From Puget Sound to the Pacific Science Center, Seattle is a haven of fun and education for children and parents alike. The Space Needle and the Experience Music Project are both must-see places according to "Frommer's 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up." The Space Needle is an excellent place to view the Emerald City, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains as it stands 29,605 feet tall and houses the oldest rotating restaurant. The Experience Music Project has expanded to include the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. If still desiring more, there are tide pools to be explored and kayak adventures departing straight from restaurants on various piers by the sound. Go whale watching, take a ferry to Victoria, British Columbia in Canada, visit the Children's Museum, watch a show at the Seattle Children's Theatre or go to the Seattle Aquarium.
Begin your day at The Hands On Children's Museum, which encourages physical, cognitive and social-emotional development of your kids while providing oodles of camera-ready moments. Later, be sure to take a picnic to the Heritage Park Fountain; time your lunch to take advantage of the wade and splash area containing 47 jetting waterspouts. Other area choices include the Olympic Flight Museum, Percival Landing Waterfront Park and Boardwalk and Priest Point Park.
Also on Frommer's top 500 list, San Juan Island provides a myriad of choices, especially for the active, outdoors family. Take a ferry and rent some kayaks to spot chubby harbor seals, river otters and orca whales. Bird watch with a special eye for eagles as the San Juan Islands is the largest breeding population of bald eagles in the United States. Bond with nature on the islands: hike, cycle and fish. Enjoy the varied microclimates, with the islands featuring both a rain forest and a desert.
Crater Lake, the deepest lake in America, is only accessible in the summer. Although the typical family spends two or three hours driving the rim of the lake, according to the authors of Frommer's, to truly experience the shockingly sapphire blue lake, skip the drive and cycle. Be sure to sleep in the park the night before and have a good breakfast. Although there are no bike rentals in the park, there are rentals available close by at Diamond Lake Resort.
When on your way to the Redwood Forest, listen to "The Hobbit" audiobook by J.R.R. Tolkien so the story is fresh in your minds as you visit Chimney Tree where Tolkien's hobbit has been rumored to live. Tour the Redwood One Log House: on California 101 near milepost number 1. If you have your furry family with you as well, stay at the Benbow Hotel and Resort in Garberville to enjoy the off-leash park and elaborate washing station.
