Vacation Ideas - Minneapolis,MN

I have mentioned on here before..... Yellowstone was the best trip we ever took and it was great for those ages and being outdoor. Lots to do. SIght seeing, river rafting, fishing, horse back riding, seeing all the hot springs and water falls, wildlife. It was great. We went end of july 2007. Rented a house in Montana and drove into west yellowstone which was 20 min. We budgeted about $4000 for the whole trip, food, activities and lodging.

Well, if I lived in Minnesota - I think I would drive to South Dakota and visit Mount Rushmore and then 45 miles west to The Devil's Tower in Wyoming (the first national monument in the U.S.)

I might even go to the Mall of America!! :)

Depends upon the finances too. If you have money to spend? I would consider going to DisneyWorld in Orlando or Sea World in San Diego.

Washington DC has TONS of FREE stuff to do with kids. My brother-in-law Aaron lived there when my boys were small. He took us all to the Air and Space Museum which, for years, my children thought was "Aaron's Space Museum!)

Having grown up near Yellowstone, I have to recommend going there. We went every summer! Also look into going into Grand Teton Park, Jackson, West Yellowstone, and into Cody, WY. Cody has the Buffalo Bill Museum which is a lot of fun.

Driving to South Dakota Black Hills would also be a lot of fun for your kids. The drive out there would be just as fun. There is the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN. Sioux Falls has a nice little zoo and some other fun things to do. There is the Corn Palace in Mitchell and also a dinosaur excavation site. The Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain has a fabulous little Native American museum out at St. Joseph's Indian School. And you have to stop for pie at Al's Oasis just across the Missouri. Wall Drug would be a fun stop for your kids and you can drive through the Badlands. Once you get to the Black Hills there is a ton to do! The Journey Museum in Rapid, Bear Country USA, Reptile Gardens, the 1880s train in Hill City, Keystone, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, the Mammoth Site, and a ton of other tacky tourist places to stop. If you were to take the short drive into Wyoming to see Devil's Tower, there is a nice fish hatchery in Spearfish. You just don't want to take this trip in August when the Sturgis Bike Rally is going on. You won't find a place to stay and traffic can be horrible with all the bikes!

I also love Chicago and Seattle. We went to Myrtle Beach a couple of years ago and loved that. Although in early June the humidity was awful! We also had a great time in San Diego and enjoyed Philadelphia too. We are actually going to Washington, DC in a couple of weeks. My brother and his family live there and they love all the things that there are to do.

Feel free to e-mail me if you want more info on any of these places. I've lived in both Wyoming and South Dakota so I might be able to tell you about some places that you might want to avoid or places that you might not hear about otherwise.

Have you done Duluth and the North Shore? A great destination - only 2 1/2 hours away.

There are lots of things to do for young children. If money isn't a problem, your kids are at the ideal age for Disney World. And there are lots of fun things to do there besides Disney world. We got a one week pass that we had to use up in two weeks (I think). It also gave us access to Disney's water parks but didn't count against us for the 7 days of admission. We went to Disney World for a day, then to a water park, then to a Disney World, then a Disney Water Park, etc. It worked out very well for us.

We ate off the 99 cent menus at the fast food places or we would buy buckets of chicken from grocery stores. The locals can tell you when they have sales and you can take advantage of the sales. We would take food to the parks and that saved us a ton of money. You can buy Disney souviniers at Walmart, Target, etc much cheaper than you can at the Parks.

I hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck to you and yours.

The Black Hills and the Badlands are a great trip and a have lot to do for kids your age. My kids liked that trip better than Yellowstone. If you do go to Yellowstone include nearby Jackson and Jackson Hole, WY. Chicago has a lot of fun stuff for kids to do--Navy Pier and a great Children's Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Natural History Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, Aquarium, lake front, just to mention a few things. We took our kids to St. Louis when they were 5 and 8 and I was amazed by how many fun things there were in St. Louis, including the very unique City Museum. If you want to get out of the midwest my kids always enjoyed southern California, Disney and Legoland. We had fun in Charleston, S.C. over spring break last year, but that might be a little hot and humid for a summer vacation unless you hung out a lot at the beach. I love planning vacations! Have fun.

Another great place is the Wisconsin Dells. I've never been but a friend and a group of their friends went. Kids that went ranged from 2 to 15 and they all had a blast.

Disney World is easier and more affordable than people think, and those ages are perfect.

If you want to stay closer to home, look at local state parks. There are plenty that have every amenity you can think of, and organized activities, for cheaper than commercial resorts.

That time of year is perfect for a patriotic themed vacation, so maybe Boston or Baltimore?

I'm also digging the Yellowstone idea.

Yellowstone...I remember going there when I was around 6 years of age and loved it...great road trip...plan to stop and see things on the way.

My kids love the dells are oldest is 7.

we lived in WA state for a while and if you like the outdoors, Mt. rainier is a great trip, snoqualmie falls, oh so much to see and do there. And if you fly via Sun Country (the Mn airline) you can get great ticket prices. A lot of times if you book ahead you can get round trip for 100 each...