The USA is a huge country, and there are examples of every type of climate and environment to enjoy. If you have a weekend free and you fancy getting away for a few days, you might want to take a look at travelling across our wonderful country and trying out something new. You might want a shopping break in New York, a beach weekend in Miami or an adventure in Ohio… here are some of the best places to go for a weekend break in the USA.

When it comes to Fun Weekend Trips, there are some amazing cities in the U.S. to fit anyone's travel bucket list! #funweekendtrips #USTravel #Bucketlisttravel
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New York City

The big apple is by far one of the most popular places for short visits for people all over the world. This city is full of shops, characters, culture and a bustling atmosphere. Standing in the city is magical and feeling that constant thrum of life humming through the veins of the city is just amazing. If shopping isn’t your thing you can also enjoy a walk in Central Park, a show at a Broadway or even a tour of the FRIENDS set.

Santa Monica Beach

If shopping isn’t what you fancy this weekend, go to the beach instead! California is the home to one of the best beaches in the country: Santa Monica. You’ll be able to enjoy warm weather all year round, so escape those winter blues and step out into the sun for a while. Enjoy biking around the around, going for a picnic or simply sleeping in the sun.

San Francisco

If you want a city atmosphere but still the hot weather, then this is the perfect place to go. Enjoy shopping in the city centre, then walking along the pier and enjoying the sea. The temperatures stay at around 60F, so you will be able to bring your favourite play suit and some sunglasses with you as your explore the area!

Washington, D.C.

The capital of our great nation is also a great place for a weekend trip with the family. You can visit the Lincoln statue and learn about the history of the nation, as well as enjoy shopping in the national mall. Where better to spend your weekend than the place it all centres from?

Whether it's a city adventure or a beach experience you need, the U.S. has so many cities for fun weekend trips! #FunWeekendTrips #UStravel #bucketlisttravel
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San Diego

If you love a bit of an adventure, San Diego has plenty to offer for an active weekend for the whole family. Start of your weekend at the zoo, the move on to the Torrey Pines Reserve for a hike. Enjoy some time in the fresh air and brush up on your exercise outside the gym.

Miami

If you want to visit a city where it is always summer, then Miami is the ideal place. You can even do affordable yacht rental Miami and enjoy the landscape from the water, or simply stay on the beach and soak up that vitamin D. This city is also full of culture, and you can really learn a lot about different people staying here for a few days. Enjoy Cuban food, sunny weather and a buzzing nightlife.

Have you ever visited any of these amazing U.S. cities? Which one of these Fun Weekend Trips would most appeal to you the most?

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Recently, I traveled to Mammoth Lakes, California in celebration of one of my best friend’s 40th birthdays. It was a wonderful trip filled with tons of outdoor adventure and much needed respite. Most know Mammoth Lakes as a popular winter destination because it offers unbelievable skiing. But after a week, I came to realize that Mammoth Lakes has a lot to do during the summer. Here are my 11 reasons everyone should make Mammoth Lakes California – A Summer Bucket List Destination.

#1 Mammoth Lakes is a great place for Hiking

According to Visit Mammoth, the area has over a dozen hiking trails amid the 2 million acres of Inyo National Forest. With the Sierras as a backdrop, you are bound to find beauty everywhere you hike. Depending on when in the summer you hike, you’ll find most trails easily marked and generally clear. One particular hike we enjoyed was catching the John Muir trail around Sherwin Lakes.

Please note that with any outdoor adventure you should be prepared. Before heading out, check the weather and communicate your path with friends and family. It is also recommended you bring sunscreen, bug spray, plenty of water, a snack, and a map.

#2 It is a great Summer Destination for Fishing

For those of you that know me, fishing is one of those activities that tends to push the limits of my attention deficit. However, spending a day fishing in Mammoth Lakes was an unbelievable experience, even for me. In Mammoth, trout fishing is a wonderful adventure even if you don’t catch anything. I recommend going to Lake Mary with your gear, a chair, plenty of sunscreen, and a picnic lunch. Not only do you have a chance to catch the “big one” but the views alone will take your breath away.

