Ruby

We would love any suggestions on where to go in March 2002 for approx. one week seeking the most beautiful scenery in the country. Our children are 9,6, and 2. We live on the east coast and have seen most of it. We'd would like to stay in the Continental U.S. Please help. Thank so much!

gail

I can't answer your question, but, as a parent, I am wondering how you keep the kids occupied if beautiful scenery is a vacation goal - We have travelled extensively with our kids (now 11 and 15) and wish we had been more able to absorb scenery when they were little (Whining tends to limit the beauty of anyplace!)

Marj

We did the california coast March 1999. Our kids were 8 & 10 at the time. We spent a few days in san francisco. Drove down scenic route 1. Spent 1 night in Big Sur and the other in Solvang. Stopped at scenic spots along the way. Toured Hearst castle and spent the last few nights in Santa Monica with a visit to disneyland. it was a great trip and the coastal scenery is spectacular.

clark

As we all know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. "Most beautiful" is way too subjective for a meaningful answer.
Each of every state I have been to has had someplace that appeared beautiful to me. Believe it or not, some don't necessarily need an ocean or mountains to be awed.

Don

Here is a second vote for the California coast, which I find the prettiest from about San Simeon to San Francisco. The Oregon coast and the Columbia River Gorge is also a really beautiful area. Next year, I am making my first trip to the southwest, and the more I look into it, I keep finding more and more places that I would love to see. I have already included the Grand Canyon and Sedona in Arizona plus Zion and Bryce in Utah. Both of these states seem to have an abundance of beauty.

Beth

How about New Mexico and/or Arizona? Northeast kids find that "painted desert" look really cool, plus all the Native American stuff is very interesting - and some say calming.

Larry

Moab, Utah!! You have Arches Nat'l Park, Canyonlands Nat'l Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, Colorado River, etc, etc. This is the heart of the 'Red Rocks Country' and you will never see it all. Really spectacular.

David

For kids that age, Disney World.

LizF

Hi
Can I, from Australia, suggest something? I took my 3 kids on a 7 week camping trip on the NW of USA some years ago and have never had a better time.
We started in Glacier National Park and then went on to Yellowstone which was magnificent. The kids had a wonderful time and spent lot of time learning about the area with the rangers. We then drove, as near as possible, along the Oregon trail to the little valley in Oregon where the pioneers arrived. I think that that is the most beautiful part of your country together with the Tetons, northern Idaho, and Washington. If its only for one week then Yellowstone would be my pick and you can go to places like Cody from there. I also liked 'Crators of the Moon National Park' though one could hardly call that beautiful - it was interesting.

Virginia

Just did Kauai/Oahu August. I know you mentioned the continental U.S by I still think my observations are helpful. We traveled with 3 kids 7-10-12. I originally made Oahu part of the trip because I thought the kids would get antsy with too much hiking, driving, swimming, snorkeling. I could not have been more wrong.

Yes they enjoyed sealife park but I was amazed at how they took to hiking. I am an Aunt and their mother my little sister told me they would not get bored in the outdoors. I of course thought this was little sister babble. The key was their father is very science oriented he put many things into context for them. Perhaps having this orientation made the kids appreciate nature more. Friends warned me before this trip kids don't enjoy sunsets, landscape etc... WRONG WRONG WRONG.

The first morning we woke up the 10 yelled to his sister to look. I ran from my bed alarmed, here he was photographing the sunrise.
They loved every minute. I liked Kauai especially because of the lack of crowds.

I know this does not speak to needs of your 2 year old. Not sure they are open in March but go to the Glacier National Park website and check out Prince of Wales hotel. Do you even need to go very far in that hotel?

ingrid

We went to Arizona (near Tucson) last spring,stayed in B&B's including a resort. If you're interested in more info, let me know.

Although I have to say, with kids of that age, a beach vacation might be best. We went to Club Med Sandpiper the spring before, and our kids (8 and 10) at the time loved it. Not much scenery, however.

