{"id":7701,"date":"2016-03-31T08:02:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T15:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=7701"},"modified":"2020-04-24T15:44:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T22:44:09","slug":"10-u-s-national-park-hikes-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/10-u-s-national-park-hikes-for-kids","title":{"rendered":"10 U.S. National Park Hikes for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Memories of my first time peering into the Grand Canyon are fuzzy. I was barely 4 years old, but the photo I still have of my mom and me on the rim with that limitless, otherworldly background and her genuinely amazed grin may just be the root of what turned into a pretty adventurous life. I\u2019ve looked at it often, so happy my parents made that happen, which was no small effort coming from small town Ohio.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been back to the Grand many times since and have hiked to the bottom from each rim. As for other national parks, I\u2019ve climbed the 10 highest peaks in the Teton range, summited Denali, guided on Mount Rainier, quietly watched bison and bears in Yellowstone, hiked Acadia\u2019s Cadillac Mountain at sunrise, marveled at the soft light of dawn across the Smokies, camped in a sea of sand at Great Sand Dunes, and adventured during every month of the year in Rocky Mountain National Park near my home. All that and more started with one simple walk along the South Rim<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the power of a national park<\/a> experience.<\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019m a parent to my own 4-year-old boy, it\u2019s my number one goal to pass along my love of wild spaces. But I\u2019m not going to drag him up Longs Peak just yet. Here are some of the best national parks for kids and the most fun, educational, amazing, family-friendly hikes within them\u2014the stuff I\u2019ll have on my itinerary. Click the links for detailed directions and maps.<\/p>\n

Yellowstone National Park \u2013\u00a0Geyser Basin Trail<\/a><\/h4>\n

The world\u2019s first national park will be every bit as mind-blowing to your young hiker as it was to the park\u2019s earliest explorers, such as legendary mountain man Jim Bridger. Geysers! Grizzlies! Boiling mud! Bison! And that\u2019s just what you can see from your car. Venture onto the Geyser Basin Trail, and you\u2019ll see a veritable greatest-hits list of more than a half-dozen geysers and hot pools on a flat 2.1-mile (one-way) path. \u201cCheck the schedule for Old Faithful, Castle, and Grand geysers before your hike,\u201d says guidebook author Tom Carter. \u201cThe geysers and wildlife just captivate families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yosemite National Park \u2013\u00a0Glacier Point<\/a><\/h4>\n

Introduce your kids to the views that helped inspire the birth of the national park system on this all-ages, half-mile loop to Glacier Point. President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill in 1864 creating the Yosemite Grant, the first American land preserved for public recreation. It set a precedent for the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, and Yosemite was eventually ceded to the National Park Service upon its creation in 1916. From Glacier Point, you\u2019ll see the sweeping, much-celebrated view of Yosemite Valley, including iconic Half Dome and Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, which are fun for your kids to spot. Imagine naturalist John Muir standing in that very spot. Pro tip from Backpacker<\/em> magazine editor-in-chief Dennis Lewon, \u201cIf you want to add some mileage, take the shuttle to Glacier Point and hike the 4.2 miles back to Yosemite Valley on the Four Mile Trail, entirely downhill. My boys loved it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Zion National Park\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Narrows<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cAn all-time favorite, hands down,\u201d says Salt Lake City-based professional photographer Andrew Burr. \u201cMy two girls have had the time of their lives walking in the water, staring up those sheer walls.\u201d The Narrows, if you hike it \u201cbottom-up,\u201d is primo for kids. There is no formal destination\u2014the hike itself is the main attraction, and you just turn around whenever you feel like it. You\u2019ll start on a riverside path that eventually dumps you right into the Virgin\u00a0River. Stomp through the ankle-to-knee-deep waters and marvel at the canyon\u2019s surprisingly lush vegetation and waterfalls. We parents spend so much time trying to keep our kids from getting messy that splashing and playing in the river is a welcome respite for all parties. (Be sure to check on water conditions, including flash flood warnings, at the visitor center before entering the Narrows.)<\/p>\n

Crater Lake National Park\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Cleetwood Cove Trail<\/a><\/h4>\n

Walk just a little over a mile (downhill!) and you\u2019ll reach the banks of one of the clearest, deepest, and most pristine bodies of water in America. Yes, this means you hike back uphill (gaining 750 feet) to return to your car, but the sweeping switchbacks are gently graded. Plus, the fairy tale-like scenery\u2014an island in a lake inside a volcano\u2019s crater?!\u2014eases the journey for kids. Says Bend, Oregon-based writer and adventurer Nancy Prichard-Bouchard: \u201cYou have educational opportunities about the geology, the adrenaline of exposure and the hike back out, and during the summer months you can grab a boat ride to Wizard Island. It\u2019s really fun to be smack in the center of the crater. It\u2019s a winning recipe for a family adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olympic National Park\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Lover\u2019s Lane Loop<\/a><\/h4>\n

