Ask a cross-section of locals what they love about Palm Springs in the summer, and you’ll hear everything from minimal crowds to midnight dips in the pool. Another big one? An excuse to escape. While we often make a beeline to a SoCal beach town, this summer might be the season to venture a little farther from home. Whether it’s an outdoor opera in Santa Fe, amazing architecture in Honolulu, or pizza and pinot in Yountville, here are 11 Western destinations to consider for a summer vacation spiked with something new.
Portland, Oregon
Farmers markets are a dime a dozen in California, but for one of the nation’s most magnificent, get yourself to Portland on a Saturday morning. More than 140 farmers and artisan vendors make the trek from throughout the state and neighboring Washington to the campus of Portland State University for the city’s flagship market. You can easily lose yourself in the labyrinth of stalls overflowing with obscure heirloom beans, vertical farm-grown microgreens, ghost pepper jams, and freshly smoked local salmon. Be sure to seek out Southern-style Pine State Biscuits — this foodie favorite now has three brick-and-mortar locations and a national reputation, but its humble beginnings can be traced to the Portland market, where it still sets up a stall April to November, doling out fried-chicken-and-biscuit sandwiches.
stay at
Duniway Portland
Named for the 19th-century women’s rights advocate and journalist Abigail Duniway, the new hotel (just a half-mile from the market) features eclectic modern rooms with local artisan pieces and a selection of female-penned books from literary haunt Powell’s Books. If you’re looking for a market deep-dive, the hotel can send you off on an interactive tour with guide Allison Jones, a writer and farmers market connoisseur, who’ll show you around and share the scoop on area history. Chat with purveyors before heading back for a picnic of local goodies in the lobby. Later, check out the hotel restaurant, Jackrabbit, from Top Chef Masters champ Chris Cosentino, which boasts a meaty menu of pig’s ear appetizers, a hearty raw bar, and large-format feasts of braised rabbit and pin-bone steak.
get there
From Palm Springs International Airport (PSP), fly nonstop on United. If you’re living large, hire a private charter via Desert Jet to take you to Portland International Airport, 13 miles from downtown.
honolulu, hawaii
Downtown Honolulu may lack the postcard-famous crescent-shape beach and translucent waters of Waikiki, but the historic hub has become a destination for visitors and locals alike thanks to a thriving restaurant and cultural scene. For the design-minded, there’s another draw: magnificent architecture. Spend the day on a self-guided tour (download a nine-stop walk from gpsmycity.com), exploring gems like Iolani Palace (the only royal residence on American soil), the Beaux-Arts-style Hawaii Theatre, and one of the grooviest government buildings you’ll ever lay eyes on: the Hawaii State Capitol, a 1960s masterpiece complete with open-air lobby and reflecting pool. (Another option: The American Institute of Architects’ Honolulu chapter runs guided walking tours of the area every second and fourth Saturday.) In increasingly cool Chinatown, notable restaurants are coming on the scene fast and furiously, though none has made a bigger splash then Senia, the upscale collaboration between Honolulu native Chris Kajioka and British-born Anthony Rush, where you’ll want to snag a seat at the chefs’ counter and watch the team construct an innovative tasting menu. Next door, family-run The Pig and the Lady was the trendy pioneer on the block when it opened a few years back, serving up inspired spins on Vietnamese street food to cool crowds.
stay at
Halekulani
This elegant property remains a go-to for visitors who want the best of both worlds — a stay on Waikiki Beach but in a location that keeps its frenetic pace at bay. The oft-photographed swimming pool boasts a 30-square-foot glass-tile mosaic of the Cattleya orchid, service is among the best in town, and the understated rooms — done up in seven shades of white — are comfortably large, with plantation shutters opening to lovely lanais. Make sure to hit the hotel’s beachfront restaurant, House Without a Key, at sunset, when hula dancers perform under the magical old Kiawe tree, and everyone orders Oahu’s most famous mai tai.
get there
From PSP, take a connecting flight through San Francisco on Alaska Airlines or a private charter to Honolulu International Airport, 5 miles from downtown.
sante fe, new mexico
Santa Fe is one of those ridiculously charming cities that everybody loves. While most visits include some kind of art and culture — whether it’s popping into a few of the 200 galleries, touring the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, or catching a flamenco show — those who come in summertime get the bonus of the Santa Fe Opera, which performs in an outdoor amphitheater that blends into its stunning surroundings and is as much of a draw as the productions. The season kicks off June 29 with performances Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings before the schedule ramps up in August to operas nearly every night of the week. Expect five productions this summer, ranging from the classic Madame Butterfly to the modern-day Dr. Atomic, with a score inspired by 1950s sci-fi flicks. A walk through the parking lot before the show proves that even the tailgating is classy in Santa Fe: Operagoers set up full-on gourmet dinners complete with linen tablecloths, fine china, and private chefs mere yards from their cars.
