Best national park for hiking in the spring with hearty 7 and 9 year old?

I was in both Zion and Bryce last summer and they would be perfect in summer - not sure about early April though. There are plenty of experts on this board who go there frequently and can give better advice, but if you do a search for those parks you'll find a lot of people saying that Bryce will likely still have snow at that time. The views would still be awesome, but if you can't hike down among the hoodoos that takes a lot of the fun out of it. From Bryce we did a day trip to Lower Calf Creek Falls which was a wonderful hike (about 6 miles total) and I think it is at a lower elevation so by April might be OK. Zion is at a lower elevation so I think most of that would be open. The Narrows would probably not be an option at that time of year and that is one of the best. But there are tons of hikes to choose from in Zion. It will be interesting to see what other responses you get but I'm thinking early April is not the best time for that area. The scenery would still be gorgeous and I'm sure you could find some hikes to do.

I'd take them to the Moab area and do Arches and Canyonlands. These are very different from GTNP and YNP, but have lots of nice places to hike. Do the ranger led Firey Furnace hike in Arches as well as several others.

April is a great time for Zion and Bryce....normally. Weather can always be tricky, but April brings lots of snow melt and green trees and I love that.

If the year is normal then the trails at Bryce will be open but may be muddy. Sometimes the Navaho loop can be closed due to rock fall. But there are other options that are wonderful. Bristlecone pine, Rim trail, Queens' Garden, the peekaboo loop (also can do a horseback trail ride).

Zion you wouldn't have any trouble with any of the main canyon hikes except perhaps the narrows (depending on snow melt.) If the water is low enough for the narrows because snow melt hadn't begun yet, then the water would be cold. You could rent cold water gear and still take it, that would be a great adventure for the kids.

I agree Moab in April is also a great place. Lots to do and see there and less chance the weather would be a factor.

First week of April 2012 is Jeep Week in Moab. it is crazy and not the time to go for hiking Arches and Canyonlands.

Zion whould be lovely in April and there are plenty of interesting moderate trails, although you likely won't be able to hike the Narrows. The Angel's Landing trail as far as Scout Lookout, and the Observation Point trail as far as Echo Canyon are both beautiful an dvery interesting. And there are several shorter ones.

Zion combines well with Bryce, but have you considered the Grand Canyon South Rim?

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your help! After reading the posts, I'm not feeling very confident about booking a trip to Zion and Bryce - sounds like the weather is an unknown variable that can make or break it for us.

Enzian - funny you mention the South Rim - we looked into that but since we only have a week, we thought Zion and Bryce would be enough. Adding the GCNP adds a lot of car time. I know it is gorgeous there and the kids have never been, but thought we should hit that next time instead.

This time you should go for Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. It will take your around about 3-4 hours to see this park. Horse rides are also easily available. All the best

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park for hiking?
Not the best idea, because there's a grand total of one hiking trail, and it's 3.2 miles long.
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalleyhike.htm
This is highly sacred ground to the Dine (a tribe often called the Navajo), and they have strong feelings about outsiders walking there. You can pay someone to guide you by car, horse, or foot into the area,
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalleytours.htm
but you can't hike there on your own.

I should mention that April is prime time for visiting Big Bend NP. Not as beautiful as Zion or Bryce (indeed, I'd recommend them over BBNP), but there's a lot of desert and mountain hiking. Just so you know all your options.

Monument Valley is not a good fit for OP's needs.

My vote is for Arches although you might see some snow in a few slot canyons. http://www.hikinginutah.com/park-avenue.htm
Your kids will do fine on the hike out to Delicate Arch unless there is snow or ice on the slickrock sections.

Don't let Jeep Week scare you away from Moab! I went during Jeep Week in April 2010 and had a marvelous time. The town itself is very busy (and you'd definitely want to book accommodations well in advance), but the parks and the surrounding BLM lands are big enough to absorb all that activity easily. You won't feel too overwhelmed with crowds on the trails.

Another thought: Maybe you could combine Zion with either Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument or Capitol Reef National Park? Grand Staircase-Escalante's only about a 2-hour drive from Zion, and Capitol Reef's about 4 hours away. And they're both supposed to be wonderful hiking parks.

That is good to know about Jeep Week. My son has gone (with his jeep) a couple of times, and it sounds crazy crowded. Not the hiking trails in the national parks, of course, but in the twonnof Moab itself.

