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What is your favorite place to vacation with your kids in the U.S. and why

Excluding any theme parks

BarbaraF

We had the best family vacation the summer we went to Sedona, Grand Canyon, and Lake Powell. Kids (then 9 and 11) had loads of fun things to do in each place -- slide rock and pink jeep tour in sedona, mule ride into the canyon and star gazing at the north rim of the grand canyon, rafting, boating etc at Lake powell. All in all a fabulous, memorable vacation.

cmeyer54

Our family has spent several vacations at a place called Cragns on Gull Lake near Brainerd Minnesota. Its a long drive for us or a flight plus short drive from mpls but the memories are outstanding. They have cabins right on the beach, cabins on the hills, a lodge, large multi-room 'guest type house for family reunions, etc. You can choose to cook in the cabins or have 2 meals a day in the main dining room. There are two wonderful calm beaches, an outdoor pool, indoor pool, docks with all sorts of rentals, tennis courts and gorgeous 36 hole golf course. Its very family oriented, has been run by the same couple since the '50's. Every night there is some kind of family entertainment - also a lounge for adults only, turkey BBQ one night, gourmet northwoods restaurant and very cute nearby town (nisswa) that is full of arts and crafts stores. You can easily bike around the lake (about 25 miles), there is a motor speedway if you're into amateur racing, Paul Bunyon land (for little kids), hiking at the Pillsbury state forest. Our kids loved it when they were little and still ask to go back years later. Every night, if you're in a beach cabin, a stock of fire wood is laid out for a fire (in a ring) outside the cabin. Very peaceful, lots of upscale homes around the lake and several other resorts. The food and service are excellent as well.

travellyn

My kids have enjoyed:
- A week camping at Rocky Mountain National Park
- A week in Washington DC, staying at a youth hostel, where they could meet people from all over the world
-A week driving around Arkansas one October
- A week in San Diego with grandparents, visiting friends and relatives on the drive there and back
- Any time spent with relatives and/or at a beach

My favorite one of this bunch was the week at RMNP. I don't really know why.

The common themes seem to be:
1) Having a long enough time in one place to relax
2) Doing things to keep us all physically and mentally active at least some of the time every day
3) Interacting with other people

Interestingly, they don't mind long car trips. They especially like hearing stories about family, and listening to books on tape.

uhoh_busted

Chincoteague, Virginia (in the summer time) With the comfy relaxed small town, the wonderful beach across the bridge at Assateague Island, the wild ponies and other wildlife on the refuge between Chincoteague and Assateague islands. You can beach it...go fishing, go crabbing...it is just a great place for the whole family to relax together. And of course, there's the wonderful Island Creamery for home made ice cream for dessert.

bennnie

My kids have enjoyed roadtrips to Hershey PA, Toronto, Maine, NYC, the Hamptons and Newport RI. They pretty much like going anywhere especially when they have Mommy and Daddy's undivided attention.

GoTravel

Growing up I would have to say either New York City or Pawleys Island, SC. NYC was just so exciting with so much to do!

Pawleys Island because when you give a kid sand toys and the beach, they are entertained for hours.

ChristieP

My favorite place for a vacation (when I was a kid) was Washington, DC. I loved to go to the museums, the National Zoo, ride the metro, etc. I guess that's why I'm patriotic as an adult...

vivi

We have been on many non-Disney family vacations. In fact, we have never been to Disney World, LOL.


Yellowstone/Jackson Hole/Grand Tetons

Black Hills/Badlands- South Dakota

Maui

Idaho- river rafting on the Salmon

Idaho- skiing Sun Valley

Utah- skiing Alta, Snowbird, PArk City

Grand Canyon/Las Vegas

Yosemite-Sequoia-rafting the American River.

Mammoth Mtn- skiing

Lake Tahoe- skiing

I have to say the best trip was to the Black Hills. All cosmic vacation karma converged to make for a very memorable trip: darling rustic log cabin, nobody got sick (oh wait, husband broke his wrist!), great weather, lots of
interesting Americana-type sightseeing, bargain prices, tourist kitsche, kids well behaved. I think all those elements made for a great vacation that I'll never forget.

DawnCt

We love Hawaii, The Big Island, Kauai, Maui and Oahu. In fact, we are going back next summer. We loved our San Francisco trip which included Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Cambria, etc. San Diego and Anaheim were great. We are a family who has been to Walt Disney World more times than I care to admit and those trips often exceeded our Disney vacations.

Austin

My 13 year old daughter absolutely LOVED NYC.

We also had a great time in WA - Mt. Baker and the San Juan Islands.

beth48

We absolutely love the Outer Banks of N.C. We usually stay in Corolla which is the northern part. The beaches are great and there's plenty to do with the kids. Most areas have bike paths. There is miniature golfing, water sports, etc.
Lots of vacation homes to rent with a wide range of prices for a one week stay. Our kids enjoy when we rent a home with its own pool. I highly recommend OBX!!

ellen_griswold

Anywhere or Everywhere we go! Wherever we've gone, our kids have loved it! (Yes, they're quite the perfect children, gag )

Seriously, back in the day when they were little, we'd spend two weeks at a beach (Hilton Head etc) with a side trip of history in Virginia or DC on the way home.

When they got a bit older, we started our cross-country road trips out west, our griswold-style vacations. The first year, i had to pull clark kicking and screaming behind the van; hes such a beach bum. But after our first few stops in the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, they were ALL hooked.

Now we're ALL road-trip JUNKIES !

I think the key is YOUR excitement. If you plan well, include LOTS of wiggle room for chilling (and get motels with POOLS!) kids will enjoy anything. If YOU'RE excited, it will be contagious; THEY will be excited.

As i said, we've thoroughly enjoyed each and every trip we've taken with our kids....10 beaching it summers and 8 cross-country road trips, each 3 weeks. (we've done disneyworld the last 6 spring breaks, and williamsburg before that.)

Our last out west trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34438298

abram

Skiing in Colorado or Utah.

Surfergirl

Yosemite first. Because you can swim, ride bikes, learn about nature, hike, see cool waterfalls, camp out, and tell scary stories.

Avalon, Catalina, second, because you don't have to watch your kids and they can be kids doing kid things (swimming, snorkeling, biking, eating ice cream, and finding cool rocks).

Wednesday

I loved, loved, loved going on horseback riding/ranch trips with my dad when I was about 8-13..Most memorable being Arizona and North Carolina.

BAK

If I could take my 9-year old son anywhere in the USA it would be, partly depending on the time of year, Seattle, New York City, or Florida, near and in Naples and up the coast to St. pete's and down and over through the Everglades. And the coast of Maine.

No particular order.

After that, there are lots of places in the USA that are great for tourist kids. it depends a lot on the kid. My guy would love San Fran cablecars, the tour boats, and a visit to Alcatraz, but his big sister, now a grownup, thought the Art Institute in Chicago was a great place to visit.

BAK