Summer’s Sweetest All-Inclusive Family Resorts

For parents with one eye on their kids and the other on their wallets, all-inclusive resorts are the ultimate antidote to the nickel and diming that’s become so prevalent in the hotel industry. By paying one price for your accommodations, meals, and a raft of activities, you can have fun with no worries that your bill will careen off the tracks like a runaway train.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to travel to Mexico or the Caribbean to find a terrific all-inclusive resort. Here are eight fabulous and family-friendly picks where you can go all in this summer without leaving the continental USA.

Tyler Place Family Resort: Highgate Springs, VT

This 165-acre, family-run Vermont resort on the shores of Lake Champlain was among the first to pioneer all-inclusive pricing in the early 1930s and has been winning fans and creating awesome summer family vacation memories for three generations. Its children’s program is, hands down, the best we’ve ever encountered, with nine age-staggered groups from babies through teens. Other highlights include a gorgeous lakeside setting, slew of family activities, delectable farm-to-table meals, and just the right amount of adults-only time. (Pre-dinner cocktail hour? Champagne cruises? Yes, please.) Top it all off with a charming summer-camp vibe, and voilà—you’ve got the gold standard in family vacations. The resort’s remarkable 90 percent return rate is proof that the Tylers are still getting it right after all these years. Good to know: Early- and late-season rates can be up to half of what you’ll pay in the peak of summer.

(MORE: Traveling to Vermont this summer? Start planning here.)

Club Med Sandpiper Bay: Port St. Lucie, FL

The world’s most famous all-inclusive brand has just a single property on U.S. soil. Still fresh from the $28-million makeover it received in 2011, Club Med’s property on Florida’s Treasure Coast has a full-service nursery and a standout kids’ program that comprises a tennis academy as well as–holy flying trapeze!—a circus school. Water babies will love kayaking, sailing, and stand-up paddleboarding on the St. Lucie River. Good to know: Fear not the published rates. Sales of up to 45 percent pop up so frequently that you needn’t ever pay full price.

Vista Verde Guest Ranch: Steamboat Springs, CO

Dude and guest ranches almost always offer all-inclusive pricing, and this one in Steamboat Springs is one of the most luxurious and family-friendly around. Rates include lodging in private cabins or lodge rooms, all meals and beverages, and a generous roster of activities that includes horseback riding, biking, fly-fishing, rock climbing, river rafting, kayaking, and just-for-fun rodeos in the evening. There’s even a free shuttle service to and from Steamboat Springs. Good to know: Kids need to be 6 or older for horseback riding and some other key experiences.

UCSB Family Vacation Center: Santa Barbara, CA