Ho-hum. Another summer vacation.
You’ve seen Washington, D.C.–three times. The Great Smoky Mountains? Been there, done that. You’ve soaked up history at Williamsburg, Va., explored expansive parks out West and taken in shows at Branson, Mo.
Bored with America The Beautiful? Don’t give up just yet. We’ve uncovered five destinations that just beg to be visited. Several are less-congested alternatives to perennial favorites such as Washington, D.C., or Yellowstone National Park. Others offer travelers a chance to try their luck in a casino or on a golf course. All attract visitors with a combination of scenic beauty, historic significance and entertaining diversions.
You can stroll the shady streets of historic Cape May, N.J., gamble to your heart’s content in the quaint Colorado mountain mining town of Cripple Creek, or gaze out over wildflower-covered Appalachian vistas in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park near Middlesboro, Ky.
If you’ve got your heart set on a beach getaway but you’ve already unfurled your beach towels up and down Florida’s coastline, consider Myrtle Beach, S.C., the hottest town on the Atlantic Seaboard.
California bound? If you’ve visited San Francisco and Los Angeles, why not check out San Diego? The city offers loads of culture and recreation mixed with a laid-back, southern-California attitude.
From sea to shining sea, here’s a look at what these five destinations hold for summertime–or anytime–vacationers.
Cumberland Gap National Historic Park
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which encompasses about 520,000 acres of Appalachian highlands along the North Carolina-Tennessee border, attracts more visitors than any other national park–about 8.6 million in 1994.
But you can avoid the masses and enjoy similar mountain vistas by simply pointing the family car farther north–to the convergence of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. There lies Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, which attracted about 950,000 people in 1994.
The 20,000-acre park was established in 1940 to memorialize the gap made famous by frontiersman Daniel Boone. A natural passage through the mountains, the gap had been used for centuries by Native Americans. Boone found the passage through the Alleghenies in 1769. He returned in 1775 with 30 axmen to mark the “Wilderness Road,” which became the main artery for pioneers migrating west. Today, U.S. Highway 25-E runs through the famous notch.
The Pinnacle Mountain Overlook, 2,440 feet above sea level, has a spectacular view of the historic notch in the mountain far below. You can reach the overlook on an easy 4-mile scenic drive from the visitors center, on U.S. Highway 25-E just southeast of Middlesboro, Ky.
One not-to-be-missed highlight of a visit to the park is Hensley’s Settlement, a restored mountaintop village that straddles the hilly Kentucky-Virginia border. Among the 28 buildings are cabins crafted from hand-hewn logs.
The park operates free van service to the settlement from the visitors center. Check with the park ranger when you arrive about the next available trip, which takes three hours each way. If you prefer a hike, there is a moderately difficult 4-mile trail to the settlement.
You’ll find more elbow room here than at more popular parks. Campsites cost $8 a night; electrical hookups aren’t available. For park information, contact: Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, Box 1848, Middlesboro, Ky. 40965; 606-248-5766.
If campfire cooking and tents aren’t your idea of a vacation, you can base your trip in nearby Middlesboro or Cumberland Gap. For information on lodging in Kentucky’s eastern highlands, call the state’s visitors bureau at 800-225-8747.
Nearby attractions include Daniel Boone National Forest (606-745-3100), where visitors can try their hand at fishing, biking or white-water rafting; tours of the 1,300-acre Henderson Settlement in Frakes include the greenhouse, orchards and vegetable gardens (606-337-3613).
Cripple Creek, Colo.
If you’ve got casino fever but the summer heat and glitz of Vegas don’t appeal to you, try cooling your heels in the rustic Colorado mountain mining town of Cripple Creek, which has a slew of limited-stakes gaming casinos.
You won’t have to look very far to see cowboys, miners or casinos in the little town, nestled in the Rocky Mountains west of Colorado Springs.
Twenty-six small casinos are housed in Victorian-style buildings along Bennett Avenue, a National Historic District. Visitors can try video poker, slots and keno.
If you need to give your poker face a break, the town’s history and scenery offer plenty of diversions.
Cripple Creek’s boom days began in 1891, when cowboy Bob Womack discovered gold. Within 10 years Cripple Creek was home to 28 millionaires and 91 lawyers, and boasted 70 saloons and gambling houses.
For an overview of Cripple Creek’s attractions, you might start by climbing aboard the Cripple Creek-Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad, one of the few steam locomotives still running on the narrow tracks used in mountainous mining country.
The train chugs along on a 4-mile route through what were the famed Cripple Creek-Victor mining areas. The depot is at the east end of town on State Road 67. Call 719-689-2640 for schedule and ticket information.
