National Parking with Kids

Planning a 2 1/2 week National Parks Trip with the family can be overwhelming. Here’s what we did with our 9 and 10 year old kids:

SEDONA, ARIZONA

Fly to Phoenix, Arizona and rent a car. From there, drive 3 hours to spiritual Sedona.

We stayed for 2 nights at the Enchantment Resort. https://www.enchantmentresort.com

This was our most expensive and most indulgent stay with a view of the red rocks. We enjoyed an amazing 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite with a fire place. Orange juice and newspapers were delivered to our door every morning. 

We hiked to the energy vortexes and lit a candle at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, an architectural wonder. I even got a spiritual reading that gave me chills. 

Grand Canyon South Rim

From Sedona, we drove 2 hours to the Grand Canyon.  On the way we stopped at Bearizona https://bearizona.com , an awesome drive through zoo. We took some pictures on Route 66 in Williams, Arizona and had some great beers and BBQ at the Historic Brewing Company https://www.historicbrewingcompany.com . 

We stayed for 2 nights at the Thunderbird Lodge in the Grand Canyon. It is pretty dated, but you can’t beat the location. We took in the sunrise view from the Yavapai Geology Museum, and sunset at Mather Point and Hopi Point. We took the Bright Angel trail 1 1/2 mile trek down the canyon to the first stop and then hiked back up. This took us about 2-3 hours. The Grand Canyon does not have many great options for food or lodging and 2 nights was enough, but the canyon itself is a must see.

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

From the Grand Canyon, we drove 6 hours to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, stopping to take a picture on the 4 Corners (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona).  

We climbed Wilson’s Arch on the way into Arches. We rented a house in Moab, which was a nice break from hotel rooms to do laundry and have some space. Stop at the visitor center upon arrival for info and suggestions. We saw Balanced Rock (.3 mile round trip), Double Arch, Turret Arch, and the Windows (1.2 mile loop to hit all three). 

We ended up staying a few extra days to hang in cool Moab. We stumbled upon the Moab Spring Ranch http://www.moabspringsranch.com , which was a hidden gem and perfect sized bungalow for our family of 4. 

One of the most adventurous excursions we did was a 2 hour XTREME 4 x 4 tour through Hell’s Gate, the Escalator, and the Hot Tubs. This was a favorite for the kids! https://www.xtreme4x4tours.com

The Love Muffin Cafe, Milt’s Stop and Eat for grass fed burgers and shakes, and the Blu Pig BBQ served some of our favorite food of the trip. 

Bryce Canyon 

From Moab, we drove 4 hours to Bryce Canyon where I experienced my favorite hike of all time, the Queens Garden hike into the hoodoos, to Navajo Loop, up the Wall Street stairs. The hike is about 3 miles roundtrip.

Zion National Park

From Bryce, we drove 2 hours to Zion National Park. The entrance to Zion is a marvel in itself as you drive through a 1 mile tunnel carved through the mountain. We stayed at the Desert Pearl Inn  https://www.desertpearl.com/en/homepage in Springdale, the little town closest to Zion with shops and restaurants. The riverside room had a nice backyard for the kids to play.

Parking is very limited in Zion, but shuttle buses are provided. We did the easy Emerald Pool hike where we saw deer and walked under a waterfall, but our favorite hike was the Riverside walk to the narrows at the Temple of Sinawava. We waved to those braving the cold to walk the narrows from dry land.  Zion was a little too crowded when we were there to be our favorite park, but it is a beautiful sanctuary between the canyon walls. 

We stayed an extra few nights in Zion at the Zion Mountain Ranch https://www.zmr.com , a buffalo farm where we did not see any buffalo, but enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at their farm to table restaurant. One night would have been long enough to stay here because of the remote location, but horse back riding up a mountain here was one of our favorite excursions of the trip. 

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

We were  a little “hiked out” at the end of the trip, so we took the 1 hour drive to check out Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Wow! What a cool spot for the kids to run around in the sand!

Las Vegas, Nevada

From Zion, we drove 3 hours to Las Vegas! I thought it would be a challenge to find kid friendly activities in Vegas, but there is so much to do for all ages! We stayed at the Mandalay Bay https://www.mandalaybay.com/en.html, which was a luxurious treat after being on the road for 2 weeks. We took a day trip to the Hoover Dam, which seemed a bit too educational for the kids, but we enjoyed it. We all loved the fountains at the Bellagio, the roller coaster at New York New York, the rides at Circus Circus, the Michael Jackson Cirque Du Soleil show, and the aquarium at the Mandalay Bay. The energy of Vegas was so different from the rest of the trip but made for a nice ending. We returned the rental car and flew back home to Maine from there.  

Tips for National Parks with kids:

Stop at a visitor center as soon as you arrive at each park. Ask for hike suggestions for your family, and the best places to see sunrise and sunset.  

Allow at least 2 nights in each spot. This provides enough drive time and chill time on day 1, and hike time on day 2.

Leave some flexibility in the trip so that you have time to relax and add fun stuff for the kids. Our loved breaking up the museums and hikes with game nights and bowling. 

Have the kids keep a journal.

Start the trip with a positive attitude, and ask your family to do the same, and you will have an unforgettable trip! 

Happy planning! ~ Molly