BigRuss

So our hobbits love wildlife and mountains. The bigger one (to be 7) likes "climbing" mountains. This isn't an REI-equipment-necessary thing, he likes wandering the trails in elevated areas and seeing the mountains. The smaller one still rides on the old man's shoulders for a good part of the trip, so someplace that's easy on Dad is also covered in this request.

We just returned from Alaska and have been to NM. Thinking about Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Utah. Prefer someplace not far from whatever city we'd fly to (e.g., a short ride [sub 2.5 hours] from Denver, Phoenix, etc.). The halflings have just so much patience for car rides. Kentucky's in the mix because there is a trail made of bourbon ;-).

Thus the list: Mountains, relatively easy trails, scenery. Waterfalls and avians a plus.

Ideas?

Thanks in advance.

elberko

Acadia in Maine?

~Liz

spirobulldog

What month?

I believe you are from Texas? Big Bend and Guadalupe/Carlsbad Caverns are great

Anyway, a little known gem is Upper Buffalo River area in Arkansas. It is best the late Oct/early Nov for Fall Colors. Then another good time is Feb-May as waterfalls are best them.
Even the dead of winter in December is pretty decent. Sometimes the waterfalls are going ok in the fall, but not always. They are still going ok this summer, which is rare.
I can suggest many very nice hikes(waterfalls and scenic mountain type), if your interested. Petit Jean , Mt. Nebo, and Mt. Magazine are 3 great state parks not far from Buffalo river too.

I would also suggest Seattle--Mt. Rainier, North Cascades, Olympic, and San Juan Islands

Another good one is Portland, Coast, Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Columbia River Gorge.

Glacier National Park is specatular. If you haven't taken them to Yellowstone/Tetons- it is another world and truly amazing.

Your little one might really enjoy The Great Sand Dunes. Best to do it the end of May or first of June. The creek there normally runs nicely about that time and is very interesting. If you are in a 4 wheel dirve- the back country road is a must. All kids love the Dunes.


Finally, I bet your 7 year old would love www.deserthighlights.com in Moab--very safe and amazing! Arches National Park is one of our favorites.

BigRuss

Acadia is a bit far - we'd have to fly to Boston and drive a while.

Spiro: thanks - that's a good bit to chew on. I keep thinking of the Tetons but is the area uniformly too rugged for a small one? She's 4.5 now and her right arm likely is longer than her left because I pulled her up a few times to keep her from falling on a short trail in Alaska (although it was a bit slick and she marched on - tough and strong little bugger).

WhereAreWe

Rocky Mountain NP is an obvious choice, easy drive from Denver and lots of easy hikes. However you would want to wait until at least mid-May or even early June, and go before mid-October to have decent weather and less snow on the upper elevations.

Same sort of idea for Mt. Ranier or Olympic - you'd want to make sure the snow is reasonably gone before visiting. Both are easy enough from Seattle.

Big Bend is great but there aren't a lot of easy trails in the mountains. You'd have to go out into the desert for that and then you are dealing with a lot of sharp pokey things for little kids to run into. Any trail up in the mountains would mean you'd need to keep both kids at your side as there have been some well-documented mountain lion encounters in that area.

I think Shenandoah or Great Smokey Mountains are probably the safest bets in terms of spring/fall weather but neither would have the same type of rugged scenery as the Rockies.

Yosemite in the late spring? Great waterfalls...

Myer

Glacier in Montana should be on the list for hiking, scenery and wildlife.

In my opinion, the best airport is Calgary. Yes, it's in a different country. But not Mars.

There's a Walmart Super Center right outside the airport. It's 3 1/2 hours right to Many Glacier on a super straight, flat road.

And there a Delta Hotel in the airport right across the street from the terminal if you have an early flight.

The Iceberg Lake hike is spectacular.

You can see my photos at:
www.travelwalks.com

John

Closest airport to GNP is Glacier International Airport in Kalispell, Montana. 35 miles to the park.
Alaska Air has 3 non stop Seattle flights daily and 1 non stop to Portland.
Delta has 2 Minneapolis non stop flights daily, along with 3 non stop Atlanta flights weekly, and 4 non stop flights to Salt lake daily.
United has 5 non stop to Denver daily and 1 non stop to Chicago.
Allegiant has weekly non stop flights to Lax, Oakland and Las Vegas.
The Park is approx. 35 miles from the airport on flat 4 lane road and no stopping for customs!!

wave725

Glacier National Park is spectacular and probably my favorite national park and totally a hiker's paradise.

