~ Top 10 Family Hikes in U.S. Parks ~

[MysteRy]

Top 10 Family Hikes in U.S. Parks

Get your kids out and walking in some of North America's most beautiful scenery and countryside. These short and family-friendly trails are guaranteed to have the "wow” factor! Hiking together makes for healthy fun, and these walks should encourage a lifelong love of the great outdoors.


1. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington   



Glaciers and meadows, marmots and elk ... the Mount Rainier National Park has it all. This is some of the most stunning (and most snowy) alpine scenery in the U.S. with 260 miles of maintained trails. And it's accessible for kids, too. There are several trails in different areas of the park that are suitable for the younger members of the family and strollers too: the Nisqually Vista in the Paradise area - 1.2 miles - overlooks the Nisqually Glacier; the Trail of the Shadows from Longmire - 0.7 miles - through forest, homesteads and hot springs; Grove of the Patriarchs, near Ohanapecosh - 1,1 miles - through ancient forest alongside the river and Emmons Vista from the Sunrise area - 1 mile - for  two amazing views of the Emmon Glacier. Also from the Sunrise visitors centre is the highly recommended Sourdough Ridge Trail, though this isn't suitable for strollers or wheelchairs. On this one mile walk, you'll soon leave the tourists behind for the company of hundreds of marmots instead! This loop takes a gentle climb ascending 400 feet through the meadows and up to the ridge. Here, you are rewarded with superb views of Mount Rainier itself, along with several others. The green fields below are often filled with goats and you might even spot elk. Plan your visit carefully, as the road to Sunrise is shut until late June or sometimes even July ... with 16 metres of snow a year!

[MysteRy]

2. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado   



Climb, slide, sled, ski and sandboard on the USA's highest inland sand dunes here, then splash in Medano Creek to cool off. Some of these incredible dunes are over 700 foot high, so it's often more a question of scrambling than hiking up. Your sled, board or skis can be rented down in Alamosa (35 miles southwest), or just slide on your bottom for a whole lot of fun in the sand. The views are spectacular over snow-peaked mountains, forests and streams.

[MysteRy]

3. Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland/Virginia   



Almost forty miles of wild, empty beaches make Assateague Island a great coastal park. It's not just kids who'll love to roam the trails here, but the herd of 300 wild ponies who graze in the forests and play on the Atlantic beaches. The best walk with kids is probably on the Maryland side of the island where the ponies roam free, especially in the salt marshes. A ½ mile loop called the 'Life of the Marsh' trail is highly recommended. There are also chances to see thousands of migratory birds during the season as you walk the easy trails. Spot terns, egrets, sandpipers and falcons - so bring your binoculars! You can also take the Assateague Explore, a flat bottomed boat, through the inland waterways of this barrier island.

[MysteRy]

4. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky   



In Edmonson County, introduce your kids to one of the best, and certainly longest cave systems in the world! There are almost 400 miles of underground passages here but you don't have to walk the entire length. This incredible limestone labyrinth is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and there are several guided walks. Probably the best tour for all the family is from the Frozen Niagara entrance, which you reach by bus from the visitor's centre. Since 1924, visitors have taken this path to see an amazing variety of structures, domes and lakes. The walk takes just over an hour and you don't need to book in advance.

[MysteRy]

5. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota   



It's time for one of the most iconic, best known landscapes of the Americas. Kids will all know from movies and teachers about the four massive carvings of the presidents here in South Dakota's black hills, near Keystone. The faces of George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were carved 18 metres high into the face of Mount Rushmore, taking 14 years to complete. From the Avenue of Flags, with its supreme view of the memorial, follow the Presidential Trail for just half a mile for a close-up view of the sculptures and the place where the sculptor worked. An audio tour is available to give more information on the history of its creation and the park's ecology.

[MysteRy]

6. Acadia National Park, Maine   



73 square miles of diverse environment encompasses islands and lakes, the Atlantic shores, dense forest and mountains. The trails here are flat and wide, called the Carriage Trails, so suitable for wheelchairs, bicycles and strollers. There are 45 miles of these accessible paths on Mount Desert Island, taking you through diverse landscapes and across stone bridges, thanks to the philanthropy of the Rockerfeller family. The terrain takes in rugged coastline and deep woodlands, with some stunning views over the outer islands. Don't miss Thunder Hole - where 40 foot high seaspray surges up a narrow granite channel. Watch the storm waves in safety, just two miles from Sand Beach.

[MysteRy]

7. Muir Woods National Monument, California   



Just 11 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, to the north of San Francisco is one of the most splendid redwood forests in the state. From wide, well maintained trails you will all gaze up at these enormous trees: some 250 foot tall, some 800 years old. Some have trunks up to 14 metres in diameter, so these are real giants - the tallest living things on our planet. There are six miles of trails, with loops ranging from a half-hour stroll to and hour and a half. You can also visit Redwood Creek, where salmon and trout run in the shallow waters. This is one of the last remaining native runs from the Pacific Ocean in the whole of California.

[MysteRy]

8. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii   



Big Island Hawaii is a must-have on the family bucket list. This is where you can learn to surf in the morning and watch lava flow into the ocean in the afternoons. Play on black sands and walk through steamy rainforest. It's an enormous vacation playground but also a geography lesson to be enjoyed! Mighty Kilauea is the most active volcano in the world, and the centrepiece of the national park in the south of the island, near Kalapana. This is plate tectonics in action, as the island sits over the Pacific plate hotspot and is literally growing before your eyes. It's on the coast to the west of Kalapana where lava is currently forming new land by pouring into the sea, so it's highly advisable to check the conditions and any warnings before travelling. But definitely one hike for the agenda is the Crater Rim Drive in the national park itself. This takes you around the summit, caldera and through rainforest and desert. Just off the drive, ½ a mile from the Kilauea Iki Overlook is the Thurston Lava Tube. A twenty minute walk through lush forest brings you to a massive, 450 foot long lava tube, which is a spooky but lit, natural tunnel which lava once flowed through.

[MysteRy]

9. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona   



Some 200 million years ago, before the birth of man and when dinosaurs were just making an appearance,  northeast Arizona was home to a lush forest. Through a fortuitous series of natural conditions, the trees were literally turned to stone and crystal, leaving us today with a magnificent, multi-coloured petrified forest. Complete trunks, about 200 feet long, now lie here in the Rainbow Forest for all to see. Starting from the museum in the south of the park, there is a short loop under ½ a mile in length that takes in the giants. These include Old Faithful, the biggest fossil tree. Once back at the Rainbow Forest Museum, there are good interpretive displays on both the trees and dinosaurs to keep everyone entertained.

[MysteRy]

10. Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming   



World famous from Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Devil's Tower rises over 860 foot up from an otherwise pretty level landscape. This is a granite batholith, extruded upwards just below the crust. While the softer rock around it was eroded away over millions of years, the Tower stayed firm and now dominates the area. There is a 1.3 mile circular hike around the base, from which you can see the amazing vertical 'stripes' of this almost alien structure and the changing vista of it from all sides. Ascent of the Tower is only possible for climbers, however.


All the national parks run a Junior Ranger program, enabling children to enjoy fun learning with games, hunts and ranger-led activities. They'll get a badge and certificate at the end, too! So get your kids into hiking at a young age and it's something they'll enjoy forever.