Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) can seem overwhelming when planning a vacation there. At 415 square miles and 355 miles of trails it’s hard to know where to begin. Our 4 day Rocky Mountain National Park itinerary for families gives you the ultimate trip to this iconic park. The National Park Service’s Social Science Program collects recreational visitation statistics for more than 400 national parks a year and, according to their data RMNP was the 4th most visited park in 2020 with 3.3 million visitors. Because of the extreme popularity of the park the entrance road to RMNP has been…
3 Day Itinerary: Redwood National Park with Kids
If you’re planning a family trip to Redwoods National Park this summer we’ve got your must-sees for the southern portion of this epic park. I would recommend a minimum of 3 days to fully experience this incredibly diverse park where you will experience everything from ancient forests to fun in the sun on the beach. Redwood National and State Parks are home to the world’s tallest trees, which is why it was at the top of our Bucket List! However, upon arrival, we were shocked by how much more there was to do and see. The wildlife opportunities at this…
Badlands National Park with Kids
While making our way across the vast state of South Dakota we stopped for four nights just outside of Badlands National Park. This otherworldly, breathtaking park is home to some incredible hikes, stunning views, and an insane amount of wildlife. The two incredible hikes we completed while there were the iconic Notch Trail and Saddle Pass along with the two epic day trips we took to the nearby Black Hills made this a most excellent stop on our two month long journey in our camper. Saddle Pass Bobby worked remotely for the majority of our journey and as we were…
Hiking Death Valley National Park with Kids
From Joshua Tree we made our way north to Death Valley National Park where we knew it would be warmer and we were hoping to find an epic campsite. We happily found a site in the upper Texas Springs campground. While the lower campground has more screening between sites it was full when we arrived. Most all of the campgrounds at Death Valley are non-reservable so arriving early is key if you have a specific site or campground in mind. We arrived at about 1pm and there were plenty of sites left, but by nightfall people were having to go elsewhere. Thankfully, there…
Top Seven Hikes Utah with Kids
Spring break is coming, who’s planning a warm weather getaway?!? For the past two years Utah has been our destination for our hiking vacation spot. Why do we keep returning to Utah? The simple answer is that it’s beautiful with endless opportunities for outdoor recreation. It also happens to be incredibly kid friendly which is a must for us! Utah is home to a plethora of stunningly beautiful National and State Parks. Neighboring states like Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Colorado make Utah an ultimate U.S. road trip destination with plenty to do and see along the way and in the surrounding…
Hiking Ireland With Kids
Ireland is a beautiful place to visit and bring children to with seemingly endless opportunities for exploration. We incorporate hiking adventures wherever we go in the world and Ireland has a lot of hiking to offer. Be Prepared for the Conditions Ireland also presents a unique challenge with hiking due to the completely unpredictable weather patterns the island is notorious for, the say if you’re unhappy with the weather in Ireland just wait five minutes and it will change. During our two week visit we definitely found that sentiment to be true. The boggy nature of the island also means that…
Hiking Glacier National Park with Toddlers
This past summer we had the opportunity to spend two weeks exploring in and around Glacier National Park. This National Park experiences extremely high visitor usage during the summer and is the tenth most visited National Park in the country. In 2017 alone the park had 3.31 million visitors. What is truly shocking about that number of visitors is the fact that in 2008, just 9 years previously, the park recorded only 1.81 million visitors. Due to the high number of visitors; finding kid-friendly hikes that aren’t ridiculously over crowded is definitely a challenge. In the end we found 5…
Canyonlands National Park – Island in the Sky
Canyonlands National Park is massively large with 527 square miles of park to explore, divided into 4 distinct districts: The Needles, Island in the Sky, The Maze, and the rivers (the Green River and Colorado River converge within the park). This massive park has no road that connects the entire park together which means visitors generally chose to visit either the north or the south end. We could’ve spent a week exploring this remarkable park but, we only had two days to discover what this scenic place had to offer. Our first day was spent in the Island in the…
Hiking Arches National Park with Kids
Arches National Park may be my new favorite National Park! The geological formations are truly out of this world. The sheer number of sights to see and hikes to do is staggering. We spent two weeks in Moab, Utah, exploring this amazing area with our 3.5 year old son, Jack, and 15 month old daughter, Rowan. When all was said and done we spent 4 days hiking around Arches National Park. Our top three hikes in the park are varied in difficulty and length. Each one presents a unique view of this special park. We got to have many of…
A Walk On Lake Minnetonka
It’s easy to get depressed during the long cold months we endure here in Minnesota. One of the many ways we try and keep spirits up, and cabin fever in check, is planning activities that can only be done in the winter time. These season specific activities help us to look forward to all 4 seasons with equal anticipation of a new, exciting adventure as a family. Last winter we made it a goal to visit frozen waterfalls, this year we decided to take on a different type of ice adventure. Hiking on an ice covered lake is something I haven’t…