Family Fun and Adventure Activities in America

I don't know about you but I like nothing better than getting myself and my family outdoors and no matter what the time of year, there's nothing that beats spending time together having fun and keeping active in America.

As they say 'sharing is caring' so I thought I'd let you in on just a few of my family's favourite things to do when we're out and about so read on below and let's all hope that the weather cheers up soon.

Watersports

There are many beautiful lakes and rivers in North America, with a host of activities perfect for families. Our favourites are rafting or canoeing through the stunning mountain scenery on Lake Louise, sea kayaking past glaciers in the Alaskan wilderness, beating the heat by river tubing down the Virgin River in Zion, and surfing the coastline of Central America. A day on the water is sure to tire out the whole family!

Wildlife spotting

There are lots of fantastic parks and wilderness areas that are perfect for spotting wildlife. You can see wolves, caribou, marmots and grizzly bears in North America, while down south in Central America there are monkeys, toucans and sloths. Our favourite parks are Monteverde in Costa Rica, where the canopy of trees is a haven for hummingbirds and butterflies; and Yellowstone, which covers a huge area full of wildlife, thermal features and dramatic mountains. Wherever you go, the animal kingdom will always be a draw for the kids.

Camping

With endless wilderness and national parks, there are plenty of opportunities to pack up the car and head out into open space. Camping really gets you back to nature and sitting around a campfire, toasting marshmallows under the stars, is a family favourite. Our favourite trip is in Arizona, where you can explore Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon, as well as explore the Navajo Indian’s Monument Valley.

Horse riding

From cowboys to ranchers, America has a long history of life in the saddle. Although the era of the wild west has long gone, there are lots of opportunities to join in modern day cattle runs. Joining seasoned wranglers you can learn all about the environment and challenges of ranch life, as well as take you part in the team round-up. Our favourite spot for grand American adventures is in Arizona, where the family can ride through the amazing desert and mountain scenery before heading back for a hot-tub soak at the ranch.

Wild swimming

Wild Swimming

There is nothing so liberating and refreshing after a day hiking or horse-riding, as a quick dip in a swimming hole. Creeks, rivers, lakes and waterfalls are plentiful across North and Central America, and with the record summer temperatures, it doesn’t take much to convince the whole family to take the plunge! Some of our favourite places are Havaso Falls in Arizona – an amazing cascading blue waterfall, Sliding Rock in North Carolina – a 60-foot long natural rock slide that ends in a 7ft deep swimming hole, and Firehole River in Yellowstone, Wyoming. The churning rapids empty into a deep hole, with lots of kid-friendly shallow sections.

Hiking

Going for a walk may not sound exciting to the children, but get them out there and they will soon find out that there is more to hiking than meets the eye. A trek at sunset in the Great Dunes National Park, Colorado, offers the exciting opportunity to roll and slide back down 700 feet of sand, while the Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, offers a quarter-mile round trip through amazing cave scenery. Walking through the Rainbow Dome and Crystal Lake will fire up the creativity in any youngster.

Theme parks

Nature is wonderful, but we would be lying if we said that families could only have fun outdoors. There are some incredible theme parks across America - Universal Studios, Disney, Sealife… you name it. Most of the parks have been tailored to cater for families, with plenty of fun for the kids, but there is also lots to entertain the parents too (that is of course if you are not queuing for the rides with the kids!!).

Ruth Chapman loves taking the family out on adventures and her favourite thing to do at weekends is camp with the kids. Next year they plan to make camping the focus of the holiday and do a road trip through the Arizona parks.

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Inexpensive Ways to See America Coast to Coast

American is one of the most amazing and beautiful countries in the world. The song “America the Beautiful” could not be more accurate. It truly has purple mountains of majesties, amber waves of grain and of course spacious skies that have some of the most beautiful sunsets you will ever see. If you live in America you have probably dreamed about going on a long road trip and seeing all the sites and national parks.  If you don’t live in the states then you have probably thought about visiting the great country sometime during your life. However, as we all know too well that regardless where you live traveling can be very expensive. This puts a damper on all our dreams of seeing this great country and other sites. Do not fear though there are plenty of tricks to travel cheap and still have the time of your life. 

Trains

That’s right! You can travel America like the good ole days! There are many train vacations that will take you where you want to go. You don’t have to worry about gas, traffic, accidents and get great scenery the entire time. Most trains are pretty well equipped nowadays with Wi-Fi and other fun things to make your trip more enjoyable. This is a great idea if you want to go coast to coast and have all the time in the world.

Travel Deals

You can’t watch television for five minutes without seeing or hearing a commercial for some kind of travel site. There is a reason for it though and it’s because they work! You can get some amazing deals on hotels or airfare with some of these sites. Some even offer week long trips with airfare for some amazing prices. The only downfall to it is that they have very specific dates and sometimes won’t work with your schedule.

Road Trip

Just like the good ole days with Mom and Dad you can load you and your family into a car and set off for the wide open road. In most cases it is still cheaper to drive places than flying everywhere. Surely, sometimes you feel trapped like a rat, and feel like you are never going to get there but if planned well you can have the time of your life. Make sure that you stop at plenty of site seeing places to break up the day and have some fun. Even if they are dinky little tourist traps you can still have fun with them and make some pretty unforgettable moments.

Guided Tours

There are plenty of groups out there that offer guided tours of just about anything and everything. Most of the time they are pretty affordable and you get to learn about all the historical markers and events that happened in some areas. If you are a big history buff then this would the perfect trip for you! If you are serious into looking at one of these you might want to make sure you do your research on the tour guide and maybe meet them first so you’ll know if you will like them or not.

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