A Year in Review: The Best Wheelchair Accessible Destinations for Families
Our accessible travel award winners seem to be getting more and more impressive. Each year, we find new accessible destinations that blow us away a little more than the last year’s accessible finds.
In trying to make up for last year, this may have been our busiest year, yet. We’ve slowed down now that all three are in public school for the first time, but we had plenty of new accessible experiences before then. I’m excited to share what we loved most from our 2024 travels. Any of these would be perfect for planning your 2025 accessible trip!
Best Accessible Beach
Grand Haven, Michigan
As the queen of accessible beaches, with my master map of accessible beaches along the east coast (west coast coming soon!), I thought I knew how to do the beach as a family with a wheelchair. I knew nothing.
Grand Haven is a lake beach, just outside of Grand Rapids, but our experience was unequivocal. This wheelchair-friendly destination loans out track chairs, in two hour increments, for unlimited beach accessibility. This was the first time my eight year old was able to navigate the beach completely independently. No more rolling him to the water’s edge and parking him for the day. He took his very first beach stroll beside me. This is the way I want to do the beach from now on. Please.
Of course they also had accessible restrooms, accessible parking spaces just in front of the building with said restrooms, and a mobi mat down to just before the water. There’s also a nice paved pier and a downtown area filled with accessible dining and shopping options – on a paved pedestrian-only street.
Plan an accessible trip to Grand Haven, Michigan.
Best Accessible Outdoor Destination
Adirondacks, New York
The Adirondacks are not new to my accessibility awards. This fall marked our third trip to the accessible Adirondacks – and we rarely make return trips anywhere. What keeps us coming back is the limitless access to the great outdoors – they continue to rank as one of the best accessible destinations.
This year we camped in a wheelchair accessible lean to in John Dillon park, fully immersing ourselves in the accessible outdoor experience. We made use of the accessible trails, fishing docks, picnicking, and our semi-private accessible restroom. We didn’t make it on to an accessible boat this time, because we were too busy sampling all of the joys of the Adirondacks at the Adirondack Experience and the Wild Center.
There are diverse hiking options for wheelchair users and we always enjoy exploring Saranac Lake’s “downtown.”
Plan an accessible trip to the Adirondacks.
Best Accessible Hotel
Amway Grand Plaza
It was promising from the start when we saw a wheelchair accessible slow-down button for the rotating doors, adjacent to the standard automatic sliding doors. When you scan your key card at your room door, the door opens automatically, making it easy to roll in. There’s an automatic door button on the inside making it just as easy to exit as it is to enter. This is only the second time we’ve ever encountered automatic interior doors.
As one of the best accessible hotels we’ve stayed in, the Amway Grand Plaza impressed us with its wide bathroom doors, roll-under sinks, and perfectly placed grab bars. The roll in shower had the perfect set up for us, with the chair and moveable handle on the same end of the shower. Low bed height made for easy transfers.
The chair lift at the pool rotated to reach the hot tub. Valet parking is only $4 more than using the garage across the street, but if you do opt for the parking garage there’s a skywalk so you don’t have to worry about crossing traffic.
Plan your trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Honorable mention goes to Radisson Blu in Bloomington, Minnesota and Hilton McClean Tyson’s Corner in Fairfax, Virginia. Both gave us exceptionally seamless experiences where my 8 year old wheelchair user was able to navigate independently and take care of his own bathroom needs.
Best Accessible Theme Park
Kings Island
Routinely ranked as one of the best amusement parks in the world. Kings Island in Warren County, Ohio is the only place we’ve ridden a rollercoaster specially adapted for wheelchair users. The back car of Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers opens up to allow for a smooth wheelchair transfer directly to the coaster seat.
When you arrive, stop at Guest Services (by the entrance on the right hand side) to go over your needs and get the appropriate disability pass. You’ll enter each ride through the exit, and you’ll be given a return time for your next ride based on the current ride’s wait time. There are no rides that don’t require a transfer, but attendants are helpful and can bring any ride to a complete stop to give you the time you need.
There’s a water chair available at the Soak City, and zero entry pools, splash areas, and wave pool – making it a great place for inclusive water play!
Plan an accessible family trip to Warren County, Ohio.
Best Accessible Water Park
Great Wolf Lodge, Mason, Ohio
Bonus points for being an indoor waterpark! This was our second visit to a Great Wolf Lodge and it won’t be our last. Great Wolf Lodge is consistently one of the best accessible water parks. They provide a water-friendly wheelchair for manual wheelchair users, ensuring complete independence and accessible fun. In addition to pool lifts at every pool and hot tub, the water-friendly wheelchair got him in and out of the wave pool and multiple children’s splash areas. With the exception of the water slides, he was able to do everything on his own. There’s nothing quite like the ability to just be a kid for the day – his biggest concern being over which pool to take on, first.
