You can do a tour of the "Hood" in Baltimore if you are so inclined.

https://baltimore.craigslist.o...ting/6616028720.html

When we lived in DC we enjoyed going to Blackwater Falls in WV a lot. But then we were missing the evergreen forests of the West.

Smokey Mountains, Gatlinburg, TN.

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:
If you don't mind heights and want a little adventure. No climbing experience needed. https://www.nrocks.com/activities/via-ferrata/

There's one in Kentucky somewhere too I went to. Of course, it pales to the one in Telluride (which I've also done). But it's worth doing if you're adventuresome.

Speaking if Kentucky, Red River Gorge area. I first went there back around 1980, very rural and not crowded. I'm told it's been "discovered", big outdoors and mountain biking area.

Closer to DC, there's Catoctin Mountain and Cunningham Falls State Parks, adjacent to Camp David. Waterfalls, hiking.

Really closer to DC is Great Falls (both sides of river), where there's hiking and climbing. And the C&O Canal for biking. C&O goes out past Frederick, so more opportunities there for new stuff.

West Virginia is close enough to DC to make it a reasonable destination for a shorter break, and rural enough and undiscovered as to make it enjoyable, at least for me. Great scenery, lots of mountains. I was told years ago, jokingly or at least I think, that if you took a huge iron to West Virginia and made it flat, it would be bigger than Texas!

Like others, growing up I traveled a lot and camped to save $$$. I still do, as I've gotten into the "habit", and I'll be 60 this year. Not an inconvenience at all for me, unless it's hot. The only accommodation I've made as aging is getting thicker sleeping pads. I use the REI 2.5" Camp Rest pad now. If you have the gear, this is the way to do a budget vacation. Plus, it lets you get off the beaten path.

I treasure my time off. I do not use vacation for house work or chores. I go places. So those ideas are not my cup of tea.