I’ve been traveling the states year-round for over a decade now, and spring is easily my favorite season—if you pick the right spots that is. Here are 14 destinations that genuinely blew me away, as well as a few reality checks on what to expect when you get there…
1. Naples, Florida
I was expecting Naples to be warm in April (and it was, with fine 77°F breezes) but I also found it wasn’t just another manicured Florida golf town. Okay, so I have to admit it was a little sleepy and ‘Old Money,’ but it was also exceptionally well-kept with seriously stunning beaches (with powdery white sand so fine it actually made a squeaking sound under my feet) and even the occasional pod of dolphins dropping by.
As well as bouncing around the Everglades on an airboat tour and checking out the latest skincare brands at Bluemercury I got to see top-tier athletes doing their thing during the US Open Pickleball tournament.
After checking into the 4-star boutique Inn at Pelican Bay (the cool fire pits and my cloud-like pillow-top mattress were highlights) my only real worry on my spring break here was choosing between hanging out on a dreamy beach or checking out an upscale boutique on Fifth Avenue South!
2. Texas Hill Country
After just a 90 minutes drive from Austin, I spent the next few days getting totally lost in the Bluebonnet Season. This mostly meant driving around the Willow City Loop – a road that was photogenically lined with sweet-smelling bluebonnets and bright scarlet Indian paintbrushes – and making several stops with my trusty Leica camera!
I stopped by the German-style town of Fredericksburg which was a quaint little town filled with wine cellars (Tempranillo was a huge stand-out!), tackled the pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock and filled up with aggressive amounts of peach cobbler and breakfast tacos. The wildflowers bloom timings are unpredictable each year though, so I’d definitely recommend checking the local reports before you go!
Where I stayed: I swapped staying in a standard hotel for cute little Swiss-style log cabin at Barons CreekSide Resort where I sat on the porch at dusk, watched fireflies buzz around the creek and listened to the sound of the live Polka band in the distance!
3. Santa Catalina Island, California
I opted for a spring break here when I wanted a very different type of US break and it was an awesome choice, it actually felt like I was in a completely different country. With its European style white stucco buildings topped with red tiles and warm temperatures (around 68°F to 72°F), it felt a little like being in the Mediterranean!
My stay at the boho boutique Avalon Hotel was all koi ponds, rooftop sunbathing, and thoughtful personal touches such as hand-wrapped sea-salt caramel at turn-down. I found out that Avalon was a huge hub for outdoor-activities and there were sailboats everywhere. Stopping by the glamorous (but luckily not too intimidating!) Descanso Beach Club to try their fiery Dragonberry Mojitos was a great decision!
4. Antelope Valley, California
Most people head to Lancaster in early April for the flowers (the orange Californian poppies in particular, but also the lupines and cream cups too) and it was my reason too! I headed up there on a two-hour drive from Los Angeles and as well as giving me a very welcome break from the city smog it felt like a completely different world when I arrived!
As well as mile upon miles of very photogenic flower-lined trails, the starting up of the BLVD Farmers’ Market was also another big bonus! There was something just so spring-like about wandering around the cool little artisan food stalls, snacking on jelly-centered green almonds and tucking a jar of raw red raspberry Bennett’s Honey Farm into my tote bag! Just a head’s up though, check the Poppy Cam before you go!
5. Tidal Basin and Washington DC
Most people head to D.C. for the monuments, but this was another place I also went to see the spring flowers! I found that the cherry blossoms were luckily still hanging on (they usually peak in March, although check their status before you go!) and the whole Tidal Basin smelled like spring.
Getting to attend the waterfront Petalpalooza as well as wandering the miles of pink-canopied paths past the impressive Jefferson and MLK memorials, it all felt very romantic (and had a very different feel from when I last visited on a winter break). I flew straight into DCA and checked into the elegant 4-star city boutique Hamilton Hotel – all in all, it was an easy and very photogenic short city break!
6. Port Townsend, Washington
I have a huge soft spot for quaint little slow-paced towns filled with historic buildings and Port Townsend most definitely fit the bill! I took a two-hour drive from Seattle, arrived at a pretty little community filled with 19th-century buildings, blossom-lined streets and where the locals treated the community-focused Earth Day Beach Clean Up like a fun local festival, it was all very super-cute!
I have to admit it wasn’t the warmest spot I could have chosen (temperatures hovered around 57°F), but I got to watch gray whales in Admiralty Inlet, shop for local lavender honey at the Farmers Market on Tyler Street and wander intriguing trails in Fort Worden State Park before heading back to my guest room at the century-old (and slightly musty smelling!) Manresa Castle, which was all Prussian-inspired dark walnut wood and ornate red interiors!
7. Sedona, Arizona
I could have patted myself on my back for stopping by Sedona on an April road trip. It was warm and sunny (but not melt-your-mascara kind of hot thankfully!) and seeing the towering red rock cliffs glow in the spring sun was a very special moment for me! Timing my visit for the soulful four day Sedona Yoga Festival was an extra bonus as I got to try the intense yoga experience of “Kundalini” for the first time too.
I drove in via Flagstaff and then balanced a steep-but-worth-it hike to Cathedral Rock (via the Back O’ Beyond Trailhead) with a juniper-berry–infused Ancestral Basalt Stone Massage at Mii Amo Spa, then headed back to the romantic Inn Above Oak Creek Sedona, stopped to pat Moki – the glossy black resident spaniel – before relaxing in my very own private jacuzzi.
8. Flint Hills, Kansas
During my time in the Flint Hills this month, the electric green tallgrass prairie was dotted with early purple spiderwort and yellow prairie parsley, and the trails had this almost otherworldly silence—well, except for the occasional bison, deer, or prairie dog wandering into view!