Plan a wheelchair friendly trip to Great Wolf Lodge.
Best Accessible National Park
Yellowstone National Park
We have done a lot of national parks; but, when it comes to wheelchair accessibility and family friendliness, Yellowstone National Park is our new favorite. Shenandoah, Glacier, and many of the other national parks we’ve been to are incredible for driving through, but they don’t offer a ton of wheelchair accessible options. We’ve always found at least one wheelchair accessible trail, and some parks like Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Zion, and Banff offer special driving passes for views that would otherwise be impossible to reach.
We knew from the start that Yellowstone would be next-level accessible when we asked for an accessibility guide and they passed us a book. The book splits the park up by sections with maps showing accessible trails, restrooms, parking, and other facilities in each area. They even have a beach wheelchair to borrow for waterfront areas!
Thanks to the abundance of steaming hot ground, many sites have had board walk trails since before ADA existed.
Old Faithful doesn’t disappoint as one of the most wheelchair-accessible destinations in the U.S., offering easy viewing of each geyser eruption thanks to its smooth, elevated boardwalk. Most pull offs and vistas have short, paved trails for easy access. Wildlife is everywhere, and can be viewed from the safety of your vehicle.
Plan a wheelchair accessible trip to Yellowstone National Park.
Best Accessible Destination Overall
Fairfax, Virginia
We started our time in Fairfax, Virginia at the National Museum of the United States Army, which gave the entire destination an easy head start. The accessible design team behind planning the museum has forever changed what “inclusion” looks like. Touch screen exhibits have controllers available for seated control; braille maps, sensitivity maps, sensory aides, and closed caption readers are available for free use; and staff have been trained on interacting with guests with disabilities. There are the usual sensory friendly hours offered, but there’s also the unusual automatic restroom door.
As much as I’m obsessed with the level of inclusion at the National Museum of the United States Army, it’s not the only reason Fairfax wins the accessible destination award. Fairfax, Virginia, tops the list of best accessible destinations with wheelchair-friendly attractions like Great Falls Park, NOVA Wild’s drive-through safari, the barrier-free National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, and one of the most accessible hotels we encountered this year.
Plan your visit to the best accessible destination: Fairfax, Virginia.
Best Progressive Accessible Destination
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse stands out for two reasons. First of all, they specifically asked us to come out so that we could review their wheelchair-friendly attractions and offer feedback. That’s a rare humility and openness to change. Second, when we arrived we discovered that they were already doing a phenomenal job in all areas, showcasing a commitment to accessibility.
Our hotel was staffed by two of the most helpful women I’ve ever met, both also open to learning how to serve us better.
The Museum of Science and Technology offers three floors of hands-on educational fun built around a slow rising ramp so that the main flow of traffic is fully accessible. You’re in the center of the action at all times. Not only was it one of the most barrier-free museum experiences we’ve had, but rumor has it they’re even looking into adult-size changing tables.
Onondaga Lake Park has a massive all abilities playground, in addition to all of the accessible trails and nature play.
Webster Pond is a wheelchair accessible bird sanctuary right in the city, run by a wheelchair user.
Plan your wheelchair friendly family trip to Syracuse.
Unique Accessible Finds
Lincoln Cavern
When I learned that we could tour a part of Raystown Lake region’s Lincoln Cavern with a wheelchair, I assumed it would be a large entry room, and that would be it. Lincoln Caverns is a hidden gem among the best accessible destinations, offering a wheelchair-friendly tour that takes you deep into the heart of the cave for a truly unique experience. I was blown away by all we were able to see.
Plan your wheelchair accessible vacation to Raystown Lake Region.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
Crater of Diamonds State Park is one of the only places in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source. This is a bucket list worthy destination. While the massive diamond field in this Arkansas park is filled with deep ruts that are hard for wheelchair users to navigate, they have a perfect wet-sifting station for sitting in the shade and looking for diamonds! This was a great family activity because one brother could bring buckets of dirt while the other sifted through.
Plan your accessible holiday to Arkansas state parks.
Fort Snelling State Park
These track chairs that help you take on any type of trail are popping up more and more, but this one in Bloomington, Minnesota can take you across an island to see where the Mississippi River meets the Minnesota River.