Sutter’s Fort State Historical Site

February 10, 2011 By

2701 L Street
Sacramento, CA

If you’re passing through the Sacramento Valley on a road trip or family vacation and want to venture beyond the swinging saloon doors and adjustable bar stools of Old Town Sacramento, a visit to Sutter’s Fort State Historical Site makes for a great pit stop.

Note: Sutter’s Fort has a Kidscore of 100. Learn more about Kidscore.

Located downtown in the heart of Sacramento’s capitol district, Sutter’s Fort has been restored on its original site, allowing visitors to tour past rooms replicating fort life in the 19th century, see working dutch ovens, a blacksmith workshop, and more. Our kids loved the cannons in the towers especially, and there’s a great exhibit on John Sutter himself and his role in the California Gold Rush at the start of the self-guided tour. Rooms and other points of interest include audio stations depicting historical and cultural significance, but many areas also feature live reenactments and living history personnel. There’s a great gift shop (we recommend purchasing and reading Patty Reed’s Doll to your kids to give an age-appropriate retelling of the infamous Donner Party), picnic areas, and street parking. (Extra tip: summer temperatures soar in the valley, so plan to arrive early or do as we did: visit in December!)

Date last visited: December 2010

Admission: Adults $5, youth $3, kids under age 5: free.

Distance from the interstate: Five minutes from both I-5 and I-80.

Hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily

Directions: The park is located in midtown Sacramento between K and L Streets and 26th and 28th Streets. Traveling on I-80 from San Francisco, take Business 80/Hwy 50 east. Take the Business 80 exit (north towards Reno) to the N Street turn off. Travel straight on 30th Street then turn left under the freeway at L Street to the Fort which will be located on your right.

Home (Away) for the Holidays: HeliTahoe Helicopter Tours

January 10, 2011 By

Calvin gives HeliTahoe two thumbs up!

If you’re looking for a truly unique experience during your winter family vacation in the South Lake Tahoe area, book a helicopter tour with Tahoe’s only helicopter sightseeing operation, HeliTahoe! With tour prices starting at just $70 per person, this breathtaking tour of the lake is no more extravagant than a day of skiing or afternoon of snowmobiling, and it’s a treat no one will forget!

Calvin and I enjoyed a morning flight under clear blue skies in HeliTahoe’s safe, quiet Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter, piloted by HeliTahoe owner Claudio Bellotto. With 29 years of flying under his belt, Bellotto quickly put us at ease with his friendliness and professionalism. After going over a few safety procedures, we proceeded to the helicopter and boarded. Calvin was excited to sit up front!

We were given noise-reducing headsets so that we could listen to Bellotto’s narration of the landscape unfolding beneath us without the noise of the blades and engine. Calvin and I were able to ask questions, point out landmarks, and simply sit back and marvel at the views. It was not only a thrill, but a great way to become oriented to the Tahoe area.

The Robinson R44 Raven II seats three, so if you want to book for a family of four or more, it may require spitting the group into two flights. In the new year, however, Bellotto has plans to add a seven-passenger helicopter to the operation (with the inclusion of helicopter back-country skiing packages!). Current tours include flights over such areas as Emerald Bay, Fallen Leaf Lake, Vikingsholm Castle, the South Shore, Sand Harbor, Zephyr Cove, and more!

Age and weight restrictions do apply, and flights may need to be canceled in the case of bad weather (in which case, they will be rescheduled as guest’s schedule allows).

Note: If you’re looking for a romantic night out instead of a family adventure, consider booking HeliTahoe’s Lake Tahoe Tour and Dinner, which includes a flight over Emerald Bay and dinner at one of Tahoe’s most talked-about restaurants, The Flight Deck. At only $165 per couple, it’s not only an unforgettable ‘date’, but an affordable one!

Get a sneak peak of a HeliTahoe tour with Pit Stops for Kids’ Kid Cam!

Date last visted: December 23, 2010

Distance from the Interstate: Touring Tahoe from the sky is easy for families, as HeliTahoe is based right at the South Lake Tahoe Airport, located right off Hwy 50. A very small airport, parking, meeting up, and boarding your flight is very convenient!

Cost: Tours start at $70 per person and increase to $315 per person, depending on the length of your tour.

Hours of operation: Touring hours are flexible, and depend on weather and flight conditions. Book online, or call 530-544-2211.

