4 Day Mini-Trip From Ohio to East Coast

Hey guys.

This is my first post here as a new member of this site. My wife and I are planning a few day trip from Columbus, OH to SOMEWHERE? on the east coast in our sleep-in SUV. We are both very interested in hiking, and are trying to spend a good amount of time at the ocean. I was hoping to get some feedback of your favorite non-TOO insanely crowded beaches, fun hiking trails near the coast. We were thinking PA, NC, or MD. If you've had experience traveling through, or live near those locations and have any recommended trails, beaches, spots, I'd love to hear it. We are looking for mid-July to travel.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Looking at your options for where you can get to in a single day, thus making the most of your "few day trip from Columbus", they're pretty limited. Where I'd suggest you head is the middle of the Delmarva Peninsula coast. that would have you traveling east on I-70 until just west of Baltimore and then using US-29/MD-100/I-97 to split the difference between Baltimore and Washington and get to US-50 across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and onto the Delmarva Peninsula (or as it's known in Maryland, the Eastern Shore). Your best bets for some uncrowded beaches and fun hiking trails near the coast should take you to either the 'Quiet Resorts' of Bethany Beach or Fenwick Island DE, or Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland. But still, in nid-July, even those places are gong to be relatively crowded even though they're what I think are going to be your best bets.

AZBuck

Middle of summer it will be a mob scene. You might not want to travel in either direction to/from Maryland and Delaware, Friday through Sunday. Best bet is middle of the week but still expect huge crowds down at the beach. Some of the Delaware state beach parks during Mon-Thu. Southside of Ocean City, avoiding the weekends, Assateague State or Federal Parks and further down the road to Chincoteague (Virginia), all three part of the Assateague Federal Seashore.

Maybe the Pocono Mountains in in PA? Or, northern West Virginia and far Western panhandle Maryland might keep you off the highways more and cooling/refreshing yourselves.