yk

Hi all, we (me, husband, 10-year-old son) just returned from a 10-day trip to Zion, Bryce, Page, Grand Canyon North Rim in June. We were floored by the natural beauty. In the past, we have almost always taken family trips to cities. Now I want to plan more vacations to our National Parks for the scenery.

My son has school vacations in mid-Feb (1 week) and mid-April (1 week). What are some recommendations for those times? We enjoy hiking but we are only average hikers. The longest hike we did on this trip was 5 miles. Some days we did one "moderate" hike followed by an easy one. I am not getting younger so I'd like to visit places that have more "strenuous" hiking before I'm too old for it.

We are not campers nor we do RVs, so I feel that the limiting factor for us is finding accommodations in/near the parks. Am I already too late for planning for Feb 2024 or April 2024? My husband most likely will not come on these trips, so it will be just me and my son. I don't want to visit any place that's too remote in case there's an emergency and no one will be nearby to assist us.

We really haven't been to any of the major parks apart from mentioned above, and Acadia which we went last summer. Thanks for your suggestions!

Nelson

February: This may fall into the too remote category but if you are OK with risking travel to the heart of winter then 100% recommend Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvis...-in-winter.htm
https://www.yellowstonenationalparkl...winter-lodges/
https://trianglex.com/ranch-vacations/winter/

For more benign climate maybe Saguaro NP by Tucson or Everglades NP. I have not been to the latter, but several friends have given it high marks at that time of year. For Saguaro you can stay in town and do day trips to the different sections of the Park, as well as Sabino Canyon.

April: Moab, for Canyonlands and Arches.

bon_voyage

Seconding Everglades NP for February. You could add Key West, the drive there an attraction in itself, and maybe finish up in Miami Beach for its Art Deco architecture.

And also Moab for April. I haven’t been to Canyonlands but Arches is one of my two favorite national parks, the other being Yellowstone.

Michael

If you cross-country ski, there is a 7 mi. round trip from the Yosemite Badger Pass Ski Area to Dewey Point. A shuttle goes from the valley floor to the Badger Pass area, and you can rent the necessary equipment at the Badger Pass Ski area. If you do not ski, you can rent snowshoes and snowshoe around the ski area but not on the ski slopes. That would be for a Feb. vacation.

Skiing:


Taken while snowshoeing:

J62

February: Virgin Islands National Park
April: Anythere south of New England...... Smokey Mountains maybe - never been there myself.

oldemalloy

For April, I agree go to Moab for Arches and Canyonlands and Mesa Verde. We have flown from the east coast to Albuquerque. We try for an early flight then head north a couple of hours to Bloomfield where there is a Best Western that does an ok breakfast. Then we went to Mesa Verde for two nights at Far View in the park.

From Mesa Verde we went to Moab with a stop at the Needles district of Canyonlands. Three or four nights in Moab to hike in Arches and Canyonlands then on to Santa Fe for a night and back to Albuquerque.

That is a very full week with an extra weekend. If you think it is too much driving, you could fly to Grand Junction, CO or Salt Lake City, UT then drive to Moab for a shorter trip and not include Mesa Verde. Grand Junction is the shortest drive if that is your priority.

There are other things to do in the Moab area, like Jeep tours, boating on the Colorado, Native American rock art sites, etc. lots of folks here can give you suggestions and TRs.

For February, you could fly into Vegas (not my favorite,but often less expensive flights and car rentals) then head to Death Valley for two or three nights and if it has been a dry winter go over to the south rim of Grand Canyon for a night or two and stop at Hoover Dam and drive back to Vegas through Valley of Fire.

dfrostnh

we were lucky to stay at Maho Bay, St John USVI almost 40 years ago when our son was in second grade. Unfortunately Maho Bay luxury camping no longer exists. YK said no camping but I would habe made a strong argument. It was a great family place.
still, StJohn would be a great February visit and I would choose lodging based on proximity to easy snorkeling. At Maho Bay children could snorkel from,the beach. I found the Underwater Trail a bit challenging and that beach was crowded. Island tours with park ranger were great. There were several ranger talks we attended. Our last visit was still a long time ago and the island was getting built up. Still, most of it is national park and a visit could include sugar plantation history. We could also take a shuttle to a drop off point and hike ocean front to a tiny secluded beach. Scenery is fabulous plus the fun of landing on St. thomas and taking ferry to Cruz Bay.

tom_mn

Everglades was I thought a huge disappointment, just like the marsh down the road where you live. Maybe a minority viewpoint but if you are looking for scenery, this is not the park to choose.

Gardyloo

I'd be careful with the red-rock national parks in April. They're mostly at very high elevations, and spring can come quite late in those areas. I've been snowed/iced out of both Zion and Bryce in April and had to navigate with snow on the ground and icy roads at the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly at the same time. Back to that later.

For February, I'd jump at Joshua Tree NP without thinking twice. It's beautiful, there are some easy and level hikes (google Barker Dam trail) and very cool things to see like the Cholla cactus garden. It's very easy to tour from a base in the Coachella Valley - Palm Springs down to Indio - and if you want a serious contrast, the Palm Springs Aerial Tram can take you from the desert up 8500 feet to the snow on Mt. San Jacinto. There are lots of accommodation options at all price points throughout the valley. The weather will be glorious. You can fly into any of the LA airports or to Palm Springs itself - plenty of resources for visitors.

Back to April, a couple of ideas. Skyline Drive and Shenandoah NP are gorgeous in the spring; combine it with some American history deep-dives in Washington DC. Charlottesville, and maybe visit Thomas Jefferson's second home at Poplar Forest near Lynchburg VA.

