10 Ways for Kids to Play at US National Parks

Posted on Friday, September 23, 2011

Here are ten fun-packed national park adventures for kids and families shared by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation:

MAINE

Acadia National Park

Sea-life bingo keeps youngsters excited tallying green sea urchins, orange sea stars, and other curious marine creatures that reside in tide pools that surface at low tide. Watch for harbor seals farther out in the water.

FLORIDA

Biscayne National Park

Families visiting Biscayne between December and April can sign up to attend “Family Fun Fest” – a daylong program held on the second Sunday of those months and focused on activities tied to the park’s diverse resources.

MASSACUSSETTS

Cape Cod National Seashore

Cycling is one of the best ways to get around the Cape thanks to its paved rail trail, which leads through the woods, pass kettle ponds created by retreating glaciers, and to spurs leading to Coast Guard, Marconi and Le Count Hollow beaches.

WYOMING

Grand Teton National Park

Teens looking for a challenge can measure themselves against the Tetons, thanks to climbing schools where world-class guides will teach them the basics and lead them to the summit of 13,770-foot Grand Teton.

COLORADO

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Kids love to get sandy on the tallest sand dunes in North America. Rising to about 650 feet, these dunes in the heart of the park are perfect for skiing, sand-boarding, or just plain old rolling down.

CALIFORNIA

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Budding geologists will be fascinated with Lassen Volcanic, as it can count all four major types of volcanoes -- shield, plug, cinder cone, and composite. There’s even a Volcano Club kids can join to learn more about this volcanic landscape.

KENTUCKY

Mammoth Cave National Park

A Mammoth Cave trip is built around a cave tour with the family, or three! Take the Violet City Lantern Tour to experience the passageways by flickering lamp light as many of its first visitors did, view the incredible flowstones on the Frozen Niagara Tour, or visit the Snowball Room with its ancient autographs inscribed with soot.

WASHINGTON

Olympic National Park

Kids can start the day with a snowball fight (on Hurricane Ridge) and end it soaking in warm springs (like those at Sol Duc Hot Springs).

MICHIGAN

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Winter isn’t the off-season here, as there are trails for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. And if there’s enough snow, kids and adults can even sled down the 100+ ft. Dune Climb.

To learn more about these and other great national park adventures for kids and families, check out the National Park Foundation’s special guide, “Parks for Play: 35 National Park Adventures for Kids of All Ages.” 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 395 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION

You are the owner of 84 million acres of the world’s most treasured memorials, landscapes, ecosystems, and historic sites -- all protected in America’s nearly 400 national parks.  Chartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks.  We work hand in hand with the National Park Service to connect you and all Americans to the parks, and to make sure that they are preserved for the generations who will follow.  Join us at nationalparks.org.

Grand Canyons First Raft Journey

Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Today, the raft journey through the Grand Canyon is one of the West's great white-water thrills. It's hard to imagine just how daunting the trip must have been in 1869, when John Wesley Powell first decided to attempt it. Back then, the canyon was utterly unexplored. It existed on maps only as a blank spot in the southwest. Powell was a geology professor from Illinois who had lost his right arm as an officer during the Civil War. Despite this handicap, he got together nine men, mostly his own friends and relatives, and transported four wooden boats to Green River in Wyoming. Waving goodbye to a few well-wishers by the riverbank, they set off to face 1,000 miles of unknown river. The challenge was extreme. The intrepid group had to learn how to ride the rapids as they went, with their clumsy boats regularly overturning. They subsisted on a diet of dry biscuits for much of the time. Three men became so discouraged they decided to hike out through the desert. They were never heard from again, and are presumed killed by Indians. But Powell and the others would emerge unscathed at the southern end of the Grand Canyon, three months after their trip had begun. Powell became a national celebrity, as famous in the United States as Neil Armstrong would become after walking on the moon – a feat that occurred, coincidentally, exactly a century later.

Best National Parks to Visit in Spring

Posted on Friday, October 22, 2010

The United States is filled with so many beautiful National parks that come to life in the spring. You can enjoy the beauty of the national park along with the beauty of spring wildflowers in these parks:

Arches - Moab, UT - Features over 2,000 natural sandstone arches as well as many other unusual rock formations. Weather has exposed millions of years of geologic history in a landscape of contrasting colors and textures. Desert annuals like grasses and wildflowers are adapted to the arid environment and can be seen here in April and May.

Great Smoky Mountains - Gatlinburg, TN - well known for its mist-shrouded ridges of forest which straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a world-renowned preserve of wildflower diversity including over 1,660 varieties. It is sometimes referred to as the “Wildflower National Park.”

Yellowstone - Yellowstone, WY - Famous for Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, along with the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This park was established in 1872, and is America's first national park. In the spring you may see Wild Strawberries, Glacier Lilies and Bluebells among many other wildflowers.

Yosemite - Yosemite, CA - is best known for its stunning waterfalls and Half Dome. The best time to visit is late May and early June, when mountain snowmelt and waterfalls are at their peak. In Yosemite Valley & Wawona: you will find flowering dogwood and California Poppies beginning in May. More Wildflowers begin in early June such as Sierra Onion, Lupine, MariposaLlily, and Pentstemon.

Zion - Springdale, UT - Includes towering cliffs and small narrow canyons in unique sandstone ranging in color from cream, to pink, to red. They could be described as sand castles crowning desert canyons. With elevations ranging from 3,600 to 8,700 feet, Zion National Park has a diversity of plant communities, supporting more than 900 species of plants. In the early spring, many plants take advantage of the seasonal rains, to flower such as the Desert Marigold or Slickrock Paintbrush.

The Colorado Monument - National Parks Vacations

Posted on Friday, May 28, 2010

In amongst the Grand Canyon, the Bryce Canyon and the Arches National Park sits the Colorado National Monument. Located only 12 miles away from the Grand Junction you will have the ability to experience one of the many great wonders of the world.

The Colorado National Monument is apart of the Colorado Plateau with the sheer walled canyons, unusual rock formations, fossils of dinosaurs, towering monoliths and many remains of prehistoric Indian cultures. The land reflects the history and environment perfectly, especially with the colorful sandstones everywhere you look.

There are many things you can do here, especially hiking and camping. Throughout the summer time there is designated campfire programs and people are able to travel here all year long, 24 hours a day.

John Otto, a man who lived on and off of the monument for almost 30 years helped preserve the Colorado National Monument as much as he could and in 1911 it became official that it was now a national monument. He started camping out at the canyon back in 1906 and after 5 years it finally became a place that would never be touched or harmed.

The Colorado National Monument is something that you should take the time to see if you are traveling through or near Colorado. The beauty surrounding it and the many other great findings in the Colorado Plateau make it a great escape from the real world. Take a hike through the trails or plan a weekend away with the family, there is much to do while experiencing the Colorado National Monument.

Yellowstone National Park 138 Years Later

Posted on Monday, March 01, 2010

March 1st, 1872, was the day that the U.S. Congress made Yellowstone America's 1st national park.  The park covers some 2 million acres, mostly in Wyoming, with parts in Montana and Idaho.  It is one of the crown jewels in a national park system that encompasses nearly 80 million acres, visited by 275 million people each year.

Popular vacations in 2010 include the Yellowstone and Grand Tetons multisport vacation where you enjoy biking, hiking, rafting and kayaking; an 8 driving vacation of America's National Parks; Mt. Rushmore, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone including a float trip in Grand Teton; Wild, Wild West, an 8 day trip including 2 nights in Jackson and Yellowstone; and the family itinerary called Wild West Cowboys and Buffalos.