Stay at
Hotel St. Francis
This historic hotel a block from the plaza was named for Santa Fe’s patron saint and designed with a nod to Franciscan settlers. The lobby features Mexican marble and flickering candles, while rooms stay simple with handcrafted wood and leather furniture. Hotel St. Francis consistently makes every “best place to get a cocktail” list thanks its sexy Secreto Lounge, which slings “garden-to-glass” drinks focused on local produce and spirits, including its signature sage margarita.
get there
Take a connecting flight on American Airlines (through Phoenix) to Albuquerque International Sunport, 65 miles from Santa Fe, or fly a private charter to Santa Fe Municipal Airport, 11 miles from Santa Fe.
Santa Fe has become a significant stop on the contemporary art circuit. SITE Santa Fe hosts a celebrated contemporary art biennial, as well as exhibitions year-round. And Meow Wolf, an arts collective whose first permanent installation was funded by Gameof Thrones writer George R.R. Martin, showcases innovative works in audience-driven immersive environments.
yountville, california
For the nation’s best food and wine on a single stretch of road, Washington Street in Napa County’s Yountville is the taste-making ticket. While several of the most acclaimed eateries belong to Thomas Keller (Bouchon, Ad Hoc, and the fabled French Laundry), one of the hippest options is the industrial-chic Redd Wood, with a menu full of inventive wood-fired pizzas, charcuterie plates, and handmade pastas by chef Richard Reddington, who’s best known for contemporary Redd a few blocks away. Wineries abound in every direction, but you can remain on foot — the most carefree way to taste, really — by hitting up a few tasting rooms right on the main drag. At Maisonry, a wine collective and art gallery, guests can customize tastings from the massive portfolio and sip inside the bi-level 1904 stone-and-wood house or outside in the whimsical sculpture garden. Another stylish option is Silver Trident Winery, a “tasting home” that doubles as a perfectly appointed Ralph Lauren Home showroom, where staffers will set you up with various vinos (don’t miss the Benevolent Dictator Pinot) in the living room, library, or dining room.
Stay at
Vintage House
After completing an extensive renovation last year, this 80-room property has gone wine-country glam with rooms full of travel-inspired artwork, rugs from around the world, dual showers, wood-burning fireplaces, and mini bars reminiscent of old travel trunks. The hotel — within walking distance of just about everything you’ll want to do in Yountville — can also arrange for outings from winery picnics to sunrise hot air balloon rides. Next door, sister property Hotel Villagio reopens this summer with 112 luxe rooms and suites, a new spa and lobby lounge, and a swanky five-bedroom private villa with its own pool.
get there
Fly nonstop on United or Alaska Airlines to San Francisco International Airport, 70 miles from Yountville; fly a private charter direct to Napa County Airport, 16 miles from Yountville; or drive the 515 miles, which takes approximately seven-and-a -half hours.
healdsburg, california
You’ll spot #SonomaStrong signs around, as the area was one of the hardest hit by last year’s wildfires. But this town is up and running and, most important, wants you to visit. Think of the hamlet of Healdsburg — centered around a picture-perfect plaza dotted with fountains, towering trees, and a copper-roofed gazebo — as Yountville’s Sonoma County counterpart. There are chic boutiques, old bookstores, brewpubs, and pie bars that seem destined for Instagram, along with plenty of places to taste good wine. The tasting room at Banshee Wines feels like a cool clubhouse where guests can lounge on distressed leather sofas and peruse the extensive vinyl collection, while visitors to La Crema’s lounge can do an on-the-fly basic tasting at the bar or, with advance notice, sign up for a wine-and-cheese or wine and-chocolate tasting. For a vineyard experience, try the shiny new Comstock winery just outside of downtown, where you can book a tasting on the terrace surrounded by merlot grapes and top it off with a game of bocce. At dinner, crowds stream in for artful fare from chef Dustin Valette, a Charlie Palmer alum who three years ago opened Valette in an early 20th-century building with his brother. Try the “Trust Me” tasting menu — you choose how many courses you want, and working from his open kitchen, Valette decides what you’ll get. (Fingers crossed the velvety scallops en croûte come your way.)
