Ten Fun Family Vacation Ideas for Spring Break

I just realized that there’s less than two weeks of school before spring break, and we still haven’t made any plans.  I had coffee Monday morning with a local travel agent,  Nancy Harmon of , who gave me some fun ideas to keep us busy and entertained.  The following are all local ideas that you can either orchestrate yourself or you call her for assistance.

1. Visit some of the pioneer towns in California.  Colombia has a lot to offer, including a state historic park with costumed performers and shopkeepers, horse-drawn vehicles, blacksmiths, woodcarvers and other craftsman.  We went there a couple years ago and my kids really enjoyed panning for gold, the graveyard, and the horse drawn carriage ride (complete with a staged robbery!) In the same general area, you can visit one of the old mines.  Many of these have tours that intrigue the entire family, some with rappelling and zip line opportunities.
2. The historic St. George Hotel in Volcano is a wonderful place in during spring.  While there, you can drive up to Daffodil Hill to view the 300,000 plus daffodils, flowering trees and peacocks.  In the same general area, you can see Indian Grinding Rock State Park, Sutter’s Gold Mine and the Little Amador Railroad. 
3. Las Vegas often has good bargains and many family oriented activities. On our trip last year, we enjoyed the M&M factory and circus. For the price of a day pass, the kids had endless rides and activities including all the Lasar Tag they could play (approximately $17 - $26 for an all-day pass.) Spring is a great time for Las Vegas because the weather is quite mild compared to the summer. After a few days in Las Vegas, you can add in a road trip to either the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon.
4. Sacramento has many interesting things to do, many of which have educational advantages as well.  You can tour the State Capitol, the State Railroad Museum, the Towe Auto Museum, Fairytale Town, and the Sacramento Zoo just to name a few.  You can do Sacramento as a day trip or make it even more fun by adding in an overnight stay at a family hotel like the Embassy Suites. My kids think that the Embassy Suite is as close to paradise as they can find.
5. One adventure we have wanted to try but haven’t had a chance to yet is Safari West Wildlife Preserve and African Tent Camp in Santa Rosa. This is advertised as an “African luxury safari in the wine country”, complete with lodging in the midst of the preserve in either safari canvas tents or cottages.  This is also close enough to the wine country that you can combine both for a vacation with both child and adult fun.
6. There are many fascinating places near Half Moon Bay and further down Highway 1.  One of these is Costanoa, with lodging, a general store and a restaurant.  This location puts you in the midst of hiking and biking activities at Big Basin National Park, Butano National Park, Ano Nuevo, berry picking at various sites, Pigeon Point lighthouse, and  other local points of interest.  If you are looking for a different type of adventure in the area, there are several family hostels on the coast.
7. Rent a motor home and roam the coast of California, venturing up to Oregon and Washington along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway.
8. In addition to the amusement parks in the area that we are familiar with (Great America, Discovery Kingdom, Disneyland, etc.), there’s an indoor water park in Newark that many people may not be aware of.  The Silliman Family Aquatic Center has a lazy river, a water play structure, two water slides, plus other activities –-- all for the cost of between $5 and $8 per day, depending on age.  They have varied hours, so be sure to call them or check the website for hours: http://www.newark.org/departments/recreation-and-community-services/aquatics/
9. Find out what your children are studying in the next school year (or what they are currently studying), and visit sites to reinforce what they are learning.  Examples of this could be visiting some of the California missions, the gold country, Native American sites or the government buildings in Sacramento.  These places can be incorporated into other vacations and would add a little diversity to your trip.
10. Do you have a high schooler?  Try to visit one or more of our local colleges or universities to give your child an image of what they should work towards in school. Santa Clara University, Stanford, University of San Francisco, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz are all great local options to strive for.

It’s always a challenge to find something to suit all family members and create a bonding, fun, memorable adventure for everyone, but the memories shared are well worth the effort. Got an idea for fun family outings over spring break? Comment below or email them to sarahy@patch.com.