Directions: HeliTahoe is located at Suite 106 within the South Tahoe Airport at 1901 Airport Road. From South Tahoe, take Hwy 50 to Airport Road.As I disclose with all compensated reviews, HeliTahoe generously hosted us for this portion of our Tahoe Holiday review series. While we greatly appreciate their hospitality, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review. Read all our articles in our Home (Away) for the Holidays series!

Home (Away) for the Holidays: Adventure Mountain

January 6, 2011 By

Toby’s all smiles at Adventure Mountain!

If you have thrill-seeking kids when it comes to sledding, you’ll want to stop at Adventure Mountain near Echo Summit on Highway 50 for great family-friendly snow play in South Tahoe. Much more than just your neighborhood sledding hill, Adventure Mountain features multiple downhill runs divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced sections, walking paths up to the top, and, at least when we visited, plenty of powder above the runs to blaze your own trail down from higher up.

The snow at the base of the runs has been groomed into high berms to ease you to a stop (although with enough speed, it’s possible to go all the way up and over!) and there’s plenty of space to just play in the snow (we made a killer fort). There’s a snack shack with hot drinks, candy, and hot dogs for sale (as well as gloves, hats, and helmets if you’ve forgotten them). You can also rent sleds here. Bathrooms are available near the parking lot. We liked that there were plenty of picnic tables for use, and noticed that most people brought their own lunch. Snowshoe and cross-country ski trails start at the end of the sledding area (but you’ll need to bring your own equipment…rentals were not available on-site).

The tracks are steep and fast!

Extra Tip: Most ski resorts also offer a sledding/tubing area, usually for a higher cost than Adventure Mountain. During our Tahoe review week, we were fortunate to try one: Blizzard Mountain at Sierra at Tahoe. Due to the convenient location and moderate terrain, we recommend Blizzard Mountain for very young children, and Adventure Mountain for older kids.

Date last visited: December 23, 2010

Distance from the interstate: Right off Hwy 50.

Admission: $15 per car. Quite the deal for local snow parks!

Hours of operation: Open weekdays from 10 am to 4:30 pm, and weekends from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting.

Directions: From South Tahoe, take Hwy 50 west toward Echo Summit approximately 8 miles.

Check out Adventure Mountain on the Pit Stops for Kids’ Kid Cam:

We visited Adventure Mountain at our own expense. Read all our articles in our Home (Away) for the Holidays series!

Home (Away) for the Holidays: Five things to do from our front door

December 31, 2010 By

Taking in the view from our backyard

As you know, we loved our HomeAway vacation rental in South Tahoe. Not only is this house idyllic, comfortable, and convenient, but it sits right in the midst of Eldorado National Forest, providing acres of wilderness to explore right from the front door.

It’s not in a neighborhood of multi-million dollar mansions lining Lake Tahoe, for which we couldn’t have been happier. Instead, it’s located just minutes from Echo Summit, fifteen mountain road miles from the city. Most of the neighboring homes consist of summer cabins closed up for the season, the snowy roads free of traffic and completely peaceful. In all directions, we could find pristine snow and beautiful pine woods. We certainly weren’t lacking for entertainment, however!

Five things to do five minutes or less from our vacation home’s front door:

1. Build a snow fort! Kids become quite industrious when faced with 3-4 feet of Sierra powder to play in! This one took over an hour to build, but not once did anyone complain of boredom, cold, hunger, or any of the other usual maladies parents dread. Best of all, it stayed up for days!

Toby sets out from our back door!

2. Go snowshoeing! When you stay in a house abutting the wilderness, there’s no long drive, no hassle, and no extra planning: we literally put on our snowshoes at the bottom of our porch and set off into the backyard. Right down the road, we found a mountain meadow of pristine snow, which the kids immediately filled with snow angels. Visitors can rent snowshoes from a local outfitter, or from nearby Sierra-at-Tahoe (for use on their three miles of groomed snowshoe trails).

3. Ski for the day! We timed it: Sierra at Tahoe ski resort is four minutes away by car (probably one minute as the crow flies!). We have so much to say about this truly family-friendly ski resort that it deserves its own article; with the perfect combination of easy to difficult terrain, the affordable prices, and the added touches for kids, this is the perfect ski resort to have in your ‘backyard’.

4. Sled or tube! Sierra at Tahoe features a great tubing hill for young children (and it’s located on the other side of the resort from the busy ski center), and three miles from our vacation home is Adventure Mountain, a groomed sledding and snow playground right on Hwy 50. We also grabbed our sleds and played just feet from the house on the powdery slopes above the meadow!

