Sometimes a single hotel can put a relatively unknown destination on the map—and so it was with the cheerful Nebo Lodge ($) and the three-mile-wide Penobscot Bay island of North Haven, an hour’s ferry ride from Rockland.

The nine-room property has all the trappings you’d expect from a classic New England island escape—gray wainscoting, shady porches, cast-iron beds, and claw-foot tubs—but the imaginative food of chef Amanda Hallowell is reason in itself to visit.

Summertime North Haven regulars such as novelist Susan Minot and artist Eric Hopkins have come to sample her hyper-local dishes—a peppered-mackerel Caesar salad and a pickle plate of sweet beets, celery, and fennel, to name two. What to do when you’re not eating?

Live the pine-shaded, salty Maine fantasy, of course: bike the island’s 30 miles of roads, climb to the top of Ames Knob, laze on the beaches of Mullen’s Head Park, and explore pint-size Main Street. Find Ping-Pong and evening concerts at Waterman’s Community Center; made-in-Maine ceramics at North Haven Gift Shop (207/867-4444); and farther south, the new Fox I Printworks, which stocks quirky T-shirts silk-screened with lighthouses and tractors.

Don’t leave town without a stop at the North Island Museum, where you’ll learn about the area’s evolution from a Native American territory to the lobster-fishing hamlet it is today. —Kate Sekules

It’s just a 2 1/2-hour drive from Las Vegas to this small town on the Virgin River, but the desert gets empty and wild surprisingly fast.

Springdale is the anti-Vegas: serious canyoneers mingle with fine-art photographers at weekly gallery openings, the Springdale Fruit Company sells organic fruit smoothies, and plein-air painters head to workshops at the Zion Canyon Field Institute.

The biggest draw, however, is nearby Zion Canyon, a narrow funnel of 2,000-foot-high sandstone walls glossy with a crimson patina and top-heavy buttes that appear to shoot straight up from earth to sky.

By far the best place to stay is the understated Desert Pearl Inn ($). Like the rest of Springdale, it’s authentic without trying too hard: reclaimed old-growth Douglas fir floors and a tawny palette of neutrals provide a soothing retreat from the blazing red rock outside.

During late spring and summer, crowds are a fact of life here, but the guides at Zion Adventure Company can steer you through the lesser-known hikes. If you absolutely must trek the popular, precipitous, and occasionally terrifying 5.4-mile-long Angels Landing Trail, do as the locals do and set out at dawn when it’s cooler and quieter.

You’ll be back in time for slow-cooked-pork burritos at Oscar’s Café ($$), a swim in the hotel pool, and a well-earned siesta on your private terrace. Springdale comes alive in the evenings when residents gather for sweet-potato tamales and fresh tilapia at the Bit & Spur ($$) and Saturday-night music festivals at the O. C. Tanner Amphitheater.

Before heading back to Vegas, swing by the Red Mountain Resort (treatments from $60) adventure spa—there’s no better way to end the trip than with a regionally inspired hot-stone massage. —Katie Arnold

Long a getaway for Hollywood royalty, this untamed yet civilized landscape is dotted with Mediterranean mansions, sprawling orange groves, and chaparral-covered mountains that plunge into the ocean.

High in the hills, you’ll find the recently renovated El Encanto ($$$$), an iconic idyll with Craftsman- and Spanish-colonial-style bungalows—but if you’d rather be by the sand, there’s the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore ($$$).

Start your morning at the clock tower of the Santa Barbara Courthouse, where the view stretches from the Channel Islands to the Santa Barbara Mission. It’s a six-block walk from there to the Saturday Farmers Market, the perfect place to watch gray-haired hippies, dreadlocked surfers, and well-heeled natives hunting for Central Coast olive oils and zingy lemon-flavored pistachios.

While you could spend hours on nearby Butterfly Beach spotting dolphins, save time for the Funk Zone, an artsy industrial district opposite Stearns Wharf. Here, pick up the Urban Wine Trail (a network of 17 tasting rooms) at Municipal Winemakers, whose varietals have offbeat names such as Bright Red and Fizz.

For lunch, the open-air trolley on State Street leads to Scarlett Begonia ($$); snag a table in the hidden courtyard and order the salmon carpaccio from the all-organic menu. Or head to the Shop ($) for a sandwich inspired by Ugandan street food: scrambled eggs, bacon, and smoked tomato on house-made flatbread. —Mark Morrison

It’s easy to love antebellum Charleston, with its scented gardens and live oaks, starched demeanor and polite exchanges of the day.

