Best Family Vacation EVER!

Perhaps you could research the national parks and make a goal of hitting the ones that interest you, one a year or so? We've got some pretty amazing sites in the USA.

I would rent an RV and go through Yellowstone park....Then go to Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills....seeing parts of the country like that would be GREAT for me....

My absolute favorite vacation is to Lancaster, PA my kids love it we don't even have to go anywhere while there. They love just watching horse and buggies go by and driving around past all the farms.

They also really enjoyed niagara Falls.

We live near the ocean so we go to the beach every so often - the kids were never thrilled but we still enjoyed it. However, over the last few years we've gone to different places in upstate New York and have discovered that we LOVE the mountains and lakes, gorges, rivers, etc. I realize that upstate NY is not close to Texas - but there may be other mountainous areas to visit although I guess they're all kind of distant...

Some ideas in upstate New York:
1 - Finger lakes region - near Ithaca and Cornell University - there are beautiful state parks with all levels of hikes though the woods that go up trails by the rivers. Many waterfalls, gorges where the rivers have cut through the cliffs and as you walk up the path there are stones cliffs rising on either side of you. On hot days it's even cool in the shade of the cliffs. Many of the paths are family friendly. Check out Watkins Glen, or just google Ithaca gorges or Finger lakes. Also there are 5 "finger lakes" (and many smaller ones) beautiful lakes with jet skis, boat rentals, etc. There's also the Corning glass museum (where Corningware & Pyrex were originally made) it's a hands on museum, very family friendly and even offers glass making kids activies you can reserve online & pay for in advance. My kids made blown glass Christmas tree ornaments when we went.
2 - Niagara Falls - of course. The US side is kind of seedy & tacky since they've not allowed developement so it's stuck in a time-warp. The national park is pretty, very natural. But if you're going to stay in a hotel go on the Canadian side. It's commercial on that side but the falls are beatiful and amaxing no matter what.
3 - Thousand Islands - This is a region with literally more than a 1,000 islands. It was the summer resort area for many of the NY city tycoons on the early 1900's. There are castles built on a few of the islands that you can tour. The water is pristine and cold. Alexandria Bay is a funky little tourist town with a public beach and lots of outdoor cafes, etc. There are boat tours, fishing, etc. Canada is on one side of the St Lawrence Seaway, US the other. You could easily spend a few days there.
4 - Cooperstown - if your family is in to baseball it's worth a day on your way to or from wherever you're going. My husband and son toured the baseball hall of fame while my daughter and I toured the lakeside park, and shopped on the last day of our vacation a few years ago.
5 - Lake George / Lake Placid / Adirondack Mountains region. There are scores of lakes & mountains - lots of boating, hiking, relaxing, horseback riding, shopping, etc. We have stayed on Lake George (beautfiully clean, spring fed lake) outside of the town of Lake George (which can be touristy) in the towns of Diamond Point or Bolton Landing. It's a great starting off sport for day trips to historic areas (Fort Ticonderoga and others) or to Lake Placid (olympic village) or lots of natural attractions (caves, natural bridges, mountains, river rafting, etc.) We often do activities in the morning (hike a mountain path, go ziplining, tree top adventure course, miniature golf, boating, fishing, kayaking, etc) then float on our tubes in the lake for the afternoon.
6 - Finally - you can use NYC as a spring board and spend a couple days at the beginning or end of your vacation - Staue of Liberty, Circle Line cruise around Manhattan, South Street Seaport, etc. And by next summer the 9/11 museum and memorial should be open and closer to complete. Downtown Manhattan has a wonderful walking tour with all kinds of history (where George Washington was inaugurated, varioius battles with the "redcoats", etc.)

If you decide on NY there are tons of places to find information and you can alway sprivate message me. Have fun!

Our favorite vacation place is camping in VT. It is away from everything and quiet. Last year even included a broken tent and a visit to the ER from a bike accident and it was still one of our best trips.

Lake Tahoe! You can hike, geocache, go to the (lake) beach to swim or rent paddle boats or kayaks and such, rent bikes (including a tug-a-bug for the littler one) to ride paved paths along the lake or Truckee River, take a float trip, go swimming, do a zip line tour, roller skate, play mini golf, ride horses, pan for gold in Virginia City--just about anything you could imagine, and it's gorgeous. Just about any national park would be fabulous too though! Lucky you! Have fun!