5. Warm up by the fireside! Grab some hot cocoa, curl up by the beautiful fireplace, and play a board game together as a family (bring your own or borrow one from the selection already here). Or let everyone relax by watching a movie. With TVs and high speed internet (I was glad to be able to work seamlessly while on vacation), ‘down time’ is easy. If you want a treat, try what we call a ‘Mountain Snow Cone’: grab a cup of fresh snow, add maple syrup and a dash of milk, stir, and enjoy!

A note on dining: One of our favorite things about renting a vacation home from HomeAway is the ability to cook and dine at home instead of eat out. We just find it more restful (and affordable) with three kids who are always tired out by the day’s activities. During our stay, we only visited one restaurant (besides the dining venues at Sierra at Tahoe ski resort), and it was excellent. It’s called Freshies, and it’s a local Hawaiian fusion favorite. Don’t let the tucked away strip mall location deter you! (3330 Lake Tahoe Blvd.) If you do decide to eat out regularly, South Tahoe has just about any cuisine you could ask for (approximately 15-20 minutes from the house).

For summer vacationers, note that the trailhead for the Desolation Wilderness area is steps from our vacation home’s door, as well!

If you’re interested in the experience we had, the home we rented can be found here at HomeAway. As stated previously, HomeAway generously hosted us during this portion of our Tahoe Holiday. This compensation came with no expectation of a positive review. Read all our articles in our Home (Away) for the Holidays series!

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Home (Away) for the Holidays: Sierra at Tahoe’s Blizzard Mountain

December 27, 2010 By

Sierra at Tahoe is a wonderful place for families to ski or ride, but sometimes, you just want to take it easy with a day of snow play. Or maybe you have young children who aren’t up for a day on the slopes quite yet. Either way, if your idea of a fun family winter activity is a day in the snow, Sierra’s Blizzard Mountain might be just the thing!

Located conveniently away from the hustle and bustle of the main ski lodge and parking area, families will find Blizzard Mountain in Sierra’s E Lot. With parking directly in front, there’s no trudging through the ice or snow (and kids getting cold before they even get there). At the ticket booth, you’ll find helmet rentals (if desired) in addition to tubing tickets (good for a two hour window). Snow toys such a brick makers and snowball shapers are available free to use, and several play cabins provide shelter from snowfalls (or enemy snowball fire).

Blizzard Mountain recently moved location at Sierra, which meant that not everything was up and running at the time of our visit, such as the rope tow to spare kids from the uphill climb to the top of the tubing runs (the walk was no big deal) and the fire pit (operating when weather permits). There were picnic tables to use, however, and plenty of the white stuff!

The area is fully staffed, and the tubing runs (of which there are two) are fairly mild, making Blizzard Mountain perfect for families with young kids. Toby and his cousin, visiting for the day, especially loved sledding together in the double tube! (For older kids, we recommend nearby Adventure Mountain two miles further on Hwy 50). Sierra’s snowshoe trail also connects at Blizzard Mountain, providing more for families to do in the snow. (Snowshoes can be rented at the main lodge.)

Note: Blizzard Mountain opens weather permitting. Call Guest Services at 530.659.7453 ext. 0 before arrival to ensure hours of operation.

Date last visited: December 22, 2010

Distance from the interstate: Right off Hwy 50.

Ticket prices: $20 per person for two hours. For non-tubing visitors, snow play access is $10 per person.

Directions: From South Lake Tahoe, take Hwy 50 up Echo Summit to Sierra at Tahoe.

Get a sneak peak of Blizzard Mountain with the Pit Stops for Kids’ Kid Cam:

As I disclose with all compensated reviews, Sierra at Tahoe generously hosted us for this portion of our Tahoe Holiday review series. While we greatly appreciate their hospitality, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review. Read all our articles in our Home (Away) for the Holidays series!

Home (Away) for the Holidays: Sierra at Tahoe ski resort

December 24, 2010 By

We’re a family who loves to ski. We’ve visited many ski resorts, including a large sampling of what the Lake Tahoe area has to offer. During our Home (Away) for the Holidays vacation week, our rental home is right at the base of Sierra at Tahoe resort, so we checked it out. In a word:

Wow.

family ski resort

We don’t say that lightly, but Sierra at Tahoe has so much going for it, we were floored. It is, without a doubt, the most family-friendly mid-sized ski resort we’ve ever visited. What makes it so great?

