Family Vacation Ideas and Help for Family Vacations

    Our summer vacation included a week-long adventure in Beaver, Creek, Colorado -- hands down one of the most “family-friendly” places I have ever been.

    My boys were treated to a wonderful multi-generational trip with their parents and grandparents. When I saw my 66-year-old dad river-rafting with my two boys, ages 6 and 8, I realized what troopers he and Grandma were! I am sure I will not be doing the same thing with my grandkids. Experiencing the rugged terrain of Vail, Colorado with my family was family bonding at its best.

   I packed for our family in our Eagle Creek Pack-It system, which I highly recommend for a trip out west, mainly because the weather can vary. It can be sunny and hot one minute in the valley and then change to fleece weather as you head up into the mountains. The system is rugged and allows for plenty of room.

    The Eagle Creek compression sacks, which I also demonstrate in a video I did for are great for this type of all-weather terrain because they squeeze the air out of the bags surrounding the over-sized sweatshirts and literally compress the bags to save a great deal of room in your suitcase.

    We stayed at the Sheraton Mountain Vista in Avon, Colorado, which is a five-minute ride to Beaver Creek. The property had lots of kids’ activities including lessons on the “sport” of cup-stacking and bingo. There was even a make-your-own sundae surprise.

    Avon has its own small-town charm, with plenty of local eateries. The Sheraton property was situated on a beautiful lake with a park. We always travel with our baseball gloves so the boys can play catch and there was plenty of space to do this. There was a play set, tennis courts, a complete recreation center with an indoor pool. There was also a bike rental shop on site.

    The Avon Recreation Center ($15 a day) was next to the property, so guests can use the facilities, which include an indoor pool. Guests get half off the entry price. This was only one of the great advantages of staying there. You could rent mountain bikes at a store adjacent to the resort lobby.

    Each day was filled with activities in Beaver Creek. The town really centers around the ski resort, but summer in Colorado is my favorite time of year. There are lots of cute shops in the quaint mountain village, including Starbucks, restaurants and an outdoor ice-skating rink. The base of the mountain has a wonderful kids’ activity area with trampoline bungee jumping, putt-putt golf and rock-climbing.

    We went horseback riding through the beautiful Aspen trees at the Beaver Creek Stables and river-rafting down the Colorado river. The boys hiked up Vail mountain. We rode the gondola up to the top of the Vail mountain, sat in Adirondack chairs and chilled. We ate grilled chicken sandwiches and burgers and my boys got to have a snowball fight in JUNE with their grandpa.