The Southwest parks in April are all about elevation. At Zion, you are in the bottom of the canyon, around 3600 feet. It might rain, but you should't have snow. March is supposed to be rainy month, which brings out the April flowers.

Bryce, on the other hand is above 8000 feet, similar the the Grand Canyon North Rim, which doesn't open until mid-May. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon, however, is at 6800 to 7000 feet, and generally has nice moderate weather for hiking in April. We've been there twice at that time. The second time it did snow on us as we hiked up out of the canyon, but it didn't interfere with hiking and made the canyon even more beautiful.

Maybe you could combine Grand Canyon with Sedona? Or with Zion and not Bryce? I'm not sure how long the drive is, but we drove from North Rim to South in 5 hours, and I think Zion to South Rim would about the same? You could break it up with an overnight at Page and do the smooth water float trip ( half day).

We are really in the the National Parks. We didn't discover them until our daughter was 10 years old. She is almost 18 and we have been to 29 of them now. You probably started out with the very best one. YNP is hard to beat. Arches is my daughters second favorite. www.deserthighlights.com is the best thing we have done in a NP. It is very safe and your kids would love it and after you do it once, you will want to go again and again. 10 times better than Disney. They are in Moab and operate mainly in that area, but he also does a few trips a year in Oregon and just outside of Vegas.

Not at NP, but a National River. The Buffalo National River has some fantastic waterfalls, hiking, and kayaking on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. It was the first National River for the US. It has the tallest waterfall between the Rocky's and Aplchns. Gloryhole Falls is just outside the park and it is the best small waterfall I have ever seen(and we are waterfall nuts-have even rappelled from several of them).

Guadalupe/Carlsbad Caverns is a great place in spring. Big Bend. Saguaro is on my list to do in spring, but I haven't done that one yet. Everglades/Biscayne/Dry Tortugas/Keyes would be good for that time frame too.

If you go to Moab, don't miss Goblin Valley State Park. You could spend two weeks in Moab on great hikes there.

I would wait until they are 10 before going to Carlsbad. You can't do the wild cave tour there until age 10 and it is spectacular. They only allow 8 people per week to do it and you need to get your res in about 6 months in advance.

In Spring stayed at the El Tovar and did GC hikes was
awesome with kids. www.gorp.com add visitsedona.com if time
Utah Parks can get cold still early in season.
visitbigbend.com Carlsbad Caverns combo warmer still.

Happy Hunting!

weather2travel.com climate guides may be helpful for planning

Big Bend has a wide variety of terrain and hikes but fairly remote. Problem is if you hate it then you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, whereas most of the parks mentioned have something else close by to visit if you get bored. You either love Big Bend or you hate it. Not sure this April would be a great time to visit, they are having a major drought so spring bloom will likely be underwhelming.

I'd suggest flying into Vegas. From there you have several options (Death Valley/Joshua Tree/Mojave, Zion/Bryce/Capital Reef, Moab, Grand Canyon/Sedona). Get some lodging booked at each place now and keep doing research, then as the trip gets closer firm up your plans and cancel whatever you don't need. Maybe that sounds complicated but if you're concerned about snow or cold temps you can just wait until the last minute and go wherever the weather is nicest. You really can't go wrong with any of those park combos.

Another thought concerning Moab and Jeep Week: if you want to avoid the crowds, consider hiking the Needles section of Canyonlands instead of the Island in the Sky section. Then you could base yourself in Monticello UT and avoid the crowds in Moab, and still do a day trip or two to Arches to see and hike that park.

Two years ago I made my husband and son visit the south rim of the Grand Canyon during our spring break week - the last week in March. Despite a horrible windchill that day, I was thrilled and enjoyed it all. We flew into Las Vegas - cheaper flight, rented a car, and toured the Hoover Dam on the way there. The day after we the Grand Canyon we drove to Meteor Crater. We all loved the trip. My son and my husband were both surprised how much they liked it.
Good luck on your vacation wherever you end up going!

In April Saguaro National Park (edge of Tucson) and Organ Pipe National Monument are beautiful. Chiricahua and Coronado National Monuments are not far away and there is lots of hiking in plenty of other off the beaten path locations.
This December we've had an unusual amount of rain and that means the wildflowers will be spectacular in March and April.
This will be very different from Yellowstone or Yosemite!

