The best places to spend long, lazy summer weekends

You can squeeze a surprising amount of fun into just a few days, so make the most of your PTO this summer by filling your calendar with long-weekend getaways. Inspired by the 14 summer Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, we rounded up some of the best U.S. destinations for a quick weekend trip.

If there’s one thing we love about summer, it’s the variety it offers, from late nights on the beach to in-season fruits and seafood you’ll dream about year-round. Read on for where to go, no matter what your priorities may be—and what to do while you’re there.

Stroll along the three-mile boardwalk or spread out a blanket on one of the pristine white sand beaches of Virginia Beach, situated where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. This coastal community also offers plenty of activities to help balance out all that chill beach time, from thought-provoking museums like the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center to invigorating events like the East Coast Surfing Championships.

The red cliffs, pink-and-orange sunsets, grey-green sagebrush, and impossibly blue skies of southwest Utah—home of Zion National Park—make the perfect colorful backdrop for a long weekend spent outdoors. After an adventure-filled day of mountain biking, off-roading, horseback riding, or rock climbing, you can camp (or glamp!) under the stars in this certified dark-sky area.

Skip the brand-name stores and head to Hudson, NY to find the perfect piece of antique furniture, vintage clothing, or funky art you won’t find anywhere else. Cap off a day of curating your collection, aka shopping, with a cozy meal at one of Hudson’s many tasty restaurants, like the Travelers' Choice Award–winning Wm. Farmer and Sons or Feast & Floret.

Load up on snacks and pull onto Highway 1 for a relaxing road trip through Central California. On this picturesque coastal route, you’ll cruise through many charming small towns in San Luis Obispo County, including Cambria, Avila Beach, Los Osos, Baywood Park, and Oceano. Stop for a wine tasting in Edna Valley or Arroyo Grande Valley, marvel at elephant seals in San Simeon, and forage for seaweed in Cayucos—or scrap all those plans in favor of unwinding on the beach.

Home to drool-worthy restaurants like Commander’s Palace, Brennan’s, and Cochon, New Orleans will fulfill all your cravings. On breaks between meals, catch a ride on a historic streetcar. wander through Audubon Park, or float down the Mississippi on a paddle-wheel riverboat cruise.

Flamenco performances, art galleries, Southwestern jewelry, and museums make Albuquerque one of the best places to immerse yourself in a vibrant arts and culture scene. Check out the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, and Casa Flamenca to learn more about Albuquerque’s rich Spanish and Native American roots.

Delicate white-and-purple columbines, bold red paintbrushes, cheery sunflowers, dainty mountain bluebells, and vivid wild roses are just some of the wildflowers that adorn the mountain meadows of the Roaring Fork Valley every summer. You can take it all in during a trip to Aspen and neighboring Snowmass while hiking on routes like Hunter Creek Trail and Vista Trail.

Craving a hoppy IPA, a malty amber, or a refreshing lager (or, let’s be honest, a flight that includes all of the above)? Wet your whistle at one of the many tasty craft breweries that helped earn ultra-walkable Burlington, VT, its “Beerlington” nickname, then take in the views of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain while strolling along the greenway bike path.

You don’t need to venture all the way to the Caribbean for a tropical getaway—head to Key West, the southernmost city in the continental US, instead. Here, you’ll find nightlife, adventure, history, beaches, and tasty Cuban-inspired cuisine all in one beautiful place. Take a tour of the palm tree-adorned home where Ernest Hemingway lived and wrote in the 1930s, kayak through mangroves, or just soak up the sun on Smathers Beach.

Whether you love twangy country, gritty rock, or smooth jazz, head south to Austin. The so-called “Live Music Capital of the World” is home to more than 250 music venues, including beloved spots like the Moody Theater and the Broken Spoke. But, of course, Austin’s charm doesn’t stop at just music. It’s also an ideal place to dig into a plate of barbecue, learn about president Lyndon B. Johnson, bike around Lady Bird Lake, catch a Longhorns football game, and watch bats make their nightly hunting foray.

Ditch the crowds, get outside, and take a deep breath with a trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. You’ll feel like you’ve got the dense forests and miles of Great Lakes shoreline all to yourself when you visit tranquil spots like Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Nothing says summer quite like biting in an ultra-juicy peach, picked fresh off the tree. You can do just that when you visit Grand Junction and its neighboring town, Palisade, where growers carefully tend to orchards brimming with peaches, apples, plums, nectarines, cherries, and other stone fruits. Also stop by locally owned wineries like Two Rivers Winery and Sauvage Spectrum for a taste of Colorado’s unique high-elevation terroir.

From shrimp and grits to she-crab soup, seafood is one of the scrumptious pillars of Charleston’s award-winning food scene. Plan a food-filled weekend around decadent meals at Holy City favorites like Hank’s, FIG, and The Ordinary, to name a few.

Rooftop bars, beach parties, nightclubs, and restaurants abound in San Diego, where the mild weather means the party can continue long after the sun goes down. Let loose in the Gaslamp Quarter after eating your way through Little Italy.