It’s in the details. Sierra at Tahoe is like the host or hostess who thinks of everything to make your stay convenient and enjoyable. If you ski with young kids, you know how the experience can either be great…or terrible. And it can turn in an instant. Long treks from the car to the lodge, long lift lines, difficult terrain, expensive tickets…it can all add up to a miserable time. We know; we’ve been there. But Sierra makes the extra effort to ensure families have an easy time of it. How?

Preferred family parking and drop-off lines. For a small fee, you can enjoy parking right up front…not a lot to pay when you’re lugging not only your own ski gear but likely your toddler’s. And if that’s not in the budget, just use their drop-off zone. Let the kids and one adult unload with all the gear, go park, and meet back up!

Groomed trails and powder...the perfect combination!

Affordable ticket prices. Skiing is an expensive sport, and Sierra is cognisant of this fact. Ticket prices here are lower than the Tahoe average, and deals abound. If you plan to ski more than one day, consider buying their 3 Pak, which saves you over $20 a day for adults and $5 a day for kids. And there are no blackout dates. They’ve also bundled lift tickets with ski or board rentals and lessons for those families who need them with their $35 Learn to Ski or Ride packages.

Extra ticket options perfect for families: Sierra at Tahoe is the only resort we’ve visited to offer Parent Predicament tickets and Fast Pass tickets. How do they work? Parent Predicament: if two parents are visiting with a non-skiing child or baby, this ticket allows you to buy just one ticket to share instead of two (to waste). Just ask for it at the ticket booth, and you’ll be able to ‘tag team’ ski all day long! Fast Pass: Part of Sierra’s Vertical Plus program, families can add Fast Pass privileges to any ticket for $20. We used this feature, and let me tell you, on a busy holiday day or weekend, it’s worth its weight in gold. Instead of waiting in the regular lift lines, we accessed the Vertical Plus line (marked with a yellow banner), and didn’t wait more than one minute all day long. We more than made up for the price of the upgrade in increased ski time! Insider Tip: If you pair this upgrade with a 3 Pak, which saves you $20/day, you essentially come out even!

Professional children’s programs and features. When it came time to hire a children’s ski school staff, Sierra went looking for childcare professionals, not babysitters. Their children’s programs are run by experienced early childhood learning instructors, with an emphasis on both skiing and riding fun and education. We loved that there are several ski school areas across the mountain so that children (and adults) can learn with peers in their own age group. And if your kids aren’t taking lessons, there’s still great features on the mountain for them. Look for Sierra’s Adventure Zones, designated on the trail map by a paw print. Our kids had fun trying to spot the mine shaft, bear cave, and more…all located in various spots on the mountain.

A unique terrain. Sierra’s layout is unique in several respects. Firstly, the mountain is designed in a way that allows families to split up and meet back up easily. Lodges and restaurants are located for easy access, and runs feed into a central ‘bowl’, making it easy to ‘meet at the lodge’. The mountain’s groomers even go so far as to consider beginning skiers and riders when shaping the runs, ensuring less hiking, stopping, and frustration. More importantly to us, easy, intermediate, and advanced terrain are seamlessly intermixed, allowing family members with different ability levels to ski together. Toby (age 6) loved that he could ride the chair to the peak of the mountain with his brothers, and still find a fun, easy way down while they tackled moguls and powder.

sierra-at-tahoe

A great location. Because Sierra at Tahoe is located in Eldorado National Forest, skiers and riders are surrounded by wilderness…not condos and excess parking lots. The only area in Tahoe with an old-growth forest, the powder and tree skiing is awesome. Advanced skiers and riders will love Huckleberry Gates, a section on the far side of the mountain with back-country style access to trees, powder, cornices, and drop-offs. Experts can be highly challenged but still meet up with beginners in the lift line!

Plenty of on-mountain dining. We ate at The Pub and Aspen Cafe during our visit, both of which were delicious. We loved that nearly every on-site restaurant offers affordable kid meals, and that outside food is permitted. No one wants to spend all their vacation money on lunch!

More than just skiing: If you’re not sure whether downhill skiing is for you and your family (or if you just need a break from skiing on an off-day), Sierra also has a full tubing and snow play park and over three miles of snowshoe trails. Tubes are available on-site, and snowshoes can be rented in the ski and board rental center.

snowshoeing-with-kids

Date last visited: March 2016

Website: www.sierraattahoe.com

Distance from the Interstate: Two minutes from US Hwy 50. 15 miles from South Lake Tahoe, and 80 miles from I-5 near Sacramento, CA.

