Family Travel

Planning your first – or 101st – family camping adventure? You can find it all within a half day’s drive of Seattle or Tacoma: mountain views, wooded streams, shining lakes, ocean tides – even desert sands. Here are my recommendations for five excellent campsites that are less than four hours from S

Here in the land of REI, we may think camping is in our DNA, but even experienced campers can be at a loss once they become parents. The activities that delight adults may seem boring or arduous to a 5-year-old. But there are plenty of reasons to opt for a family camping trip. It’s cheap compared t

When Heather Timm’s now 7-year-old son Isaac was 4, he developed a fear of flying after a particularly turbulent flight back from a trip to Arizona. “It scared him a lot. He was white as a ghost,” remembers Timm, who lives in Seattle’s Central District. After that, any mention of flying caused him a

Looking for ideas for exploring our fickle Puget Sound spring? Here are 18 strategies for affordable spring adventures — some rainproof, some not —  to help you make the most of April and May and, well, June, too. Also see our comprehensive family gardening guide, and our calendar for more spring fu

Every spring, my kids and I go a little stir-crazy. We long to go hiking but the weather is still gray and drippy and our favorite hiking trails in the mountains are covered in snow. It’s time to get creative and explore trails closer to home. We especially like places that offer indoor nature cent

Summer family fun! Bring the heat! We've rounded up a selection of must-read info and resources for your summertime pleasure. Read on for ways to save $$, find some fun, and create very happy little campers! Have a cheap thrill Summer mini-adventures from A to Z Cheap thrills: Save money this s

The aroma of freshly cut cedar permeates the air as you walk through the Hibulb Cultural Center in Tulalip. To the Tulalip People, cedar was considered “the tree of life” and was used everywhere in their daily lives including in canoes, berry baskets and longhouses. Opened last summer, the Hibulb C

Are we there yet?” takes on a whole new meaning when “family trip” means traveling with your kids and your parents. Sure, you figure that catering to the kids’ requests and, let’s face it, their demands, would be enough of a challenge. But how do you deal with your dad’s habits (vanilla extra-foam