VacayLady216

We are thinking of touring some national parks Summer 2015 & want opinions on which trip would be best for a 7-year-old.

Choices:

-New England/Acadia/possibly into Canada
-Rocky Mountain National Park/Colorado
-Yellowstone/Teton
-Pacific Northwest WA
-Redwoods/OR

We love nature & hiking, but our son can't or won't do long hikes so far. We love boating (obviously some of these are limited for water) and wildlife.

Husband & I have been to ACadia & Vail, but

haven't been to any of the other areas.

We would probably have 7-10 days total vacation & we live in MD. Obviously the cheaper trip for getting there is New England.

Our son loves nature & wildlife but also likes amusement parks, mini golfing and similar activities.

Right now, I think Yellowstone is probably better for an older child, but want everyone's feedback on what they think is a better choice for a child.

Thanks in advance!
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HappyTrvlr

When my kids were those ages they loved Rocky Mt. NP, Mesa Verde was a huge hit, and also enjoyed Zion and Bryce.

sludick

Your 7-yr-old is certainly old enough for Yellowstone. We have a CD of children's songs about trips to Yellowstone. Can look up title if you need it. Anyway, we really regret not going there with our children or when we were young enough for very strenuous hikes. Oh well, better late than never.

All of you would likely really enjoy the wildlife there and the many fumaroles and geysers. We took a winter snow coach tour on one visit, where the driver lectured about those, and I am still amazed at what there was to them beyond the immediate eye-popping visual display.

And don't forget, this is the very first national park, established in 1872. THAT history alone is fascinating (maybe more for the adults, although DH always had DS do a trip report for his teacher on any vacations we ever made...)

Who knows? It might spark a lifelong calling..

longhorn55

Have you considered the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota? There's plenty of wildlife--bison, prairie dogs, burros, etc. There's beautiful nature--lakes, pine trees, mountains in the Black Hills and amazing rock formations in the Badlands. There's short hikes that would interest both kids and adults--the hike around Sylvan Lake in the BH and the Window, Door and Notch hikes in the Badlands. And finally, there are "fun" attractions in the BH such as minigolf, the Alpine Slide, Bear Country, and the Reptile Gardens.

Why don't you order the free South Dakota guide and see what the Black Hills and Badlands have to offer? www.travelsd.com

gail

I vote Yellowstone as well. And contrary to usual opinion, consider at least some of the time staying outside the Park. Fly into Jackson and stay at the Teton Village condos, about a mile from entrance to GTNP, for a few nights, especially if grandparents go. You can get multiple bedrooms, space to spread out, and easy in/out of Park. Close enough to Jackson Hole for decent food. There are float trip activities nearby (like white water rafting without the white water)

Then head thru GTNP to Yellowstone. Stay a few nights in West Yellowstone - again outside the Park. There are all the kid-type diversions your son likes and a variety of restaurants. Boring chain hotels, but all within a mile of entrance to Yellowstone. Why Yellowstone works is because many of the incredible sites are a few hundred feet off the paved roadway, with small parking lot or side of road parking. Also longer hike opportunities - some paths circular but also in-and-out so you can vary distance.

Look at a Yellowstone map - but then head to a different part of the Park and stay a few nights at Park lodging (book now - its cancelable). In the northeast area there is white water rafting - and some trips tame enough to accomodate young kid or grandparents.

While in Jackson or West Yellowstone there are often local rodeos or other things going on that might interest your son.

You may get comments encouraging you to basically force feed your son Park accommodations or hiking. We traveled with our kids in a variety of forms at all ages. Success was achieved when it was a good balance between their preferences and ours.

rjasnumberonefan

I agree that Yellowstone would be wonderful for a 7 yr old. All the reasons gail stated are valid.

This year my grown daughter and I stayed in West Yellowstone in a newly run KOA. (It was the only one open early enough in May.) We were suprised to find that the cabin wasn't your standard KOA basic bed and shelf setup. It had a full bathroom/shower, frig/micro, dining table/chairs, full bed and bunk bed with linens included. All this for $75. They had one that cost more, I thought the cabin descriptions were in error when I booked it. So basically what I'm saying is...you can stay out of park and have nice accommadations. Pool, playground, bike rental, things a kid would love more than a hotel setting.

There are so many things in YNP that a kid would love to explore. Hiking for the sake of walking in lovely scenery is great for adults but hard for a kid to comprehend, BUT, hiking to find gold at the end of the rainbow so to speak is a kid's dream. That's called exploring. hahaha The walks along the geysers make it interesting to "find" the next one. The hike up to the emerald pools are worth it if you find an emerald pool at the end. A lot of the things in YNP have a pot of gold at the end of the "hike".
We saw so much wildlife that I can't imagine any kid wouldn't be on cloud nine. Give them a pair of binoculars and an inexpensive digital zoom camera. (Mine is 26x zoom and just over $100.) Elk, bison, and deer are abundant. This year we also saw 3 grizzly including a Mom and Cub, two wolves, and a Bald Eagle. The 7 yr old kid in me was ecstatic!

panecott

Another vote for Yellowstone, and also for Mt. Rushmore/Black Hills and the Badlands.

I went to all three and several others at age 7 on the first of many road trips my parents took us on - that one was cross country.

My most vivid memories of that time of my life are of those national parks.

It will be a really special experience for your child.

starrs

Yellowstone

Gretchen

You could do RMNP and also do a little dinosaur trip by going down to Woodland Park, just outside Colorado Springs. They have an excellent dinosaur exhibit and museum there with a lab that is a working lab cleaning bones. Then on the way to RMNP you could stop by Morrison--another small dinosaur museum there. Then head for the Park. Also lots to do in Denver--zoo and natural history museum.

kasuel

I asked a similar question a while back and got some very helpful answers (http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ummer-2014.cfm) .

We toyed with the idea of Olympic National park - I even had some reservations at park lodges (could be cancelled). But after thinking about the amount of driving, the long flight, and other issues, we decided to go with Colorado (much shorter flight for us). We are supposed to go to RMNP and Summit County this summer. (a grandparent's health issue is currently complicating things, but if everyone stays healthy that is where we will go.)

When my kids were 6.5, we spent a few days around Great Smokey Mountains NP, which I didn't see on your list. We had a great time. We didn't head into Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge much, but there is a lot to do if you need entertainment (putt putt, shows, restaurants, etc). We found it easy to avoid all of that and concentrate on the park, but liked having restaurants close by. We stayed in a cabin, did some easy hikes, went horseback riding, went to a cave. We saw a bear and some wild turkey, but not a ton of wild life other than that, but I think there is plenty there. My kids loved it.

I also plan to do Yellowstone (and hopefully Black Hills) when they are about 10 years old and we can take close to two weeks. First, I do think it will be easier at that age. But also all of the driving and the long flights seem easier with older kids. I would love to do Glacier, but again the driving and flying distances made me hesitate with little ones.

PaulRabe

I've been to 58 national parks over the decades, and over 200 sites administered by the NPS.

One of the reasons I'm hooked on going to these places is because I went to Yellowstone when I was eight. I can't imagine a more exciting or appropriate place to go for a young child. The place has EVERYTHING -- beauty, nature, unique thermal features, and wildlife galore.