I agree with others that out west national parks are a good choice. Also, our son turned 3 while we were at Yellowstone this summer-- it is absolutely doable with a 2-3 yo if you are vigilant and have a carrier/backpack. Months later, my son still talks about the buffalo, geysers, and "hot pools."

Costa Rica, Peru, or Belize are other possiblities, though I imagine airfare for that many people will be expensive.

Have fun!

If you have the $$ you could do a family trip with an outfitter like Backroads. http://www.backroads.com/family-trips They supply all the gear, meals, everything and they'll teach you any skills that you don't have. I did a trip with them (solo) several years back and loved it. I highly recommend them.

PP here. What about a 2 summer adventure. Start on the East Coast and do Acadia NP. Lots to do, rent bikes, go camping, rent kayaks. That is the first year so do a little tamer. You could maybe even rent a cabin instead of camping. Then in another year, do Yellowstone Tetons.

That way you have a lead up year to a big trip to the West.

Acadia NP is where we went for outdoorsy summers when I was a kid, and we've been back twice now with my own DS. Did some basic day hikes and rock climbing on belay when he was as young as 4yo.

Another vote also for Costa Rica. Zip lines, hiking, horseback riding - all super fun. I wouldn't camp there, though. Rainforest bugs are too big for my taste.

We went on several horse riding trips when in Spain last summer. DS had English saddle lessons for abt a year before going, and he was able to keep up with us for about 2h max at walk-trot-canter, then we took the afternoons off and hung out by the pool. I think a multiday, inn-to-inn style ride would have been too hard on him at this age.

We're still waiting on white water rafting - most places (even in CR) won't take kids under about 10.

Another vote for Costa Rica

What about an RV trip? We did that when I was a kid (11 and 13). We started in Colorado and went to CA. We went to the Grand Canyon, and a bunch of southwestern tourist spots.

We were a yuppy-adventurist family and this was perfect.

We've done several National Park trips. We did a trip when the kids were 9, 7 & 4 to Glacier/Yellowstone/Tetons. Glacier may be my favorite park, but the number of trails suitable for younger kids is limited. Yellowstone is probably your best bet, but you should stay within the park to make the best use of your time - if you want to go next summer, you should start booking lodging now. The Tetons are gorgeous too - we stayed right on the lake and rented a canoe. We also took a sunset float trip down the Snake River that the kids loved.

I say fly into SLC and drive around Utah national parks. Check out their websites. They are truly amazing. I have been to many National parks but cant get over the UT parks.
(I did not go to Alaska so while I think that might be georgeous, I tried to plan it and for my circumstances, it is pricey and needs more time)

Yellowstone NP is awesome, but I wouldn't take the 2 year old. Mineral pools are dangerous.
Day hikes, maybe a canoe trip, camping. Do a short hike in the Teton's, take the boat across Jenny Lake (I think that is the name).

I'd agree with the parks out west, or Costa Rica. I'm pretty outdoorsy, and once my kids are a bit older (they're <4yo now) we have plans for both an extended trip to Yellowstone, Glacier, and some other western parks (probably renting a camper, but doing some backpacking too) and a return trip to Costa Rica.

If you are looking for something closer to home, consider West Virginia. There's some good rafting on the New River and decent hiking as well. In your shoes, I think it would be great to take the two older kids on a short backpacking trip if you haven't already. There's definitely something about being all out in nature on your own (as opposed to in a campground with other families) that is a totally different, and wonderful experience. Pick somewhere that's only a couple miles in if you aren't as comfortable on your own. There's plenty of places out in Shenandoah, and George Washington National Forest is an easy trip too (with wild horses as a bonus). The Potomac Appalachian Trail club rents primitive cabins in the vicinity of Shenandoah that would make a pretty family-friendly base.

Also, check out trips offered by companies like Backroads. They offer all sorts of family, multi-sport trips both in the US and abroad. Even if you decide that sort of planned trip isn't for you, you might get some good ideas for places to go based on their itineraries.

I agree the National Parks out west are a good option.

Also, places like Costa Rica and Puerto Rico where you can do fairly easy forest, hiking, kayaking, etc. The rain forest in Puerto Rico is very accessible and has some fairly easy trails. Kayaking in the bioluminescent lagoons is also very doable with kids, as they generally have 2 and 3-person kayaks, so the adults can each do one kayak and split the kids up. We've done the rain forest trails and the Vieques lagoon kayaking with kids about 6-8. There's also easy, shallow-water snorkeling in some beaches.

Iceland is another easy trip from the DC area and has exotic, outdoorsy adventures while still being family-friendly.

We did National parks when my kids were 9, 5 and 1. Carried the youngest in a backpack to hike Zion and Bryce. Great trip.

We also went to Alaska the following year. Another great trip with the youngest on my back hiking on glaciers. Alaska is pricey compared to the National Parks.

My parents used to take us camping and hiking all the time out West when we were little. There are some really amazing national parks. You have to be careful, though, and be prepared for unexpected changes in the weather in the mountains. When I was little, we were hiking in the Rockies, everything was fine, and then it started sleeting on our way down and the trail was really slippery. I don't remember it as scary, but my parents were terrified that we were going to slip off the trail and fall 30 feet on to rocks. I wouldn't do a "multi-sport" multi-day adventure until the kids were older. We did a rafting trip in Colorado when I was about 20, and someone in our raft was bounced out into the river (she was fine). I would go somewhere where you could have tamer bits of different activities--horseback riding for a couple hours instead of a trip that involves riding horses to backcountry camping. I think the age limits on more adventurous guided trips would rule out your kids for a while. The Sierra Club has some guided trips for families--you could see if those would work for you.

I think you could put something together in Costa Rica. Lots of outdoor adventure opportunities but also a very safe and tourist friendly location with good support systems.

Would love to hear ideas for outdoorsy/adventurish vacations you've done with young kids (think 5-10 year olds).

We are a suburban dwelling family who loves the outdoors, but never learned really good outdoor skills... so we've done mini-camping with the kids but not much more.

Currently, have 3 boys ages 2, 6, and 8. Could possibly ditch 2 year old with my parents, or might wait a few years until he's older.
My husband and I have backpacked on the East Coast (solo - pre-kids) and also trekked in Nepal with a company that provided support.

Looking for something that would be fun, a little "tough", but has some ground support so if kids have a bad day they are not completely shafted. Also don't want to break the bank -- so African safaris are out.

Thinking of something out west (National park?), or possibly in Western Europe -- a hiking/swimming/riding/rafting or multisport kind of adventure that will get the kids out IN the country.

Anyone done something the liked and would recommend?