Looking for ideas for a summer trip mid to late July for 5-7 days.

Will be a family of 5 with the youngest being 7 and oldest being 13.

Would like some water to enjoy, but would also like to do a few fun things.

Willing to drive and also not against going out of the country.

Iceland or Alaska

We did Lake Tahoe last July. It was a ton of fun and so nice to be able to escape the Texas heat. My kids were 8 and 11. We did some hikes and rafting and did the activities at the top of Heavenly.

Will 2nd the Lake Tahoe suggestion. Get the heck out of TX summer heat. It is easy to get from Reno airport to South Lake Tahoe. Definitely do a circle around the lake, perhaps stop at the Donner Memorial State Park/Museum and see who is on the menu. Can also consider spending a half-day at the historical mining town of Virginia City between Reno and the lake. Yes, it is a tourist trap kind of place, but it is nonetheless fun to roam around the place for a few hours.

Colorado

Anything ideas on the East Coast?

Would like to drive and make a midway stop somewhere for some good food and activities.

Ouray, CO. We did it with our kids last summer. They have a mine you can tour with the kids. There is a hot springs with slides for kids and an adult only pool for the adults. We also went to Telluride and did white water rafting. There is also a train from Durango that would be fun with kids.

The East Coast has no shortage of options.

Appalachian Trail
Great Smokey Mountains
New River Gorge
Outer Banks for beaches
Charleston, SC
Northeast Corridor (fly to DC, do DC and Baltimore, train to Philly, train to New York, train to Boston)
Maine/Bar Harbor
Pennsylvania Dutch Country/Hershey Park
Colonial Williamsburg

Looks like the wife likes the idea of a Colorado trip.

Would like to get 1 place to stay that is relatively close to things to do.

Wanting to do rapids, fly fish, and not sure on the rest. Would stay around 4 night.

It's not shaping up for a great summer on the rivers next summer. Median snowpack is WAY down. If you're looking to get on the water, you want to go EARLY as the SME across most of the state is below 60% of the median. I wouldn't be shocked to see peak flow weeks earlier than normal and then little to no flow through July/August. Basically the exact opposite of last year.

Given the lack of runoff, it wouldn't surprise me to see a lot of tributaries closed to fishing because a lack of runoff usually means the water temperature rises far faster than normal and the state won't let you fish if the creeks and rivers are too warm.

For rafting you have a couple of options:

Arkansas (Salida), Blue (Breck), Upper/Lower Colorado (Steamboat/Glenwood), Roaring Fork (Aspen/Glenwood) San Miguel (Telluride) and a little on the Umcompagre.

I prefer Numbers on the lower Arkansas, Shoshonee on the lower Colorado, and radium/pump house/Lyons island or rancho to Dotsero.

If I was me, I'd stay along the 82 corridor or down in SE Colorado. I wouldn't stay on the 70 corridor if I could help it.

If it was me, I'd be in Ridgway or Ouray or Glenwood Springs or Avon. I wouldn't go w Summit or Eastern Eagle county.

GWS is an hour fifteen to grand junction/Colorado monument, an hour to Vail, an hour to Aspen, 45 minutes from Avon, 40 minutes from Snowmass, and you have multiple hot springs, great restaurants, you aren't in a tourist town, and the Colorado and RF rivers both run through the town. Hard to beat that if you're a river rat or a fisherman.


If you pick Glenwood, I'd look and see if there's an Airbnb or rental up 3 or 4 mile. Those places are insanely gorgeous during the summer and maybe 15/20 minutes out of town so they have the high alpine ambiance.

First picture is the current SME for the major basins in CO. Second picture is the same period from last year. The difference is hella depressing.

Panda- We plan on going to Steamboat next summer for a few days. So you're saying going earlier (Mem day week) is a bad idea vs waiting a few months?

No! You want to be out early this next summer as the basins don't have nearly as much snow as last year.

This is last years runoff report for the upper Colorado at Kremmling. If it was me, I'd push that graph forward a couple of weeks. We typically get two melt cycles (like you can see on the graph). The first peak is the natural runoff as the weather warms. The second peak is usually after the first solid rain storm. That rain combined with the melting snow creates another peak usually around the beginning of July. I'd suspect this summer we will have a more pronounced (lower amplitude than last year) first spike and then not much of a second spike since there isn't much up hanging on at those high elevations at this point.

All of that can change with a big Feb/March. Typical STRONG El Niño cycles produce below average SME from Nov - Feb and then some years, March is an absolute ripper.

The most correlated season to the current season is 2003/2004 where we got next to nothing through Feb and then 10ft in 34 days between 2/26 and 3/31. I remember that year vividly because it was my senior year in HS and the last time (before 2018/19) that there were unmitigated avalanches over I-70.

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Some sick homes up 3rd and 4th Mile

If it was me, I'd prob pick this house near Red Stone. Sper secluded little mountain town about an hour from Glenwood and 20 minutes from Carbondale. If you're looking for a Colorado high country get away, it's basically a coffee table of landscapes in your back yard.

https://abnb.me/OkkPz6v45Fb

Edit to add: no affiliation w the house but I've gone there to teach private yoga and it's SICK. You can hear the crystal river from the house and it's got some of the most expansive and breathtaking views I've ever seen from a CO house and that's saying ALOT.

Plus it's right next to Penny Hot Springs and Avalanche Ranch, 20 minutes from Roaring Fork rafting, and only 55 minutes to Snowmass. So, not only beautiful but a solid location for exploring up 133 or down 82.

You're super close to Marble (you can go see where the Lincoln memorial marble was cut as they still have some of the pillars that were miscut) and go to Devils Punchbowl and the Crystal Mill.

That's a SOLID setup.

Here's the Marble quarry, Devils Punchbowl and Crystal Mill in the summer - beyond stunning. The view of East and West Sopris is also KILLER.

Went to Breck last summer with our twin five year olds. Hiked. Went rafting. Hung around town. They loved it as well as us parents. Good food and plenty or bars to grab a drink

A Disney cruise would be a lot of fun, especially for the kids. Of course it is not the only option, you can read some windstar cruises reviews for example and travel with them, they have very different itinerary , still can be interesting for both adults and kids.