Regional Snow Parks: Winter’s Best Pit Stops!

December 2, 2010 By

Pit Stops’ kids enjoying winter recreation while on the road!

If you’re traveling by car this holiday season, or have a family vacation road trip planned for this winter, don’t forget that snow parks can offer a cheap, fun, and festive alternative to traditional play spaces or restaurant pit stops. Often free (or requiring only a parking permit available locally), snow parks are almost always located directly off regional highways and usually include such luxuries as groomed snow trails, ready-made sledding hills, warming huts, and bathrooms. Not a bad way to spend that hour or so out of the car on a winter afternoon!

Our family’s favorite snow park is located at Union Creek Oregon, right off Highway 62 en route to Crater Lake National Park. (By the way, if you haven’t seen this natural wonder in winter, what the heck are you waiting for?!) Adjacent to the cozy Union Creek Resort, this full-service snow park offers the best sledding around. A rope tow is operational most days, but you’ll still work up enough of an appetite for a bite at Becky’s, serving up the best pie and hot cocoa around. If you’re crossing from coastal Oregon to central Oregon, be sure to circle this spot on the map! (50 miles from Medford on Hwy 62.)

Will you be traveling across Washington State this holiday? A Pit Stops for Kids reader favorite is Lake Wenatchee State Park, north of Leavenworth on Highway 2. In addition to sledding hills, you’ll find miles of cross-country, snow-shoeing, and even dog sledding trails. And the quaint Bavarian village of Leavenworth is only 25 minutes away!

Need to find a snow park along your winter driving route? The best place to start is with the National Parks Service. Look up state parks by state or region to find parks offering winter recreation. Toss gloves, coats, and a sled or two into the car, and you’re ready to go!

Happy (and safe) winter driving!

The Children’s Museum, Seattle

June 9, 2010 By

Water play at The Children\’s Museum!

305 Harrison Street
Seattle, WA

Visiting Seattle or Vancouver on a family vacation this summer? The Children’s Museum, Seattle is a wonderful pit stop which will keep your children entertained for hours! Located on the same campus as the Space Needle, it’s simple to access off I-5 and can be added easily to a kid-friendly Seattle sight-seeing itinerary.

Eleven (11) exhibits stretch throughout the 22,000 square feet of exhibit space at the museum, ranging from familiar settings like the grocery store to new settings like the Ghana Village. And this is no hands-off experience: children are expected to touch, play and explore their way to every inch of the museum.

From the official website: “In the Fall and Spring of each year, the Museum welcomes a traveling exhibit to Seattle. This fall we will welcome Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog!! This summer our traveling exhibit space have 5 large than life books for children to explore as part of our Go Figure! Exhibit.”

Pit Stops for Kids reader and review Jillian Lang says of The Children’s Museum, “Our toddler had a blast at this great kids stop. We live in BC and have thought about planing a trip back to Seattle just to to this museum again.” (Thank you, Jillian, for sending in your review!)

Extra Tip!: Be sure to pick up a daily schedule when you enter the building; museum employees play games and plan activities all day long, such as scavenger hunts and storytimes! And for babies through 3-year-olds, check out their Discovery Bay section!

In the Ghana village, buy some fruits at the outdoor market or get a new hairdo or head wrap at the hairdresser\’s shop!

Date last visited: Ongoing visits.

Distance off the interstate: Two minutes, tops!

Hours: Monday-Friday: 10am-5pm, Saturday-Sunday: 10am-6pm (new admission sales end at 5pm) The Museum is closed Labor Day Weekend, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

Admission Prices:

$7.50 Adults and Children
$6.50 Grandparents
$6.00 Groups of 10 plus
FREE Children under the age of one

Food Services: There’s a great food court located in the same building (Center House). Or, for restuarants near the Settle Center, check this directory!

Bathrooms: Located on-site.

Website: Seattle Children’s Museum

Phone/Information Line: (206) 441-1768

Tip! Save up to 50% on Seattle’s 5 best attractions with CityPASS. Shop Now!

Directions: The museum is located in the Seattle Center, by the Space Needle. From I-5, take the Mercer St/Seattle Center exit (exit 167). Turn right at the first traffic light onto Fariview, then turn left at the next traffic light onto Broad St. Turn right onto 5th Ave. The Seattle Center will be on your left hand side. Parking: you can park at the 5th Ave Garage on the corner of 5th and Harrison or the Mercer Street Garage on Mercer between 3rd Ave N and 4th Ave N. After parking, walk into the center of the campus to the Center House. The museum is on the first floor.

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Columbia Park

April 7, 2009 By

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 Highway 240, W. Columbia Drive
Kennewick, WA

Columbia Park is located in Washington’s Tri-Cities, just off Highway 395 (from I-84 from Portland, OR or I-90 form Spokane). It’s a great place to stop to stretch legs and have a quick picnic. Situated along the Columbia River, the park is over five miles long, but the section you want is at the west end where a large fort-style climbing structure awaits.

The park is free, and there are half a dozen fast food restaurants nearby if you need to grab something to go. Dig swimsuits out of the car, because a great splash park, with fountains, squirt nozzles, and cascading buckets of water is adjacent to the play structure. Picnic tables under shade canopies are available, but fill up fast in the summer. The park is year round, although the splash park shuts off for the winter months.

The only downside: Unless you’re route is taking you northwest on 240, you do have to go several miles out of your way in that direction to get back onto 395 East or West to resume your trip.

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