<p>Well if you do come west, some of the best parks are the county and state parks. Here is my favorite double secret park----SHHHHHHH don’t tell anyone.</p>
<p>[Jalama</a> Beach - YouTube](<a href=“Jalama Beach - YouTube”>Jalama Beach - YouTube)</p>
<p>my husband loves the park listed in post 61. I like the park but I love the drive even more. I don’t think the famous Jalama burger lives up to the hype.</p>
<p>Rent the movie River Wild. Watch only for the scenery and the rafting. All but the 20 foot drop scene is from the middle fork of the Flathead River in Montana. </p>
<p>Google Glacier Rafting Co. Book a combination horseback and rafting (on the middle fork of the Flathead River) trip. You will be on the edge of Glacier National Park. Make sure to have plenty of time for that. Go in July or August. It snowed on us on the 4th of July.</p>
<p>Unbelievable.</p>
<p>my advice is there are beaches all over the world, however, the western National Parks are unique and will be a once-in-a-lifetime family road trip. I know my kids will remember that trip their entire lives. (My husband often brings up his family’s 3 weeks cross-country trip in a Checker. DC-SF, took southern route out, northern route home. He was 7).</p>
<p>As an avid camper and hiker who makes a trip to some sort of western national park on a yearly basis, I agree it’s a fantastic experience. Along with the national parks in California (my home), Utah, Nevada and Arizona are some wonderful small state and county parks worth a day trip. For example, Jalama is a unique sort of spot. Unlike other beaches in the US, there is no development whatsoever for miles and miles. An opportunity to experience what the California Coast was at the turn of the century. EMPTY.
Another wonderful place that’s not a national park, but worth the detour is the spectacular tribal park at Monument Valley. [Monument</a> Valley | Utah.com](<a href=“http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/monument_valley.htm]Monument”>http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/monument_valley.htm) Book the [The</a> View Hotel is the only hotel inside Beautiful Monument Valley](<a href=“http://www.monumentvalleyview.com%5DThe”>http://www.monumentvalleyview.com) well ahead of schedule. It’s really the “only game in town”.</p>
<p>As much as I love those AZ, UT, etc National Parks, I do not recommend them in August, from my experience last year. So incredibly hot. Yellowstone, Glacier, and Banff are better summer choices.</p>
<p>^Agreed. I keep forgetting that the OP said “summer”. Go coastal or go north.</p>
<p>Go fishing…to the farallons off the San Francisco coast. Spend the rest of the time in the city.</p>
<p>Summer?? Iceland. Has every type activity. Cost is way down due to their economic problems.</p>
<p>Zion was miserable in August, however Bryce & Grand Canyon (north rim) were fine, given the elevation & lots of water. We spent the night at both and needed sweatshirts after the sun went down. </p>
<p>It was below freezing several nights in the northern parts of Yellowstone in August and there was still snow at the peak of Mt Washburn. (Of course the peaks of the Tetons were snow-covered).</p>
<p>A nifty idea for a summer driving trip: don’t plan, but leave it unstructured and play it by ear. Each day, a different family member gets to pick the next day’s destination – anywhere within a 4-hour(ish) driving radius of the current location, they pick what sights to see, where to eat, and what to do. Sort-of a random walk vacation. And if you have a smartphone, with GPS, it makes planning-on-the-fly much easier!</p>
<p>For example, starting in Los Angeles, the first person might pick Disneyland for the first day. The second person might pick tide-pooling at Dana Point for the second day. The third person might pick the San Diego Zoo, followed Shakespeare at the Old Globe that evening. Then the next person might change direction and pick hiking in Joshua Tree National Park. And then the next person might want to go see Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. </p>
<p>I think my family might try it this summer.</p>
<p>OP:
Usually when I’m in the doctor’s office, flipping thru magazines like I did today, I think of someone on cc, someone that is looking for a recipe or food idea. Today I thought of you since I was reading an old Travel & Leisure magazine! :)</p>
<p>They mentioned many of the places already mentioned on this thread, but I’ll give you one more. Santa Fe, New Mexico has always been on my dream list and I hope to go one of these days soon! That, coupled with a drive to San Diego, maybe, would be the best of desert and coastal vacations!</p>
<p>Which way are you leaning? Other than Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, I haven’t really seen Canada much either, and that sounds very appealing too!</p>
<p>Hope you guys decide soon, we’re running out of ideas!</p>
<p>Santa Fe to San Diego…that’s a helluva drive (12 hours!) :)</p>
<p>^^ we almost did that exact trip the summer we ended up at Grand Canyon, Sedona, Arizona and Las Vegas instead…</p>
<p>Don’t know what scenery there is in-between, but we would have flown into one place, driven, stayed over, and flown out of the second place…</p>
<p>12 hours to me means one or two overnights, depending on what there is to do in-between and how long the vacation is!</p>
<p>
But a nice one with the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Meteor Crater (worth seeing once in your life if you like those things), Petrified National Forest, Painted Desert, and other scenic spots thrown in depending on the route taken. And San Diego’s a nice place to end up. Of course, with all those stops it’ll end up taking longer than 12 hours.</p>
<p>Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Orick, CA on the road from San Francisco to southern Oregon offers one of the best hikes in the world. It is cool on the Northern Calif coast in the summer and often a bit foggy. You can hike through the redwood forest all the way to the coast (where we saw a walrus!). One of the highlights is Fern Canyon where you walk next to a bluff covered with huge ferns. When our family did the hike we only encountered one other group of hikers during the entire day of hiking. It was simply incredible. I live on the east coast and have made the trek to Prairie Creek 3 different times because it takes my breath away!</p>
<p>We had a fantastic family adventure vacation flying into Juneau and taking an adventure “cruise” for a week on Glacier Bay. The captain of the ship was the leader of a local tribe of Native People (Tlingit) and provided historical and cultural insights. One company that offers these small adventure cruises is The World Outdoors. We carried our own kayaks and were out kayaking and hiking every day in areas where large cruise ships could not reach. The ship was small… only 60 travelers. The food was prepared in the local tradition. Our kids loved seeing the sea otters, birds (including many eagles), moose, grizzly bears, and whales. We also observed glaciers and saw salmon in the small rivers. Expensive … but once in a lifetime!</p>
<p>If you do go to Northern Arizona, do not miss Antelope Canyon just outside Page AZ.</p>
<p>[Antelope</a> Canyon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antelope_Canyon]Antelope”>Antelope Canyon - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Google for unbelievable pictures. It really looks like that in real life.</p>
<p>^^ I haven’t been there - it looks like I definitely need to go see it.</p>
<p>Interesting thread - some great ideas.</p>
<p>We are looking for ideas for a family vacation in August this year. Most likely will be in the US, possibly driving from the east coast (Boston). We have to drop D off at Cleveland - so might do the vacation just before dropping her off. Any ideas for good vacations around that area? Have been to Niagara falls. Toronto looks like a possibility…any others?</p>