

(6) Newport Rhode Island - How the other half lived.

(7) Cape Cod Massachusetts - Including Sandwivch, Nantuckett - scenery and history.

(8) Plymouth Massachusetts - History

(9) The White Mountains, New Hampshire - Trains (Conway Scenic Railway) and beautiful scenery.

How much time do you have?