Reader Questions: Summer 2025
Issue 16: Planning an Escape for August
Hi, hello! Today’s issue comes courtesy of friends seeking help with summer planning. My thoughts are below. I’d love to see your suggestions in the comments!
Q: I want to take a trip with my kids in early or mid-August. I’m looking for some cool nature activities for my third grader, some activities that would appeal to my middle-schooler, and some lying on the beach for me. I want to avoid long flights from home in DC. Where should we go?
Vacationing in and around Mount Desert Island, Maine would tick off a lot of the requirements above. MDI is home to Acadia National Park, one of my favorite places in the world. Acadia is relatively compact and great to explore with elementary and middle school kids (and fourth graders can bring their families to Acadia, or any other national parkland, for free!). I’d suggest flying less than two hours from DC to Bangor Airport and renting a car to drive the hour and 20 minutes from the airpot to MDI. A car is necessary to really do this part of Maine justice.
For this family that I love, I’d recommend taking a break at a hotel with family suites and a heated pool. The Claremont Hotel’s cottages on the quiet side of MDI look like a great option, as does Bar Harbor Inn. The Claremont has beach access, which may give it a slight edge here. A fun option might be to round out the hotel stay with a night or two of glamping, or fancy camping. We’ve stayed at the Under Canvas chain in Utah, and the company has an Acadia location. Terramor resort looks like another fantastic option. Other families might enjoy spreading out in a house rental like this one.
I’d suggest anchoring the days in Maine with an activity or outing. There is no shortage of things to do, and here are some of my favorites:
Biking the Carriage Roads: the Rockefeller family built 45 miles of carriage roads in Acadia that are open only to bikers, pedestrians, and horse-drawn carriages. You can rent bikes at several shops in Bar Harbor and bring your bikes on the Island Explorer bike shuttle that takes you right from town to the carriage roads in the park.
Hiking: We visited when our kids were 5 and 3 and walked the easy 4.4 mile Ocean Path Trail which hugs the coast of Maine and crosses Thunder Hole and Otter Point. If we headed back now, we would tackle the 1.5 mile Beehive Trail. Beehive is perhaps better described as a climb than a hike since parts of it require climbing exposed iron rungs and ladders.
Ocean Path Trail, 2019
Watching the Sunset on Cadillac Mountain: sunrise is still on my list, but we’ve managed to cross off sunset at the top of Cadillac every time we’ve visited. Look at the forecast for a clear night and bundle up, even if the day was warm. Note that vehicle reservations are now required to drive Cadillac Summit Road between mid-May and mid-October.
Swimming: Sand Beach or Echo Lake are the two most popular swimming spots within Acadia. Though the views are beautiful, Sand Beach can get crowded and the water is a bone-chilling 55 degrees even in the height of summer. We preferred swimming at clear and deep Echo Lake, and particularly loved jumping off the rocks on the side of the lake. Look for a few cars pulled over to the side of the road, or park at the lot for Acadia Mountain and walk across the street to the rocks.
Swimming in Echo Lake, 2019
Joining a Nature Cruise: getting on the water is one of the best ways to explore this part of Maine. We went on, and loved, Diver Ed’s kid-centered tour featuring sea creatures found in the harbor. For a tour with less kitsch, the Sea Princess scenic nature cruises look like a good option.
Diver Ed’s Antics with a Sea Cucumber, 2019
Q: We’re interested in an outdoors vacation but don’t want to go all in on camping. Any recommendations for glamping this summer?
I love the outdoors, but hate camping. So I’ve tried just about every alternative to be as close to nature as possible without sacrificing running water. As mentioned above, we spent a night at outdoor resort ULUM Moab last summer, with views across Canyonlands National Park. While it was gorgeous and had activities for kids, it was generally a little more suited to adults. One night felt like enough for us. Pairing it with the family-friendly Hyatt Moab Place, however, was perfect.
I’ve written before about my love for family camps, which are another way to spend time outdoors with kids. We visit Deer Valley in Pennsylvania for a long weekend nearly ever year, but there is similar programming offered by other YMCA camps throughout the country, including Silver Bay in New York and Camp Letts in Maryland.
Deer Valley, PA, 2019
Friends have also recommended Tyler Place in Vermont, which is perhaps the most luxury, but easiest, option (food, lodging, and nearly all activities are included). Families with young children particularly rave about the ability to take a real break at Tyler Place.
Q: Should we go to Paris with our 4-year-old this summer?
Why not? We spent two accidental days with our kids in Paris earlier this year, when our connecting flight home through France was cancelled, and had a fantastic time. Highlights included joining the family tour at the Louvre, playing tag at the Jardin des Tuileries, and walking along the Seine. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Paris, which had an incredible lounge with views of the Paris skyline and Eiffel Tower and was near several metro and bus stops. We walked into restaurants in the neighborhood with nary a tourist in site.
Paris, 2025
With more time and in the summer, we’d probably stick to two or three days in Paris and then hit the beach. I have yet to visit the seaside in France, but the Cote D’Azur and Antibes are both on my list for when I do. A road trip between the French Riviera and Nice might be the perfect way to accomplish that ambition.