One of our favorite spots is Cape Cod in September or October. We stay in a hotel with an indoor pool. Walks on the beach, collecting treasures in the tidal pools, a whale watch, learning about and visiting a lighthouse, exploring some unique shops, going to the glass factory.

Camping in VT. Vermont has the best state campgrounds, large sites and clean bathrooms, fun interuptive programs. In addition to kayaking (we brought our own kayaks), swimming and causual walks on the nature trails, and camp programs, we went on several day trips and explored the area. Great quality family time. That was in 2008. We just did another trip this year to a different campground.

OBX. REALLY far down--Hatteras. Unspoiled and quiet. Perfect for family time.

We LOVE Alaska and our kids (who are young) do to! Of course we used to live there so we know it very well. We are doing a family vacation there next summer that will involve car camping and driving around the state and going salmon fishing at Chitna. If you decide to go PM me and I can give you tons of suggestions. It's outdoorsy and very family friendly there. (Just pricey to get there).

We also just love beach vacations. 2 years ago we rented a house within a short walking distance to the beach in Maine. It was so nice. We were right outside of Acadia NAt'l Park so we also did some hiking there. It was beautiful and peaceful. From our rental house we could do a short hike through the woods and then hike to an island at low tide. The kids loved searching for shells and neat driftwood. I carried the baby in a hiking backpack or sat with her while she played in the sand. It was so gorgeous - misty at times, rocky beaches in some places, sandy in others. I loved it. The trails in Acadia were very nice too.

One of our best family vacations ever was 5 years ago to Hawaii. We rented a house w a pool. We shopped at Costco for our food. Every day we went to the beach in the am and played in the pool in the afternoon. The kids were in heaven. The adults were too - it was sooooo nice there.

Before our daughter was born we met college friends (all w young kids) in Minnesota. We stayed in a rental house on a lake. We went to Sawbill Canoe Outfitters and rented canoes and did a couple canoe day trips. Our son was 2.5 at the time. He had his own tiny fishing pole he used while sitting in the canoe. There were portages (carrying the canoe over short pieces of land) and the kids hiked. We would eat lunch on little islands while the kids all threw rocks in the water and explored. We saw loons and lots of other birds. It was really outdoorsy and really cool!

we went to california no theme parks no beaches nothing lol....we did the redwood trails spent a day in san fransisco mountain trails etc.....by far my fav vaca ever

I totally agree with Melanie. I think our cabin in the woods away from cell phones, computers, and the real world did us wonders. We try to go back every fall/spring for a little weekend get away.

National parks ! Our fave is Glacier National Park in Montana. And within a day driving you can also visit Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.

We went to Myrtle Beach this summer. Rented a townhouse with beach access, shuttle service to schlepp everything for free, a little private water park, several pools, etc. It was AMAZING. You can do the "touristy" stuff like the Boardwalk, Broadway at the Beach, etc if you want, or just go to the pools or ocean and hang.

It was worth the money to get a townhome and not do a small, cramped condo/hotel room. We had a full "house" to lounge in, cook our own food, wash clothes, etc. For us, that's a MUST have with several young children.

We did all our research before we left so we knew what there was to do, and then played it by ear day to day.

GREAT time.

I recommend a cruise as well! We took our kids 2 years ago...ages 8, 5, and 3 then! It was our best vacation EVER... and it was to the carribbean!

Hot Springs Arkansas is a lovely place. We took our kids and went there and then on to the caverns in MO. When they were about 3.5 and 5. you can do walking tours of the caverns pretty cool. We found some of our best vacations were in really weird hotels lol. the kind you stop at and are pretty sure maybe norman bates owned at one time lol. they always turn out to have some family own it that has owned it for about a million years and they can tell you all the cool stuff to do.

our favorite family vacations have always been southern california. we just got back two days ago(we live in denton, not far from you lol). this time, we did a couple of amusement parks(disneyland and legoland), but we don't do that everytime. there is a LOT to do, or a lot to NOT do. we stayed in anaheim the first half of the week, and at hyatt regency resort and spa huntington beach the second half - it's kinda pricy, but it's well worth every penny. can't wait to go back, we all enjoyed the resort more than the amusement parks. next year, we'll prob skip the amusement parks and just do the hyatt the full week. san diego/la jolla are great areas too. the awesome thing about coastal southern CA is the weather - it was about 78 and sunny all week last week - i think the high here is 108 today :(

You are at the PERFECT ages for a cruise. Royal Caribbean is amazing. Why? THE CAMP!!!! Your kids will love it. You can drop them off for a few minutes or all day.