Stay at
H2Hotel
This stylishly minimalist LEED Gold-certified hotel in the heart of Healdsburg is an eco-warrior’s dream. The 36 rooms rely on occupancy sensors to reduce electricity, guests can fill carafes with purified water at stations throughout the hotel, and the flooring of the private event space is made from salvaged wood upcycled from a nearby high school gym. Even the water sculpture out front, Spoonfall by Ned Kahn, created from 3,500 espresso spoons — uses rainfall collected from the roof. Not surprisingly, lobby restaurant Spoonbar focuses on locally sourced ingredients for both its dishes and colorful cocktails.
get there
Fly nonstop on United or Alaska Airlines to San Francisco International Airport, 80 miles from Healdsburg; take a private charter to Charles Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, 15 miles from Healdsburg; or drive the 550 miles, which takes approximately eight hours.
vancouver,
british columbia
This seaport city easily could get by on natural beauty alone, but it gets a bonus for a bevy of public art — more than 350 pieces scattered around town. A walk through the Coal Harbour neighborhood will take you past several standout sculptures, including Douglas Coupland’s Digital Orca, a pixelated killer whale, and Ai Weiwei’s F Grass, a large-scale letter made of industrial cast-iron grass. The totem poles at Brockton Point in Stanley Park are the city’s top attraction and an excellent example of First Nation (indigenous peoples in Canada) artistry, while the Bill Reid Gallery — dedicated entirely to indigenous art of the Northwest Coast — reopens this month after a facelift with an exhibit on cultural tattooing. The weeklong Vancouver Mural Festival kicks off its third annual event Aug. 6, unveiling dozens of street murals by local and international artists in the Downtown Eastside and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods, along with tours and outdoor concerts.
The city caters as much to foodies as to art lovers, and no cuisine is hotter right now than Chinese. While several top picks are in nearby Richmond, if you want to stay within city limits, try the renowned Dinesty Dumpling House, famous for its tea-smoked duck, or the trendy Chang’An for a contemporary take.
Kaitlyn Stewart of Vancouver restaurant Royal Dinette beat out 10,000 contenders to take the title of World’s Best Bartender at the most recent World Class competition.
Stay at
The Listel Hotel
Located on downtown’s swanky shop-and-restaurant heavy Robson Street, this 129-room property touts itself as a cultural experience thanks to its massive art collection, sculpture-laden lobby, museum partnerships, and rooms decorated with works that
vary in style depending on
your floor.
get there
Fly WestJet nonstop to Vancouver International Airport.
oakland, california
San Francisco has always played the homecoming queen to Oakland’s quiet artsy kid nobody notices. But the once-gritty city across the bay has become a destination of its own, with pockets of stylish shopping, a burgeoning food scene, and a string of cool cocktail bars shaking things up. Hordes of locals looking for lunch fill Swan’s Market, where long-standing seafood and butcher counters sit alongside modern-day oyster and sushi bars. The longest lines are always for the pork belly and fried fish tacos at the Cal-Mex counter Cosecha. Post-lunch, retail hipster heaven awaits at Temescal Alleys, twin rows of locally owned shops hawking tinctures and teas, recycled canvas bags, handmade jewelry, and pricey artisanal ice cream. For dinner and drinks, head for the upscale Rockridge neighborhood’s hot spot Ramen Shop, which serves up creative organic noodle soups at the main restaurant and Japanese whisky-centric high balls at the attached cocktail bar. Uptown’s modern Spanish Duende doles out pintxos, paella, and a solid selection of sherry and often has live flamenco guitar performances. For a nightcap, try nearby Plum Bar for an interesting offering of barrel-aged cocktails.
stay at
Claremont Club & Spa
Tucked into the Oakland Hills, the century-old Claremont Club & Spa, now a Fairmont Hotel, got a serious renovation a few years back and boasts elegant rooms to match its stunning views of the bridges and bay. Splurge on a treatment at the 32-room spa and mingle with “canine ambassador” Edie, a boxer mix who strolls the lobby of the pet-friendly property. Be sure to spend some time on the deck of restaurant and bar Limewood during happy hour, when crowds roll in to pair drinks and oysters with sunset views.
get there
Fly United nonstop to San Francisco International Airport, 9 miles from Oakland; fly a private charter to Oakland International Airport, 9 miles from Downtown Oakland; or make the 480-mile drive, which takes about seven hours.
ashland, oregon
The renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival, once a three-day event, has ballooned to 800 performances of 11 plays over a mega eight-month season. Take advantage of the Pacific Northwest’s temperate summer weather with a show at the open-air Allen Elizabethan Theatre. In addition to Love’s Labour’s Lost and Romeo and Juliet, the comedy The Book of Will will hit the outdoor stage this year. When you’re not catching a show, explore extras like backstage tours, lunchtime lectures, and immersive Shakespeare classes.
Stay at
Ashland Springs Hotel
This restored 1925 landmark sits just steps from the festival and, at nine stories, happens to be the tallest building in town. Rooms are decorated in European style with floral-printed quilts and custom-painted furniture. The grand lobby with giant fireplace is a great spot to catch up on your Shakespeare before the show.
get there
Take a connecting flight on United Airlines (via San Francisco or Los Angeles) or a private charter to Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, 15 miles north of Ashland.
