billu77

We are a family of four (10 and 6 yr old kids) based in Houston. We are looking for suggestions for a small (3-4 days) vacation within US in November (Nov 17-21) . We dont want to do beach places, so Florida is out. We are thinking between Colorado/ Los Angeles/ Grand Canyon-Sedona. ( any other location suggestions within US also welcome) We would prefer places to hike, national parks, mountains etx with not so cold weather/ no snow. Somewhere we can spend 3 days with not too hectic itinerary. Thanks for your suggestions. 🙏

J62

For national parks, this would be my preferred November location.
https://www.nps.gov/viis/index.htm

Grand Canyon will be cold & winter, and isn't really a good location for family hiking.

Sedona could be ok. It'd still be cold at night, but not as cold as GC.
Zion is lovely that time of year.
I've been to Yosemite late November and it's beautiful and quiet, but (severe) winter weather is always a risk.
Big Bend (TX) is an option - I've never been there.

clarkcoan8700

Sedona will have good weather in the daytime and it's the self-proclaimed Day Hike Capital of America. It will be off-season so lodging might be discounted. It's two hours from the Grand Canyon and 1.5 hours from Prescott which is a really cool town with a lovely plaza. Just west of Prescott is the national forest with large Ponderosa trees lining trails.

billu77

thanks. So are there enough things to do in Sedona to just stay there for 3 days in November and not go to Grand Canyon. I believe the weather in Sedona in November wont be too cold. Thanks for your suggestions. 🙏

J62

Between hiking (countless short (1-2mile) or medium length (3-5mile) hikes), a PinkJeep tour (there might be a miniumum age, nightime dark sky viewing (be sure to get an app for your phone such as SkyView Lite (free), day spas, yoga classes, etc... there is plenty to do in Sedona for 3 days. Some resorts might have heated outdoor or indoor pools/slides - I don't know exact properties. Sedona also has a lot of timeshare properties (check AirBnB or VRBO) if you want a 2br condo with kitchen.

The chamber of commerce has some excellent info about hiking trails appropriate for any ability or age, and they can also sell you a 1 week Red Rocks parks parking pass (needed for many trailheads). You can also find many trails on Alltrails.com website. I have a premium subscrition which lets me download trail maps to my phone. That is handy for when you may be out of cell phone service area. There a lot of trails that intersect so it can get confusing at times to stay on the right trail.