For the next stop on your Cripple Creek tour, consider a visit to the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, where gold glitters on the mine shaft walls as you descend 1,000 feet underground. During a 45-minute tour, visitors see how the gold mine operated in the 1800s. The mine is just east of Cripple Creek on S.R. 67. For mine tour reservations, call 719-689-2465.
Once the town’s shining jewel during the rough-and-tumble gold camp era, the Imperial Hotel & Casino on 3rd Street is Cripple Creek’s oldest building. Built in 1896, the hotel has been restored to its original Victorian decor. Rates start at $40, double occupancy, for a room with shared bath (from $65 for a room with private bath).
Visitors can glimpse the town’s bawdy past at the Old Homestead Parlour House Museum on Meyers Avenue (the old red-light district). The renovated brothel was run by a madam named Pearl DeVere. The home contains authentic beds and bedding, photographs and the original viewing room, where the women would sit while the men looked them over.
Finding room for all the visitors to sleep is sometimes a problem in the small town, said Bill Buckhanan, marketing director for the Cripple Creek Chamber of Commerce.
Quite a few tourists stay in nearby Colorado Springs, which is a scenic 45-minute drive east. Contact the Colorado Springs Visitors Bureau (800-368-4748) for information on accommodations.
“Don’t forget temperatures often don’t top 65 degrees, even in the summer, so bring a jacket,” said Buckhanan.
For more information about visiting Cripple Creek, contact: Cripple Creek Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 650, Cripple Creek, Colo. 80813; 719-689-2169 or 800-526-8777.
Nearby attractions also include Manitou Cliff Dwelling Museum, Manitou Springs (between Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek), where tourists can explore dwellings built by the Anasazi Indians around 1100 A.D. For information, call 719-685-5242. The Pikes Peak Highway leads 14,110 feet up to the famous summit north of Cripple Creek, where visitors can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view atop Pikes Peak. For information, call the Pikes Peak Highway information line at 719-684-9383.
Cape May, N.J.
History buffs who already have walked the historic streets of Washington, D.C., and Williamsburg, Va., might want to stroll along the shady avenues of Cape May.
Cape May, the resort town at the southernmost tip of New Jersey’s shoreline, was the place to be around the turn-of-the-century. Coal barons and bankers built extravagant seaside retreats, President Benjamin Harrison summered here, and John Philip Sousa played here.
Because more than 600 of the town’s Victorian-style buildings qualify for the National Register of Historic places, the government gave landmark status to the entire 2.2-square-mile downtown.
Today the town is gaining a reputation as a delightful retreat for its blend of history, architecture and wildlife. And there is much to do in Cape May, whether you are a beach person, birder or Victorian buff.
Visitors can spend days lolling at the beach and nights wandering streets lit by the warm glow of old-fashioned gas lamps.
The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, the town’s active preservation society, offers a number of city tours. Call the arts society (609-884-5404) for a schedule.
Cape May is a popular destination for birders, especially during spring and fall migration periods. The Cape May Bird Observatory holds regular walks and workshops. The Cape May Birding Hotline is updated Thursdays throughout the year. Birders may call 609-884-2626 for details on the best places and times of year to see certain birds.
Cape May streets are lined with a variety of shops, and visitors can save some money on a new outfit–there’s no state sales tax on clothing.
Diversions for youngsters are plentiful, said Kate Weber, spokeswoman for the Greater Cape May Chamber of Commerce. Families can rent bicycles or take a trolley tour through town. The 1-mile walk to the old lighthouse, at the end of Beach Drive west of downtown, also is a favorite–children probably will sleep well after climbing the 218 steps to its observation gallery.
Many don’t consider a visit to Cape May complete without a stay at a bed-and-breakfast inn graced with a wide veranda and gingerbread trim. If your budget doesn’t allow an extended stay in a B&B, you might reserve a room in one of Cape May’s budget chain motels for a few nights, then end your visit with a stay of one or two nights in a B&B near the beach or downtown, said Weber.
When you get to town, stop at the Cape May Welcome Center, Lafayette and Bank Streets, to pick up a schedule of the week’s events. The chamber will send you information on attractions, dining and accommodations; call 609-884-5508.
Nearby sites include Wheaton Village in Millville (800-998-4552), where the glass-making history of South Jersey in the late 1800s comes to life with a working factory that offers demonstrations, a museum, shops and a train ride. Bridgeton, with some 2,200 Federalist, Colonial and Victorian buildings, has New Jersey’s largest historic district (609-455-1312). Also in Bridgeton is the 1,100-acre Cohanzick Zoo (609-455-3230).
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
If you haven’t heard of Myrtle Beach, you’ve had your head in the sand.