Please Note that it is required to have a valid fishing license for anyone fishing over the age of 16 in California. A day license is around $15 and can be obtained at many stores in Mammoth Lakes or online at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing

#3 It has great Bucket List Mountain Biking Routes

Whether you are an avid mountain biker or just like cruising around town on your beach cruiser, Mammoth Lakes has tons of options for you. You will find everything from paved routes to wild trails through the scenic forest. There are plenty of shops in town that will be more than happy to facilitate your desire to roll around on two wheels. We were able to rent bikes along with proper safety gear from Footloose Sports off of Main Street.

Please note that with any cycling adventure you should be prepared. Before heading out, check the weather and communicate with friends and family about your planned route. It is recommended you bring sunscreen, bug spray, plenty of water, a snack, and a map. Also, please wear proper safety gear like your helmet, protective pads, and possibly gloves at all times. Also, we strongly recommend that you consider getting Travel Insurance from World Nomads.  It is simple and flexible insurance to keep you safe while tackling any bucket list adventure.

#4 Mammoth has some unbelievable Hot Springs in all California

One of my favorite things to do while travelling is finding and swimming in hot springs! There is nothing better than soaking your sore muscles after a long day of hiking in a hot spring and due to Mammoth Lakes’ volcanic past the area is still full of hydrothermal springs. One of the best options is to visit Wild Willy’s Hot Spring off Benton Crossing Road. After parking, you take a leisurely stroll along a board walk and gravel path until you arrive at two separate pools. Each pool is shallow enough to sit down in most spots and just relax in the warm waters.

Another Hot Springs option that you should visit is the Hot Creek Geological Site. Known as Nature’s Cauldron, this spring is “hot” due to the rising of heat from vents leading to large magma below. It is a picturesque site and was also the location of several movies including John Wayne’s True Grit.

Please Note that it is strongly ill advised to swim in or around the Hot Creek Geological Site because of its extreme high temperatures. Also, there have been records of “geysering” of very hot, sediment-laden water as high as 6 feet which can cause injury and even death. PLEASE DONT SWIM AT THE HOT CREEK GEOLOGICAL SITE!

#5 You can see a real Earthquake Fault

Located off Highway 203 between the town of Mammoth Lakes and the ski resort, you can easily drive to see an amazing feat of nature. More properly known as the Earthquake Fissure, you can stand near the edge where the earth separated and revealed a gap due to a series of strong quakes perhaps from about 600 years ago. For us, it was a unique viewing experience as you are able to walk around the fenced off fissure exploring into its dark depths.

Most know Mammoth California as a popular winter destination but it's also great during the summer too! Discover 11 reasons everyone should make Mammoth Lakes, California a Summer Bucket List Destination. #VisitMammoth #MammothStories
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#6 You can explore another world at Mono Lake

Mark Twain once called Mono Lake “one of the strangest freaks of nature to be found in any land.” This is perhaps due to the Tufas. Tufas are calcium-carbonate formations created by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. Along the 65 square miles of lake, you will find these amazing land masses that will make you feel like you are on the surface of the moon. One of the highlights of our visit was to watch the Ospreys. They flew around the tops of the Tufa spires where they had made their nests.

#7 You can see where the Devil keeps his Posts in Mammoth

One of the coolest features in Mammoth is a collection of basalt columns collectively known as the Devil’s Postpile. These 60-foot basalt columns were formed when lava flowed through the valley some 100,000 years ago. Devil’s Postpile National Monument is open during the summer and offers fun for the whole family. To get to the Devil’s Postpile you need to take a shuttle from The Village. When you arrive, just hike about half a mile to the base. But be sure to take your time because there are countless birds, animals, and unbelievable flowers everywhere.

#8 Try the tons of Water Activities on the Mammoth Lakes

If you are a water baby like me, then you will love the various water adventures around Mammoth Lakes. You can easily find all kinds of rental services if boating is your thing too. They will hook you up with everything from kayaks to full on motorboats as Lake Mary is a perfect spot for boating. In most places, you will also be able to find Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) rentals so you can cruise the lakes on your own power. However, if you would rather get into some water than on top of it, then put on your bathing suit and head on over to June Lake Beach. Here you can take a dip in the pristine nippy mountain lake while enjoying the incredible scenery.