“I am falser than vows made in wine,” Rosalind says in As You Like It. Once you’ve had your fill of Shakespeare in Ashland, find out what she meant by hitting the nearby Applegate Valley wine region, home to vineyards producing chardonnay, tempranillo, and syrah, among others.
lake tahoe, California
Summertime visitors who make the pilgrimage to North America’s largest alpine lake are pretty much guaranteed sunny days in the 70s — perfect for whatever watersports are on the agenda. Stick with the casino-free California side and take your time driving the pristine West Shore dotted with lakefront communities, beaches, preserves, and the Ed Z’Berg Sugar Pine Point State Park, with 2 miles of lakeshore surrounded by some of the tallest pines in the world (not to mention pine cones the size of your head), hiking trails, and the 1903 Hellman-Ehrman Mansion. Equipment rental outfits are plentiful, but West Shore Sports has three locations along the West Shore (including one at the park), renting out kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and bikes. If a more leisurely day on the lake is what you’re after, SWA Watersports in Homewood offers boat and pontoon rentals along with private sport-yacht charters.
Stay at
Cedar Crest Cottages
This enclave of eight cottages (ranging from one to three bedrooms) renovated by a local family-owned construction company has been done up with stylish rustic-meets-Restoration Hardware furnishings, hardwood floors, and kitchens equipped with Bosch appliances. Guests can roast s’mores at the communal outdoor fire pit, play horseshoes on the lawn, or head across the street to the beach.
get there
Take a connecting flight on American Airlines (through Phoenix) to Reno-Tahoe International Airport, about 55 miles from the West Shore or fly a private charter to Truckee Tahoe Airport, less than 20 miles away.
aspen, colorado
When the weather turns warm, this Rocky Mountain destination rolls out a roster of festivals. The Food and Wine Classic in Aspen (June 15–17) offers a packed culinary schedule of events ranging from decadent dinners to lectures on the return of rye. The Aspen Ideas Festival (June 21–30) puts on heady discussions with leaders of all types around ideas and issues shaping society. And the renowned Aspen Music Festival and School runs a full eight weeks (June 29—Aug. 20) and features more than 400 events, including solo and chamber music performances, concerts by multiple orchestras, and opera performances, along with classes, lectures, and kids’ programs. Heads up, Francophiles: This season’s theme is “Paris, City of Light,” focused on Parisian composers and those simply inspired by the city.
Stay at
The Little Nell
This well-heeled resort town is home to plenty of high-end hotels, but none feels quite as glamorous as The Little Nell, complete with 92 posh rooms touting gilded wallpaper, stone fireplaces, and heated marble floors. The hotel hands out puppy jet-lag kits and a menu of “canine delights” for four-legged guests, but their humans will want to head for the see-and-be-seen bar and restaurant Element 47, with a 20,000-bottle wine cellar. In case you want to make the trip back in winter, the hotel is Aspen’s only ski-in/ski-out property.
get there
Take a connecting flight on United Airlines (through Denver) or fly a private charter to Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.
Aspen is famously posh, but its best attraction is one of its cheapest: the Maroon Bells. This breathtaking glacial valley surrounded by 14,000 foot peaks, home to fields of wildflowers and the pristine Maroon Lake, should not be missed. Park for $10 and partake in world-class hiking, fly-fishing, and camping.
carmel, california
There’s a reason stressed-out people visit Carmel: A simple stroll on the Scenic Bluff Path above Carmel Beach can make you forget everything. After you’ve cleared your mind, meander through the storybook-like village lined with artists’ galleries, independent shops (in addition to high-end national chains like Tiffany and Kate Spade), and a fair number of French-inspired restaurants that seem perfectly placed in the European-sequel hamlet. The 60-year-old L’Escargot makes use of local ingredients for country fare like a Parisian butter lettuce salad and local sand dabs.
Set a few hours aside to cruise the life-changing 17-Mile Drive, which winds through Pebble Beach, around the Monterey Peninsula, along oceanfront cliffs, and past the iconic Lone Cypress tree. It’s so beautiful you might even forget about your smartphone for awhile.
Nearby Monterey is synonymous with John Steinbeck, but Carmel may have its own literary hero. There’s reason to believe that Robert Louis Stevenson used Point Lobos as the inspiration for the setting of Treasure Island.
Stay at
La Playa Carmel
This century-old hotel feels a bit like a private English manor, with its ivy-covered stone exterior, green gardens, and fireplace-flanked foyer, along with a smattering of terraces and patios that overlook the water from the hotel’s perch just two blocks from the Pacific. For a more modern beach-cottage vibe, head to Hotel Carmel, with bright white rooms, tables fashioned out of driftwood, and a circle of Adirondack chairs around the communal patio’s fireplace. Hotel restaurant Brophy’s Tavern churns out creative pub fare of braised short rib fries and carnitas mac’ n’ cheese.
get there
Take a connecting flight on American Airlines (through Phoenix); fly a private charter to Monterey Regional Airport, 7 miles from Carmel; or drive the 430 miles, which should take about six-and-a-half hours.