How to Organize Your Best Family Trip to National Parks
National Park visits are on the rise in the United States. Are you one of the many fortunate people getting out and exploring these beautiful places with your family? Today Lisa is joined by Emily Matheny from Stamp Your Way USA who shares tips on fitting many national parks into one trip. She also shares insights on preparing for a visit to national parks for families plus a really fun way for you to document your travels through the parks.
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“The national parks started offering stamps at each visitor’s center in the 1980s. It’s a fun way to document which parks you have visited.”
Simple Ways to Prepare for a Trip to a National Park
Do research on the park together as a family.
Show wildlife and scenery that everyone can get excited about what they will experience.
Look up YouTube videos about your destination
Check out these Friday Freddy Videos if you will be visiting the Saguaro National Park.
Think about naps and timing for the days you will be in the park.
Practice hiking with your kids before arriving at the national park.
If you will wear a hiking backpack with your child in it, practice ahead of time.
How to Organize Your National Park Trip
There are 63 national parks with more concentrated on the west side of the US.
Look at a map of where the national parks are located.
Select a destination based on your criteria of driving/flight time.
As yourself what you want to get out of your national park visit. Are you wanting to visit every park? Are you wanting to see certain types of wildlife? This can determine where you decide to go.
Utah’s Mighty 5 or the 3 parks in Washington State are a great place to start when you want to visit multiple parks in one vacation.
Florida National Parks - A Great Pairing
Emily shares an example of one of the national park trips she took with her family. They decided to go to Flordia and hit all 3 national parks in one trip: Biscayne, Dry Tortuga, and the Everglade.
Biscayne highlights: take a ferry to islands and climb a lighthouse.
Dry Tortuga highlights Take a ferry to the island. Enjoy the beautiful beaches, scuba dive, and visit Fort Jefferson.
Everglades highlights: Walk on a boardwalk through swamps. Possibly see alligators and birds.
General Tips to Follow When Visiting Any National Park
Start at the visitor’s center where you can get a map and talk to rangers.
Ask the rangers for any inside scoop they are willing to share. Have they spotted any animals recently? What are the best hikes for families?
Get a stamp in your national parks group.
Look into having your kids do the Junior Ranger program.
Documenting Your Time in National Parks
Emily is one of the authors of a series of 5 books, Stamp Your Way Through the USA, that feature the national parks. Each book focuses on a different geographical region.
These books share park info, have a space to get a ranger’s autographs, and have space where your child can write or draw about her/his experiences.
Use the code thistraveltribe to get 20% off your order of a Stamp Your Way Through the USA Book(s).
A huge thank you goes to Emily Matheny for being our guest on this episode! You can connect with Emily on her website or on Instagram.