Looking for outdoor vacation ideas for our family of 4 (2 girls 6 and 9).
Last family vacations:
-Stayed in a remote cabin in the Montana mountains
-2x camped in Yellowstone and Tetons
-2x camped in Moab, UT
Looking for other ideas, preferably within driving distance of Salt Lake City because my brother lives there so we usually fly there to borrow his pickup truck and some gear, but we don’t need to start from SLC.
No beaches (we spend a lot of the summer at the beach already) and no theme parks. Looking for something nature/outdoor oriented.
Any thoughts? We are from New England so looking for something in the west or west coast.
Thinking about flying into Seattle (Cascades) or Reno (eastern Sierra). Or maybe SW Colorado from SLC. Also considering the Uinta range just east of SLC.
Sedona, Arizona has fun stuff. As a kid, I recall playing in a river that was a natural water slide. I think you may be able to visit ancient cliff dwellings in Arizona. I think there are good hiking, water things to see & do.
Estes park Colorado is fun to camp, RV, get an air bnb. We took the kids there are few times when little. Lots of hiking, neat town to hang around, elk walking around, Rocky Mountain National park close by.
We also love SW Colorado and Crested Butte, Gunnison, Ouray area. We go there every few years with the older boys and camp, fish, ride ATVs, hike 14ners ( prob not good for little girls yet), and white water raft. Royal Gorge Bridge in that area is also a neat place to visit.
Seattle: Mt. Rainer, Olympic NP, Cascades my understanding is a bit more remote
Glacier is another great option, I’m going end of June, so can fill you in (my kids are the same age).
Issue with RVs is driving them, parking, etc. I’ve seen an RV get stuck in the black hills under a bridge.
Estes park in Colorado is fun. I think your kids would like it. Its a balance of plenty of outdoor stuff and some kid stuff in town (ice cream, etc).
Sedona is great in April/May, can be way to hot in the summer and everything is super expensive.
July or august.
I’ve been to Olympic and it’s great.
I’ve been to glacier a bunch of times and my daughter came along as a fetus. You guys will love it, but I’m sort of aiming to stay out of grizzly country this year. I am more relaxed without the griz around. Yes I know other animals are dangerous as well but I’ve had several close encounters with grizzly and I’m just not in the mood for worrying.
I would LOVE a river trip with the kids, but my wife hates being on the water. My brother has a raft and could help us out with it, but he spent all of his vacation last month rafting through the whole Grand Canyon.
I would love Arizona, we were hi t in mob last week. Love the desert, but we on out can go in July or august. Arizona will be too damn hot.
I’m also thinking an rv rental would be fun. Rent an rv, pick a nice location to hang out in.
I have a friend who drives to Vegas to rent an RV to go mess around. I think an RV sounds good.
If you go into the mountains, it might be cooler. But it’s not guaranteed. I was pretty freaked out about two or three years ago when we were hiking at 9,000 feet in the Beartooth Mtns in 95° weather. It was insane. So, I think you need swimmable water, wherever you go.
An option is to RV in a few nice hiking spots and mix in visits to municipal pools. I love visiting city parks and pools in towns— kids can meet local kids & play. It’s fun to talk to local kids and find out what it’s like to live there.
Our boys were younger than that when we backpacked down into the Grand Canyon for 2 nights, but it requires investing in the gear. Easier than backpacking is kayak/canoe trips. Ours are now 12 and 14 and we are taking them on a short kayak trip this summer in Puget Sound. But the investment is even higher unless you rent gear or get a guide. You could do a lake boat on Lake Powell, catch Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend while you are there. Consider heading up into Banff/Jasper, although kids can get bored with long drives and nothing much to do besides hiking.
I’m at work but quick stories. I’ve seen a bunch but usually from far.
Scariest: wife and I spooked a big griz about 10 years ago. It was about 25 feet away when it noticed us and ran away from us as fast as it could crashing through downed trees. It barreled straight through a dead lodge pole pine exploding branches. Headed in the direction of our trailhead. That was a big animal. If it came at me instead I’d be dead even with bear spray.
2nd scariest: came across 2 cubs on the trail but did not see the momma. Didn’t know which direction mom was in but you don’t want to be in between them.
3rd scariest: hiking down from surprise lake in Tetons which is tight switchbacks. We bump into a family waiting on the trail and they ask us if we saw the griz on the switchback eating berries. We said no but they pointed him out. We probably walked within 6-8 feet of it and didn’t even notice. They were waiting for it to move on
Just remembered one more. Brushing my teeth a little after sunrise walking to the bathroom at lizard lake campground in Tetons. A grizzly moseys right through the campground and didn’t even look at me. I don’t think anyone else noticed as most were still in bed.
They are huge beautiful animals but we are like a rag doll in comparison
Sedona, Arizona has fun stuff. As a kid, I recall playing in a river that was a natural water slide. I think you may be able to visit ancient cliff dwellings in Arizona. I think there are good hiking, water things to see & do.
I’m headed to Sedona on Saturday. Gravel biking, overlanding, and hiking
Drive to bar harbor Maine and take the ferry over to Nova Scotia. Always wanted to check out that part of Canada. Anyone ever been and have thoughts?
you’d drive to paradise, then leave it for Canada?
re: UT within driving distance of SLC - Bryce Canyon and Zion are beautiful. In Feb '23 my mom, brother, and brother’s (now ex) GF rented an air b and b in Apple Valley, UT and did some hiking in a canyon nearby, and also drove to Zion and Bryce. It was great. There’s a Mormon ghost town in the Apple Valley area too which is cool to visit.
Mount desert island good for kids? My biggest concern is crowds. I hate crowds and I worry about that on MDI
It’s awesome! They have mini mountains you can climb, beaches (lake beaches are great) lobster boat tours, ice cream, popovers. Just be smart about where you go when.
We did this for 4 years, it is great balance of outdoors, separation from kids for while, and good food.
They only hire the best college kids to take care of your kids. Not cheap but something to consider
