We're open to pretty much any suggestion of where we should go...

Anonymous
What part of summer?
Anonymous
Thanks so much everyone; some brilliant ideas here. And thanks for pointing out the obvious on the weather and how blazing hot it will be. I really hadn't thought of that and it is a factor with small kids.

I also feel persuaded by the argument one poster made around not going to cities and seeing instead the vastness of space America has to offer. It's something we don't have in the UK in the same way and so that's a good way of looking at it.

I'm off to google some of these areas now and start making some decisions. Thanks again for taking time to reply.
Anonymous
(In reply to poster above, we'll be there mid August.)
Anonymous
Mid-August all park roads should be open. I know we were in Yosemite area one June and the high elevation roads were still closed.
I'd suggest Yellowstone, Fly out to Salt Lake city and drive up to grand Tetons and Jackson wyoming, maybe do a lowkey white-water raft, and see old faithful. Your kids will get a kick out of the buffalo wandering around, even if there are no bears in sight
Anonymous
No suggestions, OP, but FWIW I grew up in Williamsburg and if I was in the UK to see something interesting in the US, I would NOT go to Williamsburg. Not very exciting.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:No suggestions, OP, but FWIW I grew up in Williamsburg and if I was in the UK to see something interesting in the US, I would NOT go to Williamsburg. Not very exciting.


Oops - meant if I was from the UK.
Anonymous
If you go to Yosemite and can't find a room or tent cabin, I recommend renting a vacation home in Foresta or Groveland, Calif.
Lake Tahoe is another fantastic destination - can't believe I didn't think of it in earlier post - and can be combined with a trip to SF or Yosemite or elsewhere in the High Sierra you can fly in to Reno, Nevada. Great in August with beautiful scenery, plenty of civilized grocery stores and restaurants, and rental houses and resorts to choose from. Less troublesome planning wise than a trip to a remote park. Make sure you get something with a view of the lake. Squaw Valley Resort is also nice for a night or two overlap - it doesn't have a view of the lake but there is a water slide pool with drink service & hot tub, and a nice meadow/mountain view. Tahoe has hiking, nature centers, lake beaches, boat trips, gentle rafting and tube trips, hot springs, casinos, trout fishing, boat rentals, Emerald Bay, chocolate dipped soft serve ice cream cones - something for everybody. We stayed in the Zephyr Cove area on the Nevada side and had a great time, less traffic than the Tahoe City side. Took the kids to a different sandy beach with rock formations and pine trees and mountain views every day of the week.
Anonymous
Whoops meant "Resort at Squaw Creek."
Anonymous
Denver and take the train north for a day trip
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:If you go to Yosemite and can't find a room or tent cabin, I recommend renting a vacation home in Foresta or Groveland, Calif.
Lake Tahoe is another fantastic destination - can't believe I didn't think of it in earlier post - and can be combined with a trip to SF or Yosemite or elsewhere in the High Sierra you can fly in to Reno, Nevada. Great in August with beautiful scenery, plenty of civilized grocery stores and restaurants, and rental houses and resorts to choose from. Less troublesome planning wise than a trip to a remote park. Make sure you get something with a view of the lake. Squaw Valley Resort is also nice for a night or two overlap - it doesn't have a view of the lake but there is a water slide pool with drink service & hot tub, and a nice meadow/mountain view. Tahoe has hiking, nature centers, lake beaches, boat trips, gentle rafting and tube trips, hot springs, casinos, trout fishing, boat rentals, Emerald Bay, chocolate dipped soft serve ice cream cones - something for everybody. We stayed in the Zephyr Cove area on the Nevada side and had a great time, less traffic than the Tahoe City side. Took the kids to a different sandy beach with rock formations and pine trees and mountain views every day of the week.


There's a place near South Lake Tahoe called Joe's or Sam's or something that has the most amazing drinks--I had a mojito with fresh rasberries...yum. The Lake Tahoe scenery's not bad either. Yosemite can be combined with Tahoe pretty easily in August because the high road is open. Reno would be the closest airport, but flying into San Francisco would let you see the Pacific Coast.
Anonymous
These are good ideas...I personally would do a bit of a combination city/nature trip. Like San Francisco, Muir Woods, and Napa Valley. Or Seattle, Mount Rainier, and Puget Sound. Or in August maybe something like Boston and then drive up to Vermont or Maine?
Anonymous
If you are looking to stay closer to home (but not too close), might I suggest the Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville and down to Charleston.
Anonymous
Yes, if you're going to the OBX already for a week, it would be easy to drive across north carolina to see some of the Appalachian mountains. Very different scenery and place than much of the east coast. Open space but much closer and not so blazing hot as the western mountains.

Asheville, Blowing Rock, Linville, etc. are beautiful little towns. You could make a big loop and head west across NC from the banks to Asheville and then drive back up the Shenandoah. There are great parks, activities, and resorts all along that corridor. The Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive are fantastic.
Spend a night or two at classic American mountain resorts like The Homestead or The Greenbrier, which are super family-friendly.
Anonymous
+1 for Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. It's one of those places everyone should see. My father, who is not one to say much, went on and on about the parks when we basically dragged him out there.

The National Park Service has incredible programs, including simple ranger-led hikes that your kids and mom could easily do. And there is a Junior Ranger program where the kids attend a nature walk with family and the ranger and if they answer a few simple questions at the end, they get stickers and "sworn-in" as junior rangers. The kids get a charge out of it and it conveys the message that we are responsible for taking care of beautiful spaces by not littering, not picking all the flowers, etc.

Yellowstone is so much more than the Old Faithful Geyser. There are bubbling mudpots, a landscape that reminded us of what if might be like on the moon, wildlife (moose, buffalo that may cross right in front of your car, elk, bear - usually at a good distance, coyotes howling at the moon at night). The Grand Tetons have excellent hikes, wildlife, gorgeous scenery and are nearby to the town of Jackson Hole, which has some wonderful restaurants and a wonderful Wildlife Art museum on the way into town. I think they perform a silly cowboy gunslinger re-enactment that the kids may like. We've never seen it.

If you are thinking about doing this trip, book lodging NOW. They are popular destinations that book early. If you can do 8-10 days in the area, I'd split your time between Yellowstone and the Grand Teton parks. These are massive places with lots to see and long distances to cover. With 2 kids and an older adult, you'll have to take it slow and steady.

Just outside one of the entrances to Grand Tetons park is a place I'd highly recommend. It's called Luton's Teton Cabins. You can get a multi-room cabin for less than the cost of most hotel rooms in the park. Nothing out there is cheap, so be prepared for sticker shock. In Yellowstone, I'd recommend a room in the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, but make sure you are in the hotel itself and not the crummy 1930s shacks on the same property.

Go, you absolutely won't regret it.
Anonymous
PP here. Next year, definitely go to Hawaii. It is so much more than a beach destination (tremendous hiking, interesting WWII history, incredible snorkeling, scenery that will blow your mind and some of the nicest people you will ever meet).
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