Now that Memorial Day has passed, if you were wondering about some places to visit and things to do for the summer within the United States which are just slightly out of the ordinary, this article contains some different ideas about where you might want to consider traveling.
Travel Ideas For Summer
The first event which is listed below is currently occurring and ends in a couple of days; but the other events are listed in no particular order. No admission is charged for each event unless otherwise specified.
Dixie Highway Yard Sale: 90 Miles Long
United States Highway 41 in the northern half of Georgia is the location of the Dixie Highway Yard Sale, which stretches approximately 90 miles between Ringgold and Acworth — with a few vendors in Kennesaw and Marietta — during the first weekend of June.
This yard sale is also a historic driving tour along the Dixie Highway — but only on the portions of United States Highway 41 that are still currently one lane in each direction and not on parts of the highway which have since been widened. In fact, one of the frequently purchased items of this yard sale — which started in 2006; so 2026 is its twentieth anniversary — is a souvenir version of the Dixie Highway road sign.
The event is on right now; and it ends on Sunday, July 7, 2026. Hours may vary by vendor; but most sales venues are open from 8:00 in the morning until dusk.
127 Yard Sale: The Longest Yard Sale In the World
From the Michigan town of Addison south through Ohio and Kentucky to Gadsden in Alabama, the route of the 127 Yard Sale stretches approximately 690 miles through six states — most of which is along United States Highway 127, which has been the namesake of this event since 1987.
The yard sale — which comprises of greater than 10,000 vendors — occurs every year starting on the first Thursday of August every year. This year, it will occur from Thursday, August 6, 2026 through Sunday, August 9, 2026 on much of United States Highway 127 starting in the town of Addison in Michigan through its terminus in Chattanooga; but then, the yard sale continues further south on a patchwork of state and county highways known as Lookout Mountain Parkway through the northwest corner of Georgia into Alabama, where it ends in the town of Gadsden.
A group on Facebook where people can discuss all aspects of the yard sale exists.
The route of the yard sale itself is supposed to be quite scenic and may be worthy of spending a few days exploring it.
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is one of the most underrated cities in the United States, in my opinion. Between Ruby Falls, white water rafting, Lookout Mountain with its incline railway, Rock City, the Tennessee Aquarium, plenty of dining options, staying at the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel which is comprised of train cars, miles of hiking trails, and even a scenic walk along the Tennessee River or visiting its downtown area with great choices for dining, you can easily spend four full days in this city which is approximately the size of Hartford in Connecticut — not too big and not too small — and still not do everything. Perhaps I will write an article with more details and information — as well as photographs — pertaining to Chattanooga.
The cities of Atlanta, Nashville, and Knoxville are within two hours away from Chattanooga; and you can drive slightly greater than one hour to visit the famous Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama — which I have visited. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is also within driving distance at approximately 150 miles away, if you want to spend a few days there.
Omaha, Nebraska
You can enjoy at least nine things to do in Omaha that will cost you nothing but your time. Parts of the city have been going through a renaissance of sorts — but you can even walk through another state on your way to or from the airport. Choose from a number of different dining options after you work up your appetite.
Geographical Center of the 48 Contiguous United States — Lebanon, Kansas
At what seems like a windy location in the middle of nowhere, you are actually in the middle of the 48 contiguous United States when you visit this spot near the small town of Lebanon. Visit the small chapel on the premises while children play on some of the playground equipment that is provided. You can have a picnic using the grill to cook your food and the two picnic tables that are covered…
…or you can just sit on a bench and stare eastward down Kansas State Highway 191 — but not much traffic passes by here…
Cadillac Ranch — Amarillo, Texas
What began as a expression of art has literally become a roadside attraction, where ten different models of Cadillac automobiles — from 1949 through 1963 — are buried halfway into the ground, with the front half of each car below ground and the tail halves sticking up.
Feel free to express yourself on the planted vehicles with a can of spray paint.
Visit the Ruins of an Abandoned Town — Brooklyn, West Virginia
You may not see the Brooklyn Bridge here in the ruins of the abandoned coal mining town of Brooklyn in West Virginia — but you can combine a hike in the hilly woods while looking at is what is left of this area along the New River. A campground is available if that is preferable to staying at a hotel property.
The New River Gorge National River in southern West Virginia became the newest park of the National Park Service of the United States and encompasses greater than 70,000 acres of land along the New River, which is ironically one of the oldest rivers in North America.
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge — Broad Channel, New York
Wait a minute — the only wildlife refuge in the entire National Park Service of the United States is located within the city limits of New York?
Yep.
Extending from Breezy Point to the west to Floyd Bennett Field and Canarsie Pier to the north to — get this — the western edge of John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is an oasis of greater than 19,000 acres of land, bay, and ocean waters in Brooklyn and Queens where you can do everything from fishing to horseback riding to bird watching to spending a day at a beach on the Atlantic Ocean, away from the hustle and bustle of the city within the city.
