The first leg traverses the Chattahoochee National Forest, threading through Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia to West Virginia’s 4-mile-long section. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters is found in West Virginia’s Harpers Ferry, perhaps best known as the site of John Brown’s ill-fated slave rebellion in 1859 that sparked the Civil War.
The halfway mark is in Pennsylvania, where the trail heads through the Michaux State Forest and the Cumberland Valley before reaching the Delaware Water Gap. It then enters New Jersey, offering occasional Manhattan skyline views. New York’s popular Harriman–Bear Mountain State Park contains the first portion of the trail completed, in 1923.
The trail continues through Connecticut’s section of the scenic Taconic Range and Housatonic River Valley, the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts (see p. 812), and Vermont, where it approaches tree line at Killington (see p. 885). The portion of the trail in New Hampshire’s majestic White Mountains (see p. 826) attracts more back-country hikers than any other part of the trail, and the 281-mile homestretch through Maine ends in the famous “Hundred Miles,” an isolated stretch of mountains, lakes, and forest between the town of Monson and Mount Katahdin.
WHERE: 2,178 miles from Georgia to Maine. Tel 304-535-6331; www.appalachiantrail.org. When: generally Mar–Sep (northbound) or Jun–Dec (southbound). BEST TIMES: mid-May in Damascus, Va., for Appalachian Trail Days; Jun–Jul in the southern Appalachians for flowering shrubs; Oct in New England for fall foliage.
History, Aristocrats, and Splendid Isolation
THE GOLDEN ISLES
Georgia, U.S.A.
In the 19th century, Astors, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Goodyears, and Pulitzers, fleeing snowy northern winters, began the tradition of vacationing on Georgia’s stunning barrier islands. Five of these getaways would come to be known as the Golden Isles, as much for their special light as their privileged lifestyle.
Reachable only by ferry, Cumberland is the largest and most enchanting. More than 90 percent of the 35-square-mile island is protected, home to sea turtles, wild horses, and more than 300 species of birds. Day visitors are limited, but a lucky few overnighters have the place to themselves at the only accommodation on the island, the plantation-style Greyfield Inn. Little has changed at steel baron Thomas Carnegie’s former home, built in 1901 and still run by his descendants.
The 9-mile-long Jekyll Island, two-thirds of which is off-limits to developers, offers a network of paved bike paths past grand “cottages” from its gilded past. The Queen Anne–style Jekyll Island Club Hotel, the island’s former elite social hub, is the anchor of the 240-acre historic district and retains the aura of an Edwardian millionaires’ hangout.
On Sea Island, the legendary Cloister at Sea Island resort has two 18-hole championship courses that rank among the best in the Southeast. Designed in classic Mission style, the romantic resort is surrounded by live oaks dripping with Spanish moss and boasts a lavish spa and 5 miles of pinkish white sandy beach. Neighboring Simons Island is no less beautiful, but more accessible and affordable. Since 1872, the 104-foot-tall St. Simons Lighthouse has stood guard over the main village’s clutch of specialty boutiques, antiques shops, and seafood restaurants. Its sister, Little St. Simon’s Island, reached only by ferry, is the least visited of all. Explore this special 10,000-acre oasis of moss-draped forests with a guide, who will show you some of the 20 miles of winding trails and 7 miles of shell-strewn beach. At the Lodge, rustic Adirondack-style cabins are home to no more than 30 guests, though they’ll be sharing the island with up to ten day-trippers from June through September.
WHERE: 80 miles south of Savannah. VISITOR INFO: www.comecoastawhile.com. CUMBERLAND ISLAND: Tel 877-860-6787 or 912-882-4335; www.nps.gov/cuis. GREYFIELD INN: Tel 888-243-9738 or 904-261-6408; www.greyfieldinn.com. Cost: from $395 (off-peak), from $475 (peak), all-inclusive. JEKYLL ISLAND CLUB HOTEL: Tel 800-535-9547 or 912-635-2600; www.jekyllclub.com. Cost: from $190. THE CLOISTER AT SEA ISLAND: Tel 800-732-4752 or 912-638-3611; www.sea island.com. Cost: from $450 (off-peak), from $700 (peak); greens fees from $225 (off-peak), from $295 (peak) for Seaside, and $175 (off-peak) and $210 (peak) for Plantation. THE LODGE AT LITTLE SIMON: Tel 888-733-5774 or 912-638-7472; www.littlessi.com. Cost: from $475 (off-peak), from $625 (peak), all-inclusive. Day visitors, from $75 inclusive. BEST TIMES: Apr–May and Sep–Oct for mild weather.
Georgia’s Jewel
SAVANNAH’S HISTORIC DISTRICT
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A.
