Best Weekend Getaways That Won't Destroy Your Wallet
Last summer, my buddy Tyler spent 2,400 poorer. When I asked him if it was worth it, he stared at me for about five seconds and said, "I don't want to talk about it."
Meanwhile, I'd just gotten back from a weekend in the Ozarks with two other guys. We drove four hours, camped at a state park, kayaked a river, grilled burgers over a fire, and spent a combined total of about $180 each. I came back tan, relaxed, and with a cooler full of leftover beer. Tyler still hasn't forgiven me for telling him this.
Here's the thing about weekend getaways -- the best ones almost never involve airports, resort fees, or restaurants where you need a reservation three weeks out. The best ones involve a car, a rough plan, and the willingness to leave your apartment on a Friday afternoon instead of scrolling your phone until 11 PM wondering why you feel burnt out.
These are the trips I keep coming back to. All of them are doable from most parts of the US, all of them cost way less than you'd expect, and none of them require you to "unplug and find yourself" or whatever Instagram influencers are doing these days.
The Friday Night Road Trip
There is nothing -- and I mean nothing -- that resets your brain like throwing a bag in the car after work on a Friday and just driving somewhere. No itinerary. No hotel booked. Just a direction and a vague sense that you'll figure it out.
I've done this probably a dozen times. The trick is to pick a destination that's two to four hours away -- far enough to feel like you went somewhere, close enough that the drive itself doesn't become the trip. If you're in the Midwest, that might be a small town on one of the Great Lakes. East Coast, maybe a mountain town in the Shenandoah Valley or the Catskills. West Coast, pick a coastal town that isn't overrun with tourists yet.
The budget math on this is stupid simple. Gas for a 200-mile round trip is about 40-60 each. Food at a local diner or taco spot: 150.
If you want to go deeper on the road trip thing and turn a weekend into something more epic, I wrote a whole breakdown of how to plan a proper road trip across America that covers routes, packing, playlists, and all the stuff I learned from doing it wrong several times.
State Parks: The Most Underrated Move in America
I'm going to say something that might sound boring on the surface: state parks are the best-kept secret in budget travel. I know. I know. "State parks" sounds like something your dad would suggest. But hear me out.
There are over 10,000 state parks in the US, and almost all of them charge between 35 a night for a campsite. Many of them have lakes, rivers, trails, and scenery that rival national parks -- without the crowds, the reservation nightmare, or the $35 entrance fee.
A few I keep going back to:
Devil's Lake, Wisconsin. Bluffs, clear water, and some of the best bouldering in the Midwest. An hour north of Madison, so you can camp Saturday night and hit the city for brunch on Sunday if you want. Total weekend cost if you're camping and cooking your own food: maybe $80.
Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas. Waterfalls, canyon overlooks, and a lodge that rents rooms for like $90 a night if camping isn't your thing. It's gorgeous in a way that feels like it should be more famous. It's not. That's the whole point.
Letchworth State Park, New York. They call it the "Grand Canyon of the East" and for once the marketing isn't totally lying. Three major waterfalls, 17 miles of gorge, and campsites that cost $18 a night. You'll spend more on the firewood than the campsite.
Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas. If you want to feel like you're on Mars but with better tacos nearby, this is your spot. It's remote, it's quiet, and the night sky out there will make you briefly reconsider your entire life and career. In a good way.
Bring a tent, a sleeping bag, a camp stove, and whatever meat you want to grill. That's the whole plan. If you're worried about packing too much stuff for the trip, getting your gear situation dialed in makes all the difference -- the same principles from packing light for a week-long trip apply here, just swap the carry-on for a duffel.
The Cheap City Break (Yes, It Exists)
"Budget city trip" sounds like an oxymoron, but it's doable if you're strategic and if you avoid the cities that are actively trying to bankrupt you. New York, San Francisco, LA -- those are great cities, but they're terrible for a budget weekend. You'll spend $60 on parking alone.
Instead, aim for second-tier cities that punch way above their weight. Here's my short list:
Austin, Texas. The live music is free. The breakfast tacos are 200 if you stay in a hostel or split an Airbnb, eat tacos for every meal (this is not a hardship), and spend your evenings wandering Sixth Street or catching a show on Red River.
Asheville, North Carolina. More breweries per capita than almost anywhere in the country. The food scene is absurd for a city that size. The Blue Ridge Parkway is right there if you want mountain views. Stay outside of downtown and the prices drop fast.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I'm going to be honest -- I did not expect Pittsburgh to be as cool as it is. But it's got great food (the Strip District alone is worth the trip), genuinely interesting neighborhoods, and it's cheap. Like, shockingly cheap. Hotel rooms downtown for 20 cheap. A Primanti Brothers sandwich the size of your head for $12 cheap.
