Hellobee Boards

San Diego?

@DesertDreams88: I mostly mentioned it because we are there right now. DH is trying to convince me that we should move to SD and I'm like, "on two teacher's salaries?"

We have had two excellent family vacations at the Mount Washington resort in NH. We have gone in mid June and early Sept to beat the summer crowds. Kid friendly but elegant enough for adults. Lots of hiking in the area. In the mountains so usually great weather.

I realize this violates your NE rule but we have had such a great experience that I figured I would recommend it.

We also went to the Omni resort near Palm Springs this April. Another great trip. We did offsite activities in the morning then hit the hotel pool / water park for a few hours before dinner.

I get that you're from New England and so aren't interested in a revisit for yourself personally, but there are a ton of fun things to do with your kids! We just took ours to Story Land in NH and they have so much fun there! Also there's Edaville (Thomas Land anyone?) in MA. Plus a ton of hiking, swimming, and other events to do in New England. Plus it's not scorching hot here in the summer.

@DesertDreams88: What about Lake Tahoe? It's absolutely beautiful, great temps, very affordable, family friendly, and amazing hikes.

@DesertDreams88: You would absolutely love it! Let me know if you want ideas of places to stay, good eats, things to do etc.

We've heard really good things about the new Utah State Park: Sand Hollow. It is close enough that you could also do Zion in the same trip. Goblin Valley is another really kid friendly state park. Tons of rocks everywhere to climb on and hide behind.

You've probably already done some of these, but I'll just list them out:
Arches
Canyonlands
Bryce
Mesa Verde
Million dollar highway in Colorado
Redwoods in California
Oregon Coast
Carlsbad Caverns

We loved Yosemite. We went without our 2 year old, but I’m pregnant so couldn’t do the strenuous hikes anyway. The valley is so vast that we were able to do many beautiful flat hikes that the kids could do with you. Only thing is that we love gorgeous drives, and our drive there wasn’t too exciting (we came from Monterey CA). Just a ton of farm land! And, I hear it can get pretty crowded in the summer. But we also love national and state parks, my husband has traveled to many in the US and counted this as one of his top picks.

@DesertDreams88: I just got an email about a summer promotion for the Palm Springs resort:

https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/palm-springs-rancho-las-palmas/specials/stay-splash-summer-sale

@hellobeeboston: I would stay in Colorado Springs! You are close to Manitou Springs, Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, etc. From there you can drive to Durango, Taos, Mesa Verde, etc. Colorado is a huge state so you can end up doing a lot of driving but I think Colorado Springs is nice and central. I've only stayed at 2 hotels - one in Estes Park (North west of Denver) but the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs is spectacular (but probably $$).

@psw27: THANK YOU! The Broadmoor is exactly where I would love to stay, but you're right, $$$$... not this year, but maybe in a year we can save up for that. Looks awesome, love the rustic cabins option...

@josina: amazing! Thank you!! I may... i'm off to google the area