Summer Family Fun
Without the Sticker Shock
Across thirteen Suite Vacations destinations, the best mid-summer family afternoons rarely cost the most.
Mid-summer travel has a way of becoming expensive in increments— a ticketed attraction here, a paid parking lot there, a souvenir cup that quietly becomes lunch for four. The destinations featured this season share a quiet truth— the experiences families remember longest are rarely the priciest.
Mountain West
Arizona’ s White Mountains hide one of the state’ s easiest family afternoons. Woodland Lake Park in Pinetop ������ �� ����� ������������������ ����� ����� ������� �������� �� ��������������������������������������������������������� cost of a sandwich. Higher up, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest opens its trailheads to anyone willing to lace up shoes, with shaded pine routes that stay cool well into the warmest weeks of July.
South Lake Tahoe rewards families who walk past the paid beach access points. Pope Beach and Baldwin Beach charge a per-vehicle day-use fee, while Regan Beach and the public stretch along Lakeview Commons remain free of charge, and the water in mid- ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������� through the pines, open to walkers and cyclists at no cost.
The Fraser Valley in Colorado delivers its best moments along the Fraser River Trail, which follows ��������������������������������������������������������� crossings that produce genuine excitement when an elk or moose obliges. Balance bikes and small legs both manage the trail easily, and Hideaway Park in Winter Park hosts summer concerts at no charge most weekends— bring a blanket and dinner from a grocery store, and the evening costs less than a single restaurant meal.