<p>Something not too expensive (college tuitions), outdoorsy, good for teens.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind a longer drive, consider visiting the Martimes. Beautiful, varied country, a whole different culture and history, lots to see and do (and eat). We took a car ferry out of Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia, then to PEI and home via New Brunswick.</p>
<p>How about Acadia National Park in Maine?</p>
<p>I completely second Maine in and around Acadia. One of our best ever camping trips.</p>
<p>Ha! As soon as I saw the thread title, I thought of Acadia National Park. </p>
<p>Other than that, there is plenty of camping and hiking in the White Mountains, in NH, the Green Mountains, in VT, and Adirondacks, in NY. Burlington, VT is a fun little city that would appeal to teens.</p>
<p>I don’t know where you are coming from… and I’m not familiar with the places up in NY and VT but if I were going to go local I’d go here…</p>
<p>[Poconos</a> Official Website - Resorts, Restaurants, Golf, Skiing, Maps - Vacation & Visitors Information from the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau](<a href=“http://www.800poconos.com/]Poconos”>http://www.800poconos.com/)</p>
<p>[U.S</a>. National Park Service - Experience Your America](<a href=“http://www.nps.gov/index.htm]U.S”>NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service)) lets you search by geographic location and type of park/historical site. It is my first stop when I plan a trip.</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to the Chincoteague Island, Virginia First Official Tourist page](<a href=“http://www.chincoteague.com/]Welcome”>http://www.chincoteague.com/)
[Maryland</a> Department of Natural Resources - Maryland Park Service](<a href=“http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/assateague.asp]Maryland”>http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/assateague.asp)</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas. Acadia is our back up plan…we have been there 5 times or so. Great vacation 7 not too far. The Maritimes sound interesting, different culture. I’ll check out the Poconos & White mountains too.</p>
<p>Some things to do in the maritimes-- canoeing, sailing, Anne of Green Gables tourist-y area, Cape Breton music and ethnic festivals, lighthouses, eat great seafood, see the Bay of Fundy (the world’s largest tide, or claims to be). We camped every night except in Bar Harbor, when we had to be up early to catch the ferry.</p>
<p>Acadia is the #1 choice, but since you’ve been there several times already, I’d suggest Nova Scotia/Cape Breton as an alternative. Especially if your family is into their style of music, at all. Canadian national campgrounds are beautifully maintained.</p>
<p>An even stronger possibility, a bit further afield, is Newfoundland. (If you drive up through Novia Scotia and Cap Breton to the ferry, you can camp there on the way.) The western area has some of the most astonishing physical characteristics you will ever encounter. Check out Gros Mornes, which is a Unesco World Heritage site. I can’t say enough about its varied glories. It is the trip of a lifetime.</p>
<p>One caution: if you go up to the tip of the western penninsula to visit the Norse settlement and go out on a boat to circle icebergs–which you definitely should do–DO NOT camp at Pistolet Bay. It is the mosquito/blood-sucking capital of the world, and a harrowing experience, even for seasoned campers. I felt like a member of the Donner Party, and looked like it too. :D</p>
<p>I’m not, BTW, dissing the rest of Newfoundland as a destination. I just haven’t been there.</p>
<p>We also loved Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Really enjoyed a visit to Campobello. Maine/Acadia great too but sounds like you’ve been there many times already so Canada may be nice for a change.</p>
<p>When you had asked: “camping, hiking, ocean,” I had suggested Acadia National Park, not realizing you had been so many times before. I was trying to think of a place that had all three things. However, I can think of places if you are willing to have two of those elements and tweaking the third. </p>
<p>One…I live in Vermont in the mountains. Many come here to hike and camp out. If you do this in Northern Vermont, you also have Lake Champlain nearby (and of course there are other lakes). So, you could sub lake for ocean. There are a plethora of outdoor activities in VT in the summer!!</p>
<p>Two…where we love and our kids have loved is at the end of Cape Cod is the National Seashore. The beaches are beautiful with dunes and no buildings on them. We have camped out in North Truro near the beach in a campground. Very nearby is Provincetown which my kids have enjoyed very much in the evenings. So, you’d have camping and ocean and also bike trails but not quite as much hiking (though there are trails in the National Seashore (just not mountains!). There is kayaking and such too.</p>