Here are two beautiful bed and breakfast’s that are perfect for families – as long as parents are willing to keep their eye on their offspring. I’ve always believed that part of the charm of a family vacation is to spend time with your family – not send your children off to hotel sponsored children’s program or plunk them in front of the television. If you feel the same way, these two stops are the perfect destination.

Hawaii’s Halaekilohana B & B

A view from Kalekilohana's front porch

Hawaii itself is a family friendly destination, and the Kalaekilohana Bed & Breakfast outside of remote Na’alehu, on the Big Island is a perfect example. Kind, welcoming, friendly hosts will feel more like friends than inn keepers by the time you leave, and the accommodations are stellar. We loved the massive outdoor lanai, or porch, perfect for conversation, a cool beverage, and star gazing. With a porch swing to rock the kids to sleep, first let the kids run out onto the vast, groomed lawn and watch the moon rise. Inside, the rooms are large, many with french doors and private lanais. Several family suites feature three queen size or king and queen beds each in a separate nook of the room. Smooth eucalyptus wood floors smell heavenly. This plantation style lemon yellow b & b offers craft classes such a lei making and basket weaving for older children and the entire family. There’s a true sense of the culture of the islands and a connection to it, and that warmth will be felt and welcome by kids of all ages, and their parents. Kalaekilohana is one of the only Hawaiian owned bed and breakfasts in the state of Hawaii.

The bed and breakfast itself – a welcoming Hawaiian plantation

Hawaiian music will play on the stereo while you breakfast on house made treats from pancakes to scones, local K’au coffee for adults, fresh squeezed juices, and island grown fruits like mango, papaya, and strawberries fill the table.

With a washer and dryer available for guests to use, you won’t have to worry about your family getting dusty on a pleasant hour-long hike to near by Green Sands beach. Centrally located between major Big Island attractions like Volcanoes National Park to the East and pristine snorkeling spots like Pu`uhonua `O Honaunau National Historic Park to the west, sightseeing as well as relaxing make this our number one favorite b & b.

For more information on this charming and family friendly B&B visit their website at: http://www.kau-hawaii.com or call (808) 939-8052.

Julian, California – The Observer’s Inn

Crisp winter days outside the Observer's Inn in Juilan - a little sledding with the star gazing

Well, maybe it’s a tie for number one, with our other favorite in Southern California -  The Observer’s Inn, a small B&B in a spotless guest house that shares this Julian, California property with a private observatory built and operated by astronomer Michael Leigh and his wife Caroline. We love that families can rent the entire guest house – two bedrooms, two baths, and a living room, all with star gazing art, books, and video.

The planetarium Michael built offers a private star-gazing tour through the clear night air, first with the aid of a laser pointer and then with the assistance of four observatory class telescopes. Stools are offered for the kids to get a solid view of Saturn’s rings, Orion, the Pleiades, the craters of the moon – whatever planets are “in season,” you’ll see them sparkling, no matter how many light years away. You and your children will learn about the star clusters and galaxies under your gaze; the smallest children will enjoy just looking at the sparkling stars, and settling back on the comfortable couches in the observatory with a staff-provided cookie as a treat.

A Julian Sunset - just wait til the stars come out

If the wonder of this special outlook into the universe wasn’t enough, in the morning, breakfast is served right in the guest house at an ample dining room table, along with friendly conversation by your hosts. With a strong emphasis on fresh baked local pastries and lovely fruit and teas, after the family-style repast, you can stroll the relaxing grounds, or head into the quaint town of Julian to take a horse and carriage ride. Not far away is the famous Palomar Observatory, open for tours and a look at a telescope even more impressive than those at the Observer’s Inn.

For more information on this charming and family friendly B&B visit their website at: http://www.observersinn.com or call (760)765-0088.

Two Grand Runner-ups

One runner up favorite bed and breakfasts in our family include the charming lighthouse keeper’s home on the windswept Oregon Coast, Heceta Head Lighthouse, where family board games and a fire place keep you company, and guests can share a kitchen for evening dining, or stroll a pleasant, gently  winding path to the lighthouse itself. Nearby: enormous sand dunes in the small town of Florence are made for coasting, rolling, climbing, and picture taking. For more info on the Heceta Head Lighthouse B&B visit their website at: http://hecetalighthouse.com/bed-breakfast

Another favorite B&B is the sparkling Trinidad Inn in northern California, whose peaceful luxury belies the rugged coast on which it is perched. Below the inn, tide pools beckon. Nearby, mighty redwoods tower.

Once you get started on bed and breakfast stays, you’ll want to discover your own special place  – away from the corporate owned and impersonal accommodations you may have thought were your family’s due.