Myrtle Beach, the anchor of a 60-mile coastal strip called the Grand Strand, was second only to Walt Disney World in 1994 as the most popular spot for travelers who drove to their vacation destination, according to the American Automobile Association.
“If you’ve not been here in five years, you’d better brace yourself,” said Doug Bell, public relations director for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
In that time, huge country music emporiums and golf courses have popped up like popcorn. Vacationers have 80 golf courses and eight music venues, headlined by entertainers such as Alabama and the Gatlin Brothers, from which to choose.
The growth explosion continues this summer with Broadway at the Beach, an entertainment complex set to open July 4. It will include shopping, shows and restaurants.
Commercial development in Myrtle Beach, about 95 miles north of Charleston, S.C., has garnered much of the tourism spotlight, but nature lovers will find plenty to see and do in Myrtle Beach and Huntington Beach State Parks.
Myrtle Beach State Park includes about 100 acres of one of the last maritime forests along the Strand. There are 350 campsites and five furnished cabins that can accommodate up to six people. Ask a park ranger to point out the town’s namesake myrtle, an evergreen shrub with small, dark leaves and scented white flowers.
Travelers also can pitch a tent or park their camper at Huntington Beach State Park, 15 miles south of Myrtle Beach. Huntington Beach is a 2,500-acre park of salt marshes and tidal creeks, with boardwalks for fishing or catching crabs.
For information on reserving a site or summer nature programs, call Huntington Beach State Park at 803-237-4440 or Myrtle Beach State Park at 803-238-5325.
There are some 7,000 campsites in public or private parks along the Strand, from sunny sites along the beach to cool shady spots in the woods. For a free copy of the “Family Campground Guide,” contact the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, 800-356-3016 or 803-626-7444.
Fishing is wildly popular along the Grand Strand; its shoreline is spiked with old-fashioned wood boardwalks jutting into the ocean. The South Carolina Marine Resources Division in Charleston, can help you maximize your fishing adventures. Call 803-795-6350 for copies of the division’s seasonal fishing guides and coastal maps.
More than a dozen beach towns and scores of other communities along the Grand Strand are packed with visitors during the summer, but hotel rooms aren’t hard to come by, said Bell. There are about 55,000 rooms in the area, and although you may not get an oceanfront room on a holiday weekend, you won’t be turned away, he said.
Travelers can call the Myrtle Beach area’s accommodations hot line, 800-356-3016, for assistance in planning a trip to the area. Other information sources include the Myrtle Beach Hospitality Association Reservation Service, 803-626-9668 or 800-626-7477, and the South Carolina Division of Tourism in Columbia, 800-872-3505 or 803-734-0122.
Though you probably won’t run out of things to do in Myrtle Beach, nearby attractions include the Rice Museum, on Front and Screven Streets in nearby Georgetown. The museum, inside the old Market Building, tells the story of the rice and indigo trades that were integral to the area’s plantation economy in the 1800s. For information, call the museum: 803-546-7423.
San Diego
If the must-have items on your vacation wish list include cultural events, ethnic celebrations and historic sites, consider packing your bags for San Diego in southern California. They’ll even throw in 70 miles of coastline.
San Diego’s most popular attractions are the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park and the bayfront, said Laurie Allison, national public relations manager for the San Diego Convention & Visitor Bureau.
“One thing that’s not well known about San Diego is the cultural arts we offer,” said Allison.
Balboa Park is one of the largest city parks in the country that has cultural and recreational facilities. The zoo is set amid a 100-acre tropical garden in Balboa Park. Also in the park is the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts, a collection of indoor and outdoor theaters.
During the summer months, the “Twilight in Balboa Park Summer Concerts” series offers an array of entertainment. Shows are held through Aug. 31 at 6:15 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Call the Balboa Park Visitor’s Center (619-239-0512) for concert information.
The streets of the city’s historic Gaslamp Quarter will be filled Sept. 8-10 with the funky strains of jazz, blues, reggae, rock and soul during San Diego Street Scene ’95, a food and music festival. The Gaslamp Quarter, which has a New Orleans French Quarter ambience, is one of the town’s many distinctive neighborhods.
Another neighborhood close to Balboa Park is trendy Hillcrest, where visitors can pass a few hours browsing through antiques stores or sipping cappuccino at a coffee shop.
If your vacation wish list also includes hunting down bargains, the San Diego Visitors Value Pack contains 108 money-saving offers that are valid through Dec. 30. Highlights include restaurant discounts and admission discounts to popular attractions such as Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. To receive a free Value Pack and other visitor information, contact: San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, Suite 1400, 401 B. St., San Diego, Calif. 92101-4237; 619-232-3101.
