With my teen boys:

Ice skating
Roller skating
Various animal rescues/sanctuaries
Musicals
outdoor concerts
Fairs
Antiquing
Trivia nights
Biking to ice cream/donuts

We bike a lot so biking Antietam and other places is fun for us. Driving to Easter shore and walking around a few of the smaller towns can be fun.

My kid would love one of those days where you have secret option 1 and 2, they pick a card, and you go wherever it says. So starting the morning with either Starbucks or a fun Brunch spot. Next, either Target Spree (set amount) or Mall Spree, Lunch etc, Afternoon Movies or Bowling, or whatever. Basically a whole day of random chance (but the options are both ones you would be happy with).

Another kid would love a "Yes" day, where you just let them plan the day as you go along (within reason).

for years with my kids we make a "fun jar" for the summer. At the beginning of summer we brainstorm ideas (some big - ex, day trip to Calvert Cliffs, Luray Caverns, Tubing) some small (Rosevelt Island, various museums, bowling). Then a few days a week in the summer we pull 3 and then decide which one we want to go with.

Agree on getting buy-in from teen. I offer some cities for day trips/ weekend trips and DD, 14, helps with planning. She's a foodie who likes museums, history, and bookstores. Annapolis, Baltimore, Frederick, Fredericksburg, Leesburg, Harpers Ferry, Ashland VA for Strawberry Faire, Richmond, Philly, etc. are some trips we have done or are on our list. Added bonus: Most of these are accessible by train so we just go mid-week and and I don't have to deal with traffic. DD has plenty of time in wildnerness every summer so I choose easier day or weekend trips for the rest of the summer and take random days off mid-week to avoid crowds. Good luck!

If shes into history drive down to Philadelphia for a weekend trip and visit the museums. Take the train into NYC for some shows and sightseeing as another weekend trip. hiking trips, water parks, lakes/beach stayovers with shopping and sight-seeing.

I like having a summer theme.

Some that we have done:

Boating: canoeing at fletchers boat house, sailing in Alexandria, rented kayaks on the Occoquan, tubing, paddle boats, log flume.

Ice Cream: we went around to a lot of small towns within about two hours trying different types of ice cream and rating them.

Virginia State Parks: visited a bunch of the different state parks.

mini golf,
river inner tube floating (Harpers Ferry),
day trip to Sandy Point or Kent Island (sit on the "beach" at Terrapin Nature park).

Day trips - I don’t think spontaneous stuff happens so plan it. Have the 14 yo brainstorm and make a list. This is an ideal project for a young teen.

Picnics, long drives, movie theater, roller skating, historical house tours... I can do this all day..

Day trip to historical places. In the DMV, there's Gettysburg, Antietam Battlefield, Harper's Ferry, etc
Spend the day at the Smithsonian museums
Day trip to Breezy Point, Chesapeake Beach, Calvert Cliffs, etc
King's Dominion
Hikes near lakes, rivers, creeks, etc
Day trip to the mountains
etc etc

Anonymous wrote:My 14yo DD this weekend said, “Why don’t we ever go on more adventures in the summer?”

She is right: our summers have historically been very boring when we aren’t traveling. I vow to make this happen this summer, and I want to plan ahead.

What sort of “spontaneous adventures” would your teen have enjoyed? I’m talking about weekend family type stuff, and spontaneous “let’s go X” things.

One cannot plan to be spontaneous.

Anonymous wrote:Planning spontaneous adventures seems like an oxymoron. lol

I’m not great on the spot so I have to have some ideas to pull from a hat, so to speak.

Planning spontaneous adventures seems like an oxymoron. lol

My 14yo DD this weekend said, “Why don’t we ever go on more adventures in the summer?”

She is right: our summers have historically been very boring when we aren’t traveling. I vow to make this happen this summer, and I want to plan ahead.

What sort of “spontaneous adventures” would your teen have enjoyed? I’m talking about weekend family type stuff, and spontaneous “let’s go X” things.