After traveling just over two hours southwest of Kansas City, I nested down in a luxury tent at the Flint Hills Glamping where the boho decor consisted of copper lanterns and macramé cushions and sitting on my porch with a Watt’s Coffee Co. Oat-milk Latte in hand made it feel all very special (especially with the pleasant 65°F to 70°F temperatures).
It was handily based near the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve so I could hike the Prairie Trailhead (by the Visitor Center) and cruise along the Flint Hills Scenic Byway (KS-177) easily. The whole trip felt beautifully unique and untamed!
9. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Picking Myrtle Beach for my April vacation worked out perfectly. Temperatures sat around a very comfortable 70°F with a cooling Atlantic breeze, but best of all, the crazy summer crowds hadn’t arrived yet, so I could easily find a great spot on the beach!
I flew into MYR then I spent a two week vacation getting vertigo on the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel, diving into the Myrtle Beach Food Truck Festival (dangerously good street food, especially the tangy Carolina Gold Fried Green Tomato Tacos!), busting retro-style “shag” moves at SOS Spring Safari, and swinging by the legendary The Bowery to gorge on their addictive, salty Double D’s Dill Chips.
My base was the 4-star Marina Inn at Grande Dunes where I even squeezed in playing tennis on their springy Har-Tru courts.
10. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
Being a secret Bluegrass fan, I’d always longed to visit Blue Ridge Parkway and last year was the year I finally managed to. I wasn’t disappointed at all and my April short break was a heady mix of high-altitude views, fascinating culture and awesome music. I timed my visit perfectly to catch both the Blue Ridge Music Trails Spring Concert Series (I caught a lively local fiddle set!) and the nearby legendary MerleFest, which is a total must-see if you’re visiting later on in the month.
The trees were just beginning to bud, pretty trillium and wild azaleas lined the very quiet trails, and the temperatures were a comfortable 60°F to 70°F (so just right for hiking and scenic drives). A stay at the trendy 4-star Blind Tiger Hotel in Asheville and a stop at the Blue Ridge Music Center both turned out to be excellent decisions – and in the latter I spent way too much time geeking out in their professional-grade sound booth!
11. San Diego, California
I’d visited San Diego in the summer before, but to be honest I much preferred it in spring. The city had a far more relaxed, local feel and I didn’t have to deal with the peak-season crowds either, so that was also a huge bonus for me.
The weather was just as sunny though, and after I took the scenic route down the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles, one minute I was spotting sea lions basking at La Jolla Cove and the next I was caught up in the fun Little Italy ArtWalk which had impressively transformed the streets into one big open-air gallery.
While the beaches weren’t quite swim-ready (without a wetsuit anyway), retreating back to the funky 4-star Pearl Hotel in Point Loma more than made up for it. The hotel totally nailed that ‘Mid-century cool’ vibe and I relaxed in hammocks around the pool, sunk into a heavenly Parachute Home bed and donned spa-like Finery x Casetta poplin bathrobes!
12. Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
I love visiting places just before the peak-season crowds arrive, and Nantucket in April was exactly that, even if I had to brave the slightly cool 52°F to 55°F weather.
Arriving in late April, I discovered the island was in its appealing ‘quiet luxury’ phase so I had the windswept beaches and the Historic District boutiques all to myself, even if it meant a few of my favorite dinner spots like Straight Wharf were still weeks away from their May opening.
It wasn’t all just relaxing though, as I got to join the 50th Anniversary of the Daffodil Festival and the quirky Daffy Hat Pageant which really bought out the island’s fun community-focused side. My mornings began on the veranda with a cup of Sconset Blend coffee, followed by a vitamin C–infused shower at the nautical-inspired 4-star boutique 21 Broad Hotel (in fact it felt like a modern sea captain’s home)!
13. Bisti Badlands, New Mexico
In spring the silence here felt heavy and remote, as though I were the last person left on Earth! This place was just so surreal but incredibly beautiful at the same time with petrified wood and such gravity-defying hoodoos that the whole place looked more like a sci-fi film (seriously).
With temperatures hovering between 60°F to 70°F, Yucca beginning to show their pretty white blooms and a charming mission-style base at Casa Blanca Inn & Suites in Farmington (the gardens were green and gorgeous) it was a very unique choice for a spring break but I personally loved it. Though I have to warn you, a reliable GPS was definitely a non-negotiable here, as the lack of marked trails make it very easy to lose your bearings (I got lost more than a few times)!
14. Caddo Lake, Texas and Louisiana
I personally thought Caddo Lake had a haunting, almost cinematic beauty in spring — its maze of Spanish moss and ancient cypress trees made it feel like a spooky film set, complete with swamps galore! Temperatures hovered between 70°F to 80°F so I found it was the perfect little window to float around those surreal waters before the Southern humidity rolled in.
Between the community-focused Earth Day Festival and treasure hunting at the Old Vault (in nearby Jefferson), the whole place just felt so atmospheric this month. I headed out on a Mossy Brake Camp Swamp Tour and listened to Patrick’s quirky stories and his admired his knack of spotting turtles and creepy-looking alligators hiding in the wet reeds (or on logs, like my photos above!). I soaked up that damp, mossy swamp smell one last time before heading back to my cabin at Moonglow Lodge, which was a such a cool, rustic spot.
Author’s Travel Note:
Over 12 years of US road trips and zero sponsored stays (I promise). I’ve personally got a huge soft spot for an interesting hotel with a story or a unique design, and everything you see here is from my own travels—fully self-funded and vetted by me.