For example - you want to go play bingo, your hubby wants to do some wine tasting. So you drop the kiddos off for two hours, pick them up and then go to the kids pool or to a show, or lunch or take them for an ice skating lesson, perhaps do some shopping, grab a free donut... you name it. Did I mention getting off the boat to go ashore. If you go to Cozumel, your three year old can swim with dolphins. I recommend going big with Royal Caribbean as there will be more to do then you have time for. Either the Oasis class or Freedom Class. Look into it. The Oasis with a 4 year old was the best vacation we have ever had. I so reommend looking into it.

BTW - the camp was super clean, well supervised and my daughter would cry when we came to pick her up. She wanted to stay!!!!

Yellowstone National Park. It was my all-time favorite family vacation when I was a child. If you and your family love the outdoors, I would suggest going there. It's absolutely wonderful.

http://www.beaches.com/ (all inclusive family only resorts) & http://www.sunpeaksresort.com/plan%2Dyour%2Dtrip/ (the top rated family ski/snowboarding resort in north america. Outdoor pools, dogsledding, snowshoe and marshmallows, iceskating... in addition to skiing/snowboarding).

Yellowstone National Park is the most beautiful and amazing place I have ever seen! There are places to stay in the park, but also towns just outside the entrances that have places to stay as well. We have stayed in West Yellowstone, Montana. Literally five minutes outside the park. Being a fellow Texan, it is nice to have 87 degree weather and cooler nights! So worth the trip and not an expensive idea either.

Our best was a cruise to Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Even with a 2 and 5 year old, we had an awesome time. On the boat, off the boat, everyone enjoyed it. We spent less than $1500 to take that vacation!!!

I vote for Yellowstone. Lots of mainstream easy walking paths for kids that young. We went last summer when kids were JUST turned 6 and 8.
Another fun place is Mammoth Caves in KY. We went there when kids were 3 and 5.

Our best family vacation was a trip to the Big Island in Hawaii for 10 days! However, we just got back from Breckenridge, Colorado and had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful-high in the 80's, low in the 50's all week. This is a very family friendly town in the summer. There are lots of hiking trails and picnic areas available and a fun park on Peak 8 with putt putt and alpine slides and a maze. There are lots of opportunities for biking, fishing, river rafting (?? the little one might be too young for river rafting) and some areas for wildlife viewing. Have a great vacation.

We vacation at Fripp Island,SC every summer. My kids love it and its hard to find anywhere else that compares. The entrance to the island is gated and once you get ther you travel mostly by golf carts(most homes and cottages include one with the rental. There are activities for kids if you want to sign them up. The pool situation is the best for us because theyhave a kiddie pool with a frog fountain that my kids always loved when they were small. Next to it is a pool about three feet deep with waterfalls and caves to swim through. Next to that is a deeper pool for adults or older children. The beach there is fantastic! When the tide is out you can walk forever. Sand dollars are easy to find here. Lots of widlife to see-alligators in some of the ponds but the best is the hundreds of deer that roam all over the island. There is a lighthouse to explore on Hunting Island just across the bridge and Charleston is close enough for a day trip. Fripp Island is the perfect spot for a family like yours!

since you're in TX, what about the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, etc.?

Or I do like the suggestions for Yellowstone.

& I think your family is the perfect age for Branson: Silver Dollar City, White Water, Ride the Ducks, Shepherd of the Hills play, Dixie Stampede....& many other options!

We just rented a cabin on a lake for a week outside of a tourist town. It was amazing. Swimming, fishing,boating,shopping,mini golf,bon fires. Lots of family time together.