Summer vacation
 

Any ideas? Trying to plan a summer vacation with 10-13 yr olds. We camped last summer in colorado. Great time. would camp again. Love to do some rafting or hiking but trying to avoid spending alot of money. we live in the midwest. please help!

Yellowstone & Grand Tetons OR the 5 National Parks of Utah. Plenty of camping, hiking and scenery. You can find white water rafting in Moab, Utah area.

Utahtea

How about the Ozarks? Cheaper than dirt compared to some of the other destinations and there is great camping, hiking, and rafting (or canoeing).

Niagra Falls! We're from the midwest too and we took our two daughters when they were 13 and 15. Man did they complain about having to go on vacation and leave their friends, the long drive, etc. but they were both thanking us for taking them when they stood at the falls and watched all that water going over the edge. Absolutely breath taking!

I like Patrick's idea of the Ozarks. Adding to it there's wine country west of St Louis you could taste through.

Like PamT's kids my nieces & nephew were thrilled with Niagara Falls. I took them on Amtrak so I didn't have to listen to them in the car.

There's white water rafting in W. Virginia. Friends have had a blast doing that.

Closer to home is Mammoth Cave, KY. (warning! warning! dry county! :-) ) It has the caves and hiking trails. You could combine that with a cave or two in southern Indiana Squire Boone Caverns, Wyandotte, etc. The Indiana caves are small but generally have more formations then Mammoth Cave.

I've also had fun with friends renting a houseboat on Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. (Another dry county!)

I liked staying in the Gatlinburg, TN area. The Smokey Mountains are beautiful with the park and trails. Gatlinburg was not as super tacky as I thought it would be. Not that it doesn't have its tacky moments. Much nicer then Pigeon Forge I thought.

Thanks for all the ideas. Considering going west again. This time to Zion and GC. Was hesitant to do at first in the summer but it sounds as though it's a fine time of year to go. We would camp in Zion and we have family in Mesquite. I'll keep you posted

Zion had two great campgrounds. South is a first come first serve campground. Watchman has electrical sites and you can make reservations. If you plan on being there over a weekend, then I would recommend making reservations in advance. Both campgrounds are along the Virgin River. Great place to go to get cooled off in the heat of the day! You kids will probably want to go tubing in the river. It's not allowed in the park anymore, but you can do it in the town of Springdale with great views of the park.

I won't kid you, it's going to be hot in Zion. Grand Canyon will be cooler at the rim, but will get warmer if you hike down into the canyon.

Your family might really enjoy doing the float trip on the Colorado River out of Page, AZ near Lake Powell. It's about $60 per person and it's a half day trip.

You might also be interested in going to Bryce Canyon National Park which is nearby. It' will also be cooler because it's at a higher elevation. There are two nice campgrounds set in forest settings.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Utahtea

Include the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde and Petrified Forest.

We loved camping outside of Durango for our trip out west when the kids were little.