Family Outdoor Summer Vacation Suggestions?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Starting to think about summer vacation for next year, we try to plan way early for this stuff to get good reservations for hotels and air travel. Right now the wife and I are at a bit of a loss so I'm asking for suggestions. Here's the criteria:

Kid friendly - ages 2, 5, 8 (currently)
Relatively easy access by commercial airplane
Outdoorsy. My family has the most fun doing outdoor stuff vs the urban amusement park stuff. Hiking, fishing, swimming, etc.
Decent number of activities. With kids just sitting around and relaxing isn't ideal.
Not super expensive. I don't want to drop $10k on a vacation.
Not a lot of driving. Spending hours in the car with young kids is not fun.
No huge crowds. I hate fighting through people to have fun, and it royally sucks with kids.

Last year was CO (Breckenridge and Denver), the year before was Orlando. Suggestions?

[89911]

One of the more memorable vacations we have done was to Northern California. Did this when we had 3 kids, (now 4). Flew to San Fran, drove up the coast to Point Reyes, crossed through Sonoma and up to Tahoe. Drove down the back entrance to Yosemite and stayed just outside of it for 3 days. Ended up by driving back though the middle of CA into Monterey and back up the coast to San Fran. Lots of variations on where and when to spend some time. Wasn't super expensive.
I'm looking for new ideas next year also. We have done dozens of beach vacations and I am done with those for a while. Took the Family to the Dominican Republic last summer. If money wasn't such a factor, I would take them all the Europe. I stayed briefly in Germany last year and felt my family would love it. So much to see and the cities are very people friendly with walking and biking a great way to get around. But we are talking $10K, at least $1000/each for airfare.

[gprsh924]

Matt you've got the boat now. Find a nice lake within a reasonable drive rent a house, and spend the week at the lake. No better vacation when I was a kid and would stay at our friends house for the week. And since we bought our house in 2007, that has been our family summer vacatio.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks guys, CA is definitely on the list for consideration. I'll look at the options up North, as doing the big city thing doesn't hold much appeal.

Regarding the boat, we have friends with a cabin on Lake of the Ozarks, so we will make that a long weekend "mini-vacation" at some point in the summer. We go boating every week, so we're looking for a change of pace for vacation. If it were solely up to me I would absolutely go this route though, a nice cabin on the lake is about perfection in my book.

[Jim Richards]

Check out the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore.

[onewhippedpuppy]

We thought about doing the Rapid City area Jim, but that really locks us into driving about 13 hours. There's no easy way to fly there without spending a fortune. 13 hours in the car with a 2-year old....no thanks. I can yell at my kids for free at home.

[Seahawk]

How much time do you have, total?

[onewhippedpuppy]

We typically take a week.

[Seahawk]

Off the top of my head and taking the two year old into mix:

- Whitefish, Mt. The town is really nice and Glacier is minutes away. I stayed at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake. One of the guys that consults for us is best friends with the owner so we got a reduced rate. I spent a few days there last summer.

Amazingly nice setting. Fishing, water skiing, etc. Fly into Kalispell, Mt. You can also fly into Missoula or Great Falls and drive.

- Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I really enjoy the area but it will be hot and humid in the summer. Easy and cheap, however if you can get there early in the season.

- Maine. The North East is tiny so you can trek Maine or stay on a Lake/Sea Shore. The weather is excellent and there are any number of great side trips.

When the kids are older I have a different list

[willtel]

Sedona is nice. There are lots of hiking trails and nice views, mild kayaking and rafting, a scenic railroad. The Grand Canyon and some excellent slot canyons are a day trip away in Page Arizona.

[ckelly78z]

It seems like anything I was going t suggest involves driving or has already been mentioned. I really think the best value would be to rent a beach house in the Florida panhandle. That area is a bit less traveled, and after you are there, you can just hang out with your toes in the sand, do some BBQs, throw a ball around with the kids, and have amazing sunsets.

Very little driving involved with a trip like this, and you'll have $$ leftover for going to dinner or souvenirs.

[Drisump]

The area I live in probably would fit the bill. There is fishing (mostly salmon), whale watching, hiking, the city of Victoria. For a week with young kids, that like doing outdoors stuff, (especially from the heart land) there should be plenty of interesting stuff to do beach hiking and tidal pool exploring etc....I hear you about popular summer vacation spots, crowds and line-ups are not for me. Good luck with your choice.

[Jim Richards]

New Mexico?

New Mexico Fly Fishing, Hiking, Camping, Kayaking, Canoeing, Skiing, Hunting and Outdoor Vacations

[azasadny]

Yosemite or Yellowstone!

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

If it were solely up to me I would absolutely go this route though, a nice cabin on the lake is about perfection in my book.