Please note that with any water adventure you should be prepared. Before heading out, check the weather. It is recommended you bring sunscreen, bug spray, plenty of water, and a snack. Also, please notice that there aren’t lifeguards present, so be careful.

#9 Golf amid the Sierras with the occasional bear hazard

So I am not a golfer at all, but my good friend Brian loves it. One of his favorite golfing experiences is to playing at the Sierra Star Golf Course in Mammoth Lakes. As he said, Sierra Star offers a great opportunity for high altitude golfing. Here he can hit the ball a ton and work through the challenge of ball control on the approach of shots. This unique experience is only enhanced with the beautiful Sierras as a backdrop. Plus the occasional bear walking near the course is a fun “hazard” to say the least.

From beautiful Hikes along the John Muir Trail to swimming in secret Hot Springs, discover 11 activities that make Mammoth Lakes, California a Summer Bucket List Destination! #VisitMammoth #MammothStories
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#10 Return to civilization in The Village at Mammoth

After all that hiking, fishing, and just getting muddy outdoors, you might need a break from the woods. That is why I liked exploring the Village at Mammoth. With all the great restaurants, bars, and shops, the Village allowed us to clean up and just leisurely stroll through a beautiful outdoor mall. They also have all kinds of entertainment for the whole family which is a great bonus. Obviously, you will find fun concerts and festivals in their Plaza on the weekends. But one of my favorite things was the family Summer Movie events they put on in the Plaza every Thursday and Sunday. You can see what movies, festivals, comedy shows, or other events are happening in the Village at Mammoth by visiting http://villageatmammoth.com/events.

#11 Unplug & Reconnect with loved ones

Not all of my Bucket List items are about travel and adventure. Many items on my list are designed to help me reconnect with friends and family. So, often I pursue opportunities like spending a week in a cabin in Mammoth Lakes with my closest friends. During the week, we enjoyed sitting on the porch amid the wonderful aroma of the trees without any distractions of television, computers, or cell phones. There is just something about staying in a cabin in Mammoth Lakes. It makes you want to read a book or play board games with your family.

Don’t forget to Pin this to your Bucket List Board!

Disclosure: This post, “Mammoth Lakes California – A Summer Bucket List Destination”, may contain affiliate links. Using the links doesn’t cost you any extra, and it helps keep the site free, fun, and community supported! Eric & Darcee will never recommend a product that we don’t genuinely believe in, actually use ourselves, have researched, and trust. Please see the disclosure policy for more information.

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My First Year in the Woods – A Bucket List Adventure

There’s a passage from Hemingway that I’ve often told people if offered a choice I would live in for eternity….

“Now that the bad weather had come, we could leave Paris for a while for a place where this rain would be snow coming down through the pines and covering the road and the high hillsides and at an altitude where we would hear it creak as we walked home at night.  Below Les Avants there was a chalet where the pension was wonderful and where we would be together and have our books and at night be warm in bed together with the windows open and the stars bright.  That was where we would go.”

And that was where I had gone.  While not in my beloved France, I had carved my own version of this utopian scene in my own little patch of forest in the woods.

This first winter I had done just that.  Sat in my bed reading with the window slightly cracked, the snow falling softly with that almost silent swish, the fire cracking in the wood burning stove.  The warmth not fully reaching me in the bed but seeing it there created an internal warmth that spread outward and covered me in it’s own glow.

When people speak of bucket lists they are really speaking of dreams.  The dream of going somewhere or doing something that uplifts their spirit, gives their lives hope, fulfills a deepest wish in their soul, makes them leap out into the world, throw themselves in the mix of humanity and experience.  You could say the cabin was my ultimate bucket list check off.
It’s the first anniversary of acquiring my little patch of felicity in the woods.  It’s been a year of wonder, magic, aggravation, solitude, terror, reflection, disruptions, solace, empowerment, but mostly it’s just been absolutely life changing wonderful.

It’s become not just a place I go to but almost a mental retreat available at all times.  If I’m having a soul punishing day I shift my attention from what I’m working on to looking up a cabin project idea and daydreaming about what I’m going to plunge into on the next trip. Cabin as a state of mind?  I certainly think so.
After traveling around the world and methodically checking off one bucket list destination after the next I came to a point where I was not satisfied with just my week or few days in one of the places that I loved.  I yearned to be able root myself to a specific place of meaning.