Savannah is America’s best walking city, a living museum with the country’s largest National Historical Landmark District: more than 2,300 Colonial and Victorian buildings within 2.5 square miles. The nation’s first planned city, Savannah was laid out in 1733 on a grid by its founder, British general James Oglethorpe; 21 of the original 24 leafy 1-acre squares remain. “White gold” (King Cotton) subsequently filled the coffers of this port city and was responsible for the proliferation of mansions. At President Lincoln’s request, Savannah was spared during Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s scorched-earth military campaign in 1864.
Almost a hundred years later, the Historic Savannah Foundation was born to protect the city’s architectural legacy. The Davenport House Museum, the first building saved by the foundation, dates to 1820 and is one of the nation’s finest Federal-style urban houses.
Take in the city by horse-drawn carriage, trolley, bicycle, or on foot. Several companies offer tours that include highlights from the 1994 bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, as well as notable buildings by British architect William Jay. Among his best are the Owens-Thomas House, an 1819 mansion in stunning Oglethorpe Square, and the nearby Telfair Academy. Both are today part of the Telfair Museum of Art, the South’s oldest public art museum.
Some of the city’s most impressive historic homes are now charming B&Bs and inns. The genteel 17-room Gastonian consists of two Italianate town houses and a carriage house dating from the 1860s; its legendary Southern breakfast is a challenge to walk off. Mansion on Forsyth Park combines a regal, 1888 Victorian-Georgian mansion and a newer annex that blends harmoniously. It includes a spa, and the 700 Drayton, a restaurant as known for its hamburgers as it is for its more inventive fare.
Savannah celebrates its food with inimitable panache. Housed in an elegant turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts manse, Elizabeth on 37th has long been popular for its refined interpretation of classic lowcountry recipes. Meanwhile, over at Mrs. Wilkes’s Boarding House, large communal tables disappear under platters of fried chicken, peppery crab stew spiked with sherry, and Savannah red rice. “The Lady” who owns The Lady & Sons restaurant is Food Network chef Paula Deen. Her enormous and forever full restaurant in a former 19th-century hardware store draws raves for what many say are the best crab cakes and fried chicken in town.
Locals call the Asendorf House, built in the Queen Anne style, the “Gingerbread House.”
WHERE: 250 miles southeast of Atlanta. VISITOR INFO: www.savannahvisit.com. DAVENPORT HOUSE: Tel 912-236-8097; www.davenporthousemuseum.org. TELFAIR MUSEUM OF ART: Tel 912-790-8800; www.telfair.org. THE GASTONIAN: Tel 800-322-6603 or 912-232-2869; www.gastonian.com. Cost: from $205. MANSION ON FORSYTH PARK: Tel 888-711-5114 or 912-238-5158; www.mansiononforsythpark.com. Cost: from $160 (off-peak), from $310 (peak); dinner $50. ELIZABETH ON 37TH: Tel 912-236-5547; www.elizabethon37th.net. Cost: dinner $60. MRS. WILKES’S BOARDING HOUSE: Tel 912-232-5997; www.mrswilkes.com. Cost: lunch $15. THE LADY & SONS: Tel 912-233-2600; www.ladyandsons.com. Cost: dinner $37. BEST TIMES: late Mar for Tour of Homes and Gardens; mid-May for spring tour of historic gardens.
“I believe Hawaii is the most precious jewel in the world.”—DON HO
HAWAI‘I ISLAND (BIG ISLAND)
Hawaii, U.S.A.
The youngest, largest, and most primal of the 1,500-mile-long Hawaiian archipelago, Hawai‘i Island has all the necessary tropical delights and awe-inspiring natural attractions, including the world’s most active volcano. This
is the birthplace of the great warrior King Kamehameha I, who in 1812 conquered the other islands and created the Kingdom of Hawai‘i. Though Hawai‘i Island is the correct geographic name, it is best known as the Big Island because all the other islands could fit into it twice over. Whatever you call it, the island is a miracle of diversity, containing 11 of Earth’s 13 climate zones—from lush tropical rain forests to desolate, black lava deserts and arctic tundra. Don’t miss the thrilling spectacle of watching the molten lava of Kilauea make the island grow bigger before your eyes.
TOP ATTRACTIONS
HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK—The island’s most prominent features are its five volcanoes—the largest, Mauna Kea, extends from sea level to 13,796 feet. You can get a glimpse of their power in the 330,000-acre Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Here, you’ll be taken on a journey back to the creation of earth, as deep, smoldering calderas hiss and underground lava tubes cut their way through the jungle. Follow the Crater Rim Drive to Kilauea Volcano, the park’s crown jewel and believed to be the home of fiery goddess Pele. It has been spewing lava almost continuously since 1983.
