No offence intended here but...
As a young family who lives here in the Lakes Region, I sorta take exception to your POV, as I feel that it doesn't describe us or any families I can think of.
We have kids ages 7 and 3 years old. They love anything to do with water and the lake. My oldest loves to go fishing and is begging us to buy a boat (we have a canoe - he wants something faster, of course.) Our 3 year old begs to, "go-ta-da-beeeeach!" and even did it today when it was pouring rain! Kids and water just go together.
This summer we didn't vacation but did more things in our general area. We attended concerts at Alton Bay, played mini-golf at Jay's, went to the Balloon Festival in Pittsfield, enjoyed Albee Beach in Wolfeboro - you get the idea.
The kids never complained - we got a couple of "I-wanna-go-to-Story Land" comments from the oldest but we just reminded him that what we were doing that day was "it" and he could come along or go to Nana's house. Funny, he always chose what we were doing....
My sister and her family live here in my same little town. She has three teenagers, one in college and the other two are in high school. They're on, in, and around the lake more than we are. Ditto for their friends.
I think it has to do with how you raise your kids and the values you hold. Hubby and I often say how blessed we are to live in such a great area - it's perfect for raising kids because we have the lake, mountains, beaches, etc. all within an hour or so from us.
It just doesn't get better than this!