Wow - thanks, everyone, for all of the advice! It sounds like we definitely picked the right part of the country to visit. I appreciate all your help!

We were in Zion and Bryce mid-April this year. Hits some really nice warm weather. There are plenty of hikes in Zion to keep your family busy. Bryce had a little snow but the trails were clear. We only did Bryce as a day trip and only hiked along the rim but plenty of people were doing all the other trails. The Navajo loop was closed because of a land slide and there were some muddy spots. Each year will be different and if there is to much snow at Bryce...then rent snow shoes.

Utahtea

3 ideas for early April:

1. Fly into Las Vegas and go to Zion (my favorite); perhaps do a long day trip or an overnight in Bryce.
2. Fly into Las Vegas and drive to Death Valley.
There is plenty to do in the above locations to fill your week.
3. Fly into Phoenix and drive to Sedona. Spend two nights in Sedona, then go to Grand Canyon South Rim.

We have gone to these 3 areas in April many times. We have never run into snow in Sedona or GCNP at that time, but friends have. The weather will definitely be perfect in Death Valley and is likely to be very good in Zion.

I would imagine April is a good time to go the Moab area. We were there in the summer and it was miserably hot for hiking with little shade.

A vote for Bryce and Zion - and don't be afraid of possible snow. We visited both with our kids the last week of Dec a few years ago. Mild weather for hiking at Zion, and light snow at Bryce. Bryce is magical dusted with snow! Fortunately we had Yak Trax with us. Inexpensive, easy to use, and they made hiking down into Bryce Canyon in snow easy. Bryce was the favorite park for 3 of us - the other kid thought Zion was best. Interesting - everyone loved the Grand Canyon, but it wasn't on the top of anyone's list.

Enjoy your trip!

Another vote for Zion-Bryce.

Second vote goes to GC-Sedona. I'll never forget atop Cathedral Rock in Sedona watching the sunset over all those red rocks. Unforgettable experience.

Do not, not, not go to Moab during Jeep week. Just don't do it. The noise, the crowds, the wait for dinner etc. It is always Easter weekend. Are you planning this trip around your school's spring break/Easter break?

I have 2 kids--6 and 9. You can search under my user name for trip reports to Moab, Zion, and Tucson with kids.

I love Moab. Just really love it. The amount of hiking and things to do around there (look for dinosaur tracks, horseback riding, mountain biking, self guided rock art tours) is just great.

As people have said, Bryce can be iffy that time of year. Zion is beautiful, but not enough for a week. There are good places to stay and eat at Zion but not enough for people to spread out. Even though the Zion area is smaller, I will say that I have had much more peaceful hiking experiences in Arches and Canyonlands.

The Escalante region has enough hikes for a week--Peekaboo, Spooky, Coyote Gulches. And you don't need a guide for just hiking in those canyons. Calf Creek Nature Trail is great. Escalante is a tiny town so you would be staying in a small hotel with diners for food. You can stay in Boulder at the Boulder Mountain Lodge which is very nice. This would give you the most remote hiking experience.

Tucson is awesome for kids. REally great in terms of tons of stuff to do. We mixed nature and museums and my kids liked it. You could just do hiking and the Desert Museum there if you wanted. It did get hot (90) when we were there.

I want to take my kids to Grand Canyon but other than the hiking along the rim, the hiking is really up and really down. When I backpacked out the Bright Angel Trail, I was impressed at the number of families with kids--the youngest was 6 or 8 that were hiking out. The way to do this, though, is that you have to put in for a campsite permit waaaaaaay in advance. That way you could hike to Indian Gardens, camp, go to Canyon Ranch, camp, and then camp overnight at IG on the way out. And you pay to have a mule haul your gear up and down the trail, thus leaving mom and dad free take tons of water and snacks in addition to all the kid stuff. So this either takes lots of advance planning or (what am I doing) waiting till the kids are older.

So you have a variety of choices depending on what you want. My bias would be Moab as long as it is after the Jeeps leave!

Jeep Safari is 31Mar-April 8 this year.

If you have lodging and don't need to eat out every meal it isn't really a bad time to visit the parks. since everyone in town will be out jeeping, Arches and Canyonlands are pretty empty. Plus it is kind of fun to watch all those decked out jeeps parading through town.