You can look carefully over the tall grasses of the marshes among the egrets and see the skyline of Manhattan peering off in the distance. It’s as surreal as it gets.
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is a part of the 27,000 acres of Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes Staten Island in New York and Sandy Hook in New Jersey. There is so much to do at the fourth most visited National Park Service unit in the United States — with greater than 9.2 million annual visitors — that all of the activities are impossible to list here. You literally can plan an entire vacation just at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge with all of the activities available if you wanted to do so.
Best of all, you pay no entrance fees to enjoy Gateway National Recreation Area — yes, admission is free of charge — although beach parking and select other activities may incur a charge.
Shirley Chisholm State Park — Brooklyn, New York
Not far from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is the newest and largest state park within the city of New York. Located on 407 acres of land which once occupied two landfills — both of which closed 43 years ago in 1983 — therefore explains why the highest point of Shirley Chisholm State Park is 130 feet in elevation, affording “spectacular panoramic views of the Empire State Building to the northwest, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and New York Harbor to the west, and Jamaica Bay to the south.” Once traversed by sanitation trucks and hungry sea gulls, this site has never been open to the public — until now.
Shirley Chisholm State Park is now open 365 days per year from 9:00 in the morning until dusk; and it offers:
- Ten miles of biking and hiking trails
- Shirley Chisholm State Park Bike Library, with loaner bikes for park patrons of all ages available free of charge
- Gorgeous waterfront access on Penn Pier, Hendrix Creek Patio
- Picnicking
- Environmental education — including fishing, guided bird walks and nature in your neighborhood
Free Kayaking in the East River — Brooklyn, New York
If you are going to be in Brooklyn already, consider crossing the entire borough from Shirley Chisholm State Park in the southeast to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse in the northwest, where you can go kayaking in the East River in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge — for free. You read that correctly: free of charge.
Weather permitting, you can either go kayaking June through August every Thursday from 5:30 in the afternoon to 6:45 in the evening, and every Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon at Pier 2; or you can play kayak polo every Sunday at the Pier 4 beach.
Again: all events are free of charge.
Little Island — Manhattan, New York
I decided to walk on the High Line — which is only several blocks west from the hotel — and visit the newest park in the city of New York: Little Island, which juts into the Hudson River on the lower west side of Manhattan.
No admission is charged to visit Little Island; so if you happen to be in Brooklyn, cross the East River into Manhattan and spend an afternoon out on Little Island, where you can enjoy views of the skyline of lower Manhattan, the Hudson River, and New Jersey.
Yasgur Road Reunion: 57th Woodstock Anniversary Celebration — Bethel, New York
If you missed the Woodstock Music & Art Fair festival 57 years ago this year, an attempt to revive it with a collection of unknown acts is scheduled for Thursday, August 13, 2026 through Sunday, August 18, 2026 on the original homestead of Max Yasgur, only one mile away from where the legendary original music festival occurred. 2026 celebrates the thirtieth year of the Yasgur Road Reunion.
Ticket prices for the Yasgur Road Reunion start at $159.59 — although that is not exactly an admission fee on a budget, that is actually less money than the $169.94 you would have had to pay in 2019 — for a weekend pass if you wanna be a part of the scene, man. Groovy.
Tubin’ Down the “Hootch” — Helen, Georgia
One inexpensive way people cooled off for decades from the heat of the intense Georgia sun is to float down the cold waters of the Chattahoochee River while relaxing in a tube under the continuous canopies of trees along the route — and despite the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, you can still go tubing this summer if you heed the proper precautions. You can read about my experience of tubin’ down the “Hootch” in this article.
You can also visit the pseudo-“Alpine” village of Helen, which is located approximately 87 miles — or 90 minutes — north of Atlanta. Don’t get me wrong — there is plenty to do in Helen; and the surrounding areas are scenic. I just find aspects of the village itself as little more than a tourist trap.
Run Five Kilometers on the Fifth Runway at Airport — Atlanta, Georgia
Whether you are a runner or a walker, if you have ever wanted to be on the fifth runway without being aboard an airplane at the international airport which serves the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, this is your opportunity: the eleventh annual Mayor’s 5K on the 5th Runway hosted by Andre Dickens — who is the current mayor of the city of Atlanta — is scheduled to return on the morning of Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 6:30 in the morning Eastern Daylight Time at the time this article was written. Get ready to lace up your shoes and run or walk the fifth runway at the airport to experience this special opportunity to race on one of the flattest — and fastest — courses in the greater Atlanta metropolitan area.
This five kilometer course is certified by USA Track & Field; and it is also a qualifier for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race.
The proceeds from the race will benefit the Mayor’s Youth Scholarship Program and United Way of Greater Atlanta — so you will be doing good for yourself and for others.
Of course, you can always run the length of 690 miles for the longest yard sale in the world…
Final Boarding Call
If you have an item which you believe should be added to this list, please post it in the Comments section below. Thank you in advance.
All photographs ©2010, ©2011, ©2014, ©2017, ©2019, ©2020, ©2022, and ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