Although you can still meet a traditional sweetgrass basket weaver such as 78-year-old Sue Middleton at the City Market or thumb through vintage Southern recipe collections at Heirloom Book Company, off lower King Street (a.k.a. the Antiques District), the slide rule of charm has recently shifted farther north, to upper King.

This red-hot frontier of urban renewal is occupied by a new generation of tattooed hipsters who irreverently refer to home as “Chucktown.” Browse the asymmetrical leather jackets by designer Rick Owens and Isabel Marant’s embroidered skirts at Worthwhile before slipping into the speakeasy-inspired Cocktail Club for an impeccably crafted pre-dinner drink. (Look for the door with a “C.”)

Just up the road, chef Mike Lata of downtown’s much-loved F.I.G. has opened the Ordinary, a casual seafood joint known for its clam cakes and triggerfish schnitzel. Live music is never far from any street corner—and the Charleston Music Hall is the go-to spot for everything from Argentinean tango to homegrown country-rock duo Shovels & Rope.

In the adjacent Ansonborough district, the 18-suite Zero George ($$), set in five restored town houses clustered around a central courtyard, has started welcoming guests with expert-guided antiquing trips, afternoon cocktails in the salon, and Lowcountry cooking classes. —Shane Mitchell

Mardi Gras may have started in Mobile, where streets are lined with 19th-century mansions and live oaks draped in Spanish moss, but the city stays blissfully under the radar compared with its Big Easy neighbor.

Get your Gulf Coast bearings at Wintzell’s Oyster House ($$), which promises its mollusks “fried, stewed, or nude.” At the just-opened Fort Conde Inn ($), set in an 1836 Victorian house, thoughtful Southern touches are on display: rooms are done up with elegant mirrors from the 1800’s and antique armoires. It’s only a short drive to Midtown, home to the Ashland Gallery (251/479-3548), whose stoneware bowls make great souvenirs. —Stirling Kelso

Tucked away in the Catskills, Phoenicia is a quintessential slice of small-town Americana with an Andrew Wyeth–worthy landscape full of secret swimming holes and rolling hills.

Just off Main Street is newcomer Graham & Co ($), a retro hotel with reclaimed-wood furniture and hanging Edison lightbulbs, designed by a group of creative New Yorkers.

Ask the front desk to help arrange a tubing trip down Esopus Creek or take a hike around the seven-mile Slide Mountain Loop; then reward yourself with an aromatherapy massage at the Emerson (treatments from $30). —Clara O. Sedlak

It’s impossible to pack all the adventure found in this Northwestern island chain into a weekend, but the town of Friday Harbor is the ideal starting point for any attempt.

The contemporary wood-and-glass Island Inn at 123 West ($$) is the latest place to sneak in a rest between guided sea-kayaking trips and wildlife treks through nearby English Camp park to spot black-tailed deer and bald eagles.

On Saturday mornings, locals amble through the San Juan Island Farmers Market at the Brickworks plaza; swing by Duck Soup Inn ($$), where the fried cauliflower with spicy Vietnamese lime sauce is only a prelude to the innovative dishes to come. —Heidi Mitchell

Cottonwood forests and basalt spires make Idaho’s Swan Valley a backcountry playground for hiking, biking, and rafting enthusiasts.

The Natural Retreats South Fork Lodge ($$), on the edge of the Snake River, is the ultimate base camp (private balconies; sweeping river views). Sign up for the hotel’s safari; you’ll travel by boat and horseback in search of grizzlies, elk, and gray wolves, with stays at luxury tented camps. —Nina Fedrizzi

There’s not much to do in this low-key island village in the Upper Keys—and that’s precisely the point. Settle in to your oceanfront suite at Cheeca Lodge & Spa ($$) before a dip in the pool and fruity rum runners at Holiday Isle Tiki Bar.

If you’re craving seafood for dinner, the hogfish meunière and broccolini at Pierre’s Restaurant ($$$) is an island favorite. By day, snorkel the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary, tour the art galleries at Morada Way Arts & Cultural District, or simply go for a swim in the hotel’s saltwater lagoon. —Tom Austin

See The Rest Of These Easy Weekend Getaways >