Directions: From South Lake Tahoe, just take Hwy 50 over Echo Summit to the Sierra at Tahoe entrance!

Check out the Pit Stops for Kids’ Kid Cam for a sneak peak of Sierra at Tahoe!

As I disclose with all compensated reviews, Sierra at Tahoe generously hosted us for this portion of our Tahoe Holiday review series. While we greatly appreciate their hospitality, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review. Read all our articles in our Home (Away) for the Holidays series!


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Home (Away) for the Holidays: A Tahoe winter wonderland

December 22, 2010 By

This friendly welcome greeted us at the door of our HomeAway rental.

Only two days into our Tahoe Holiday vacation, and we’re convinced: if you’re looking for a winter family getaway in the South Lake Tahoe area, you can’t do better than to rent a HomeAway property such as this one we’re currently enjoying near Twin Bridges. (It’s easy to rent the perfect vacation home at HomeAway.com!) Nestled in the snow right at the base of Sierra at Tahoe ski resort, this cozy vacation cabin has all the comforts of home in a high Sierra setting.

We arrived for our holiday week vacation amid a December snowstorm. The snow was piled to the upper deck in true Tahoe fashion, but inside, every amenity we could ask for awaited us, including wireless wifi, a full washer and dryer, a complete kitchen including dishwasher, all cutlery, dishware, and pots and pans, two full bathrooms (one with a tub/shower, one with a shower), and sleeping arrangements for up to 10 people.

How the home normally looks in winter…

…and the winter wonderland that awaited us this week!

And best of all for those of us wanting to get away from it all without any additional worry: the home has a generator for when the power goes out (and it has!) and snow removal plans for when the roads fill with that wonderful white stuff (which they have), all thanks to our home’s competent and detail-oriented owner, who works hand -in-hand with HomeAway to ensure every guest’s needs are cared for; everything, from extra linens to tupperware to emergency supplies, were stocked and ready for our arrival.

Who wouldn’t want to spend the holidays curled up with a good book here?

Our property’s efficient and modern kitchen, complete with many cozy touches!

The kids quickly claimed the upstairs loft with three beds, a bathroom, and a folding-bed/couch, and we settled into one of the two downstairs bedrooms with King beds. While I started dinner our first night (one of the many benefits of renting a vacation home is the ability to eat in your own home), the kids got busy on a snow fort and my husband checked out the game on TV (of which there are two).

Toby gets cozy by the fire after a long day of car travel.

The property’s location couldn’t be better: just yards from the entrance to Sierra-at-Tahoe, it’s also right down US-50 from a great snow park with sledding and snowshoeing, Echo Lake with hiking trails in the summer, and only 15 minutes from South Tahoe. We love that we’re only minutes from restaurants, ski resorts, and attractions, but feel completely and totally away from it all.

Outside our back door, fresh powder and woods are at the kids’ command, and down the quiet street, a lovely meadow beckons. We could easily spend our full week exploring and playing right at the property!

Nate pauses for a photo op while sculpting his fort!

Note: Obviously, this is snow country. If you rent a vacation home in this area, be prepared for winter driving, have emergency supplies on-hand, and if your stay coincides with a winter storm, plan to be flexible. Itineraries sometimes have to be adjusted, but that just means more time for hot cocoa! During our visit, snow removal has been slow-going at times, and the extra effort has to be made to shovel and de-ice, but with drifts as high as several feet, it’s to be expected!

Distance from the nearest interstate: Right off Hwy 50.

Weekly rates: $1000-$2500, depending on the season. Consider a spring or fall visit to explore Tahoe without the high price tag!

Dining options: Our home’s owner helpfully provided information on area grocery stores before our arrival, allowing us to shop en route to the house from the Sacramento area. We opted to buy most our groceries ahead of time and prepare meals, but South Tahoe has dozens of excellent restaurants to choose from.

Website: View this rental here.

Directions: From Sacramento, follow US Highway 50 past Echo Summit to Twin Bridges. (85 miles from I-5.)

As I disclose with all compensated reviews, HomeAway hosted us  for the majority of this review. While we greatly appreciate their hospitality, this compensation came with no expectation of a positive review. Read all our articles in our Home (Away) for the Holidays series!

