Brattleboro, Vermont
National Dairy Month starts with a loud “moo” at the Strolling of the Heifers Parade in Brattleboro, Vermont in early June. More than a hundred Holsteins, followed by musicians, jugglers, and baton twirlers take to the streets. Have your fill of ice cream and cheese before kicking up your heels in the evening at the community contra dance. Make sure to bow to your bovine before the music starts.
(www.strollingoftheheifers.com)

Cape Cod National Seashore
During his presidency, John F. Kennedy fought hard to designate the long stretch of fine white beach that lines the Cape Cod National Seashore. Today, 40 miles of rolling, wind-swept sand dunes, kettlehole ponds, bogs, plains, scrub forest, and marshes form this serene, protected land. From the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham, you can rent bikes and ride the Cape Cod National Seashore Bike Trail to Nauset Light. June is a prime time to venture on a whale watching cruise from Provincetown, as the humpbacks feed nearby at Stellwagen Bank.
(www.nps.gov/caco/)

Newfoundland
Come June, it’s not unusual for villages on the east coast of Newfoundland to wake up to a mountain of electric blue ice the size of a 15-story building. The icebergs calve from the glaciers of western Greenland and begin a slow 1900-mile journey south with the Labrador Current on a route dubbed Iceberg Alley. Iceberg enthusiasts fly into the city of Saint John’s and quickly make their way up the coast to the twin villages of Twillingate and Fogo on Notre Dame Bay. Depending on your level of comfort, naturalist-led boat rides or guided sea kayak tours allow visitors to get as close as possible to the huge crystalline structures before they float away.
(www.icebergfinder.com)

West Virginia’s New River
Five hours west of Washington, D.C., in the heart of West Virginia, families go whitewater rafting on West Virginia’s New River. Bordered on both shores by lush oak, hickory, and black cherry trees, this Class III to V river cuts through a gorge of sandstone, shale, and coal. Rafting trips bump into rapids with names like Surprise and Greyhound Bus Stopper. Minimum age is ten years old.
(www.gauley.com)

Cooperstown, New York
Since the inception of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, Cooperstown, New York, has held a certain aura for Americans as a place where myths are propagated and legends immortalized. The allure of Babe Ruth trotting slowly around the bases after hitting a home run or Lou Gehrig’s voice cracking with emotion on the day the Yankees retired his number will forever be embraced by generation after generation of baseball fans who venture here. The total Hall of Fame plaques now number 280 with the induction of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr.
(www.baseballhalloffame.org)

Nebraska
That great American showman, Wild Bill Cody, held his first show and the world’s first rodeo in his hometown of North Platte, Nebraska, 125 years ago. The purse back then for roping and riding a buffalo was $25; today, the world’s best riders can take home a whopping $30,000 at NEBRASKAland Days Buffalo Bill Rodeo. Nebraska’s official state celebration, held every June, also features live music from Clay Walker and other performers, a juried art show, lots of barbecue, and a Kids Fun Festival.
(www.nebraskalanddays.com)

Mount Hood, Oregon
You can learn to snowboard at the local bunny hill, but if you want to impress your friends, sign up for the High Cascade Snowboard Camp at Oregon’s 11,235-foot Mount Hood. For seven full days, you’ll spend a good eight hours with your instructor (the ratio is five students per instructor) on the slopes carving it up. By the end of the week, you’ll be going down steep fields of powder on low-level expert runs.
(www.highcascade.com)

Montana Dinosaur Festival
Take an hourly tour of the Dinosaur Field Station to see some of the latest dinosaur finds, try to Stump the Bone Man, and get ready for the Prehistoric Parade, BBQ, and Antique Road Show at the annual Montana Dinosaur Festival, held mid-June in Malta, in the northeast corner of the state.
(www.maltachamber.com)

Wimbeldon
Six weeks before the first Monday in August, the tennis elite will be gathering in London to attempt to capture the top prize at Wimbledon. Watch tennis champs defend their crowns on the world’s most prestigious grass. Afterwards, take the family on a nice little jaunt to the London Dungeon to see the exhibits of medieval torture techniques, including long iron tongs used to pull out tongues, and the rack used for stretching.
(www.wimbledon.org; www.thedungeons.com)

Wisconsin’s Cheese Festival
The first weekend of June, Little Chute, Wisconsin, pays tribute to one of the state’s largest commodities, cheese, in the Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival. Dip your face in whey to Model Your Own Mustache, than amble over to the Cheesecake Competition to sample the goods. There’s also a cheese carving contest, where artists sculpt cows and farmhouses out of a 40-pound block of cheese.
(www.littlechutewi.org/calendar_events/cheesefest.html)