Related Articles:

Apple Picking, Star Gazing and Pie Grazing in Southern California

Family Fun on the Oregon Coast

More Family Fun in Southern Oregon

Death Valley National Park is about five hours drive from Los Angeles, three from Las Vegas, and eight from San Francisco. If you’re planning a trip to LA or Vegas and it’s not on your itinerary, it should be, especially with children in tow. Don’t be afraid of the park’s high temperature reputation, which is really only relevant in the summer. We’ve even been there on the 4th of July, and that’s quite doable too, but I’ll save that experience for another article.

For now, let’s start with the basics. Because Death Valley is in such an isolated desert portion of the state, your accommodation choices are somewhat limited. Just outside the park on the south eastern side, just over the Nevada line, you’ll find the reasonably priced Longstreet Inn and Casino. With a swimming pool, a diner-style restaurant, and an RV park along with it’s clean, large, basic rooms, it’s a fine choice for park exploration. Many rooms have beautiful views of the Funeral Mountains of Amargosa Valley which border the park. Outside the northern end of the park, you’ll find the small town of Beatty, Nevada. A variety of basic motels are located here, the Exchange Club has the largest rooms; the Stagecoach has a restaurant. Best of all though, is staying in the park itself, at the Furnace Creek Resort. You have a choice of the ranch, with cabins or nicely appointed motel-style rooms; or the elegant, historic vibe of the Furnace Creek Inn.

At the sixty-six room inn, you’ll find a beautiful pool with fantastic mountain views, an outdoor fireplace – yes, the nights do get chilly except in mid-summer – and a restaurant with excellent food. Regardless of where you stay inside or outside the park, try and make it to the restaurant’s Sunday brunch. This huge and elegant feast of breakfast and lunch items is reasonably priced for kids, and the dining room looks out at the beautiful desert scenery. You won’t find a better meal in the desert, and it fueled our family for an entire day of exploring. Children under three are free. The dining room and the inn itself are closed in the summer.

The water looks appealing but it's "Badwater," the lowest point in the contiguous US, in Death Valley National Park.

Open year round, the ranch has four restaurants, all more casual than the Inn’s dining option. It also has shops, a Borax Museum, a large swimming pool fed by an underground spring, tennis courts, horseback riding,  carriage and hay rides. There’s a well kept children’s playground with swings and slide. You can easily enjoy the views and stay centered right around the ranch and experience the beauty of the Valley. The pool is enormous and warm, and delightfully unchlorinated. We’ve always found it difficult to tear ourselves away from its soothing mineral water.

But when you do, a good place to start exploring is nearby,  indoors at the ranch’s  Borax Museum. The kids will love the authentic regional exhibits including mining equipment, a stage coach and  locomotive. You’ll learn about the mining history of Borax and its multiple uses in common household products, which is fun. Outside there’s a steam tractor and wagons perfect for climbing.

If your kids are over five, you can rent horses at the Furnace Creek Ranch Stables and take a gentle lope around the ranch grounds.

In the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center, also on site, you’ll find a small museum with models of Death Valley that explain its geology as well as providing information on the Native Americans who once lived in the region and the various plants and animals that reside in the desert. A child-friendly touch table allows you to touch date palm fronds, fossils, a coyote skull, sheep and coyote pelts.

When you’re ready to venture out of the oasis, head below sea level, two hundred and eighty two feet below to be exact. Here you’ll find Badwater – aptly named for the undrinkable water that shimmers on the vast salt flats. It was named by a prospector whose horse sensibly didn’t consume the salty water. You can walk across the salt flat very easily and seeing the vast flat white expanse of salt crystals is truly beautiful, and kids of all ages will be fascinated. Point out the big white dot on the cliffs just east of the visitor’s parking area that indicates sea level.

Hop back in the car and take a short drive back toward Furnace Creek and Artist’s Drive. The road is unpaved, but passenger cars can take the short dirt loop road easily, we’ve done it many times. Cutting through a canyon in the Black Mountains, Artist’s Palette is so named for the various and brightly colored rocks. The multi-colored palette is caused by the oxidation of different metals – red, pink and yellow from iron, the green mica and copper, and the purple is caused by manganese.

Another beautiful view in Death Valley National Park - near Zabriskie Point.

After completing in the loop, drive back toward Furnace Creek and east to Zabriskie Point. This stunning look out offers you a view of golden sandstone and chocolate brown hills – our kids said they looked like melting candy – all the way down to Badwater. While it’s a very brief walk from the parking lot to the view point, it’s uphill, be prepared to carry your little ones. It’s paved and stroller accessible. This is an especially beautiful spot late in the day, when the lowering sun colors the hills in even more vivid shades.

I’ll lead you west and north through the park in my next article, but for now, return to your accommodations for the night and be sure to step outside and look at the stars – there’s no light pollution in Death Valley, and this is a great spot to point out some night sky basics to your children.

Death Valley Articles in this Series:

Death Valley, CA – Desert Explorations

More Desert Explorations – Death Valley National Park

Death Valley – Rhyolite Ruins, Charcoal Kilns and Mosaic Canyon