There are so many places that I want to take my children, that there is no way I will be able to accomplish it all before they leave for college. Our oldest is 11 and with 1 or 2 big trips a year, I'd like to make it count. Maybe you can help me prioritize because I have literally pages of possible vacation destinations I'd like to take them to. National Parks and educational opportunities are a particular interest of mine.So far we've see Niagara Falls, Entire Great Lakes Region, and Mammoth Caves. This spring we are going to the Smokies and Cuyahoga NP. Next year we will go to the Catskills, New York City and New Jersey shore. Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and the entire state of South Dakota are our number one priority. We are guessing we'll get there in 3 years. Second priority is Glacier NP and Theodore Roosevelt NP. Other areas of interest are Wisconsin Dells, Myrtle Beach and Congaree NP and Fort Sumter, Jean Lafitte Historic Preserve and New Orleans LA and Alabama shore, Everglades NP and Cape Canaveral Space Station in FL, Dinosaur Valley State Park and Padre Island National Seashore TX. So lots of ideas here. Not sure where to go first or if I'm missing something even more exciting. It looks like California, Oregon, etc are amazing places, but it's out of the question for us. Too far to drive and too costly to fly. Realistically, 1500 miles from southern Michigan is our max; which makes even the Grand Canyon almost impossible. Any suggestions for Must See places?

Concord/Lexington and the walk in downtown Boston. Minuteman National Monument in SD near the Badlands NP. Devil's Tower. Washington DC-National Mall museums. And hundreds more.BK

You seem to have concentrated on the natural wonders, but like above I would also consider the museums in DC (several days in itself), and history trips to visit civil war battlefields (there are many from the east coast across the south), revolutionary war historical sites, early presidents homes, early American settlements, etc. Not only entertaining but educational.

I also suggest DC and the Smithsonian.You might also check the whereabouts of the Sailing Ships. Their port schedule might fit in with your travels and they are something to see.And don't omit Grand Central Station and the Empire State Building.

Early on, I started googling "(State Name) Tourism" for places I wanted to visit while laying out my trip. Finally built a data set with an entry for every state. All of them like visitors (and their wallets). Some sites are better than others. South Dakota is one of the best.

California and Oregon are indeed a long drive and I was a bit apprehensive before we made our trip a few years ago. DW and our grandson had been pressuring me to take them out west for some time so I decided (summer '09) I was going to do it. We left Kentucky and went down through Tenn, Ark, Ok, all the southwest and up the Pacific coast to Washington and even into Alberta. Of course this takes some time but I believe you can do it with minimal planning. I had NO reservations since I always left it to DW to decide when to stop and when we did decide to stop long enough to require an rv site we had no trouble getting one. We saw some things/places we may never see again but I won't have to live the rest of my life wishing I had made the trip. OOPS, sorry I didn't see the sentence where you had a 1500 mile limit but good luck all the same.

Must See places for kids | Good Sam Community

richardwise
Explorer
Dec 21, 2013
For a National Park and educational experience, try Shenandoah National Park and the surrounding Shenandoah valley. Plenty of caverns and civil war history. Antietam battlefield and then Gettysburg not too far away either.
Pawz4me
Explorer
Dec 21, 2013
From an educational viewpoint I'd recommend skipping Myrtle Beach and going to Charleston instead. And I'd add Williamsburg to the list. And Gettysburg.
noe-place
Explorer
Dec 21, 2013
California and Oregon are indeed a long drive and I was a bit apprehensive before we made our trip a few years ago. DW and our grandson had been pressuring me to take them out west for some time so I decided (summer '09) I was going to do it. We left Kentucky and went down through Tenn, Ark, Ok, all the southwest and up the Pacific coast to Washington and even into Alberta. Of course this takes some time but I believe you can do it with minimal planning. I had NO reservations since I always left it to DW to decide when to stop and when we did decide to stop long enough to require an rv site we had no trouble getting one. We saw some things/places we may never see again but I won't have to live the rest of my life wishing I had made the trip.
OOPS, sorry I didn't see the sentence where you had a 1500 mile limit but good luck all the same.
Jim_Shoe
Explorer
Dec 21, 2013
Early on, I started googling "(State Name) Tourism" for places I wanted to visit while laying out my trip. Finally built a data set with an entry for every state. All of them like visitors (and their wallets). Some sites are better than others. South Dakota is one of the best.
TexasShadow
Explorer II
Dec 21, 2013
I also suggest DC and the Smithsonian.
You might also check the whereabouts of the Sailing Ships. Their port schedule might fit in with your travels and they are something to see.
And don't omit Grand Central Station and the Empire State Building.
BB_TX
Nomad
Dec 21, 2013
You seem to have concentrated on the natural wonders, but like above I would also consider the museums in DC (several days in itself), and history trips to visit civil war battlefields (there are many from the east coast across the south), revolutionary war historical sites, early presidents homes, early American settlements, etc. Not only entertaining but educational.
agesilaus
Explorer III
Dec 21, 2013
Concord/Lexington and the walk in downtown Boston. Minuteman National Monument in SD near the Badlands NP. Devil's Tower. Washington DC-National Mall museums. And hundreds more.

BK

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