List of summer colonies

The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean, lakes, or mountains of New England, the Northeast United States, or the Great Lakes.

While some have roots in the 18th Century, many began in the 19th Century with the development of railroads and steamships and expanded with the invention of the automobile. During the summers, if the family could afford it, the mother and children of a family would escape the heat of cities and spend "the season" in cooler climates, especially if the family owned a "summer cottage". This is called "summering". The father would often work in the city during the week and take the train, steamship, or car to the "summer cottage" after work on Friday, returning to city in time for Monday morning. He would also spend his two-week vacation at the summer place, as close to Labor Day or July 4th as his seniority at his job allowed. Those fathers without 9-to-5 jobs might spend the entire summer with his wife and children at the summer colony. The less affluent would only spend their one- or two-week vacation away from the city, often renting a room or a cottage at a summer resort or renting a stand-alone summer cottage for the one or two weeks. They would often rent the same cottage for the same two weeks a year. This pattern started to decline in the last quarter of the 20th Century as people work, social, and family patterns changed, as people became wealthier, and as travel became cheaper.

Many of these historic communities are considered quiet bastions of old money, though some, such as The Hamptons, are now well known for their celebrity-driven social scenes. Additionally, their economies tend to be driven largely by this tourist trade, particularly those communities that are remote or on islands. Some summer colonies within sufficient proximity to an urban center, such as Lake Bluff, Illinois or Denville, New Jersey, may eventually become a year-round commuter town, while retaining the original character.

In Canada, the term cottage country is often preferred.

California

 * Balboa Island
 * Big Sur
 * Avalon (an area in Catalina Island)
 * Lake Tahoe
 * Lower Russian River Area
 * Malibu Beach Colony
 * Mendocino
 * Montecito (an area in Santa Barbara)
 * Newport Peninsula (an area in Newport Beach)
 * Stinson Beach
 * Palm Springs

Connecticut

 * Litchfield
 * Candlewood Lake (an area in Danbury)
 * Blue Lake (an area in North Stonington)
 * Fenwick (an area in Old Saybrook)
 * New London

Delaware

 * Bethany Beach
 * Dewey Beach
 * Fenwick Island
 * Lewes
 * Rehoboth Beach

Georgia

 * St. Simons
 * Sea Island
 * Jekyll Island

Illinois

 * Chain O'Lakes
 * Lake Bluff
 * Lake Forest

Maine

 * Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island
 * The Mid Coast, including Boothbay Harbor, Camden, Rockport and Islesboro
 * The Southern Maine Coast, including (from south to north)
 * Kittery
 * York
 * Ogunquit
 * Moody Beach (a section of Wells)
 * Kennebunk/Kennebunkport
 * Biddeford Pool
 * Old Orchard Beach
 * North Haven
 * Vinalhaven
 * Winter Harbor, Grindstone Neck

Maryland

 * Cambridge
 * Easton
 * Ocean City
 * St. Michaels

Massachusetts

 * Cape Cod
 * Duxbury
 * Gloucester
 * Great Barrington
 * Lenox
 * Manchester-by-the-Sea
 * Marblehead
 * Marion
 * Martha's Vineyard
 * Nantucket
 * Padanaram, South Dartmouth
 * Plymouth
 * Rockport
 * Beverly Farms

Michigan

 * Baldwin
 * Beaver Island
 * Charlevoix
 * Grand Haven
 * Harbor Springs
 * Mackinac Island
 * New Buffalo/Union Pier/Grand Beach
 * Lake Michigamme
 * Petoskey
 * Saugatuck
 * South Haven
 * Traverse City

Minnesota

 * Lake Minnetonka

Missouri

 * Lake of the Ozarks

New Hampshire

 * Cornish
 * Jackson
 * Holderness
 * Little Boar's Head
 * Sugar Hill
 * Wolfeboro

New Jersey
Listed from north to south:


 * Franklin Lakes
 * Denville
 * Rumson
 * Elberon
 * Deal
 * Allenhurst
 * Loch Arbour
 * Spring Lake
 * Sea Girt
 * Barnegat Peninsula, including:
 * Point Pleasant Beach
 * Bay Head
 * Mantoloking
 * Lavallette
 * Island Heights
 * Long Beach Island, including:
 * Barnegat Light
 * Loveladies
 * North Beach
 * Harvey Cedars
 * Beach Haven
 * Brigantine
 * Longport
 * Avalon
 * Stone Harbor
 * Cape May

New York

 * Adirondacks
 * Chautauqua
 * East Marion
 * Fire Island
 * Fishers Island
 * The Hamptons, including (depending on definition):
 * Southampton
 * Water Mill
 * Bridgehampton
 * East Hampton
 * Sagaponack
 * Sag Harbor
 * Amagansett
 * Montauk
 * Lake George
 * Lake Placid
 * Thousand Islands

North Carolina
Listed from north to south:


 * Roaring Gap
 * Little Switzerland
 * Bodie Island including:
 * Carova
 * Corolla
 * Duck
 * Southern Shores
 * Kitty Hawk
 * Kill Devil Hills
 * Nags Head
 * Hatteras Island including:
 * Rodanthe
 * Waves
 * Salvo
 * Avon
 * Buxton
 * Frisco
 * Hatteras
 * Ocracoke Island
 * Crystal Coast including:
 * Atlantic Beach
 * Pine Knoll Shores
 * Indian Beach
 * Salter Path
 * Emerald Isle
 * Topsail Island including:
 * North Topsail Beach
 * Surf City
 * Topsail Beach
 * Figure Eight Island
 * Wrightsville Beach
 * Pleasure Island including:
 * Carolina Beach
 * Kure Beach
 * Bald Head Island
 * Oak Island
 * Holden Beach
 * Ocean Isle Beach

Ohio

 * Kelleys Island
 * Lakeside
 * Marblehead
 * Middle Bass Island
 * South Bass Island
 * Vermilion

Pennsylvania

 * Pocono Mountains
 * Erie

Rhode Island

 * Block Island
 * Little Compton
 * Narragansett
 * Newport
 * Watch Hill

Virginia

 * Colonial Beach
 * Chincoteague
 * Deltaville
 * Gwynn's Island
 * Hot Springs
 * Sandbridge
 * Warm Springs

Washington
Rosario Resort and Spa, Orcas Island, was a hangout for John Wayne. The Wayne family's summers were often spent in the waters off the Pacific Northwest coast, from Seattle to the San Juans.
 * Seabrook*

Wisconsin

 * Door County
 * Eagle River
 * Green Lake
 * Lake Geneva
 * Madeline Island
 * Manitowish Waters
 * Minocqua
 * Twin Lakes

Prince Edward Island

 * Cavendish, Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia

 * Bras d'Or Lake
 * Annapolis Royal
 * Lunenburg County

New Brunswick

 * St. Andrews

Quebec

 * Eastern Townships
 * Laurentides
 * Outaouais

Ontario

 * Central Ontario, including:
 * Parry Sound-Muskoka-Haliburton
 * Kawartha Lakes
 * Bancroft and Northern Hastings County
 * Ottawa Valley
 * Eastern Ontario
 * Rideau Lakes
 * Prince Edward County
 * Northwestern Ontario
 * Kenora, Ontario

Manitoba

 * Whiteshell Provincial Park
 * Eastern Manitoba
 * Interlake
 * Riding Mountain National Park
 * Onanole
 * Wasagaming

Saskatchewan

 * Prince Albert National Park

Alberta

 * Banff, Alberta
 * Canmore, Alberta

British Columbia

 * Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia
 * Lake Country, British Columbia
 * Whistler, British Columbia

The Philippines

 * Baguio