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Home (Away) for the Holidays: Dreaming of a White Christmas

December 6, 2010 By

The winter fun awaits at our HomeAway rental!

As mentioned in past installments of our Home (Away) for the Holidays series, Pit Stops for Kids is excited to team up with #1 vacation home rental company HomeAway to learn just how easy and affordable the vacation rental process can be. To this end, we’ll be spending the week of Christmas enjoying a HomeAway rental near beautiful South Tahoe, CA. According to our rental’s homeowner, we’re in for a very white Christmas!

Family travelers can find HomeAway rentals in nearly every major city and holiday hot-spot the world over, which means you’ll never miss out on all the action your vacation destination provides (although you might miss out on the noise and crowds in a hotel…sorry about that). Within only a 30 minute drive of our Twin Bridges rental in Tahoe, we’re looking forward to trying the following:

Ski and snow play at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort. Only four miles from our vacation home, Sierra-at-Tahoe is a family resort that puts its money where its mouth is…or rather your money where…oh, you get the idea: ticket prices are reasonable, allowing families to actually enjoy a day on the slopes together. Kid-friendly features abound, and their child programs include lessons the whole family can attend together. As a seasoned skiing family ourselves, we love their ‘Parent Predicament Ticket’, which allows two adults to share a pass if they’re ‘tag-teaming it’ with a little one.

Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at Adventure Mountain. Just park and play in the snow! Adventure Mountain is comprised of 40 acres of trails located on Echo Summit on Highway 50, and we can’t wait to use it as a base for some impromptu snow play!

Sierra-at-Tahoe, practically in our rental’s backyard!

Ice skating at Heavenly Village. Nothing quite says ‘winter wonderland’ like ice skating outdoors under twinkling snowflake-shaped lights, so count us in! And when we’re ready to warm up, there’s plenty of boutique shops to browse and eateries to enjoy.

A bird’s-eye view of Emerald Bay. HeliTahoe, based in South Tahoe, offers families the chance to gain a new perspective on Lake Tahoe…from a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter. We think this is a fantastic way to celebrate the breathtaking natural wonders of this area, and an experience families won’t soon forget. (At least, we won’t!)

World-class dining in South Tahoe. To be honest, we’re more interested in the term ‘quick and easy’ than ‘culinary masterpiece’ when we’re dining on vacation with kids (which is reason enough to appreciate the full kitchen in our rental), but Tahoe restaurants boast both. The South Shore is only minutes from our rental, and it’s not truly a vacation if I don’t get to skip doing dishes at least a few nights of the week!

Look for real-parent reviews on the above locations in the coming weeks, and catch up on past Home (Away) for the Holidays installments:

Home (Away) for the Holidays: Introducing an Alternative to Hotels
Home (Away) for the Holidays: The rental process made easy

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park

October 28, 2010 By

There are few places as stunning as the California Redwoods.

The summer tourist crowds have left beautiful Northern California, leaving near-empty (and ever inviting) state parks and recreation areas behind. If you’re looking to take an off-season road trip or family weekend getaway this autumn, consider a stay (or day trip) in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.

We love this state park (located right along Highway 199 and not far from Highway 101 and the coast) for its unsurpassed beauty, spacious campsites hidden away under towering redwoods, fun hiking trails, and proximity to both wooded terrain and the rugged Pacific. Our favorite activity: walking the shores of Smith River and wading in the chilly water!

But this fall, there’s another reason to pack up the car and visit a California State Park: budget cuts have put the state park system at risk. On November 2nd, Californians will have the opportunity to vote on a proposition that will make a significant difference for California State Parks, while at the same time giving Californians greater opportunities to explore California’s natural wonders. Proposition 21 adds an $18 vehicle license fee for all vehicles registered in the state of California. In return, California drivers will receive free unlimited day use admission to the California State Parks. This is huge! Imagine if every state offered such a perk to its residents!

Learn more about Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park here.

One of many ‘tucked away and out of sight’ campsites at Jed Smith!

Date Last Visited: August 2010

Distance off the interstate: Nine miles from Hwy 101 (the CA/OR coast), and approximately 1.5 hours from I-5.

Hours: Open year-round, sunrise to sunset.

Camping: JSR State Park offers camping, and the easiest way to reserve a spot is through their online system at Reserve America. If you want to spend time on the coast as well, consider staying an extra night in a yurt at nearby Harris Beach State Park in Oregon. If you are coming from I-5, your whole family will love adding a night in a tree house at Out ‘N About Treesort in Cave Junction, Oregon!

