Cycling vacation with the family - where should we go?

[Crankin]

There is really only one longer trail on the Cape and I wouldn't recommend it in the summer. A friend of mine who has a second home there just witnessed a kid getting crashed into by a witless rider who was speeding. Riding on the Cape in the summer kind of sucks. Really, any beach areas. You have drivers from out of town who don't know where they are going and riders who are really unsafe; no helmets, riding on sidewalks or against traffic, blatant disregard for traffic signals. And that's not counting riding in flip flops and carry a six pack of beer. Yes, I saw that on Block Island.
I second Arcadia National Park. Miles of carriage roads and also good road riding. Lots of other outdoorsy activities. We took a vacation there when our kids were12 and 14 and it was great.

[featuretile]

I just came back from Maine. Took the Bike Friday's to Bar Harbor - Acadia National Park. There is a great loop one way road in the park. We rode around the 'quiet side of the island' - the part near Bar Harbor has too many cars, and we rode on the carriage trails. The carriage trails are 16'wide gravel roads made at the turn of the 19th century for rich people to ride carriages. There are 67 miles of road. I was concerned that the road surface would not be ok since I do not have a mountain bike, but it was fine. It's packed dirt with fine gravel and no ruts. It's like hiking on a bike to lakes and over stone bridges - lovely. So, we just went a little slower than on a paved road. The down side of that area is that lodging is quite expensive.

[TrekTheKaty]

Katy Rail Trail is Missouri is a blast. Much of the trail is rural, but you can stay in St. Louis, Jeff City or Sedalia if you want to be in town. Check out bikekatytrail.com.

It's too hot here right now, but fall is peak season

[itsalldownhill]

Thanks for the suggestions, folks! I'll keep you posted when we pick something!