Tag: six flags great adventure

The Best Ways to Spend Your Summer Days

Want to have the best summer ever? Of course, start off with some great glamping plans and then see what other uniquely summer activities you can enjoy.

Cottages at Fiesta Key Resort
Cottages at Fiesta Key Resort

Go to the Islands: If you’re looking to spend your summer vacation on an island in the sun, check out the Channel Islands. This chain of five islands, known as the “Galapagos Islands of North America,” can be reached via ferry from Santa Barbara and offer hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, wildlife watching and more. If you’re glamping at Thousand Trails Thunderbird, there is plenty of island hopping to be done just off this area of the Washington coast. Bainbridge Island offers the Bloedel Reserve, a 140-acre nature reserve with gardens and walking trails. The charming town of Anacortes can be found on Fidalgo Island – check out the historic waterfront, the plentiful hiking trails and enjoy shopping and delicious seafood at the restaurants here. Of course, a trip to the Florida Keys is like a tropical getaway and there are plenty of islands to explore here from funky Key West to laid-back Key Largo (stay at Encore Sunshine Key or Encore Fiesta Key). Keys highlights include Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, and Bahia Honda State Park.

Ride a Roller Coaster: Looking for some thrills this summer? Check out some of these top roller coasters on your next glamping trip: The Giant Dipper on California’s Santa Cruz Boardwalk is not only one of the oldest roller operating rollers coasters in the world but also appeared in several movies, including Lost Boys and Sudden Impact (book a stay at Marina Dunes RV Resort); one of the newer kids when it comes to the roller coaster block is the Jurassic World VelociCoaster. Opened in 2021 at Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando, this newbie reaches top speeds of 70-mph and has four inversions (book a stay at Encore Tropical Palms in Kissimmee); New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure offers El Toro with its 19-story climb only to then descend 176 feet! (book a glamping cottage at Thousand Trails Chestnut Lake).

Marina Dunes RV Resort Cottage
Marina Dunes RV Resort Cottage

By the Shore: Long days at the shore make for great summer memories. Some of the best beaches in the US are near our campgrounds and include Coronado Beach in San Diego, noted for its sparkling sand thanks to the mica found here (book at stay at Thousand Trails Pio Pico); Pope Beach in Lake Tahoe with towering pine trees, mountain views and plenty of sand (book a stay at Tahoe Valley Campground); Alki Beach with great views of the Olympic Mountains, the Seattle skyline, plus a 2.5 mile path along the beach for running, walking and roller-blading (book a stay at Thousand Trails Thunderbird); a classic New England beach with rocky shores and crashing waves, check out New Hampshire’s Hampton Beach complete with boardwalk and arcade (book a stay at Tuxbury Tiny House Village).

Cabin at Thousand Trails Pio Pico
Cabin at Thousand Trails Pio Pico

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Top Coaster Rides

The ups and downs you may have experienced this summer will feel like nothing once you take a ride on one of these roller coasters. August is National Roller Coaster Month, so we rounded up a few of the newest, oldest, and scariest to consider.

According to an article in USA Today, the best roller coasters of 2022 includes Steel Vengeance at Ohio’s Cedar Point. Opened in 2018, it is considered a “hyper-hybrid” coaster standing 205 feet tall and riding at a whopping 74 miles per hour. With over 5500 feet of track, which includes 30 seconds of airtime, this 2-minute ride is guaranteed to shake you up, just a bit! Plan to stay in a cabin at Kenisee Lake and you’re about 100 miles from Cedar Point.

Another USA Today list maker was the Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Florida. Four inversions, an 80-degree drop, 4,700 feet of track and oh, yeah, the simulated velociraptors, combine to make this one heart-stopping, stomach-dropping ride. Book a cabin or cottage rental at Orlando RV Resort or a colorful cottage at Tropical Palms and get ready to ride!

Deluxe Cabins at Pine Haven Campground, NJ
Deluxe Cabins at Pine Haven Campground, NJ

The Travel Channel has its own list of top coasters in the U.S. and they include El Toro at New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure (but coincidentally was also named by USA Today as #1 in 2022. El Toro, which means the bull, is a wooden roller coaster that opened in 2006. It may be old by some standards, but it is mighty, as in mighty scary. The coaster ride starts with a 19-story climb only to drop 176 feet. It continues on, totaling one minute and forty-two seconds for the whole ride, through twists and turns and hills and valleys, just like any good bucking bull would as it tries to knock off a rider. Stay at any of our New Jersey locations to enjoy Six Flags Great Adventure.

Safari Tent at Morgan Hill Campgroud, CA
Safari Tent at Morgan Hill Campgroud, CA

Speaking of old, what about riding one of the oldest roller coasters in America? Head out for a glamping adventure at California’s Morgan Hill and head into Santa Cruz to ride the 98-year-old Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Or, glamp at California’s Pio Pico RV Resort & Campground, just outside San Diego, to ride another nonagenarian coaster, also named the Giant Dipper and also 98-years-old, found in the city’s Belmont Park. They are still pretty swift for their age, each running at a speed of 55 miles per hour.

Giant Dipper Roller Coaster in San Diego, CA
Giant Dipper Roller Coaster in San Diego, CA

A newbie to the coaster world includes The Pantheon, which premiered this past March at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, billed as the world’s fastest multi-launch roller coaster and travels at a top speed of 73 miles per hour. Hold on to your hats, and togas, when riding this ride that is said to have the strength of the strongest Roman Gods. Book a stay in a cabin at Virginia’s Williamsburg Camping Resort when visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

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