Depending on how the winter and spring go (in terms of snowpack etc.) you might want to look at Yosemite, or more specifically the gold rush country along CA Hwy 49 in the Sierra foothills just west of Yosemite. Within Yosemite Valley, the waterfalls can be simply amazing once the mountain snow starts to melt; however some years it hasn't started all that much in early April, and the valley can still be a little wintry. The gold rush country, however, is stunning in the spring. Google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/ktAZNjQfFC1M5jde6

Two other fave areas at that time of year - neither with national parks but could well be - are the Columbia River Gorge and some nearby areas in north central Oregon, and the Monterey Bay and Peninsula area in California.

In the Gorge, the waterfalls will all be amazing, the orchards and vineyards in the Hood River Valley will be in spring bloom, with Mount Hood (still skiing but Timberline Lodge is a blast) looming over all. South of the Columbia you could visit Smith Rock State Park (amazing "old west" scenery) or head out to the painted hills and fossil beds at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. It's all in easy range from Portland airport, with plenty of accommodations in the area. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/k2kxR9F7mhHXbVVo9

The Monterey Bay area has so much going for it that it's silly. You can see the redwoods at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, visit the awesome Monterey Bay aquarium on Cannery Row in Monterey, see the beautiful old Spanish mission in Carmel, or - big highlight - visit and hike (easy) around Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, just south of Carmel - IMO the most beautiful stretch of coastline in California. If CA Hwy 1 is fully open you could take a (longish) day trip from a base in Monterey/Carmel down to the fascinating Hearst Castle, with a stop at th nearby elephant seal colony on the beach just north of the Castle visitor center. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/eJQVrHhDofDKzSaN9

No national parks in those places (but national scenic areas, national monuments and state parks) but both are terrific in the spring.

KTtravel

I can recommend visiting Yosemite in April. Spring is lovely there and it won't be as hot and crowded as during the summer. February can be more challenging as you may have to deal with snow.

HappyTrvlr

April is beautiful in Arizona. Saguaro NP in Tucson has an eastern and western section to it. The western park is adjacent to the Tucson Mountain Park which offers more interesting features.

bon_voyage

On a girls trip with my sister-in-law and niece, we stopped in Everglades NP to walk the Anhinga Trail, https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvis...inga-trail.htm. I felt as though I’d wandered into the avian section of the Garden of Eden. Admittedly, the alligators snoozing nearby were a bit unnerving. That brief visit left me wanting more. Our destination was Parmer’s Resort on Little Torch Key, https://www.parmersresort.com, quintessentially Old Florida (I grew up in Tampa but had never been to the Everglades).

tom_mn

The national park part of the Everglades doesn’t have much visible water, it’s very peaty, actually it looks firm enough to walk on.

An exception is the Anhinga Trail were at some point someone went in there with heavy machinery and dug the straight canals here, and this open water does attract a lot of wildlife. But since the open water is in straight lines and clearly manmade, I found this trail to be like looking at animals in cages, and not like looking at animals in a natural environment.

MichelleY

I agree with this. The cactus and Palo Verde trees will be blooming. You can also visit Kartchner Caverns, Tombstone, Bisbee, and the Titan Missile Museum.

Madam397

I second Joshua Tree for February. We were there over New Years's earlier this year and the weather was ideal for being out and about but you do still need to plan accordingly with plenty of water and snacks as no place to eat in the park. We had spend a week in Palm Springs which is an awesome destination. The day after we were in the desert at Joshua Tree we were in the snow at the top of the Palm Spring Aerial Tramway and that was awesome.

We were in Key West at the end of April after a weekend wedding in Miami. It was hot and humid and the drive down from Miami is only partially scenic as there are many boatyards, strip shopping centers, etc as people do live and work on the Keys and there is only one main road. If you did decide to do this, you can visit the Dry Tortugas National Park but you must book the two hour ferry ride months in advance as it is 70 miles west of Key West. There is also flight options but pretty pricey as is the ferry actually.

StantonHyde

April is the ideal time to visit Moab, Arches, Canyonlands, Canyons of the Ancients, and Mesa Verde. These places are not at high altitude and will not have snow. If you click on my user name you can see trip reports for all of those places with kids. That would be my #1 vote.

Monterey area is a great idea for April! We did a really fun trip there with 2 days in San Francisco as well. That trip report is also under my user name.

Patty

The issue with Mesa Verde in April is that the tours don't start until May. Other than that April would be a good time for the eastern UT and Four Corners area.

The CA desert parks and southern AZ would be good for February.

I've attempted to visit Yosemite in winter several times and have had exceptionally bad luck with severe weather/hard closures. I live 4 hours away so it's not a big deal.

Winter in Yellowstone is magical but might be more adventurous than you're looking for. It can also be expensive due to the transportation logistics of having to take snowcoaches to certain areas and/or utilizing shuttles/tours if you don't want to drive.

PrairieHikerI

Mid-April would be a good time to visit Great Smoky Mts. National Park. Highs would be in the low 70s F and the wildflowers will be peaking. Plus, there fewer visitors then. You can hike to waterfalls, float down the Pigeon River, ride a steam train, go horseback riding and you can also explore amazing Asheville, NC.

KarenWoo

I second the recommendation to visit Virgin Islands NP in February and Shenandoah NP in April!

bradshawgirl1

I can recommend the Southeastern U.S. parks in April. Smokies will be absolutely lovely, and the Blue Ridge Mountains would also be gorgeous. Blue Ridge will be a little colder then, but still, you're talking highs of 50-ish at elevation, and closer to 70 in the valleys. Perfect for hiking. And if you like mountains and waterfalls (You may see a little rain, but that will swell the creeks that feed them.), you will find them, in addition to spring wildflowers.