Taking the Kids: Making the most out of a national park visit
All the more reason to consider less visited parks, especially with younger kids who won't be able to handle a park's most epic hikes and experiences. For example, North Cascades National Park, which has more than 300 glaciers, gets just over 30,000 visitors a year. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison has some of the steepest cliffs and oldest rock in North America, but gets just over 300,000 visitors a year. And if you are intrigued by Yellowstone's thermal features, consider Lassen Volcanic National Park in California with acres of bubbling mud pots and other hydrothermal sites, but with less than 600,000 visitors a year -- as compared to Yellowstone's 3.6 million.
During the upcoming National Parks Week, consider a day trip to a park or historic site near your home when all sorts of special activities will be offered. (The National Park Service calendar of events can give you a rundown of what's happening and you can get free National Park Foundation park guides with ideas on how to make the most of your visit with kids, whatever your interests.
As always, encourage the kids to help plan the itinerary and lead the way, chatting with rangers at the visitor centers (where they can pick up their Junior Ranger booklets) about special family activities, the best hikes for kids and good places to picnic. (Let the kids help stock the cooler and make sure everyone has what's needed in their day packs from rain gear and extra layers to water bottles, snacks, first aid kits and battery boosters for cellphones. Encourage the kids to explore at their eye level by stashing magnifying glasses in their packs, but remind them they can't take anything as a souvenir. A pocket-sized guide to flora and fauna, animals and birds can help enhance the experience. Are you ready to play I Spy?
At Mesa Verde that sunny morning, we stooped in stone rooms at an elevation of 7,000 feet where families a lot shorter than we are flourished so many centuries ago. Balcony House is one of the best-preserved sites in the park and offers a spectacular view down into Soda Canyon. The families that lived here would have used hand and toeholds notched into the cliff and through the 12-foot tunnel. "Be glad you have grocery stores," the ranger tells the kids. (You must join a ranger-guided tour at $5 per person; get tickets in advance.)
My 7-year-old cousin pronounced the cliff dwellings as much fun as the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast he'd enjoyed that morning at the campground.
I'll take that. Happy exploring!
========
(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.)
(c) 2018 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