If you went to Rocky Mountain National Park and stayed in Estes Park, you'd have LOTS of options for accommodations, restaurants, and other activities for the kids. There's Lake Estes Marina where you can rent boats, MacGregor Ranch which has a children programs and a museum, Estes Park Tram which takes you up to the top Prospect Mountain where you can enjoy a picnic lunch and explore the area.

Lots of easy hikes in RMNP like Bear Lake, Emerald Lake, Sprague Lake (which offers great photos at sunrise), Ouzel Falls.

http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails...easy-hikes.htm

Meyer: Loved your photos! (especially those of Tuscany since it's been on my bucket list for a long time!)

BigRuss

All helpful - this goes in the prep book, maybe for junior's spring break or a short trip after school's out.

Those pics are excellent, Myer.

John, thanks for the list of possible connections to Kalispell - spiro knows from my contributions here that we're in Texas, so you've provided information on where to connect through.

spirobulldog

A lot of these suggestions wouldn't work for Spring Break. At almost all of them, there are easy, moderate, and difficult. I don't really think RMNP or Glacier would be where you would want to be at Spring Break.

We are in Oklahoma and have driven to Smoky Mountain NP the past 2 years. It is really nice and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg have plenty to do. You 7 year old would probably like to Zipline.
However, I really like Buffalo River area in Arkansas better(this all depends on what time of year, to some extent though). It is The Spot at Spring Break. Heck, I am likely to be there myself.

I don't know how close to Big Bend or Guadalupe/Carlsbad you are, but those are both worthy places. Certainly not up there with Alaska but unique in their own ways. Big Bend is very diverse. Think-Mountains, Desert, and River. The canyon is somewhat a mini-Grand Canyon. The half day float is pretty spectacular and I imagine an overnighter would really be the bomb. Great place at springbreak!

Since you mentioned Tetons. I would think a 4.5 year old could handle Inspiration Point/Hidden Falls trail. It starts out with a boat ride and is very scenic. It is a very popular trail and fairly crowded(I would still carry bear spray though)

Myer

Kalispell may be the closest airport to Glacier but not where you probably want to be.

The best combination of scenery, wildlife and hikes is in Many Glacier so Kalispell's advantage disappears.

I don't know where you are in Texas but there are non-stop flights from Dallas and Houston to Calgary.

And if you want a somewhat shorter drive from the airport it's about 90 minutes from Calgary airport to Banff.

John

So you fly into Kalispell, drive 35 miles to the west entrance, enter the park and drive the GTTS road, which HAS to be more scenic than any highway north of the border, to the east entrance and Many Glacier.

WhereAreWe

Spiro is exactly right, most of these parks won't work for spring break. Some of them aren't even ideal for a visit right after school let's out. It all depends on when your school system lets out and how much snowpack there is from the previous winter....for example, the Going to the Sun Road didn't fully open until July this year. At Mt. Rainier, most of the trails in the popular Paradise section of the park were 100% snow covered the first week of July this year.

kureiff

(John, I didn't know you had the Allegiant/Oakland flight! Is it on just for the summer? Or is it year round?)

John

Allegiant flights to Oakland and Vegas are year round. Lax flight is seasonal

kureiff

I'm in GF, but hadn't thought to check Kalispell to see if they had the Oakland flight. Good to know.

Tabernash2

Devil's Thumb Ranch, Tabernash, CO. Luxurious setting, gorgeous property, great restaurants, perfect service, all the amenities. Hiking, horses, spa, mountain vistas. Pricey, unless its off-season. But worth every penny. Highly recommend.

BigRuss

We're in DFW so air connections are easy and plentiful. That means across the state from Big Bend and Carlsbad - we'd have to fly to El Paso (easy enough on SW) and drive from there so that's a decent SB possibility, ditto for Arkansas.

I realize that Glacier and anyplace north of the Four Corners could be dicey on Spring Break so Memorial Day or Independence Day extended weekends may be better. Glacier is becoming a bit more interesting with each look.

Devil's Thumb sounds like a solid weekender if we import my progenitors to hang out with the hobbits . . .

bigtyke

For spring break, fly into Las Vegas and visit Zion and Bryce Canyon.

Depending on when the break is, Rocky Mountain NP could be ok - depends on the snowfall.

bigtyke

Fly into Phoenix and visit either northern AZ or southern AZ. We did spring break in Flagstaff one year. Visited Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monument, Walnut Canyon, Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, Verde Valley (Tuzigoot, Montezuma's Castle and Well, Verde Valley Railroad, Jerome, Sedona).

In southern AZ, Tucson, Tombstone, Bisbee, Chiricahua Nat. mon.