For young kids like yours, our favorite was always Sanibel Island in Florida. Totally laid back, beaches, great food, island vibe and very close to home.

For the other adventure type posters with older kids, we took our elem/middle school age kids to Banff this summer and it was absolutely breathtaking and fabulous. Easily our family's favorite adventure trip - whitewater rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking, etc. Also, it is less expensive than any of the trips we've taken in the US, the food is great and everyone is so friendly in Canada!

Maine - Bar Harbor / Acadia. Lots of outdoors time for the kids. We rented bikes with kid seats (carrier style for our 2yo, ride-along for our 4yo) and rode all over the parks. Interesting town with a lot for kids and adults to enjoy. We all loved it.

Pulled a pop-up camper through New England and up into Canada. Camping in Portland, Maine was my favorite. Some days we relaxed at the site, others we had lobster downtown, visited little shops, and hung out. It was perfect!

Anonymous wrote:St John. Took my two year old there last summer. Stayed at the Westin. He is still talking about it.

We also did Southern California this fall: Disneyland, Legoland, SD Zoo, SeaWorld. Stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim (I prefer Grand Californian, but it was sold out), and then the Westin Gaslamp District. We've stayed at the Legoland Hotel before--it is great for young kids.

How was weather in Aug?

Anonymous wrote:With small kids, I either like OBX, Cape Cod, or staying with my parents in Northern California (then leaving the kids with them for a few days while we get away).

For kids your age... HAWAII. I wish I still lived on the West Coast - we would go every year, but the flight is just too much from DC.

As my kids get older, I can't wait to do more national parks/hiking/rafting type trips.

Where in Cape Cod? I'm another poster with a 2 and 4yo and we've been looking at Cape Cod and Maine.

Never really had a bad vacation. You can make anything or anyplace enjoyable. I think a lot of it depends on kids- some kids like to tour historic places and old houses (that was me) and some really just either want to be at Disney or on a cruise (my sister was like this and can't stand traveling). Big cities have always been a lot of fun because they all have kids activities or museums. It's a little harder to make a national park or a outdoorsy vacation fun for a family if you aren't into it as an adult.

We have fairly little kids, so the most RELAXED I've been? A River house on the Damriscotta in Maine for a week in August.

OP here! San Diego is intriguing but I'm curious: was it fun at all for you, parents? Seems like all the activities people have mentioned are 100% geared at kids.

St John. Took my two year old there last summer. Stayed at the Westin. He is still talking about it.

We also did Southern California this fall: Disneyland, Legoland, SD Zoo, SeaWorld. Stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim (I prefer Grand Californian, but it was sold out), and then the Westin Gaslamp District. We've stayed at the Legoland Hotel before--it is great for young kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where'd you go? Where'd you stay? What make it so great?

Bonus points if it would be workable with small children (ages 2 and 4)!

Puerto Vallarta was amazing!

Where did you stay? I found it kind of dumpy but maybe I didn't find the right place.

Puerto Vallarta isn't the US. We realize this, right? Hasn't trump made this perfectly clear?

Another vote for Seattle. I just love it so much. Amazing food, friendly people, gorgeous scenery, unique bookstores, countless nearby locations to explore the great outdoors, I could go on and on. My kids love going to the San Juan Islands and doing the orca tours. Bainbridge and the Olympic peninsula are always a hit. Definitely my favorite place for a vacation in the U.S. Oh and if the kids have their passports, Victoria is a great day trip or an overnight too.

Anonymous wrote:Seattle! You get the best of city and nature (we went to Olympic National Park for a few days in addition to staying in the city), and there were a lot of things to do in both parts of the trip that my 6yo enjoyed. Search this forum for Seattle - there was a thread about things to do in Seattle that was pretty comprehensive.

Ditto! There's so much variety there.

Hawaii or a dude ranch. Both amazing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where'd you go? Where'd you stay? What make it so great?

Bonus points if it would be workable with small children (ages 2 and 4)!

Puerto Vallarta was amazing!

Where did you stay? I found it kind of dumpy but maybe I didn't find the right place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:River rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. Truly breathtaking journey, but wait until your kids are at least 11. it's a once in a lifetime experience but pretty arduous and you want to make sure your kids are old enough to remember it and manage the physical demands.

Can you please tell me more about this? What time of year did you go, what tour operator did you use, or was it self guided? Thanks!

Tour West was the company we used. Did a motorized raft, eight nights camping in the canyon along the Colorado River, great meals, awesome guides and other tourists were fun and cool people. I will never forget it and am ready to do it again.