Great Falls around 2. Acadia at 5. When she’s in 4th grade, we plan to get her that free Every Kid in a Park pass and do a bunch of trips to parks out West.

Anonymous wrote:and at what age?

Itching to take my boys (4 and 2) out west to see some great national parks.

We did Crater Lake around that age. Great Falls and Shenandoah were frequent visits. As they aged, we did Acadia (2x), Olympic Peninsula, Rocky Mountain and a bunch of other smaller ones. Last year as empty nesters we did Glacier- do Glacier with your kids it is fantastic.

Anonymous wrote:Probably Great Falls.

Same here, before their 1st birthday.

Anonymous wrote:No brainer in DC. Shenandoah

+1 We took DC1 camping at Mathew's arm at 2.5 years. DC2 was 3 months when we first took her camping there.

We took our oldest to the Grand Canyon at about 3 months old. We were passing through, and wanted to see it, so of course we took him with us. We've been back twice since then so it wasn't a one and done thing.

As a toddler he also visited Saguaro, Petrified Forest, Chiricahua, and Joshua Tree.

National parks are great and so much fun! Why not take little ones to see it? There are SO many to see in the states that you might as well start when they are toddlers if you want to hit the big ones all before they are off to college. I probably wouldn't do the Grand Canyon with a toddler who is a runner (far too anxious for that!) but there are so many different options for parks to see.

Local parks from when they were babies, but our first big NP trip was Acadia when they were 2 and 4.

I don't get waiting or thinking the kids are too young for a park. Even as babies my kids loved being outside. Picnics and light hiking were an ideal vacation. Of course they won't remember the details, but so what? Do it if YOU will enjoy it and remember it fondly ... And all of you will get used to it and figure out what works, so by the time the kids are old enough to have solid memories, a NP trip will be easy.

^^ We'll leave late Saturday morning

We started taking the kids hiking and camping locally when the youngest was 3. We didn't want a long car ride and camping with small kids is like herding cats. They keep wanting to wander away from the campsite. For the hikes, the three year old could be carried in a backpack carrier.
Now that she's 5, it's a bit easier. The kids can hike up to an hour with a break and I can trust them to explore by themselves around the campsite. But we still don't do long trips. We'll leave late Saturday afternoon, have lunch on the way, set up the tent and do an hour hike. If there's a swimming hole, they like to splash around for another hour. Then it's make dinner, s'mores and bed.

Acadia at 3 and 6
Yellowstone at 5 and 8.

Both absolutely fantastic trips

Shenandoah at 1. Bryce and Zion at 3. Rockies at 2 and 5. All great trips. A good carrier for wearing a toddler and adjusted expectations is needed. We didn't get to hike the narrows, for example. But we got to be out in nature and enjoy fresh air and beauty. When they got bored, we found playgrounds, but the playgrounds were surrounded by mountains, so we still enjoyed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Waiting until 6?? YMMV but that’s not our experience. Beyond the obvious local parks (Great Falls, Shenandoah), we’ve done:

Rocky Mtn NP: 2 and 6 (2 YO in backpack carrier)
Joshua Tree: 3 and 6
Acadia: 3 and 7
Everglades: 3 and 6.5
Glacier: 4.5 and 8
Smokies: 5 and 8.5
Death Valley: 5 and 8.5

Every NP will have hikes for all ages and abilities!! You don’t have to go on death marches.

Great list! Would love to hear more about Death Valley with kids. Did you go in the winter?

DVNP is amazing. Yes we went in the winter. Really cool scenery, and if your kids are into Star Wars, they filmed the Tatooine scenes there. Lots of variation and mountains are gorgeous.

Beyond local...Sequoia and Acadia when toddlers.

I took my three children to the Grand Canyon when my youngest was 5. Dh took the two older children on the mule ride down the canyon, while I worked with the youngest on getting her Junior Ranger badge. She was just the right age to enjoy doing the different activities, and was so proud to get her badge. It was a great experience for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:Waiting until 6?? YMMV but that’s not our experience. Beyond the obvious local parks (Great Falls, Shenandoah), we’ve done:

Rocky Mtn NP: 2 and 6 (2 YO in backpack carrier)
Joshua Tree: 3 and 6
Acadia: 3 and 7
Everglades: 3 and 6.5
Glacier: 4.5 and 8
Smokies: 5 and 8.5
Death Valley: 5 and 8.5

Every NP will have hikes for all ages and abilities!! You don’t have to go on death marches.

Great list! Would love to hear more about Death Valley with kids. Did you go in the winter?