FAMILY RESOURCES 101

• Campgrounds. You can book campsites in national parks and some state parks at Reserve America, www.reserveamerica.com, where you'll also find ideas for family adventures. For private campgrounds, with campsites and cottages, check Kampgrounds of America at www.koa.com.

• Children's' Museums. Find more than 200 children's museums in the United States and many more overseas at the Association of Children's Museums, www.childrensmuseums.org.

• City Travel. A parent-produced site, GoCityKids (www.GoCityKids.com) lists child-related activities in 13 U.S. cities, with more to come. Comprehensive info includes events calendars, shows, shopping, kid-friendly hotels and playgrounds. Best of all, you can narrow your search by age.

• Disney Plus. Disney produces the content at www.family.com/travel, but this site also includes non-Disney vacation ideas, plus travel tips. For first-timers planning a Disney trip, the tips at MouseSavers.com (www.mousesavers.com) can help make the process less daunting, and less brutal to the wallet..

• Dude Ranches. The Dude Ranch Association links with hundreds of choices at www.duderanch.org.

• General Help. Find age-appropriate destinations and handy lists of special events and festivals at Family Travel Files, www.thefamilytravelfiles.com. Site also reviews age-appropriate destinations.

• National Parks. Alphabetical lists of national parks, with links to each park and photographs, are found at the National Park Service site, www.nps.gov. You can also search by geographical area or topic, such as boating, dinosaurs, Civil War.

• Outdoor Recreation. A tremendous resource courtesy of the U.S. government, www.recreation.gov offers maps, info about trails and historic sites, national seashores, wildlife areas, scenic byways and more . . . Looking for a bike tour? At www.backroads.com, you can find a tour that allows you to trailer the toddler, while beginning cyclists participate with a one-wheeled bike that hooks to yours. Site also includes hiking, boating and a multitude of sports . . . Snow is the sole focus of www.kidznsnow.com, run by the private Kidz n' Fun, which offers ideas and destinations for sledding, skiing, snowshoeing and all other manner of snow activities . . . If warm water is more your thing, turn to Snuba International's www.snuba.com for info about snuba diving -- a kid-friendly scuba experience that uses diving gear but keeps the diver tethered to a boat . . . Nature in its many forms is the purvey of the Sierra Club. Check out their family trips, including some for grandparents and grandkids, at www.sierraclub.org/outings.

• Single Parents. Weekend packages and one-week tours for single parents traveling with kids are the specialty of Single Parent Tours, www.singleparenttours.com.

• Travel Agents. The American Society of Travel Agents not only vets its members but allows you to search for an agent by specialty, including family travel, at www.astanet.com.

Online Newsletters

• Family Travel Network, www.familytravelnetwork.com. Inexpensive vacation deals, tips and links to family-friendly travel agents. Free.

• Family Travel Forum, www.familytravelforum.com. Subscription-based newsletter, produced by a group of independent business professionals with family travel experience, with tips, links to other family sites and lists of family-friendly travel agents. $38 annually.

• Family Travel Times, www.familytraveltimes.com. Subscription-based newsletter free of advertising, with a focus on vacations that appeal to adults as well as kids. $39 annually, $49 for two years.

-- Catherine Baker