top
green family travel ideas
|by Anne Michelsen
Not sure what to plan for your next family vacation? Here are our top eco-friendly picks:
1. National Parks
Between them, the U.S. and Canada boast
nearly 100 national parks, offering spectacular landscapes and awesome outdoor
experiences for families of all ages. Many
require reservations for camping and lodging, so plan your trip in advance.
2. Glamping
Not a hardcore camper? No worries.
Glamping (glamour + camping) resorts
offer a cushy alternative – the outdoor
experience wrapped in luxury. Staying
in a yurt, treehouse or other cool structure with ready access to running water
and other necessities is a relaxing experience the whole family can enjoy - including special needs families or those with
very young kids. For more information
on glamping visit InspiredCamping.com
[http://www.inspiredcamping.com/].
3. Volunteer vacation
Family volunteering is a wonderful way to
give back to the communities you visit and
empower your kids to be a positive agent
of change. There are volunteer vacations
available worldwide; for more information
visit GoEco.org. [http://www.goeco.org/
tags/family-volunteering]
4. Farm or Ranch Stay
Imagine your kids’ faces as they collect
their own eggs to eat for breakfast, pull carrots from the farm garden, eat blueberries
right off the bush, then race to the creek
running through the property to splash
and wash off messy hands. Farmstays offer families a chance to experience life in
the country, to understand where and how
your food is grown or raised, and to connect families with the natural world, with
farmers, and ultimately with each other.
FarmstayUS.com offers a searchable database of farm and ranch stays nationwide.
5. Alternative Transportation Tours
Why not make the journey itself the destination? Besides bike touring, there are lots
of other non-motorized options: trips by
canoe, kayak, horseback, or even covered
wagon!
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