Plan Your Next Family Road Trip Across America Around These 49 Attractions

If your little one wants to be an astronaut when they grow up, this is the perfect place to stop while you're in Alabama. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center holds a three-day space camp program for families to have an out-of-this-world experience!

There is so much to do at the Grand Canyon with kids — hiking, camping, and yelling at the top of your lungs to hear your echo, to name a few! — but one of the most fun things for your little one could be becoming a park ranger. Children ages 4 to 14 can participate in the various ranger programs until they get their badges.

Kids can explore, learn, and play at the Little Rock Zoo through a number of activities, tours, and events. Feed penguins and alligators or go on a 45-minute guided tour to learn about your child's favorite animal.

Go for an afternoon drive with your family literally right through the California Redwoods at the Drive-Thru Tree Park. Drive your car directly under the Chandelier Tree, and take a photo of this unique experience that your kids will be talking about for years.

Visit the "world's largest sandbox" at the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, and witness some of the most beautiful scenery. Kids can climb the drifts and even try sandboarding or sand sledding!

Bring your little ones to see a real-life road race at the Dover International Speedway, then let them go wild in Monster FunZone, where they can find rides, bounce houses, rock walls, and even a giant monster!

At the National Air and Space Museum in DC, kids can explore a number of air travel exhibitions and learn about space research and milestones.

Experience a real (OK, not real) shuttle launch and some astronaut training at the Kennedy Space Center, and stand right next to the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which is set up the way only moonwalkers would see her.

Visit the Fountain of Rings at the Centennial Olympic Park to frolic through the water and witness a number of organized shows for free!

Take a scenic float on a raft through the Boise River in Idaho. Families can share a safe, fun, and sun-filled experience in the beautiful capital city.

A real treat, the Field Museum in Chicago houses award-winning exhibitions from dinosaurs to mummies, as well as family programs like Dino Camp!

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is home to a number of amazing exhibits for kids of all ages. Visit the playscape, gawk at an amazing blown-glass masterpiece, experience China, marvel at nature and science, and more!

Take a walk — or in the kids' cases, a run — through one of the most beautiful botanical gardens. Kids can take a gardening class or take part in Story Sprouts, where they can "explore the natural world through stories, songs, puppets, games, crafts, and more."

Visit a real family-farm environment at Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead where your kiddos can see nearly 200 animals, walk through flower and vegetable gardens, take a pony ride, and more.

To awe your little one, take him to see the "World's Largest Bat" — a 120-foot, 68,000-pound steel replica of Babe Ruth's bat — at the Slugger Museum in Louisville, KY. Pint-size baseball fans can use the batting cages, climb all over a giant glove sculpture, and walk through the grand-slam gallery.

You could bring your kid to Mardi Gras like Sandra Bullock, or in the off-season, you could visit this attraction that allows you to see floats from Mardi Gras, as well as parade floats from all over the world.

Get views of Portland's busy harbor at this national landmark. It's the only remaining maritime signal tower, and it's a way to make history fun!

Take your kids to the aquarium and bring them to the exhibit where they can actually touch the animals. No rules at this tank!

At the New England Aquarium, you can explore the secret world of penguins, visit the Amazon rainforest, touch a stingray, and even watch whales!

Visit the rooftop art park, where kids can participate in an outdoor art gallery, crawl into fun in the "Habitot," and discover a part of Minnesota up close with the Earth World exhibit — all at the Minnesota Children's Museum.

A unique museum for children, the Children's Peace Pavilion is aimed to "teach the concepts of peace through creative, fun, child-centered learning activities" and empower them to make peaceful decisions.

At Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, your kiddos can take zoo "Ed-Venture" classes, take a backstage tour of the exhibits, and feed live animals.

New Hampshire is full of pick-your-own farms where you and your family can pick anything in season from strawberries, cherries, blueberries, and peaches to pumpkins and Christmas trees.

Blending into New Jersey's natural backdrop is a trail of life-size dinosaurs, a thrilling and educational scene. Kids can take workshops, play games, and participate in activities to learn all about the dinosaurs, then go on an expedition through the field to see each and every one of them.

The ABQ BioPark is your family's one-stop shop for everything animals. Visit the zoo and see the gorillas, stop by to see the jellyfish swim at the aquarium, take a beautiful stroll through the botanical gardens, and go hiking, boating, or fishing at the beach.

It's no surprise that there are tons of things to do in New York for families, but the Children's Museum of the Arts is a perfect place in the busy city to let your kids be kids with hands-on art programs.

Take a train ride, then visit one of the four large exhibits that the North Carolina Transportation Museum has to offer. Kids can get a glimpse into a real locomotive repair shop and learn about the history of the railroad.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a great way to get your kids out in the open air on some awesome terrain in honor of one of America's presidents.

Even in the dead of Winter, your kids can enjoy the wonders of a water park at the Great Wolf Lodge Indoor Water Park. Kept at 84 degrees, this indoor park is the perfect place to bring your kiddos any time of year.

At this adorable family farm, kids can take a train ride through the fields, play barnyard games, play with and feed the animals, and even milk Bessie the cow!

Children of any age can learn about the mysteries of the ocean at this aquarium, which is internationally known for its educational programs and amazing exhibits.

"Don't touch that," are three words that your child won't hear at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, PA. The museum targets children 7 and younger but is awesome for kids of all ages to engage in "purposeful play."

Experience WaterFire, a unique urban experience that creatively transforms Providence, RI, with torch-lit vessels and over 80 bonfires.

Get the experience of a day at the amusement park with a flair of Southern hospitality at the "Thrill Capital of the Southeast," the Carowinds. There are thrill rides, family rides, a waterpark, and even live entertainment — basically, there's something for everyone!

At this National Park, your kids can — wait for it — walk the moon! The natural stone formations at Badlands National Park create an effect that is compared to the terrain on the moon, and its unique formations hold fossilized mammal remains — all in all, this park is the coolest for outdoor explorers.

This aquarium in Tennessee contains a number of unique programs like penguin painting and splashing around with stingrays. Perhaps the coolest program, the aquarium sleepover allows your kids to sleep under the watchful eyes of sharks and have pajama parties with penguins.

At this amazing children's museum, kids can invent, play, discover, build, learn, and explore. At the How Does It Work? exhibit, they can learn about electricity and the speed of sound, or at the Eco Station, they can get educated about environmental issues.

Thanksgiving Point is full of stuff to do for families, from a movie theater and golf course to gardens and farms. There are two museums on the property, as well as places to eat and shop, making it a truly versatile space for all types of family fun.

Let your kids get a new perspective with ArborTrek Canopy Adventures, where they can fly across on a zip line over the trees and cross bridges in the sky.

View Seattle from 605 feet above the city in the Seattle Space Needle. You can eat dinner at 500 feet or go straight up to the observation deck (a 41-second ride) and view the Emerald City from above in all of its glory.

Let kids feel the power of discovery underground with a cave tour of the Seneca caverns, as well as gem mining for minerals and gems within the dirt, mud, and rocks of the caverns.

Whether your little one is a football fan or not, Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, is an exciting tour experience for the whole family. Learn about the stadium's history, visit the Packers' hall of fame, and don't forget — when in Wisconsin, you have to wear your cheesehead!

Check out the world's largest collection of geysers — including Old Faithful — and have your kids participate in the Youth Scientist Program at America's first national park, Yellowstone!