Sight-Seeing Vacation Ideas??
 

I'm trying to help my parents choose a vacation spot for this summer (June/July). They have a week to travel somewhere within the US. They are in their mid-fifties and prefer vacations where they can sight-see. My Dad loves to drive, while Mom can't stand more than a few hours in a car. We live in Wisconsin, so anywhere they can fly within the US would be fine. Does anyone have any suggestions for a nice sight-seeing type vacation for them? Places they've gone in the past have been San Francisco, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Colorado. Thanks!

Have you given any thought to the Canadian Rockies? Banff, Calgary, Jaspar, Lake Louise.

Beautiful scenery, plenty to see and cloe to Wisconsin.

CLOSE not cloe...sorry about that.

Close to Wisconsin? Compared to what? I don't know where in Wisconsin the OP's parents live, but from Milwaukee to Banff is 1600 miles!

Pacific Northwest? Seattle, Puget Sound, islands, Vancouver, Portland , rain forests etc. An easy flight from Wisconsin. (My neighbor is from Wisconsin, she flies home for weekends all the time :)

Fly into Alb., NM. Drive to Santa Fe and Taos. On through high desert to Durango, CO. Visit Mesa Verde.

Loop up into Colorado to Great Sands NP before heading back south or loop west through Monument Valley to Grand Canyon.

Fabulous sightseeing vacation! If your Dad enjoyed Westerns, he'll really enjoy driving through Monument Valley.

Could you define "sightseeing" a little more.

If they enjoy museums, theater, architecture, long walks, concerts, shopping, and dining, then I would suggest CHICAGO!

I agree that we need more information about their likes. You can "sightsee" in almost any state in the US, with the possible exception of those that are paved with corn.

If Mom really hates being in a car, and since the places you've listed are all in the West, perhaps an eastern city, loaded wtih museums and formal gardens, would be intresting. Do a search on these boards for past discussions of Washington, DC, New York, or Boston. Or does "sight-seeing" mean outdoorsy scenery?

Have you thought maybe about driving the west coast from San Francisco to LA or San Diego (depending on how much time they want to spend)? In my opinion, there is not a more beautiful area in this country than the Big Sur coastline. There are a lot of places to stop (Monteray/Carmel, Solvang, San Simeon, Santa Barbara among others), so you don't have to have to do a lot of driving at one time and you can have the choice of seeing a lot of different things. If they prefer a one destination place, I would suggest the Monteray/Carmel area. It is a beautiful area and they could still take a day to drive the Big Sur coast, see the local wineries, drive to Santa Cruz or Big Basin(redwoods), or any number of things.

Hawaii05
My wife and I are in early 50's. We took our son and his wife (mid 20's) on a wonderful trip this past September.
Flew into Phoenix, drive to Sedona where we lodged at Junipine Resort in Oak Creek Canyon (take the Pink Jeep Tour Broken Arrow Tour), drove to the Grand Canyon (one day there was enough), drove to Page AZ. where we took a half-day float trip that was awesome, drove to Bryce Canyon (my favorite, drove to Zion, then onto Las Vegas and flew home from there.
Email me if you want more specifics!
It is nice of oyu to help your parents plan a trip.
kw

Looking at the places they've been, then I'd say they like National Parks.

Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion national parks are close enought to visit all three in a weeks time. These places are hot in the summer. Could they take their trip in May?

Banff and Jasper is also an excellent choice, but in Canada.

Utahtea

another vote for considering the Pacific Northwest