I am looking for suggestions for summer vacation spots similar to Cape Cod or Hilton Head. Flat long bike paths, relaxed unhurried pace, lots of nature. But minus the 6 hour flight required to get to the Cape or Hilton Head from California.
I am looking for suggestions for summer vacation spots similar to Cape Cod or Hilton Head. Flat long bike paths, relaxed unhurried pace, lots of nature. But minus the 6 hour flight required to get to the Cape or Hilton Head from California.
The San Juan Islands in Washington State are considered the Martha's Vineyard of the West Coast.
Dave
Agreed. I didn't mention the San Juans because I restricted my comment to areas that had timeshares. If we drop that constrant and the goal is quiet and laid back, I would skip the San Juans and head north of the border to some of the islands in the Georgia Strait (such as Salt Spring, Vancouver Island, or the Sunshine Coast.
In that vein, we should include Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, where Pacific Shores is located.
But if the OP wants locales as flat as Cape Cod, that's going to eliminate almost the entire west Coast. There just aren't any non-urban recreational areas in the west that I can think of that aren't at least a bit hilly.
I haven't been to HH or Cape Cod but I have been to Coronado, across from San Diego. Coronado has flat long bike paths, relaxed unhurried pace, lots of nature (mixed in with a small town). Also, sans the 6 hour flight.
We recently returned from Blue Heron which is right on the Hood Canal, and loved the location - very scenic, relaxed, low-rise - mixture of "quaint", upscale, and authentic fishing communities - lots of nature. I don't recall bike paths along the immediate canal-front stretch of road, and had to be watchful when walking along it, though maybe there are some nearby. (But there are kayak and paddle-boat rentals if you want to tour by water rather than land.)Hood Canal in Washington