Top Secluded Travel Spots For the CoVID-19 Era Traveler
One of these days, we’re going to be getting back on airplanes, going on road trips and heading to travel destinations.
Yet we’re still going to have to keep our social distance.
Well, in case you have forgotten, there are places where we used to love to visit in order to get away from other people. Secluded beaches, romantic spots, quiet mountains, etc., all were, at one time, highly prized travel locations.
With that in mind, PubClub.com presents our 10 best social distancing destinations in the USA when we are able to again travel. They are:
1.) Maui, Hawaii
There is only one real town in Maui, Lahina, and the rest of the island is a peaceful paradise. You can social distance in the car all day on he road to Hana, but her’s some better places to visit: Honokeana Cove, where when I went I was the only person there; around the North Coast, where about all you the other life forms you encounter will be a few cows and people selling fruits from roadside stands and food from a garlic shrimp trucks; and the village of Wiaehu,
Link: PubClub.com’s Complete Guide To Maui
2.) Big Sky, Montana
This is an outdoor person’s paradise. It is near Yellowstone National Park, which yes is often crowded, but there is also hiking, biking, rafting, fly fishing and horseback riding where you may not encounter another person until you get back to your lodge for dinner.
Link: Visit Big Sky
4.) Finger Lakes, N.Y.
In upstate New York – by the way, everything north of NYC is known as “upstate New York” – sits this quiet and scenic little place that is a great find. About an hour west of Syracuse and very near the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, there are 11 lakes for all kinds of water recreation, zip lining and even a wine country. During oine of my visits, I got t-shirt that read “Uncork New York” from one of its wineries. There are also 70 craft breweries in the area. It’s also home to Watkins Glen International Raceway, which holds sports car races (don’t worry about crowds; these races don’t attract many fans), and a great rock ‘n roll bar called the Savoy where I saw the bank teller from the morning beautifully transformed into a hot female singer one night dressed in a tight all-leather outfit.
Link: Finger Lakes Tourism
3.) Florida Keys
You may think I’m crazy for suggesting a place that has the traffic-choked Overseas Highway and weekend tourists rolling down from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and other South Florida cities. But you can practically have places to yourself just off the road at its many mile markers, turnoffs to small beaches that ideal for picnics and hanging out, and so many bars and restaurants that there’s no way they can all be busy. I especially know about this last part because I once drove all up and down the Keys for two days looking for some nice-looking girls having a few drinks and fun, and didn’t find any. So I wound up “kidnapping” the waitress from a friend’s bar in Marathon. We had fun.
Link: PubClub.com’s Complete Guide To The Florida Keys
5.) Portland, Oregon
The birthplace of America’s craft brewery craze – people here were drinking craft beers before anyone else ever heard of the term – is the only big city in this article. But there’s two reasons (well, three because of the beer) why it’s on the list. One is the fact that the prime areas of activity are scattered all over the town and thus, even when you’re out you won’t run into too many people and two, there’s isolation to be found all around Portland. The loop drive to Mt. Hood is spectacular and you may well be about the only person stopping to watch one of the waterfalls along the road. Stop at the Full Sail Brewery and watch windsurfers ripping through the chopping water of the Hood River. Or, you can go in the other direction and head to the quiet Oregon Coast.
Link: Complete Driving Guid to The Mount Hood Loop
6.) Cayucos, CA
It’s sometimes difficult to run into people in this quiet little town about 20 minutes south of Hearst Castle at the peak of summertime, let alone other times. PubClub spent a very peaceful – and wonderful – couple of days here one recent fall. And fell in love with the place. The “big town,” Cambria, is about 15 minutes away with some sensational dining, and there is a beautiful drive up the coast along the famous Pacific Coast Highway.
Link: Cayucos Wineries, Restaurants, B&B & Hearst Castle Tour Reviews
7.) Lake Tahoe/Carson Valley California/Nevada
A lot of tourists visit Lake Tahoe – in the winter, especially for the skiing – but the areas around Tahoe offer a lot of solitude and peaceful places. Take Carson Valley, for example. There is golfing, boating, biking along rivers and creeks, ballooning and, for those af you who find nothing abnormal about jumping out of an airplane that’s working, skydiving. In the main square of Genoa, you’ll find Nevada’s oldest bar. All in an Old West setting that will make you think you’ll see John Wayne riding by on a horse at any moment.
Link: Vist Carson Valley
8.) St. Augustine, FL
America’s Oldest City has some of the most crowd-free beaches in Florida. Located just south of Jacksonville, there are 42 miles of beaches here and in adjacent Ponte Vedra Beach. Two suggestions are Crescent Beach and Anastasia State Beach Park with dunes with its nature trails. From a “things to do” standpoint there are great restaurants and the St. Augustine D, a pirate museum and the St. Augustine distillery which makes a great whiskey but I’ll take the rum. Plus you can drink from the legendary Fountain of Youth, where it is believed Ponce de Leon found magic water that helped people maintain a youthful appearance. Can’t hurt to try it, right!?
Link: Florida Historic Coast Website
10.) Traverse City, Michigan
Here’s a town I never heard of until we featured it on our #MenWhoBlog Virtual Happy Hour livestream show. And you know what? It’s just too cool to ignore. For example, it has a craft brewery tour you take through the town’s river on a bike and in a kayak. There are also wineries and I can personally endorse the products from the Traverse City Whiskey Co. With golf, biking, fishing and even beaches, there’s a lot do do when you’re not biking or kayaking to a brewery or winery. And because it’s a small destination, it’s not overrun with tourists, so a lot of these activities can be enjoyed at a safe social distance.
Link: VisitTraverseCity.com
10.) Colorado Hiking Trails
Put some John Denver on your playlist and head to the Rockies for some of the most spectacular hiking trains in America. Don’t want to be next to anyone? Here’s what a friend said when I told him I was doing this story: “My sister and I went hiking in Colorado in the peak season one year and we went hours without seeing anyone else.” If you’ don’t make ithere until winter, there’s cross-country skiing trails, snowshoeing and snowmobiling off the crowded ski slopes of Aspen, Breckenridge, Telluride, etc. Bet you’re singing the “Rocky Mountain High” song now:
The Colorado rocky mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye
Rocky mountain high
Link: Colorado Hiking Trails
Leave a Reply