Collegiettes – we know that your summers are coveted and quick. And honestly, you don’t have many more before entering the ominous “REAL WORLD,” so we’ve compiled a list of things you MUST do before the end of the summer of 2015! You can thank us later.
1. Go to a festival or fair.
Quechee’s Hot Air Balloon Festival in 2014. Photo taken by Rachel Walsh.
New England is known for its great fall fairs, but has some even better ones in the early summer! Round up your friends to experience some of New England’s most unique fairs this summer. You could try Quechee, Vermont’s Hot Air Balloon Festival, Westford, Massachusetts’ CountryFest, Central Falls, Rhode Island’s Cherry Blossom Festival, or Newburyport, Massachusetts’ Spring Fest. These festivals could also make for a great summer date idea!
2. Go on a camping trip with your friends.
Camping at Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire.
We know – camping does NOT sound very glamorous, but if you do it right, you’ll go back every summer. Go somewhere with a mountain to hike, a lake or river to swim in, and public bathrooms! Take off for a weekend with your friends from home and catch up on the past year. Pitch a tent, build a fire, and relax. Don’t forget hot dogs and ingredient to make s’mores! Great camping locations in New England include Bar Harbor in Maine, Lake Waramaug State Park in Connecticut, the Charlestown Breachway in Rhode Island, Winhall Brook in Vermont, Waquoit Bay in Massachusetts, and Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire.
3. Take day trips to visit your roommates.
After spending an entire year living only a few feet away from each other, you and your roommates won’t be able to go long without visiting each other. Plan daytrips to visit each other and act like a tourists in each other’s hometowns! Fingers crossed one of your roommates lives on Cape Cod.
4. Learn something new.
We know how cliché this sounds, but it’s summer time! When else will you have time to learn something totally new? Whether it’s finding out you’re a champion hiker, growing a garden, or learning how to surf, you’ll have something productive to say in the fall when everyone asks the dreaded and predictable question – “So, what did you do this summer?”
5. Go on an adventure!
Think BIG here! Do something out of the ordinary. Go on a whale watch, go white water rafting, try horseback riding, take a train for a sightseeing trip, try zip lining, or kayak down a river. The possibilities really are endless.
6. Take a road trip.
This is the first summer in our driving years when gas prices have been this low, so take advantage! Yankee Magazine compiled a list of the ten best road trips to take in New England. With trips through scenic old towns, beautiful ocean views, and New England’s famed covered bridges, Yankee Magazine makes us want to take all of these road trips!
7. Read a good book.
Don’t let reading chapter after chapter of your history textbook make you forget how much you like reading when it’s the right book. Check out what was on our reading list for the summer of 2013 and stay tuned for new reads this year. And why not read it while lounging on your favorite New England beach?
8. Go on a unique date.
This list wouldn’t be complete without including a romantic summer fling! Now that it’s summer, there are so many more things you and your guy can do instead of the traditional dinner and a movie. Take a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Vermont, walk the Cliff Walk and tour the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, explore America’s Stonehenge in New Hampshire, or have a romantic (or spontaneous!) picnic on the beach. Your date will love the adventure and change of scenery!
9. Go to an outdoor concert.
You can’t enjoy summer without going to an outdoor concert! The shows playing throughout New England this summer are looking pretty good. Some of the best concerts this summer include Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, The Rascal Flatts, The Avett Brothers, and Lady Antebellum located at Meadowbrook in New Hampshire and Lana del Ray, Tim McGraw, Train, Florida Georgia Line, and Van Halen at the XFinity Center in Massachusetts.
10. Spend a day at an amusement park.
Unleash your inner child at one of New England’s entertaining amusement parks. Some of New England’s best include Six Flags in Springfield, Massachusetts, Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire, and Water Country in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
11. Watch a movie at the drive-in.
We’re not sure what, but something about watching a movie from your car is so appealing. Travel New England compiled a list of all of the drive-ins in New England! Some have been around since 1939!
12. Take pictures of it all!
Did it really happen if you didn’t take pictures?! Don’t forget to document everything you do this summer as you cross it off your bucket list. Her Campus Bryant wishes you the best as you enjoy all New England has to offer this summer!