The 6-mile Lover\u2019s Lane Loop along the Sol Duc River will also make you feel like a kid again. \u201cThis was a favorite of mine as a girl, and now as a parent,\u201d says Prichard-Buchard. \u201cYou\u2019ll see a gushing falls, towering Sitka spruce and old growth Douglas firs, likely some Roosevelt elk, and have an opportunity to take a dip in a hot pool after the hike. It\u2019s truly fun and awe-inspiring, a good balance to keep kids interested for its entirety.\u201d The trail is generally crowd-free and sometimes shared by banana slugs, a kid favorite.<\/p>\n

Devils Tower National Monument \u2013\u00a0Tower Trail<\/a><\/h4>\n

As far as adjectives go, \u201cshort\u201d and \u201cpaved\u201d don\u2019t see a lot of play in best-of hiking lists, but these two words pique a preschool-aged hiker\u2019s interest, trust us. Heck, they\u2019ve only been doing this walking thing for a couple years! This 1.2-mile loop is a great first hike for a toddler, and it delivers a lot of wows, something we all look for. \u201cYou might see climbers, or at least a herd of white-tailed deer. There are plenty of rocks to scramble around on as the trail crosses through giant boulder fields, and the views of the Wyoming hills are gorgeous,\u201d says Prichard-Bouchard.<\/p>\n

Acadia National Park \u2013\u00a0Ocean Path<\/a><\/h4>\n

\u201cA leisurely stroll along a craggy coast,\u201d says Kobe Biederman, director of the Sargent Outdoor Center in Hancock, New Hampshire. \u201cI take my son and daughter there to search for creatures in the tide pools near the trail\u2019s end.\u201d The 2.1-mile (one-way) trail starts near a popular rock climbing area and near the halfway point passes legendary Thunder Hole, a cave just below the water\u2019s surface which makes a deep vibrating roar and shoots water into the air when a wave hits it just right. Wanna explore higher up? Do the short Summit Loop atop Mount Cadillac, the highest point in the park. The views are epic, and if you hike it at sunrise, you\u2019ll be among the first in the country to see the sun\u2019s rays that day.<\/p>\n

Great Smoky Mountains National Park\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Andrews Bald<\/a><\/h4>\n

This short stroll has a couple of steep sections, but the promise of reaching the highest \u201cbald,\u201d or grassy hilltop, in the park will keep your crew motivated. It\u2019s a perfect spot for a picnic, so plan ahead and pack a spread. Flame azaleas and Catawba rhododendron come into bloom late June to early July. Bonus: The trailhead is near Clingmans Dome, the highest point not only in the national park but in the entire state of Tennessee. You can hit two significant highpoints in one day!<\/p>\n

Great Sand Dunes National Park \u2013\u00a0Sand Dunes Loop<\/a><\/h4>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a painting you can walk into,\u201d says Colorado hiker and mom Tracy Ross. This easy 3.6-mile loop starts and ends at the visitor center (or Pi\u00f1on Flats campground if you happen to be staying there\u2014reservations required) and gives you a chance to see America\u2019s tallest sand dunes from afar, with the nearby snow-capped Sangre de Cristo range as a backdrop. The highlight will surely be splashing in Medano Creek and taking a side-hike up into the dunes. Target May and June for the creek\u2019s highest flows and pack an inflatable tube to run the little rapids (but keep in mind that weekends during this time are extremely crowded). For fun in the dunes, rent a sand board or sand sled (yes, that\u2019s a thing) in nearby Alamosa, Colorado.<\/p>\n

Hawai\u2019i Volcanoes National Park \u2013\u00a0Kilauea Iki Crater Loop<\/a><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s not hyperbole to say that this 3.3-mile loop hike can teach older kids how the Hawaiian Islands\u2014and much of the world\u2014formed. Hiking through a lush rain forest into the crater of an old volcano, and seeing steam vents on the way, will fire up the entire family\u2019s curiosity. This is one park where stopping by the visitor center first is must\u2014the videos and displays will parlay knowledge even you didn\u2019t know. There\u2019s nothing cooler than learning something new and making memories together.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Memories of my first time peering into the Grand Canyon are fuzzy. I was barely 4 years old, but the photo I still have of my mom and me on the rim with that limitless, otherworldly background and her genuinely amazed grin may just be the root of what turned into a pretty adventurous life. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387],"tags":[156,8,576,113],"internal-tag":[546,1673,575,495],"class_list":["post-7701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","tag-family","tag-hike","tag-hiking-project","tag-national-park","internal-tag-adventure-project","internal-tag-pre-redirect-hike","internal-tag-shannon-davis","internal-tag-united-states"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/10-u-s-national-park-hikes-for-kids","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"10 U.S. National Park Hikes for Kids","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/10-u-s-national-park-hikes-for-kids","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/10-u-s-national-park-hikes-for-kids"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/03\/965A0062.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/03\/965A0062.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["family","hike","hiking project","national parks"],"dateCreated":"2016-03-31T15:02:16Z","datePublished":"2016-03-31T15:02:16Z","dateModified":"2020-04-24T22:44:09Z"},"rendered":"