Advice on travelling local vs intercontinental

Go to the nearest New York Public Library and get a travel guide book on the USA. Lonely Planet publishes guide books on the USA. You can buy them online also.

I had a domestic trip planned for early March. I didn't cancel it. It turned out great, there was no issue. I don't see any problems with taking local trips (especially if you're young and healthy and have no risk factors) - I would stay clear of hot spots where the health system is under a lot of strain (like Seattle). Obviously this will shift over time, so you have to stay tuned and be flexible. This may also be a good time to see what's right under your own nose...many people don't realize how many attractions they have in their own neighborhood or region which don't require jumping on a plane.

There are some great places to visit in North America.

The Canadian Rockies are great, as all the wonderful national parks in the Western USA.

Montreal and Quebec City are nice and close to where you live.

Yes, Abraham there are 49 other states in your country - all of whom have history, good food and local life. Sounds like you have a great opportunity to discover this. We live in the southwest and have camped our way across virtually every state coast to coast. That's probably not your best choice but you can easily visit the wonderful national parks in places like Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, etc with a rental car and hotels. All the big parks have lodging within or near them.

Best of luck on a great American adventure.

Sometimes we take what we have in our own backyards for granted, here's a post I created a few months ago. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/what-sites-do-you-recommend-close-to-your-home
To answer your question though, it's easy to take day trips to keep costs down, or research and plan extended stays just like you would overseas.

If I were planning a trip now, I'd want to do it by car. I'd avoid places like theme parks and cities and head for the outdoors.

When is your time off? Some of the big Western Parks are weather dependent so "when" matters. With 3 weeks you could do a nice road trip. Heading out west will cost you 4-5 days one way so if you are not used to road trips you might just want to see things around NY/New England. LOTS of National Park administered units away from cities in your area!

www.nps.gov

When I want to see the US I drive. Usually it means a fast trip across the Great Plains (no disrespect meant) to the Rockies. The Southern Rockies are great at this time of the year. Santa Fe, Flagstaff, etc. Check the archives of the NYTimes Travel section if you want a bunch of ideas

If you are talking now and nearby - Montreal and Quebec city as already mentioned. If now and farther afield, a drive to Santa Fe and the the Grand Canyon area and back stopping in NM to visit Pueblo sites like Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.

https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm

If you want to stay east there are Savannah, Charleston, St. Augustine, Shenandoah Valley, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Asheville, NC, etc.

Second tier cities.

If you are talking about in a few months time, stay further north.

Drive, don't fly.

Don’t think about flying or you may as well travel abroad.

When? Right now there is spring training baseball in Arizona. Great weather, Grand Canyon and more. Later in the spring - do some web searching at towns at states of interest and look for local festivals, rodeos. We plan road trips with one specific destination in mind, and then look at the most interesting route, and search for info on towns along the way.

I too would suggest a road trip to some places that interest you, either nearby or way out west. That's what we'll be doing this year instead of flying, unless something very good happens soon. Stay in motels, or camp if you prefer. Take the season into account choosing destinations. If the trip is soon and west, keep in mind that altitude trumps latitude out here -- high-elevation places stay colder and snowier longer than coastal areas.

There are lots of good suggestions so far and some great links to more information. Just a little tip, you might want to post this on and take a look at the Beyond Europe forum. That's where the questions and answers about the US and Canada usually end up.

As you go through your planning, keep in mind that it will be an iterative process until you come up with your final itinerary. And that everyone on the trip will have to be flexible in case of situations where y'all have to make last minute changes.

Clarification on the questions below would help you plan and help others to help you.

You said that the people on the trip are you and your family. What does that mean? How many of you are there? What ages?

As others have asked, when are you planning to go? The weather will be a huge factor wherever you go, especially on the road and outside big cities.

You said that you're interested in history, good food and exploring local life. All three of those interests can be found just about anywhere. And they can vary dramatically from one place to another.

For example, exploring Santa Fe and the areas already mentioned near it, you can satisfy all those interests. You can learn a lot, eat great food and see people living in a totally different way from your local area.

You can do the same thing in New Orleans and the areas around it, but the satisfaction will be of a very different flavor, so to speak.

How much does your group know about the history of the US or Canada? Does anyone have places they've learned about, heard of or even seen on TV that they are curious about? Do they have some things they'd particularly like to do?

If so making lists of those places or things to do could be a starting point. You might even get lucky and have more than one person want to go to the same place or do the same thing.

You will tailor the trip to your group's interests, and the more each person participates in the planning, the better it will be.

You can do some Googling, look at some maps and learn how close those trip options are to each other. If they're close, keeping in mind that nothing in the west is close by NY standards, then you could look for other places to go or things to do in the same general area.

Three weeks isn't really much time for exploring the US or Canada, so you'll have to very selective and set your priorities accordingly. For many of us, the planning is at least half the fun. I hope it will be for you, too.

Acadia National Park in beautiful Maine, the before mentioned Quebec, and Halifax. All time favorites, Yellowstone NP and Glacier NP, Olympia NP. Lots to see!

Its expected that the virus will pretty much go away come summer, like the flu and common cold since its killed by sunlight, so I'd add to the suggestions of the National Parks in the US west to stick to the non mountain areas of New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and California-- lots of sights, lots of sunshine, and Ok to visit year round-- little to no snow in the deserts.