Weather you’re heading up to Traverse City for next month’s Cherry Capital Winter!Wow Fest or you want to see why Good Morning America recently ranked the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the most beautiful place …

In the spirit of giving and good cheer, Road Trips for Families is honored to participate in the 2011 Passports with Purpose (PwP), an annual fundraiser hosted by some of your favorite travel blogs. In its third year, PwP has raised money for a school in rural Cambodia ($30,000 in 2009) and a village in rural India (rallying with over $64,000 in 2010). Partnering with Room To Read, PwP has set a goal of $80,000 to build two libraries for children in Zambia, Africa. A family-travel site and parents of our own literate kids, we feel particularly inspired by this year’s fundraiser.

To live in the Midwest and have never experienced the culture, food, architecture, diversity, and entertainment that is Chicago is a sad thing indeed. For many of us quite comfortable in the regional cost of …

Expecting sun bathers and sand castles and unmanned kites hovering in the steady breeze, Mother Nature had a hidden agenda as she joined up with us on our beach vacation in Gulf Shores and Orange …

After a recent trip to Nova Scotia, Vera Marie Badertscher, editor of A Traveler’s Library, and the biography of Navajo artist Quincy Tahoma, shares with us her best family road trip tips for the area.
In …

Sunny locations, guaranteed fun for the whole family and ease of meeting extended family at locations with something for everyone top the list of reasons to take a holiday road trip to one of the Disney theme parks. Oh, and did we mention the sun? You can find lots of tips for Disney travel from experts like Theme Park Mom, but what about the rest of the trip?

Joining with a handful of states allowing free access to their entire State Park system, residents of and visitors to Ohio are encouraged to hike, bike, boat, camp, and play their way across a sizable …

If there was ever any doubt, the Amish don’t have a sense of humor, read page three of the the Farm Guidebook, a 31 page color document explaining the wonder that is The Farm at …

With two weeks of unstructured time to drive aimlessly around Michigan, inevitably our family found ourselves seeking out fun in the name of education. From children’s museums to discovery centers and interactive natural history hybrids, …

Residents of Wisconsin who call Michigan home, we regularly pass through one of the most beloved cities in the world for food, festivals, art, and culture: Chicago. Marveling at the skyline, bright lights, and urban …

The Sandpoint, Idaho area is the perfect road trip for families from anywhere in the Northwest, and it’s a great mid-point destination on longer trips. In the far northern part of the state, the Sandpoint area is one of our top recommendations for other road tripping families.

Finding the the perfect venue for a multi-generational family road trip is no small feat. Read why our first choice this summer vacation was Branson, Missouri.

America’s Birthday just isn’t complete without fireworks. Every year, we pick the top 10 places we’d like to see some fireworks. Here are this year’s picks. (Don’t forget to see previous year’s winners as well.)

We announce our picks for the Top 10 Summer Festivals for Families. Every year we pick the best of the best summer festivals for families who like to road trip. This year’s list includes some new and some iconic festivals — we’d love to hear what festivals your family never misses.

Chances are, when you tell the family that you want to take a trip to learn about the Civil War, you’re not going to get the reaction they show in the Disney commercials when the family gets the big announcement. And, that’s OK. It’s important to learn not to pre-judge. Even if “civil war” does sound pretty boring.

Joshua Tree National Park, located about two hours east of Los Angeles, is a perfect example. Located on the border of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, it’s home to some of the strangest and most spectacular scenery in America. Visit in the spring, and you’ll be treated to spectacular wildflower blooms that transform the otherwise parched landscape into an explosion of color. Visit in the fall, and you’ll enjoy balmy temperatures perfect for hiking or rock climbing. Not summer? Not a problem. Joshua Tree awaits!

Two-thirds of the way up the craggy coast of Maine lies Mount Desert Island, home to granite mountains, picture perfect harbors, and Acadia National Park. Mount Desert Island is the crown jewel of coastal New England—the only place on the East Coast where the mountains literally meet the sea. Nearly 40% of the island has been permanently protected as Acadia National Park, and it’s home to some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in America.

When folks think of national parks, images of Yellowstone (or Jellystone, for that matter) and Yosemite come quickly to mind. These are the quintessential parks, offering campgrounds, trails for hiking, stunning roadside scenery, and places to unload your picnic basket. (Ain’t that right, Boo Boo?) But the National Park Service oversees many different kinds of sites—from National Monuments to National Seashores.

Nestled deep in the heart of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, Yosemite National Park is one of America’s most spectacular sights. Its alpine scenery is bursting with superlatives: the highest waterfall in North America (Yosemite Falls), the most famous vertical rock face in the world (El Capitan), and the largest organisms of all time (giant sequoia trees). But no statistic can ever capture the park’s staggering beauty.

One mile deep. Ten miles wide. One hundred and sixty miles long. Covering 1.2 million acres in northern Arizona , Grand Canyon is a breathtaking act of geology. Teddy Roosevelt called it “the one great sight every American should see.”