10 Old-School Vacation Destinations We Want To Bring Back
Pile into the station wagon, we're going on a vintage road trip!
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Traveling can be about exploring somewhere new, but it can also be about traveling back—to a favorite memory, to a simpler time, or to a world of nostalgia. From passed-down recipes to antique furniture, Southerners have a deep fascination with bringing the past into the present. And that love extends to our vacation habits. Some of us visit the same destination year after year. Often, we’ll go as far as to rent the same house or reserve the same beachfront condo unit we’ve always stayed in. We eat at the same restaurants and recreate family photos to track how everyone’s changed.
But travel nostalgia can also mean visiting old-school locales that may or may not be new to us. These are the places that Southerners have trusted with their time off for generations. From family trips to best friend reunions and romantic weekends away, these 10 destinations are familiar standbys that always provide a good time. They don’t rebrand or reinvent every other year; instead they commit to consistency and remaining true to the characteristics that drew people to them in the first place. Here are 10 vintage vacation destinations we want to bring back.
Disney World
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No place does nostalgia like Disney World. There’s a reason attending this theme park in Orlando, Florida is practically a rite of passage for American (and especially Southern) kids. Open since 1971, millions of families have invited the magic of the mouse into their worlds and have created memories here that will last a lifetime. While new rides and resorts have been added to the lineup over the past 50-plus years, the best thing about Disney is that 40-year-olds taking their kids for the first time can give them the same experience they had as children. You can still take a spin in a giant teacup and race to down a Mickey Mouse-shaped ice cream bar before it melts.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
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When Southerners want a mountain vacation, you better believe Gatlinburg, Tennessee is on their short list (and for some it’s the only name on the list). The town has been welcoming visitors since the start of the 20th century, but when Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened in 1934, tourism skyrocketed. Yellowstone National Pak is often thought of as the ultimate nostalgic family vacation destination, and you can think of the Smokies as the Yellowstone of the east coast. Gatlinburg has been a steady mountain town retreat since the 1950s and 1960s, when many of our favorite storied attractions, including the Gatlinburg Sky Lift, Pancake Pantry, and Ober Gatlinburg, were founded.
Rock City
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Something about being born in the South means the words “See Rock City” are emblazoned in your memory, even if you can’t quite pinpoint the reason why. Located atop Lookout Mountain in Georgia, the attraction is most often associated with Chattanooga since it’s just six miles from the city’s downtown. The magical trail weaves in and out of natural rock for 4,100 feet, taking visitors of all ages through magical fairy outcroppings and gnome villages. The views from the top of the mountain are expansive (it’s said you can see seven states from the top), but it’s the childlike whimsy that has kept folks coming back for generations.
St. Augustine, Florida
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Florida is vacation central, but no place in the state is more storied as a recreational retreat than St. Augustine. Largely considered the oldest continually inhabited city in the country, vacationing here goes all the way back to the 19th century when folks flocked to the area to drink from the famous Fountain of Youth discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513. Today, you can still drink from the fountain’s gurgling springs, which has been a waterfront park since the 1930s. You can continue down memory lane by checking out the city’s incredible historic architecture, visiting the historic Castillo de San Marcos National Monument fort, and spotting giant gators at a popular alligator farm that’s been around since 1893.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Close your eyes and picture a classic family vacation. Chances are your mind went straight to an old-fashioned station wagon or minivan traversing country roads and scenic byways. Southerners will never tire of packing their favorite snacks, piling into the car, and setting out on a road trip—and one of their favorite routes to drive is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Constructed in 1936, the nearly 500-mile road runs through Virginia and North Carolina, connecting Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was voted as our readers’ favorite scenic drive in 2022, and we’d venture to guess it’ll remain that way for years and years to come.
Weeki Wachee Springs
Vacations are meant to inspire your imagination, and Weeki Wachee Springs in Spring Hill, Florida, sure knows how to do that. The attraction is famous for introducing the world to mermaids via a variety show that includes performers swimming and dancing underwater in the country’s deepest natural spring. After opening in 1947 and enjoying high demand through the 1960s, Weeki Wachee experienced a decline in visitors once Disney World took over the hearts of tourists. In more recent history, the attraction, which is now a state park and includes not only mermaid shows but river boat tours, kayak rentals, and swimming in Buccaneer Bay, has been building up its attendance once again.
The Lost Sea
Don’t chalk this place up to another quirky roadside attraction (though the South does claim a lot of great ones). The Lost Sea in Sweetwater, Tennesseee (halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga) is the country’s largest underground lake and a bona fide natural wonder that we’re lucky to have in our backyard. Though the caverns the lake resides in was an early home for Cherokees, the lake wasn’t discovered until 1905. The destination become a public attraction in 1965, and today you can still take boat tour of the Lost Sea and even spend the night in the cave.
The Florida Keys
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If you live in the South, you’ve probably heard the term “Old Florida” tossed around a time or two. No place embodies that wind-in-your-hair, sand-between-your-toes spirit than The Florida Keys. Drive along the iconic Overseas Highway, which runs for 113 miles between Key Largo and Key West, making stops at different islands and beach towns along the way. Some ridiculously remote and others more traversed, each has a personality and reputation all its own. If you make it down to Key West, nothing beckons for the golden days like visiting the former home of famous author Ernest Hemingway.
Ocean City, Maryland
Ocean City’s iconic boardwalk has been around since 1902, but the beach town’s days as a vacation destination go back even further to the late 1800s when wealthy people from larger cities began to use the area to hunt and fish. Once the boardwalk was built, hotels, restaurants, attractions, and gift shops followed, transforming the town into the tourist magnet it is today. Regardless of the crowds, there’s nothing more nostalgic than the simple pleasures of hot French fries, carnival games, and a giant Ferris wheel you can see the ocean from.
Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Charleston and Myrtle Beach get plenty of attention, but a teeny barrier island tucked between the two is the old-school charmer we’re here to discuss. Populated largely by beach houses, where your entire clan can relax for a week, an ordinance signed in 1968 prevents this waterfront haven from becoming overrun with commercial properties. The few that exist are as enchanting as can be. For example, the Sea View Inn, established in 1937, features a rocker-lined porch overlooking the waves and offers guests of its 20 rooms two homecooked meals a day.
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