Has he ever shown any interest perhaps by using binoculars or looking at stars? If he was younger it might be something that he would want but at his age without the interest which you can find out by asking questions I would pass. Alternative is to have his parents take him shopping for one. The people I know who have them are very picky at what type they will use.

Shelia, my husband was really into astronomy and all the toys that come with it. The best thing you can do is to go to a telescope store and have the sales people show you what’s available. Orion was my husband’s preferred manufacturer. I don’t remember where you are located, but I’ve included a link that will help you to find a local dealer. You can always call the company directly as well.

When you speak to the sales person, you might also want to ask about binoculars. My husband actually preferred them to the telescope because they were easier to use. His largest pair is 20 inches tall and he’d use a tripod because they are so heavy.

Meade usually has some kind of special offer on eye pieces and so on too especially during the holidays.

https://www.telescope.com/custserv/contactus.jsp?src=footer2

ETA: If a dealer isn’t located near you, you can also call the stores listed directly too. They will carry a variety of brands and probably be able to steer you in a really good direction.

Nicole! You’re right I pulled out my husband’s eye pieces and it is Orion that my husband really liked. That’s who he got his large telescope & binoculars from. Sorry Sheila, I had Meades information there but have changed it to Orion for you.

Here's a buying guide for a telescope in your price range: telescope listings

Ours, pictured above is a Celestron. The Orion Reflector has pretty good reviews.

My husband tells me that the stabilizing binoculars I gave him for our first Christmas are the best gift ever. They were a few hundred dollars and are amazing. But, a telescope would be wonderful to have, especially living on a lake under the vast Texas sky. “The stars at night, are big and bright . . . ”

https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/blog/choosing-a-telescope/

Are you near Chicago? Adler Planetarium is one of my favorite attractions, with may great events and shows. Hopefully, will soon be able to reopen.

agreed.

everything in a telescope is upside down. a good pair of very high power binoculars can whet the teen's whistle. I got a pan of swift 20x80s to view Halley and never looked back.

It’s a great idea, you should call one of the dealers Sheila. I think you’d be able to find something that can serve them well in the price range you’re interested in.

A reflector telescope is upside down. Catadioptric is switched left to right.

Add Celestron brand to your list of considerations.

What to get for the first optical device for a 14 yr old is a shot in the dark unless you know his interests, experience with distance viewing devices, and degree of maturity. You need to mention other important factors, one being access to a dark night sky, and another, the neighborhood. You did say you were on a lake. Are you in a rural area with widely spaced neighbors, or do you have nearby neighbors. [Neighbors can get upset if they think someone is trying to look into their windows to spy on them.

If your grandson has an expressed interest in astronomy, then a good telescope may be a great gift. If you don't know, don't force, Talk with him enough to explore is interests and wishes and let that be your guide.

A good entry point might be binoculars. These are portable and can offer many hours of medium distance viewing. I recommend starting with binoculars suitable for bird watching. A pair of 7 x 35 wide angle are easy to use. When hand-held, the scene will be steady and offer pleasant viewing. aA you go up in magnification and narrowing of the view angle, the scene get jumpy not satisfying. I have a pair of 8 X 50 binoculars. Those are nice, but I can not hand hold a steady view.

Some sky viewing can be done with binoculars and is easier for lengthy periods if the instrument can be mounted on a tripod. With binoculars, you can get a good view of the moon, and planets are visible. You may not be able to see the rings of Saturn nor any of its moons. Stars will be just stars, but you might see a few more.

Ok, let assume that you heart is set on a telescope. (I don't own one, but do know a little about those.) No matter which type you buy, you will need a mount, the bigger the scope, the more stiff and strong the mount must be. Don't skimp on the tripod. One accessory I recommend for serious viewing is a drive mount that compensates for earth's rotation. Depending on the angle of view of the 'scope, an image of the moon can move across the entire view in 5 to 15 minutes requiring constant fiddling with the aim to keep an object in view. A drive mount will allow time to study an object and you can look away and 10 minutes later, your object is still there.

There are 2 types of telescopes, refractory and mirror. The refractory type has uses all glass optics whereas the mirror type uses a mirror for its primary light gathering device. In general, in the same price range, the mirror can be made larger than the lens, thus has more light gathering power per dollar. Also, the mirror type can be made shorter and more compact.

A primary parameter of a telescope is light gathering, the more, the better. The amount of light it can gather is a direct function of the area of the lens or mirror. For the mirror type, there are some loss due to secondary mirrors and lens at the center of the 'scope's barrel. Losses in the refractory type is due to the amount of glass the light must pass through. Also, there are optical aberrations that need compensating lens. A simple scope usually has a small lens (about 4 to 5 inches) without compensation. The perfect shape for a lens is parabolic, however, most glass lens are spherical owing to the manufacturing process for grinding to shape. When the lens diameter is small, the error is also small. The error grows with increasing diameter. Glass lens also have chromatic aberration; The spectrum of visible light does not all bend exactly the same while passing through the lens. The red end of the spectrum bends a little bit differently than the blue end causing color fringing in the image. A good camera lens adds extra pieces of differing glasses to compensate for this, but this will be missing in low to medium priced telescopes. Adding extra glass reduces the amount of light passing to the viewer. It adds cost, too.

I have seen hobby kits where you grind your own objective glass, These are limited to 3 or 4 in diameter, and when you are finished (after many hours of lens shaping and polishing), you'll have a small telescope that works, but have low light gathering power and very small viewing angle. These are good for a hobby project and to learn about lens grinding, and that's about it.

For more serious sky viewing, I lean toward bigger light gathering power which favors the mirror type.

If you must cut cost, omit the drive mount, but do select a telescope that has provision for a drive. This can be added later if Grandson's interest grows. It'll make another a really nice gift a year or 2 later.