gandriollo

Hi all,

We are a family of three (my wife and my 4 year old son) from Miami and we are looking to take on vacation time around October this year. We want to go the the mountains (in the US) and we were thinking Grand Teton National, WY or Sundance, UT.

We are looking for a place that can be relaxing, outside of a city landscape but also fun for a toddler (maybe some kind of camp or resort with a kids club). We are not interested in ski but more in hiking and biking along with some spa time.

Do you guys have any additional recommendations or suggestions that we might be currently overlooking?

Thank you so much for the help!
-Gabriel

Gardyloo

Sometimes October can be too late at high elevations if you're looking for autumn color or some sunny weather. I've been snowed on in Yellowstone in August; not saying it's a certainty but it is a risk.

Let me propose an alternative. Fly to Portland, Oregon, and focus on the Mount Hood - Mount Adams - Columbia River Gorge area, just east of PDX airport.

Because these volcanoes rise basically from sea level, the weather changes as you travel up and down their sides. At the base, say around Hood River Oregon, it will be a spectacular fall, with the many orchards and vineyards in the (drop-dead gorgeous) Hood River Valley in harvest colors (or in the Trout Lake Valley across the Columbia at the foot of Mt. Adams.) In October you'll have fresh-picked pears and pumpkin patches and a corn maze for your son.

Up the mountainside at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, you can ride the "Magic Mile Sky Ride" up to the permanent glacier/ice field (they might be skiing by then, might not.) Or you can hike the various trails from Timberline or farther down the mountain, or in the forest surrounding its base.

In the Columbia Gorge you've got numerous waterfalls, with short or longer hikes leading to them, with plenty of scenic vistas from foot or car. Your son (and his parents) will love visiting Herman the Sturgeon, an enormous, ancient (maybe 80+ years old) fish with an underwater viewing room at the Bonneville Hatchery.

Hood River has wide-ranging accommodations, is a center of craft brewing and it's an up-and-coming wine center. The Hood River Valley "fruit loop" will be at its best right at harvest time.

If the weather turns cloudy you can head an hour east from the Gorge to the Maryhill Museum, with its eclectic collection including a big group of Rodin sculptures, set in a mansion in sunny sagebrush country overlooking the Columbia.

And if you need some city time, Portland is right there. Or if you need more mountain time, Mt. St. Helens is a day trip. No sales tax in Oregon either.

http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

http://hoodriverfruitloop.com/

Mt. Adams - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Washington.jpg

Mt. Hood - https://c5.staticflickr.com/4/3496/3...d78e937d_b.jpg

Gorge - https://photos.smugmug.com/Landscape...t%20Sunset.jpg

Maryhill - http://www.maryhillmuseum.org/

Hatchery - http://www.yelp.com/biz/bonneville-d...-cascade-locks

StantonHyde

If you go early in October, the mountains are awesome. I would go to Jackson Wyoming--so you can go up to the Tetons for a day or so and then do stuff in Jackson as well. The 4 yo is not going to want to hang out in the car long enough to do driving trips through Yellowstone so save that for a future trip.

You could also go to Park City (Sundance is not geared for kids). You would have lots and lots of kid activities between Park City and Salt Lake City (30 min drive). Plus great restaurants plus spa time etc. You could rent a condo which is nice when you have kids. Plenty of hiking, mountain biking, biking on a nice flat trail etc.

If you want to go later, try the desert--which is gorgeous and not too hot.

fmpden

You put a Colorado tag on the posting but didn't mentioned Colorado in your question. October is a change over time in the mountains from summer to winter activity. In early October you still catch some of the fall color but the peak will have passed. By mid October the overnight temps should be below freezing so the snow guns will be running with a target of late October for limited ski runs being opened. West of Denver, Golden, has a railroad museum and a big HO train set up. You can ride a train at Georgetown and tour a silver mine. The kid would like that. Tiny town west of Denver is a big attraction for small kids.

Jackson Hole is just that much further north and a greater opportunity for cold and snowy weather. For better weather you probably should be looking further south. For Denver/Central Colorado, Oct is generally a good month but weather is a big variable. Great Sand Dunes national park SW of Denver would be nice.

The four corners area, Masa Verda, Durango, Black Canyon, Telluride are all good choices at that time of year. Moving just far enough south that the cold weather should stay a bit north.

gandriollo

@Gardyloo @StantonHyde @fmpden thank you very much for your input! There are all awesome!

Tabernash2

October can be very nice, mild weather in the Colorado mountains, and prices are relatively low. Weather can be iffy, but I doubt if you'd encounter a huge storm, just daily squalls maybe. I had guests last October in Grand County, Colorado, and the weather was spectacular, in the 70s, no rain/snow. (Not that it means you're guaranteed clear 70s, because anything can happen.)

We love Devil's Thumb Ranch, Tabernash, CO. It has everything you want. It can be pricey, but get on their e-mail list for the lodging specials they run.
http://www.devilsthumbranch.com

The Ranch is an outstanding and beautiful property. A real working ranch, raising cattle, and multiple other animals. Your son could pet horses, goats, cows.

Also a very nice spa, a fine dining restaurant @ The Ranch House, family dining at Heck's Tavern, and a coffee shop.

Service there is spectacular. I call it the 'Ritz Carlton of Ranches'. It's all newly renovated/built, all in Ralph Lauren-style furnishings.

Cannot recommend it highly enough.