Best national park for hiking in the spring with hearty 7 and 9 year old?
Dec 28th, 2011, 12:12 AM
#22
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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
Utahtea
Jan 1st, 2012, 04:31 PM
#23
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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.
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.
Jan 1st, 2012, 04:54 PM
#24
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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!
Enjoy your trip!
Jan 4th, 2012, 09:34 AM
#26
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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!
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!
Jan 4th, 2012, 05:16 PM
#27
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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.
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.
Jan 6th, 2012, 12:46 PM
#28
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Just a clarification to StantonHyde's post about backpacking into the Grand Canyon.
Permits for backpacking are available four months in advance. There are instructions for applying on the Grand Canyon NP website:
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisi...try-permit.htm
The campground at the canyon bottom is called Bright Angel Campground, and it is near the historic Phantom Ranch (which has cabins, dorm beds, and meals, available through a completely different reservations system.)
An intermediate stop at Indian Garden on the Bright Angel trail is good if you have children along and you aren't certain that they can make the whole hike down or back up in a day. However, if you do that, you can NOT use the mule duffel service to carry your gear. They will only carry from the rim down to Phantom Ranch and back up; they will not do an intermediate drop at Indian Garden.
Personally, while I find Indian Garden a pleasant stop for a break on the hike out of the canyon, I would choose another night at the bottom of the canyon over a night spent there. It doesn't save you much on the hike out---you still have 3000 feet to ascend to the rim from there. It is probably easier to hike the whole way up from the bottom in one day (4400 feet), with mules carrying 30 pounds of your gear, than to carry the gear yourself up those 3000 feet.
Permits for backpacking are available four months in advance. There are instructions for applying on the Grand Canyon NP website:
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisi...try-permit.htm
The campground at the canyon bottom is called Bright Angel Campground, and it is near the historic Phantom Ranch (which has cabins, dorm beds, and meals, available through a completely different reservations system.)
An intermediate stop at Indian Garden on the Bright Angel trail is good if you have children along and you aren't certain that they can make the whole hike down or back up in a day. However, if you do that, you can NOT use the mule duffel service to carry your gear. They will only carry from the rim down to Phantom Ranch and back up; they will not do an intermediate drop at Indian Garden.
Personally, while I find Indian Garden a pleasant stop for a break on the hike out of the canyon, I would choose another night at the bottom of the canyon over a night spent there. It doesn't save you much on the hike out---you still have 3000 feet to ascend to the rim from there. It is probably easier to hike the whole way up from the bottom in one day (4400 feet), with mules carrying 30 pounds of your gear, than to carry the gear yourself up those 3000 feet.
