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Family Vacations: The Great Family Escape

Sixteen adventure vacations that work your kids into the action—no matter what their ages.   Text by Kimberly Brown Seely   Photograph by Vern Clevenger

Illustration: Family hiking


Exploring Escalante Canyon's open-air museum.


After years of exhilarating trial-and-error when it came to planning family adventures, I have one bit of advice: Sometimes it pays to leave it to the experts.

While my husband, our two sons, and I have strongly embraced the DIY getaway—from putting together an exotic surf safari in Lombok, Indonesia, to learning how to sail the Canadian Gulf Islands aboard a 49-foot (15-meter) Moody yacht charter—those trips took months to organize. Some of our most successful trips have been the simplest, where we picked a place based on specific desires, interests, and, especially, the ages of our brood. So whether you are traveling with a tot or a hard-to-please teen, these 16 lodges and retreats—from Kauai to Cape Cod—take the guesswork out of where to go next.


Babes in Adventure Land (Ages 6 months and up) >>
Splash Down in the Selkirks: Priest Lake, Idaho
Run Free in the Cape: Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Explore a Rugged Playground: Kauai, Hawaii


Trips for Tykes (Ages 5 years and up) >>
Playing the Upper Keys: Islamorada, Florida
Saddling Up in the Big Sky Country: Gallatin Gateway, Montana
Navigating the North Woods: Ely, Minnesota


Junior Explorers Club (Ages 9 Years and up) >>
Cruising Yampa White Water: Vernal, Utah
Cutting Loose in the Foothills: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Scrambling Secret Slots: Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah


Teen Awakenings (Ages 13 Years and up) >>
Wave Riding in Paradise: Sayulita, Mexico
Multisporting in the Cascades: Columbia Gorge, Oregon
Going Deep in the Tropics: St. Lucia, Caribbean


Cover: Adventure magazine






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