I normally spend a lot of time researching interesting places to stay.  Whether just an off the grid destination or someplace that had been designed with a bit of magical realism in mind.  Places where they spent that little extra time to add something intangible that you feel as well as see.  I drew inspiration from these places and wanted to carve something like that as my own.

The cabin was years in coming.   It was a spark in the back of my brain after my first visit to Mammoth Lakes when I was 25.  I didn’t ski, I hadn’t spent much time in snow, and even with being raised basically underwater in New Orleans I was a mountain girl in spirit and I knew it.  My heart soared anytime I saw a peak in the distance.  There was a little leap inside of me every time I saw the topography of the land changing to a rising landscape that directed your eyes and your soul UP!

As I look back on the year it’s sometimes amazing to me that there wasn’t always a cabin.  Maybe in my mind it was always there.  The reality of it was just an extension of someplace I was already living in the deep reaches of my soul.
Why the cabin?
Why did I decide to plant my soul in a spot with no running water in the winter, road access only 4 months of the year, horrible resale value, and a water system that defied logic or reason?
When I inherited the cabin there was a book there.  Sitting solemnly in a stack of other old books on the coffee table called “The Man from Mono”.

On one of those nights that writers always love to write about, where the wind and snow was swirling outside and the wood stove stacked with as much wood as I could squeeze into one metal box.  I was buried under four blankets, wearing a pair of ear muffs, and trying to figure out how to line my long johns with long johns when I realized that I had left my book in the car.  Having no desire to test the limits of my wardrobe and sanity by trying to deconstruct my sofa attire and rig myself back up to go out in the blizzard.  Then snowshoe a mile round trip to the car parked at Tamarack Lodge just to retrieve a small paperback.  Tonight’s reading was going to be “The Man from Mono” by default.
What a find.
As I sat there with my frozen fingers and a bottle of wine that was conveniently chilled to the perfect temperature.  (Not by a wine fridge or any special device, but by the sheer chill of the cabin.)  I delved into this story that brought to light just why we do it.  Why we’ve always done it.

The need to not only be in nature but to conquer it lives very deeply in all of our souls.  John Muir, Shackelton, Franklin, Captain Cook, Krakauer, Ansel Adams, Bruce Chatwin.  Contemporaries to our world and the years behind us.
This man from Mono told a story of a very regular life led in very extraordinary circumstances and hardship.  Where this simple man set up trap lines in the winter, tourists wait in long gate lines to get into one of the most famous National Parks in the world.  His world was challenging and difficult.  He lost many friends to the rigors and dangers of that time and lifestyle.  But you could sense that he wouldn’t have chosen any other life.  His existence was connected and fed by the world in which he lived and the people who also chose that same life.

I was no different.  That siren pull of nature was always beating inside me.
Somebody asked me recently what the best part of having the cabin was and I answered because I knew it was always there.  Always within reach.   Always just a drive away….

Love reading the bucket list adventures of being a new forest service cabin owner at Chateau Fosho!
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About Our Guest Poster:

Raised on the outskirts of New Orleans between the bayou and the river, Michelle Faucheux has always been fascinated with history, travel, adventure, and exploration which has taken her as far as Egypt, Africa, and Antarctica. In a “previous life”, she was an avid concert goer, classic movie buff, and even a 3 time Louisiana Beauty Queen as a young adult. When not in her charming atelier apartment in an old New Orleans Victorian home in the Garden District, you can find Michelle living by a Silver Lake in Los Angeles or Twin Lakes in Mammoth Lakes where she is working as a producer for commercials, music videos, and photo shoots.

To share Michelle’s journey & adventures of being a new forest service cabin owner & the trials and tribulations that go with it, visit her “Chateau Fosho” website when you have some time for escaping to cabin living by visiting: https://chateaufosho.com

Don’t forget to Pin this to your Bucket List Board!

The post My First Year in the Woods – A Bucket List Adventure appeared first on The Bucket List Project.