Head to one of our top family destinations

Summer 2008 beckons with all the enduring excitement of a family vacation at the beach, a theme park or national park. To help find the premier trip for your family, TripHelp has logged in all the newest attractions to bring you three top 10 lists -- the best national parks, theme parks and beach resort areas.

But that’s just the beginning. When our travel experts factored in the appeal of vacation spots that share a number of our best beaches, theme parks and national parks, we discovered a cutting-edge list of the latest, greatest family destinations whose time has truly come. Some appeal because the crowds have just left. Others are tempting just before the hordes are expected to arrive. Here’s our do-it-now rundown of America’s premier, multifaceted places to soak up the fun of spring and summer ‘08.

HAVE A MUSICAL BLAST
The Grand Strand’s classic mix of arcades, attractions, beach music, shag-dancing and Calabash-style seafood is all the more enjoyable from this family-friendly northern end of the beach in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.  It’s a classic -- and it only gets better with the opening this spring of Hard Rock Park, the nation's newest, mega-theme park with coasters, dark rides and musical shows in tribute to the world's top rock legends.

ENDURING ORLANDO
Of course there are the Disney World attractions, but nearby parks are among the world’s best. Cumulatively, Orlando can’t be beat. Orlando's top thrill park, Universal's Islands of Adventure, debuts "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" in 2009. This is the summer to beat those crowds. Animal Kingdom holds the top spot among Disney World's parks, thanks to the Expedition Everest roller coaster and Finding Nemo musical show. SeaWorld's Kraken is one of the world's top roller coasters. And with Homer and the rest of the Simpsons, Universal Studios is another great way to spend a day.

BEST OF THE WEST
The founding member of the national parks movement worldwide, Yellowstone is 2.2 million acres of fascinating geysers, hot springs, bison and bald eagles. And there are resort-area options, and another park, Grand Teton, all in the same awesome area. Head down a trail and you'll leave 95 percent of the park's visitors behind.

NEW ENGLAND COAST
The Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts and Acadia National Park in Maine -- separately or together, from sand to rocks, ice cream to lobster, it’s a classic vacation. Patti Page was singing about a quintessential family-friendly beach town like Truro, Mass., in her 1957 hit "Old Cape Cod." From this best beach community on the Lower Cape, a vacationer's destination for decades, motor the coast north to Acadia, the jewel of Down East Maine. There are rugged beaches for tide-pooling, thick forests with carriage paths for family biking and hiking, and quaint village dining spots with great seafood.

CLASSIC FAMILY FUN
Disneyland, in Anaheim, Calif., may be Walt's original theme park but it continues to improve while setting the standard for the entire Disney empire.

HEART-THUMPING HEARTLAND
Combine Cedar Point, the world’s roller coaster capital in Sandusky, Ohio, with Cleveland’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and you get a vacation that also boasts beautiful lakeshore beaches and urban attractions in one package. A new Peanuts-themed kids’ play land debuts at Cedar Point in 2008. Here’s a Heartland vacation with a lot of heart.

FUN OF HISTORICAL PROPORTIONS
Pick the peninsula between Virginia’s York and James rivers and you get more excitement, education and entertainment than you can imagine. Everybody came last year for Jamestown’s 400^th anniversary -- now it’s all yours. There’s also Williamsburg, Yorktown (where the British army was defeated to win the revolution) and one of the nation’s great theme parks, Busch Gardens Europe . With the dollar in the tank, this may be the best way to visit “Europe.” Oh, and close by, there are Virginia plantations and Civil War battlefields near Richmond and even Virginia Beach.

BEAT CLIMATE CHANGE
Now’s the time for grandiose Glacier National Park in Montana. Beat the crowds that may visit when it marks its centennial in 2010. And its rivers of ice are ours to see right now … at least for a while. It’s also a great way to add the adventure of cross-country train travel to your vacation.

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN ETRAVAGANZA
The Blue Ridge Parkway, in North Carolina and Virginia, is America’s Appalachian Trail for cars. Easy family hikes start from almost every overlook -- and a raft of park-adjacent resort areas offer every imaginable outdoor and indoor family activity between Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks. And there’s a great theme park at the end, Dollywood, in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

THE CREATIVE, CIVILIZED BEACH VACATION
Carlsbad, Calif., is a primo spot for families with smaller kids who want to slide to the more upscale end of the spectrum. There not only are nice beaches, a splendid setting, resorts and spas, but it’s home to heaven on earth for elementary kids, Legoland.