Ramping up its already significant commitment to helping kids and families get outdoors, AMC in 2011 is reducing kids' rates and offering new amenities at its destinations in Maine and New Hampshire.

Beginning January 1, lodging rates for children and teens drop up to 25 percent from 2010 rates. A reduced child rate covers kids ages 3 to 12, and a new "youth" rate for ages 13 to 17 saves 15 percent off adult rates.

Guests will find extra value, as well, given that meal service is included in the lodging rate, and extended-stay rates have been further reduced by 10 to 20 percent.

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Find more family-friendly opportunities with AMC by visiting www.outdoors.org and clicking on the "Get Outdoors" pull-down menu.

"We recognize that cost is a major factor in many families' vacation decisions, and we wanted to help ease one of the challenges that can sometimes keep families from enjoying the outdoors together," says Paul Cunha, AMC vice president for outdoor program centers. "We're hopeful that this change will help kids and families enjoy lasting outdoor experiences together, amid the hospitality, camaraderie, and spectacular scenery that have become staples at AMC lodges and huts."

All AMC lodges and huts offer activities and amenities for guests of all ages, with the Highland Center at Crawford Notch gearing up to become a showcase venue for family activities. New this summer is the Highland Center's Kids' Club, which provides a staff-led activity before dinner, a kids-only dinnertime with a kid-friendly menu, and an activity after mealtime, allowing kids to burn off any extra energy not expended during the day's explorations, and giving adults the opportunity to linger over dinner.

A new, key recreational option for kids is a new "big mountain" outdoor playscape set to be in place this summer. Designed by landscape architects Halvorson Design Partnership of Boston, the reimagined playground provides an enticement for youngsters to spend time outside. Kids can climb a trail, crawl through a rock tunnel, jump stumps, and exercise their imaginations along with their muscles.

Other family-friendly amenities and programs at AMC destinations include AMC Junior Naturalist activity books; the popular Discovery Room, equipped with fun, nature-based activities, at the Joe Dodge Lodge; self-guided nature walks at AMC's eight White Mountains huts; wading and water play at Cardigan Lodge; and Family Adventure Camps at AMC's Maine Wilderness Lodges and New Hampshire frontcountry lodges. Naturalist-led walks and talks for families are also an integral part of a stay at the Joe Dodge Lodge during weekends and school vacations, and daily at the Highland Center.

"We've all heard the stories about how kids spend so little time outdoors nowadays," says Cunha. "We've created these new features in an effort to inspire the next generation of outdoor stewards, while making it easier for families to spend time together outdoors."