I just picked up a new book from the local library by Laura Sutherland for "Amazing Places to take your Kids". Please nominate your favorite amazing place in your region of the country to take your kids that you enjoyed also (besides Disneyworld and Disneyland). I am looking for places worth the trip due to the high prices.

Williamsburg

Any of the myriad of Forts on the Eastern seaboard. The same could be said for lighthouses.

In Chicago: Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Adler Planetarium, Field Museum, observation deck of Sears Tower or John Hancock Bldg., Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, etc., etc.

Northern California or Vancouver.

Yellowstone

How old are the kids? What are their interests?

What you might reco for a 3/4 year old is a whole lot different than for a 10 or 12 year old.

Las Vegas is trying to become more kid friendly. The Circus Circus hotel is a great hotel for kids. It has an indoor amusement park and great pools. You should definaly consider it. Here is there website http://tinyurl.com/3kvntq . I was actually there the other day checking out hotels for my internship with this hotel group, and there were alot of kids there.

Baltimore:
Science Museum
National Aquarium
Kids Museum (can't remember the name, but it's huge)
Museum of Industry (really interesting!)

Am I losing my mind or have a number of responses been deleted on this thread?

In any case, without knowing the ages and interests of the children involved, it's difficult to give good answers.

Only one was deleted; it was about this maybe being an ad for the book. We looked into it and determined that it was legit so it was deleted so that others would post if they wanted to. We don't always do this but since Vagabondzz55 is a new poster we wanted them to feel welcome. So no, you haven't lost your mind 321!

1. New York City

2. For older kids/teens - A hike up Mount Washington in New Hampshire paired with some camping.

Thanks Katie! The older I get the more I find myself wondering. ;-)

Washington DC! My husband and I went a few years back without kids, and we loved it. Now, my son is 6 and he really wants to go. He is so interested in seeing the landmarks, even at his young age.

I agree with jayne. Yellowstone is Mother Nature's disneyland!

Utahtea

Living in Bozeman,MT we get all kinds of visitors from out of state, many with children two years and up. They've all been to Disneyland, Hawaii, etc. before but this is where we take them. They LOVE it and keep coming back for more:

Yellowstone. Need I say more?

The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman - the premier dinosaur museum in the nation (yep, the nation.)

A docent led tour of the Lewis & Clark Caverns in the Three Forks area. Kids as young as 5 thoroughly enjoy that. But if you've got claustrophopia you should skip it.

Also in Three Forks the Gallatin, Jefferson and Madison rivers meet to form the headwaters of the Missouri. A nice park is there with explanations of the nature and history of the place.

Virginia City is great, too, for kids though it's a little farther away. It's a great restored old western town and a fun plays are put on over the summer.

Geesh, I could go on but I don't have time right now.

-doo

The Smoky Mountains
The Florida Keys
Cape Canaveral and the Space Center
The Everglades
St. Augustine

A third vote for Yellowstone. We went in February & rode snowmobiles, a novelty for our family (the boys were 13 & 15).

The people who didn't mention Yellowstone, I wonder if they have ever been there.

Utahtea

"Please nominate your favorite amazing place in your region of the country " (bolding mine)

I can't answer for anyone else, but the above quote from the OP is why I didn't mention Yellowstone.

Hawaii. Kids just adored being in warm water with fish to see, dancing the hula, seeing the Volcanoes, just being on great beaches.