At night the streaming lava glows like an incandescent ribbon on the flank of the mountain. The modest but conveniently located Volcano Inn, just a mile from the park entrance, assures an early start or the chance to spend a late night watching the fiery flows. WHERE: 30 miles southwest of Hilo. VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK: Tel 808-985-6000; www.nps.gov/havo. VOLCANO INN: Tel 800-628-3876 or 808-967-7773; www.volcanoinnhawaii.com. Cost: from $99.
THE MAUNA KEA SUMMIT—To the ancient Hawaiians, the snow-covered summit of Mauna Kea (“White Mountain”) was where the gods lived. To astronomers, the 13,796-foot mountain, with its close-to-the-equator location and unusually clear, pitch-black skies, is the best place on earth to view the cosmos. Its peak is home to a number of the world’s largest telescopes, but even naked-eye stargazing here is fantastic. With a 4WD vehicle, it’s possible to drive from sea level to the top in a few hours. Pack some warm gear and a picnic dinner, and watch out for signs of altitude sickness, which is not uncommon.
At 9,200 feet, the Onizuka visitor center offers free tours that take you through an observatory at the summit. You can also explore the heavens on your own, using the center’s telescopes. Arrive at the summit before sunset to wander around the colony of observatories, where 11 nations have set up 13 of the world’s most sophisticated telescopes for deep-space exploration.
In Hilo you’ll find the titanium-clad cones of the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii, where a state-of-the-art planetarium explores the origin of the universe according to both astronomical calculations and the Hawaiian creation chant. WHERE: 70 miles east of Kailua-Kona. ONIZUKA VISITOR CENTER: Tel 808-961-2180; www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis. ‘IMILOA ASTRONOMY CENTER: Tel 808-969-9700; www.imiloahawaii.org.
PARKER RANCH—Home of the paniolo, the Hawaiian cowboy, Parker Ranch is among the oldest and largest of U.S. ranches, founded in 1847 by one of Hawaii’s earliest Anglo immigrants. Patriarch John Parker jumped ship in 1809 and was hired by King Kamehameha to cull maverick cattle. Before long, salt beef had become the island’s top export, and in the 1830s, vaqueros from California taught riding and roping skills to paniolos (from the Hawaiian pronunciation of “español”). Centered around the quiet cow town of Waimea, the Parker Ranch still has a cattle operation, producing 14 million pounds of beef annually. It’s at its liveliest during the Independence Day and Labor Day Rodeos, when paniolos strut their calf-roping, bronc-busting, bull-riding stuff. Cowboys of Hawaii offers ranch tours by ATV and horseback. WHERE: Kamuela. Tel 800-262-7290 or 808-887-1046; www.parkerranch.com. COWBOYS OF HAWAII: Tel 808-885-5006; www.cowboysofhawaii.com.
WAIPI‘O VALLEY—A Garden of Eden dense with fruit trees, waterfalls, and a gorgeous beach of black sand, Waipi‘o Valley is also a place of great mana, or spiritual power—many ali‘i (royalty) rest in ancient burial caves in the cliffs of this “Valley of the Kings.” At the turn of the 17th century, aqueducts and ingenious aquaculture ponds supported a population of 40,000; today, it’s a sleepy, peaceful place. After taking in the majestic views from Waipi‘o Valley Overlook, you can head down into the valley on guided 4WD tours or on foot, then ride horseback or take a mule-drawn wagon tour of the valley floor. Spectacular waterfalls cascade down the steep, jungled valley walls, including 1,200-foot Hiilawe Falls, Hawaii’s tallest. This is also the starting point for one of Hawaii’s best drives. The 45-mile trip along the Hamakua Coast takes you through quaint villages, past plunging waterfalls, and over bridges spanning deep ravines, ending in Hilo. Make your base the Waipi‘o Wayside Inn, a 1932 former sugar plantation bungalow commanding ocean views from the top of a 1,000-foot cliff. WHERE: 50 miles north of Hilo. WAIPI‘O WAYSIDE B&B: Tel 800-833-8849 or 808-775-0275; www.waipiowayside.com. Cost: from $99.
KEALAKEKUA BAY—At Kealakekua Bay, dramatic cliffs surround turquoise waters on the southern Kona Coast. Captain Cook was the first documented European to land here in 1779. Visitors come today for the underwater park and marine preserve, one of Hawaii’s best snorkeling and diving locations and home to abundant populations of tropical fish, sea turtles, octopus, and visiting spinner dolphins that lend a magical note, especially if you see them by kayak. (The best chance of a sighting is first thing in the morning.) Calm conditions prevail all but a few days out of the year, and the turquoise water is warm and clear, with visibility up to 100 feet. WHERE: 16 miles south of Kailua-Kona.
PU‘UHONUA O HONAUNAU—In ancient Hawaii, death was the penalty for breaking a kapu (law), but offenders who eluded the chief’s warriors could find safety at a pu‘uhonua, or place of refuge. At Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park, a nearly 500-year-old Great Wall—10 feet high, 1,000 feet long, and 17 feet thick—circumscribes one of these legendary pu‘uhonuas. Outside it lies a complex of archaeological sites, and within, a restored 1650 temple that holds the remains of 23 ancient Hawaiian chiefs. In late June and early July, the Cultural Festival celebrates Hawaiian traditions with a royal court procession, hula, and samples of traditional foods. WHERE: 22 miles south of Kailua-Kona. Tel 808-328-2288; www.nps.gov/puho.
Carved wooden images, known as ki‘i, greet visitors at Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park.
BEST BEACHES
HAPUNA BEACH—A gorgeous half-mile-long swath of sand on brilliant blue waters, Hapuna is one of Big Island’s largest and most popular beaches. It has shore breaks for body boarders, humpback whale viewing in winter, and great snorkeling in summer. Local families spend the day here, bringing their hibachis and coolers for picnicking in the green park nearby. WHERE: 9 miles north of Waikoloa Village.
KAUNA‘OA BEACH—This palm-fringed slice of soft white sand fronting the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Kohala Coast is, like its sister, Hapuna Beach to the south, one of the most beautiful seaside spots on the island. Sometimes referred to as Mauna Kea Beach, Kauna‘oa is usually less crowded than Hapuna Beach because parking is limited. Unless you’re staying at the hotel, arrive early to enjoy swimming, snorkeling, bodysurfing, and, in winter, the frequent appearance of humpback whales. WHERE: Kohala.
ANAEHO‘OMALU BAY—This lovely coconut palm–lined beach (nicknamed A-Bay) fronting Waikoloa Resort is often calm even when the surf is rough elsewhere. A-Bay offers sailing and diving expeditions and boasts some of the best windsurfing in West Hawaii. Plus, it has a large petroglyph field and two ancient Hawaiian fishponds that once served Hawaiian royalty. The only thing lacking is surfable waves. WHERE: Waikoloa.
KAHALU‘U BEACH PARK—Snorkelers and scuba divers come to the Kona coast to swim with angelfish, darting wrasses, yellow tangs, and the occasional dolphin. If you’re a beginner, Kahalu‘u Beach Park is an excellent place to start. A reef offshore keeps the waters calm, and much of the protected cove is only 3 feet deep. It couldn’t be easier—vendors even sell plastic fish identification cards that you can take with you into the water. For the best experience, come early in the morning before the
crowds arrive. WHERE: 5 miles south of Kailua.
MAKALAWENA BEACH—If it weren’t so hard to get to, this spectacular piece of shoreline at Keahole would be the most popular beach on the island. Dotted with coves and protected by dunes, Makalawena requires that you hike a half hour through black lava fields to reach it, but handsomely rewards the effort with isolation and pristine beauty. The swimming, snorkeling, and body boarding are all excellent. WHERE: In Kekaha Kai State Park, 4 miles north of Kona International Airport.
Makalawena Beach lies along the island’s Kona coast.
EVENTS & FESTIVALS
KING KAMEHAMEHA DAY—The oldest of Hawaii’s festivals, King Kamehameha Day was proclaimed in 1871 to honor the great warrior-king who unified the Hawaiian archipelago. Though celebrated throughout the islands, it is here, on his home island, that it is most enthusiastically embraced every June 11. In North Kohala, where he was born, a lei-draping ceremony centers on the King Kamehameha Statue. In the oceanside village of Kailua-Kona, which Kamehameha named the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1812, an elaborate procession with Pa‘u queens and princesses on horseback and their retinues from all eight islands parades through the streets. WHERE: North Kohala and Kailua-Kona. www.kamehamehafestival.org.
MERRIE MONARCH HULA FESTIVAL—Hawaii’s largest and most prestigious hula competition, this gorgeous display of performance and pageantry, held the week after Easter in Hilo, features contestants from the best hula halau (schools) on the islands and the U.S. mainland, with hundreds of dancers and musicians taking the stage throughout the weeklong event. You must mail your request for tickets by Dec. 26 to even have a hope of attending. Festival highlights include the Miss Aloha Hula solo competition, as well as contestants competing in kahiko (ancient) and ’auana (modern) styles. The “Merrie Monarch” was Hawaii’s last king, David Kalakaua, who led the revival of the hula and other cultural traditions during his reign from 1874 to 1891. WHERE: Hilo. Tel 808-935-9168; www.merriemonarchfestival.org.
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page 119