I don't really use my cabin that overlooked Lake Cle Elum. It's yours if you want to use it for a week. 1.5 hr drive from Seattle Airport. Lots of Hiking and sight-seeing in the area. Day trips to Mt. Rainier, Mt St Helens, Leavenworth, etc.

A few photo's taken by the last person to take me up on my offer:

https://plus.google.com/photos/107944816277139372267/albums/5532092429148747009/5532092444532359058?banner=pwa&authkey=CKz64OGooL6PvgE

[NeedSpace]

Woodloch Pines in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.

My family and I have been going on vacation here for about 30 something years. It really is the best family vacation I could design. Woodloch Resort | All-Inclusive Family Vacations in the Poconos Mountains, PA



It is designed for families so your kids ages are perfect. You don't have to plan in advance, you just show up. Each morning you get a list of activities. Most of them are family type activities that you can do with your family. Some of the games are like those on Nickolodeon like family double dare. If your family is athletic, you will love it. There is an excellent 18 hole golf course and one of the top 5 spas in the US that are right next door. If there is rain, there is plenty to do indoors.



There are MANY different activities: go carts, bumper boats, climbing walls, zip lines, game rooms, batting cages, trap shoot, horse shoes, miniature golf, sailboats, water skiing, paddle boats, pools, hot tubs, a lake, etc. There is also a splash pool for the kids as well as one of those habit-trails for kids...like the play place at mcdonalds but substantially bigger.

The food is very good and the nightly shows are entertaining. The will have magicians and comedy acts out of NYC so they are pretty good. They also have some more adult shows for which you can hire a sitter through them.

The place is safe, so that your kids can go play while you are hanging out at the beach...it is one of those family vacations where the parents feel like they are getting a rest as well.

If you want to know more, send me a personal message and I'll fill you in more. You can also read the testimonials. All-Inclusive Family Vacations | Vacation Testimonials

It is a little pricy but well worth it. Best of all however, and what I realized when I started going on other vacations (in addition to woodloch), everything is INCLUSIVE. It is not like those vacations where you feel like every time you turn around they are asking for more money. One place I went to, they wanted to charge me $20 to rent bocci balls! The only activities that are extra are golf, the spa and alcohol.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by azasadny

Yosemite or Yellowstone!

Yellowstone is crazy in the summer. When we go, we try to get there the first wweek or two to avoid the crowds. But, all the animals are out a litter in the season.

[kaisen]

As others have suggested, the large national parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc) will be very memorable for your 8 year old, a little less so your 5 year old, and a giant pain with your 2 year old.... I'd wait a couple years for one of those trips.

Renting a home/cabin on some beach or lake is probably the easiest way to have a nearby home-base when the youngest (or parents) need rest and the others want to play. A good resort can provide that as well.

Another option is to rent a motorhome or travel trailer (even pop-up) to visit some surrounding attractions in an area (i.e. Black Hills, SD) and use the RV as home-base.

Fly in to Sacremento or Reno, pick up a Class C RV rental there, drive to Yosemite, the redwood forests, etc?

Or rent one simply to stay in a campground for the week and "rough it". Many state and national campgrounds are breathtaking and have good facilities (flush toilets, hot showers, well-lit, safe) for family camping.

I think at 5 and 8 they would love camping, making fires, eating on picnic tables, setting up camp, etc.

Another option is the Wisconsin Dells area near Baraboo, WI. Lots of water parks and resort-style accomodations with their own indoor and outdoor water parks. Ride the Ducks (WWII amphibious). Amusement parks. We've stayed at the Wilderness and the Kalahari, but there are several large resorts. The only downside is proximity to an international airport....you're going to drive from Madison, Minneapolis, or Milwaukee.

If that sounds appealing, there is also a fantastic campground/resort at Jellystone in Warrens, WI that is within driving distance of the Dells. Your family would love Jellystone Warrens, like camping but with more kid-directed facilities and activities.....a blend between camping at a state park and staying at Disneyland. They rent air conditioned cabins or park-model trailers.

There are so many lake resorts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan.....any of them could be a wonderful, natural vacation. If you'd like specific resort advice, let us know here. I'm sure other Pelicans have their favorites as well.

Look into Door County, WI? The Adirondacks? The Boundary Waters?

My daughters are 2 and 3. They love to camp. They love the water, beach or pools. My advice is given based on what my own daughters could enjoy, and what I could do without pulling out all my hair. However, my girls are great in the car so long drives aren't a big constraint.

[Nostril Cheese]

Delaware!

[HardDrive]

Tons of outdoor stuff to do here in the Seattle area. Mt. Rainer, Olympic national park, hiking in the Cascades. There are beautiful urban hikes right in the City of Seattle. Endless stuff to see, not super spendy. July 4th-mid September are best.

My 9 year old on Rainer this summer: