Summer trip. Needing ideas for family trip

I loved California and it was more for a leisurely sight-seeing that I enjoyed immensely Sausalito, a quaint, little tourist town that was just nice and friendly with great seafood, to boost. Monterey was another place we loved.

DW and I have been taking our grandson on summer rv trips since he was four. We started locally and have been extending each year. We've been from coast to coast and from our home in the southeast to Alberta. Of all the places we've been our grandson, who just turned 13, says the places he'd most like to return to are Yellowstone and Mt. St. Helens. We've been to Yellowstone 5 times and he still talks about wanting to go back.

At the national parks they have a program called junior rangers. Stop at the info center and get the info.
It is a book that has activities and questions geared to their age and upon completion the kids get a badge and are sworn in as junior rangers. Our kids participated in it at each of the 17 parks we visited last year. The workbook takes at least a couple of hours to complete, but it keeps the kids busy and they learn so much. The kids 10 & 9 at the time loved it.
Yellostone was their favorite.
Jim

HawkTX…Be sure to slow down while traveling and spend lunch picnicking on the road side or just off the highway. Some of the best family memories are our family lunches sitting and watching the rest of the world go by…Sounds like a great trip this summer.

Family trips we've done, either my family of four, or the family of 6-10 (it grew over 18 year span) I grew up in.

Mount Rushmore-Glacier-Yellowstone (from SE Michigan, three weeks).
Loop of Michigan L.P. lakeshore (Huron and Michigan) parks and communities (one week from SE Michigan).
Michigan U.P.: Mackinac Island, the falls at Newberry, Sault Ste Marie and Superior shore to Wisconsin, returning through Wisconsin, done from SE Michigan and from NE Oklahoma.
Historic communities and settlements of Iowa and southern Wisconsin (sort of a "Little House" and Amana tour, leading to Baraboo and the Wisconsin Dells.
San Antonio, stays of one to two weeks, visiting Hill Country towns.
Grand Canyon and west-central Arizona attractions like Sedona and Jerome, with some time in Phoenix, then Carlsbad Caverns on the way back.
National Parks and monuments of Colorado Plateau: Arches, Canyonlands, Colorado NM, mesa Verde, Bryce, Zion, Escalante, and Monument Valley (you kind of have to at least go through it).
Monticello, Richmond, Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Most of these places lack theme parks, if that's what you are looking for (we are the generation before Disney, Dollywood and Legoland). But many of the historical places are re-enactment settings, which my girls and grandkids found interesting starting at about age 8-10.

Otherwise, most of it is visiting historical places, seeing special scenery or geology, and outdoor activities. Some of it was just about the camping, when we were camping and not just RV traveling.

Good Mornin' Hawk. If going to Pikes Peak, I'm guessing you will take the Cog RR up to the summit and not try to take your RV up there. I did the drive in a car and that was difficult enough. When you finalize your schedule, make reservations for the Cog RR ASAP. There is great demand for tix and some days sell out quickly. As I recall, the community near the base of the RR is small and crowded, parking may be a problem. We also drove a car through the Garden of the Gods. There are places where it could be tight.

If you go to Denver, you might want to consider driving a bit further north to Rocky Mt. National Park. The views are breath-taking and you might come across wildlife as well. The town of Estes Park sits at the east entrance to RMNP. Be advised they had terrible floods in that part of Colorado last summer, so I don't know if they are ready for the summer vistors.

Finally, if you are going to the Silverton area, consider going to Durango and taking the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge RR trip. Our family enjoyed this experience greatly.

Best wishes for a great summer trip.

Bob

I appreciate everyone's feedback so far. Great info.

We have decided to do an early June tour of Colorado. Starting off in Colorado Springs and checking out Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and Cave of the Winds. We then plan to head up to Denver for a few days and check out Elitch Gardens and then head over to the Georgetown Loop Railroad. I haven't got much further in planning the trip from there, but thinking of heading down south to Silverton, CO to the Mineral Creek area for some boondocking. If there is anything folks would like to add they think we should see during this visit please let me know. Thanks.

Yellowstone!!!? Really? Summertime in Yellowstone is going to be overflowing with tourist. Don't get me wrong this country's National Parks are wonderful. We stayed at a campground in Thompson Falls Montana called Birdland Bay RV Park. It was wonderful. Not so much the campground, it had plenty of deer and wild geese and a beautiful beaver pond, and let's not forget the occasional black bear, but where it was located. Within an hour or so ride from the CG there were a ton of things to do and see. If visiting a National Park is what you wanted to do then Glacier National Park was less than 2 hrs away. Bike riding on the Hiawatha Bike trail. Visiting a giant cedar forest, kayaking on the Clarke Fork River. And if you are adventurous then you can go to a different part of the river for white water rafting. They have a list of about 12 things to see and do within about an hour from the CG. There is SO much to do and see without doing all the tourist stuff.

Pike's peak in Colorado Springs, Royal Gorge , Mesa Verde in Southwest CO. Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. just a few places you could go. Lots to do and see in those areas.