Vacation destinations within USA/Canada with cool summer temperatures

Frwinkley

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
My favorite vacations are quickly becoming those with cool, comfortable temperatures and since I teach, I can only travel during the summer months. We've done San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Canadian Rockies, Quebec and Toronto. What other spots should I consider? We love sight seeing, hiking, small towns with shops, restaurants, etc. Vancouver and Seattle are on the list, but we might save those for when we take an Alaskan cruise.
 
Pacific Northwest. Right now Portland is having a heat wave, but it's usually tolerable. Seattle has its best weather in the summer, although it does still rain. And of course the higher elevations such as Mt Rainier or places like the Olympic Peninsula.
 


Newfoundland, Canada. Sometimes it snows in July, but usually summers are nice. So much to see. Beautiful part of the world. Quebec is lovely too. Someone mention Muskoka. Cottage country in Ontario can be very hot. Fall comes early there though. If you want cool, I’d save Muskoka for September.
 
Of anyplace in Canada you'd probably want to go, Vancouver and Victoria on the Pacific coast are the most likely to have moderate temperatures during June - September. Anywhere else, even the Rockies and far further north can have hot weather. For example, eastern Canada and the Maritimes just had a heat wave with temperatures over 100F causing at least 30 deaths. Southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan regularly get that hot in summer and here in Calgary on the edge of the Rockies it's currently 90F and will be for days. While we do have the advantage of slightly cooler nights, you really just never know. Of course, "too hot" is relative and these conditions might not be unpleasant for you. :wave2:
 
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My favorite vacations are quickly becoming those with cool, comfortable temperatures and since I teach, I can only travel during the summer months. We've done San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Canadian Rockies, Quebec and Toronto. What other spots should I consider? We love sight seeing, hiking, small towns with shops, restaurants, etc. Vancouver and Seattle are on the list, but we might save those for when we take an Alaskan cruise.

San Francisco. It could be 110 inland and then you go to San Francisco and you need a jacket. Highs next week between 66-70 Mendocino is a beautiful small town with hiking and the like. The headlands are great. Not an incredible amount of shops though.
 
Of anyplace in Canada you'd probably want to go, Vancouver and Victoria on the Pacific coast are the most likely to have moderate temperatures during June - September. Anywhere else, even the Rockies and far further north can have hot weather. For example, eastern Canada and the Maritimes just had a heat wave with temperatures over 100F causing at least 30 deaths. Southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan regularly get that hot in summer and here in Calgary on the edge of the Rockies it's currently 90F and will be for days. While we do have the advantage of slightly cooler nights, you really just never know. Of course, "too hot" is relative and these conditions might not be unpleasant for you. :wave2:

Al those deaths were in Quebec, not the Maritimes. We had a spell of hot humid weather here (Halifax) last week, but it didn''t hit anywhere near 100F. Maybe it might have been that warm in the parts of New Brunswick nearer to Quebec? Generally, if you stick to the coasts in the Maritimes the weather is more moderate than inland. 25C or about 77F is what we would generally consider a warm day, although it might feel warmer due to the humidity and we usually have a week or two in the summer where it goes near 30C (86F)

If NS is too warn for you, I would definitely recommend Newfoundland, with a side trip to St Pierre and Miquelon, islands belonging to France that can be accessed from Newfoundland by ferry.

M.
 
Northern Michigan. Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Mackinac Island (just to name a few). Lovely in the summer.

I have also been to Vail, Colorado a couple of times in July. The weather was perfect. Sunny and temps in the 70’s.
 
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Niagra Falls is a fun, cool choice too...especially the Canadian side!

It is a fun choice. If someone is specifically looking for cooler temps, that's totally dependent upon weather patterns. Niagara gets heat and humidity just like Buffalo, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, etc.
 
Lake Placid, NY. Lots of outdoor activities, from kayaking and stand-up-paddleboarding to hiking and biking. Small-town feel, for sure. And, cool enough that you need a light sweater when having dinner outside at one of the great restaurants. One of our favorite spots!
 
The biggest problem is trying to predict the weather. In 2015 we visited my BIL near Seattle and went to BC. Seattle had near record heat and we were sweating up a storm because his house was built for cold temps and had no A/C. BC was OK for a day but got worse because of smoke from dozens of wildfires. But overall those are some pretty good places to visit in the summer.
 

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