Our vacations tend to be family affairs, so I'm always looking for new places that will accommodate our very active kids--daughter Taylor, 13, and sons Chris, 18, and Tommy, 19--as well as me and my husband, Tom. Normally we travel outside the country for a longer vacation, but this past summer, between sports schedules and other commitments, we only had time to squeeze in an eight-day trip in July--and something out West seemed perfect.

At first we looked at a few dude ranches, but that whole concept seemed a little too prescribed for us--lots of horseback riding, but most of the other activities were geared toward younger kids. That's when I asked Darcy at Hideaways Travel Services what she would recommend, and she came up with Snake River Lodge & Spa^THC in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The resort has a great central location and is an easy drive to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, two of our major reasons for visiting the area. And they had the perfect accommodation for us, a two-bedroom, two-bath condo with a loft for the boys, plus a living room, washer/dryer, and fully outfitted kitchen where we could fix up snacks or reheat leftovers from our dinners out. The boys especially loved the blender for whipping up their protein drinks. I, on the other hand, loved the bathroom's heated-tile flooring.