Off the Beaten Path

This year’s 10 family getaways include peaceful state parks, a historic mining town-turned-artist colony, a space travel attraction, and the place where it all started for America nearly 400 years ago.

Little ignites the zest and enthusiasm of Americans like the word “vacation,” with its endless possibilities and exhilarating expectations. “Vacation” means a break in routine, a chance to get away, and the opportunity to recharge your emotional batteries. With that in mind, consider American Profile’s choices this year for our annual off-the-beaten-path destinations. This year’s 10 family getaways include peaceful state parks, a historic mining town-turned-artist colony, a space travel attraction, and the place where it all started for America nearly 400 years ago.

Hershey Park
Hershey, Pa.
Hershey Park, founded in 1907 by chocolate mogul and philanthropist Milton Hershey, originally was built in the hills of southeastern Pennsylvania to provide amusement rides, a swimming pool, picnicking, boating, and canoeing for his employees. Today, Hershey Park’s 110 acres are home to more than 60 rides and attractions, with eight roller coasters, a 100-foot water plunge, and a simulated whitewater-rafting trip. An absolute must is visiting Midway America, a theme area celebrating amusement parks of days gone by.

Confectionery lovers will crave a nearby jaunt to the Sweetest Place on Earth: Hershey’s Chocolate World, the official visitors’ center of Hershey Foods.

Hershey Park, 100 W. Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, PA 17033. (800) HERSHEY www.hersheypa.com

U.S. Space and Rocket Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Gather up your little astronauts and head for Huntsville, a fun-filled launch pad in northern Alabama billed as the world’s largest space travel attraction. More than 1,500 artifacts from the real NASA space jaunts are displayed, including the Apollo trainer, which gives a claustrophobic idea of what our astronauts experienced in preparing for the early Apollo missions.

Children love the simulated gentle landing on the moon inside the Lunar Lander, while Cosmos offers them a trip to the “Energy Depletion Zone.” Visitors also get a chance to land the space shuttle or take a trek across the red planet. For heartier souls, the Space Shot blasts participants 150 feet into the air. A five-day summer space camp, jam-packed with astronaut training, is offered for children over 9.

U.S. Space and Rocket Center, 1 Tranquility Base, Huntsville, AL 35805.

(256) 837-3400. www.spacecamp.com

Bandera, Texas
Put on your cowboy boots and hat to ride the trail, pitch horseshoes, and try some trick roping in the “Cowboy Capital of the World,” so named because it was once a staging area for large cattle drives. Choose from seven area dude ranches, where you can experience the cowboy life, or kick back, relax, and simply enjoy the Texas Hill Country scenery.

Bandera offers a little something for everyone—fishing, swimming, tubing, and canoeing the Medina River, hiking, golf, live music, dance halls, and camping. Rodeos are held at least twice weekly from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.

Bandera County Convention and Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 171, Bandera, TX 78003. (800) 364-3833. www.tourtexas.com/bandera

Kalispell, Mont.
Kalispell, circled by the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park, is a paradise for outdoor lovers. Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River (28 miles long and up to 15 miles wide) is a magnet for water sports such as fishing, boating, swimming, wind surfing, jet and water skiing, and sailing. Or lace up your hiking boots and venture into some of the most spectacular country you’ll find in the Flathead National Forest and the Bob Marshall, Great Bear, and Mission Mountain wilderness areas.

Area attractions include: Conrad Mansion, the 1895 home built by Kalispell founder Charles E. Conrad, a Montana pioneer and river trader; Museum of the Plains Indians, a comprehensive collection of Blackfeet Indian tribal artifacts; and The People’s Center, a cultural center that focuses on the Salish, Pend d’Orielle, and Kootenai tribes and offers guided tours on the Flathead Reservation.

Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce, 15 Depot Park, Kalispell, MT 59901. (406) 758-2800 www.kalispellchamber.com

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Lake Superior, Wis.
This scenic wonder, in Wisconsin’s northernmost landscape, presents a smorgasbord of attractions, including more lighthouses (eight) than any other area in our National Park System, wildlife, pristine strands of sandy beaches, extensive sea caves on Devils and Sand Islands, and remnant old forests to explore, where three or four people must hold hands to encircle some of the tree trunks.

Twenty-one islands and 12 miles of mainland Lake Superior shoreline comprise the Apostles. As you would expect in natural surroundings like these, you can camp, hike, boat, and fish.

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Route 1, Box 4, Bayfield, WI 54814. (715) 779-3397 www.nps.gov/apis

Bisbee, Ariz.
This turn-of-the-20th-century copper boomtown has quietly evolved into a picturesque artists’ colony in the southwest desert. Restored houses and winding hillside streets from a bygone era are now home to a charming array of fine shops, galleries, and museums.

But Bisbee hasn’t forgotten its past; the Queen Mine Tour, a ride into what once was a working copper mine, is one of the largest and most popular attractions. The Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, shows how 8 billion pounds of copper once was mined here. Just up the road is the legendary Tombstone that still features re-enactments of the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Bisbee Chamber of Commerce, 31 Subway St., Bisbee, AZ 85603. (866) 2BISBEE www.bisbeearizona.com

Bishop, Calif.
Nestled in the Owens Valley in the Eastern Sierra, within reach of the highest (Mount Whitney) and lowest (Death Valley) land points in the contiguous United States, Bishop boasts a diversity of recreation. Two fine museums—the Laws Railroad Museum and the Paiute Shoshone Indian Cultural Center—present educational local fare, while interesting day trips abound all around.

To the north, Mammoth Lakes offers fishing, pack trips, and sightseeing. Take in the June Lake loop that features Mono Lake and its unusual rock formations that resemble towers. To the south lie the Ancient Bristlecone Pines, the oldest recorded living things on the planet.

Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, 690 N. Main St., Bishop, CA 93514.

(888) 395-3952 www.bishopvisitor.com

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Ga.
Get away from it all in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests in the north Georgia mountains. Canoe, boat, fish, and swim on the numerous lakes and waterways and enjoy hikes on a number of paths, including the southern terminus of the legendary Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain. The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests have 37 developed recreation areas, 500 developed campsites, 200 picnic sites; six swim beaches; and 530 miles of trail.

Unique features include the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River, two scenic byways, and Coosa Bald Scenic Area, the only congressionally designated scenic area in Georgia.

Forest Supervisor, 1755 Cleveland Highway, Gainesville, GA 30501. (770) 297-3000 www.fs.fed.us/conf

Plimouth Plantation
Plymouth, Mass.
This is the place where it all began for America. Plimouth Plantation is an outdoor living history museum, where costumed personnel recreate life in a 1627 pilgrim village and Wampanoag Indian settlement. Collections include reproductions of 17th-century English and American Indian artifacts, furnishings, tools, arms, and armor, and the Mayflower II, a full-scale, three-masted, 181-ton reproduction of the merchant vessel that brought the Pilgrims to the New World in 1620.

Special events and re-enactments include theme dining events such as the Victorian Thanksgiving Dinner.

Plimouth Plantation, P.O. Box 1620, Plymouth, MA 02362. (508) 746-1622 www.plimoth.org

Bonanzaville, N.D.
Bonanzaville is 15 fascinating acres of history in a restored pioneer village—a self-contained city consisting of 40 museums from the past 150 years, with some of the finest American Indian displays in the Upper Midwest.

Located on the western edge of West Fargo, N.D., Bonanzaville offers unique displays such as a sod house, antique car, airplane and farm equipment museums, and a doll collection featuring dolls of many nationalities. Visitors also can swim, golf, canoe, hike, and bird watch around the area.

Bonanzaville, 1351 W. Main Ave., West Fargo, ND (701) 282-2822 www.bonanzaville.com

Alan Ross is the West regional editor at American Profile.

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