Anonymous wrote:Loved SD with 7 and 10 year olds last year. Rented a house in Pacific Beach and did all the typical touristy stuff, but at the end of the day the kids wanted beach time each day. Renting the house allowed us to have access to beach toys, boogie boards, beach towels, etc. I definitely could have stayed a second week. We did fly in/out of LA and did two nights in Anaheim to see the Mouse.

NP here. This sounds perfect, including the part about the Mouse. My youngest is 4 but would love to this in a few years.

Loved SD with 7 and 10 year olds last year. Rented a house in Pacific Beach and did all the typical touristy stuff, but at the end of the day the kids wanted beach time each day. Renting the house allowed us to have access to beach toys, boogie boards, beach towels, etc. I definitely could have stayed a second week. We did fly in/out of LA and did two nights in Anaheim to see the Mouse.

Boston and Acadia are two separate trips. The others you have grouped are doable because they are near to each other. I would only do both if I had at least two weeks.

San Diego and Lego land is the best for that age -- along with the zoo!

But in future years, the others sound good. I just don't think they will relate to history yet or appreciate all the scenic splendor .

San Diego at any age!!

San Diego, no question, at those ages.

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Anonymous wrote:San Diego. Great activities for kids that age and plenty of variety. Zoo, legoland, beach, restaurants, etc. Wish we could go too!

If I had the $, that's where I would take my kids.

In terms of becoming nature lovers, start small and local. A hike to Great Falls is very doable.

Anonymous wrote:I love SF and Yosemite, but it would be more an adult focused trip with kids along for the ride. Maybe San Diego for that age (I haven't been to Legoland beford).

We did this exact trip with our kids last year (7 and 9) and they said it was the best trip of their lives (we travel a lot, have been to Europe, Disney and lots of places in the US). Tons of kid friendly stuff in SF. We did the Exploratorium, the Montrrey Aquarium (admittedly a hike), Muir Woods, CA Academy of Sciences. Spent 4 days in Yosemite exploring as much of the park as we could. Rafting down the Merced was probably my favorite park activity, but we also had a few other spectacular hikes. Kids hiked 6-7 miles minimum each day, no problems! We are doing Yellowstone and Grand Tetons next summer. Can't wait!

I love SF and Yosemite, but it would be more an adult focused trip with kids along for the ride. Maybe San Diego for that age (I haven't been to Legoland beford).

Yosemite is one of our favorites and we keep deciding to wait until ours are older to truly enjoy it. They are 5 and 8. It's amazing but a total nature, outside hiking vacation (at least how we did it).

San Diego. Great activities for kids that age and plenty of variety. Zoo, legoland, beach, restaurants, etc. Wish we could go too!

Boston. I think your kids are too young to appreciate Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Park. Go to Boston, get the Go Boston cards at Costco and explore. Tons of things to kids to do. My DS even enjoys the Sam Adams factory tour because they give the kids root beer at the end.

Boston is gorgeous in the Summer and there is a ton to do and explore. Acadia is pretty far (about 4 hours drive) and might be fun for a couple days but there is plenty to do in Boston without needing to do Acadia. If you rent a car you can explore many beautiful local Audubon parks massaudubon.org to do your outdoor exploring. In town, there are the aquarium, Children's museum, Museum of Science, ICA, MOFA...Duck Tours, Trolley Tours, walking the Freedom Trail through town, also plenty of day trips to places less than an hour away (Salem, Newburyport, Marblehead, Gloucester, etc.). Have a great trip!

Kids are 3 and 6 and good travelers.

1.) SF/Yosemite
2.) San Diego/legoland
3.) Boston/Acadia
4.) Colorado (Rocky Mountain NP)
5.) Seattle and ???

Other suggestions?

We have family in or near SF, Boston, and Seattle. We are not huge nature people but would like to work on that.