New England/Mid Atlantic spring break for an outdoorsy family ideas?

March 12, 2012 8:04 AM

I need ideas for a New England/Mid Atlantic spring break trip. Would like to go to rent a house on or near a wild beach...

Special Snowflake Details:
We have a week of vacation in mid-April and no idea what to do with it. In the summer we like to go camping, rockhounding, tidepooling, and hiking in Maine and New Hampshire. In the winter we like to ski. April is shoulder season -- too late to ski but too early to hike in NH. We are not city people so going to Boston or NYC for a week is unappealing. We have two boys (11 & 7).

We would enjoy renting a house and taking long walks on the beach... as long as the beach was pretty wild (not big on the Atlantic-city-style boardwalk beach, prefer the wildness of Assateague NP.). We are open to other outdoorsy suggestions.

We would prefer to stay within a 6-7 hour drive radius of central CT.

Any ideas?

posted by LittleMy to travel & transportation (7 answers total)

A little farther away, but Duck, Nags Head and the Carolina beaches fit the bill. My kids loved driving over the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel too.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:13 AM on March 12, 2012

Come up to Gloucester, MA! We have SO MANY BEACHES, and a lot of great interior hiking in stuff like Dogtown and Ravenswood. We don't have any boardwalks, just lots and lots of beach that will be nearly empty in April.

There's more info here or here. Husband and I run a bike repair/rental business, DM me if you want any other info about Gloucester. There's also great day trips to other places nearby.
posted by kpht at 8:37 AM on March 12, 2012

Little Compton, RI, has some of the rockiest damn beaches south of Maine, and is an easy "commute" from central CT. I haven't been there in years (omg 10??) but when I was there, it was basically a farming and fishing community with few touristy things. There were cottages to rent and a few little restaurants and stuff, but they tend to stop serving dinner at around 6:15. On the other hand, you can get a cup of coffee pretty much anywhere at 5 am. We were there in summer, so I don't know what all there is on offer in early spring.
posted by scratch at 9:13 AM on March 12, 2012

I really like Cape Cod that time of year; it's MUCH less touristy in the spring, cottages are comparatively inexpensive, and it's fun to have an entire beach to yourself. The national seashore is just lovely.
posted by tchemgrrl at 9:36 AM on March 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Martha's Vineyard. Your kids might love having to take a ferry. There are awesome beaches and lots of other stuff to see or do. There are some amazing land trust properties with trails. It does not have a single McDonalds/Burger King/Pizza Hut/etc.
posted by mareli at 9:43 AM on March 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh: Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket definitely. So lovely, pre-season!
posted by henry scobie at 10:15 AM on March 12, 2012

The water will still be freezing but Popham Beach and Reid State Park in Maine are pretty darn wild. Last time I was in the water in Popham I felt like I was in Alaska. Probably find an offseason rate on a hotel or cottage too.
posted by WickedPissah at 3:15 PM on March 12, 2012