Boise, Idaho. This one flies under the radar, which is exactly why it works. Incredible outdoor access -- you can be mountain biking, floating the river, or hiking in the foothills within 20 minutes of downtown. The food scene has gotten legitimately good. And it's one of those places where $150 a night gets you a genuinely nice hotel, not a glorified closet.
Memphis, Tennessee. Beale Street. Barbecue. The National Civil Rights Museum. Sun Studio. You could spend a weekend in Memphis and eat at a different legendary BBQ spot for every meal and still not cover them all. The city has a rawness to it that I find more interesting than the polished tourist experience of Nashville.
The "Adventure Trip" That Doesn't Require Being a Navy SEAL
Look, I'm all for pushing your comfort zone, but half the "adventure weekends" marketed to guys assume you already own a 600 pair of skis, or the physical conditioning of someone who doesn't sit at a desk for nine hours a day. Here are some that are actually accessible.
Kayaking or canoeing a river. Outfitters rent kayaks and canoes for $30-60 a day all over the country. Pick a calm river, rent the boat, and float. The Buffalo National River in Arkansas, the Current River in Missouri, or the Delaware Water Gap on the PA/NJ border are all incredible and beginner-friendly. You don't need to know what you're doing. The river does most of the work.
Rock climbing at a state park. A lot of state parks have climbing routes and some have gear rental nearby. Red River Gorge in Kentucky is a world-class climbing destination with routes for every level, and you can camp there for 100-150 per person for a half day.
Mountain biking on rented bikes. Most mountain towns -- Bentonville (Arkansas), Moab (Utah), Sedona (Arizona), Brevard (North Carolina) -- have rental shops right on the trail systems. Full-suspension bike rental runs $60-100 for a day. You don't need to be an expert. Start with the green trails and work your way up. Or don't. The green trails are fun too. Nobody's judging you.
Fishing. A basic rod, a license ($15-30 for a day or weekend permit in most states), and a six-pack. Find a lake. Sit there. Catch something or don't. Either way, you spent a weekend near water doing absolutely nothing urgent, and that alone is worth the trip.
The Overnight Hike
This one deserves its own section because it's the single cheapest adventure you can have and it's one of the most rewarding.
Pick a trail. Pack a bag. Walk into the woods. Sleep there. Walk out the next day.
The Appalachian Trail has hundreds of access points with shelters spaced a day's hike apart. You don't have to do the whole thing -- a one-night, two-day section hike is one of the best weekends you can have. The Presidential Range in New Hampshire is stunning if you want something challenging. Shenandoah National Park in Virginia is more forgiving and just as beautiful. Out west, the Enchantments in Washington State will make you feel like you walked into a screensaver, though you'll need a permit and those are harder to get than concert tickets.
Total cost of an overnight hike if you already own basic gear: literally just gas money and maybe a backcountry permit fee of $5-10. It's the closest thing to free that travel gets.
And the sleep you get after hiking 12 miles with a pack on your back? The deepest, most satisfying sleep of your entire life. Better than any mattress at any hotel at any price point. Your body is tired in the way it was designed to be tired, and you pass out in a tent at 8:30 PM and wake up feeling like a new person. I am not exaggerating.
The "Do Nothing" Weekend
I'm including this because I think there's a pressure -- especially among guys -- to make every trip an Activity. It has to be an adventure, or a city with a packed itinerary, or something you can post about. And sometimes the best weekend trip is renting a cabin on a lake, bringing some groceries and a few books, and doing absolutely nothing for 48 hours.
Hipcamp and state park websites are full of cabins in the $60-120 a night range. Split that between two or three guys and you're paying less than you'd spend on a Friday night out. Bring a deck of cards. Bring a football. Bring whatever you're reading. Cook breakfast on the porch. Swim in the lake if there is one. Sit in a chair and stare at trees.
This sounds aggressively simple because it is. But I'm telling you, after four or five weeks of nonstop work and screens and obligations, a weekend where the biggest decision is "should I nap before or after I grill these steaks" is transformative. You come back on Sunday evening and you feel like you took a full week off.
How to Actually Make It Happen
The biggest obstacle to a good weekend trip isn't money. It's inertia. It's the gravitational pull of your couch, your TV, your routine. It's the fact that planning a trip -- even a cheap, simple one -- requires a tiny amount of effort, and by Friday evening, effort is the last thing you have.
So here's my system: pick the trip now. Not "sometime." Now. Text two friends. Pick a weekend in the next 30 days. Book the campsite or the cabin or whatever. That's it. Once it's on the calendar and you've committed to other people, it happens. Without that, it's just another thing you'll "get around to" and then it's November and you've spent every weekend since June on your couch watching shows you don't even like that much.
The trips that have mattered most to me cost almost nothing. A 40 motel room in a West Virginia town I can't spell. A buddy's cabin where we paid in firewood and beer. The money was never the point. The point was leaving, even just for a night, and coming back a little different than when you left.
You don't need a vacation. You need a weekend. And you can afford one this month. I promise.
