The Great Family Escape:
Babes | Tykes | Junior | Teen | All Family Trips
Babes in Adventureland:
Ages 6 months and up
Priest Lake, Idaho
Splash Down in the Selkirks
High up Idaho's panhandle, 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of the Canadian border, sits striking and remote Priest Lake. It's actually two lakes connected by a two-mile (three-kilometer) river called the Thorofare, which sets the stage for water babies of all ages and for the Elkins Resort, where the wakeboarding, kayaking, tubing, canoeing, and water-skiing never end. "We get families who book the same cabin every summer," says owner Bob Davis, "some for the past 40 years." Elkins, built in 1932, was a summer fishing camp. Now it has grown to include 30 luxe cedar log cabins.
Where to Play: Take a pontoon boat ($300 a day) along the Thorofare to Upper Priest Lake (boat- or foot-access only) for views of the Selkirk Mountains. Or drive the 14-mile (23-kilometer) dirt Forest Service road to access hiking trails to 2,000-plus-year-old trees of Roosevelt Grove of Ancient Cedars.
Post-Curfew: Have Elkins arrange a sitter, then hit the main lodge for Priest Lake huckleberry daiquiris.
Details: Cabins start at $1,033 a week; www.elkinsresort.com.
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Run Free on the Cape
Tucked away on the southwest corner is one of the Vineyard's best kept (and affordable) secrets: the Menemsha Inn & Cottages, 14 acres (6 hectares) of gardens and woodlands overlooking the Vineyard Sound. "It's perfect: You have your own private residences arranged around a sloping field where everyone's kids play tag together," says repeat booker Nicole Raphaelson, a Hingham, Massachusetts-based investment adviser. The 11-cottage property sits across from the Menemsha Beach dunes and includes free passes and a shuttle to Chilmark's exclusive Lucy Vincent and Squibnocket Beaches.
Where to Play: Grab a bike and baby carrier from the inn and head to town to catch the ferry to Lobsterville Beach. There, cycle quiet two-laners or hilly Gay Head Cliffs.
Post-Curfew: The inn's staff organizes evening fun (ask about a game of flashlight tag), while you sneak off to town for local lobster at Home Port Restaurant.
Details: One-bedroom cottages are $2,200 a week; two-bedrooms, $3,100; www.menemshainn.com.
Kauai, Hawaii
Explore a Rugged Playground
Don't let the name fool you. The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa has a lot to offer adrenaline-fueled families. It's so kid-friendly, you can take your tot and still get out and explore Hawaii's wildest island. It's also breathtaking: The Hyatt sits on 50 acres (20 hectares) of the southern coast, overlooking the Pacific.
Where to Play: Toddlers experience pint-size thrills splashing in the three-tiered saltwater lagoon, and kids who are tall enough get to ride the 150-foot (46-meter) waterslide. Outside the resort's gates, swing like monkeys on the Kipu Falls Zipline Trek ($94 for children ages 7 to 14; $120 for adults); www.outfitterskauai.com.
Post-Curfew: Book a babysitter with the concierge or enroll kids three and up in Camp Hyatt for a day of koi-fish feeding, hula lessons, and palm-frond weaving, then go explore Kauai. Sign on for a guided kayaking trip along the rugged Na Pali Coast, or blast by bike from the rim of Waimea Canyon to the Pacific (12 miles of paved downhill). End the day in private lava-rock showers at the resort's 45,000-square-foot (4,181-square-meter) Anara Spa.
Details: Doubles cost $490; www.grandhyattkauai.com
The Great Family Escape:
Babes | Tykes | Junior | Teen | All Family Trips
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