Website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=413

Directions: Nine miles east of Crescent City on Highway 199. If you’re coming from I-5, take the Redwoods Highway exit at Grants Pass, then follow Hwy 199 to JSR State Park!

 

Travel Tip: Legoland’s Premium Play Pass

September 17, 2010 By

Toby enjoys a Legoland horse ride minus the wait!

If you plan to visit the increasingly popular Legoland California in Carlsbad, CA during their peak summer and holiday periods, you might consider upgrading your admission tickets to Premium Play Passes.

Not widely advertised, this upgrade allows every passholder front of the line access for every ride, all day long and preferred seating for every show. The cavat: you pay dearly for this convenience, and with a limited number of passes available per day, they go fast.

The nitty-gritty: PPPs are $150 per adult and $130 per child (almost double regular admission). They include 1 day admission to Legoland and the CA Sea Life Aquarium and front-of-line privileges. (I do not believe they include water park admission.) Each day, only 100 PPPs are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. To snag a set on a crowded day, plan to arrive at the park at least 45 minutes before opening. (When we experienced Legoland with PPPs, 55 of the 100 had been sold by the time we arrived 1 hour before park opening.)

Where you get them: Pay for regular admission at the main booth to enter the park, then head to Guest Services, where you can upgrade your tickets to PPPs. (You can access Guest Services even before park opening.) PPPs aren’t sold at the admission booths. In fact, when we visited, they weren’t advertised on their pricing board in any way. Even at Guest Services, you need to ask for Premium Play Passes specifically.

The way it works: At Guest Services, each member of your party who upgraded to a PPP will be issued a wristband (when we went, it was yellow). These must be worn all day! At each ride or attraction, go to the exit (similar to how you’d access rides with a disability pass). Show the attendant your wrist bands (they’ll probably spot them immediately) and follow instructions for boarding the ride (in our experience, within 30 seconds to 2 minutes). All day long, you’ll never enter a regular line.

 

Our experience: To be honest, when we decided to try the PPP, I was unsure about how I’d feel about boarding rides in front of people who had waited in line. Sure, it’d be awesome, but would I feel like a jerk? The answer: yes and no. At times during the day (at especially crowded rides with long waits), I did feel a bit uncomfortable (it was weird for our kids, too!). However, the way Legoland has designed the PPP, you never directly ‘cut’ in front of waiting people, for which I was grateful. Because you enter at the exit, most regular guests never know you’re there (or what you’re doing). And the park employees are very good at getting PPP holder on rides quickly (that’s what you paid for, after all) and smoothly. We never encountered an employee who didn’t understand the system, and there was never any ride where the PPP didn’t apply, no matter how long or short the wait time.

And for us, the value of the PPP was measured way beyond the lack of wait time. If you’re the type of theme park guest who gets anxious about getting to the ‘big’ rides early in the day, staying on a schedule so that you avoid major crowds, or try to plan your break and meal times around crowd levels (that’s me!), the PPP will give you a peace of mind that slows your whole day down. Instead of worrying about what ride lines were filling up, we could spend time meandering the Mini-Land exhibits and posing next to lego-fied Darth Vader (all my preschooler wanted to do!). I didn’t rush my kids, took lots of breaks in the middle of the day, and generally felt stress-free…which I’m pretty sure is how a day at Legoland is supposed to feel!

The moral of the story (at least from a travel perspective!): The PPP is a perfect example of a little research going a long way. At Pit Stops for Kids, we always advocate pre-planning, and since the PPP isn’t well advertised, it’s definitely something you can only take advantage of if you know what you’re looking for. Any time you opt for something the general public is not readily made aware of, you’re going to find a crowd-reducing measure. We ended up having a memorable day of fun with our kids because we knew what was available.

Worth the price?: Definitely, if you’re visiting during peak season. The PPP buys not only convenience, but time, a commodity in short supply while theme park touring. If you plan to visit while California schools are in session (and avoid Spring Break weeks, winter breaks, and three-day weekends), the PPP will not be worth the price. But if you go on a weekend in August (which is when we found ourselves there), I’d recommend it, especially considering how large Legoland is becoming.

For more Legoland tips, Pit Stops for Kids recommends the Unauthorized LegoLand Guidebook by Bridget Smith.

We upgraded our park admission to Premium Play Passes at our own expense. Legoland CA did not pay or compensate us for this review in any way.