Karen

We went to New Mexico for a week in March with the kids - they say it was their best school break trip ever. It is so totally different from the east. We flew to Albuquerque, and drove a large loop south. Some of our favourite spots were: Valley of Fires Recreation Area, Three Rivers Petrogyph Site, White Sands National Monument (we went here one afternoon, and the kids liked it so well we had to return the next morning), Roswell's UFO museum, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Rock Hound State Park, Gila Cliffs National Monument.

curious

Karen, How was the weather there in March? My kids have the 2nd week in March and I would love to visit that area but I thought (maybe erroneously), that it would be too cold to be enjoyable and possibly even snowing. How was it, weatherwise?

curious

Ruby, We have a March vacation also. Ideas we are tossing around are Skiing in Vermont, which is just a short drive for us. Smugglers Notch has a great kids program - even all day childcare for the 2 year old! Miami for a few days, drive to Everglades National Park, then drive to Key West, stopping in Islamorada on the way down. The other options are not in the U.S. - Cabo San Lucas or Playa Del Carmen. I always have good intentions of going skiing and book a ski trip, then January rolls around and I'm already sick of cold and snow and I end up canceling and going somewhere warm!

tannya

Yellowstone is my vote. You can't ask for a more beautiful spot and so much to see. The kids should love all of the wildlife. We stayed in a cabin there and the buffalo roamed around that area. Our son loved it. We fished too and hiked some, swam in a hot spring. Just so much to see and do. Horseback riding too for the older ones, maybe not the 2 year old. Hay rides and camp fires. Weather in March would be a factor there, probably pretty cold.
Have fun on your vacation where ever you go!

barb

Ruby, what a great idea! Kids that age can and do enjoy the beauty around them. I was born/raised in the midwest but my mom was from Oregon and we drove every summer cross-country long before there were many of the interstate hiways. Some of my fondest memories are of these vacations and the sights we saw along the way.
I have repeated some of those trips with my children. In my own small way, passing down the legacy of family time together and discovering this beautiful country.

Susan

These are all great ideas but I'll throw one more in the mix. Rent a cabin in Yosemite for a week. We did this a few years ago and the kids loved it. You can rent bikes and ride around the valley floor (they have trailers for the 2). You can raft down the Merced river. Hikes, lots of animals, beautiful, beautiful scenery, including the waterfalls which are at their best in the Spring. If you don't want to spend a whole week there you could spend a few days on the California coast as well, but I'm sure with kids you'd be perfectly content to stay put for the week. Everyone's got to see Yosemite once in their lives.

I went on a vacation to Glacier National Park as a 10 year-old with my family and I will always remember it too. Absolutely gorgeous, like being in heaven, I thought.

Boots

Hi! We're fellow east-coasters and until April, I had never been west of West Va. We took our kids (10,10 and 12) to Nevada and Arizona. I could not believe my eyes- WOW!~ I sang "God Bless America" across Nevada...never saw such wide open spaces - we could see for miles over beautiful barren land with mountains all around in the distance. We flew into Las Vegas (Red Rock Park os great and walked on the strip- only stayed one night) then went to Arizona -Grand Canyon, Sedona and Tucson. One of my sons was talking about Tucson this morning - about the afternoon we hiked in the Saguaro National Park West and watched the sun go down with cactus and mountains all around. And the morning we watched the sun come up and coyotes came out from the brush right behind us. Amazing! I will never forget.

Sal

If you weren't going in March, I would absolutely vote for the Tetons and Yellowstone. That is still our favorite family vacation. However, at that time of year, there will be too much snow and much of the wildlife will not have migrated back.

That said, I would suggest the Pacific NW and Victoria BC. I would include Whistler, but I think there will still be lots of snow. Our family loves Seattle and Victoria. There are several child-oriented museums, the locks, the aquarium. There may even be some whale watching at that time.

John

Ruby, in early March there's a risk that the red rocks areas - which would be my first vote - such as Monument Valley/Four Corners, Canyon de Chelly, etc., might be too cold, due to high elevations. And the Rockies or Pacific NW may also still be rather wintry, or at least lacking much color, so as to keep you in the car or cabin more than you'd like.

So my suggestion is California, but not the coast. Death Valley. For a week, DV is perfect IMO - fabulous sights, desert and natural phenomena, sunsets through the Joshua trees, ghost towns, Scotty's Castle, plenty of things to see. Start and end in Las Vegas. Check it out - it's a blast.