I totally get that . . . and it is great that you want to expose you children to NPs and the great outdoors. But your kids are still very young -- the 4 yo 'might' get more out of things like the ranger walks etc, or might not - all 4 yo's are different. But the 2 yo is still really a toddler. And I personally think the glorious scenery may be lost on both of them.

If possible -- I'd maybe wait to visit Yosemite until the kids are say 7 and 5 years old or even a bit older.

Re locations . . . YNP is ENORMOUS and 'just outside the park could still be a 2 hour drive from Yosemite Valley. They aren't 'lying' - just omitting some of the fine print

Thank you so much for this info! GNP was top of my list and I actually booked a condominium there until I realized I had booked for too early in the season. What would you say about the commute from the lodge into the park? A quick look at St. Mary's and I think it looks nice too. Perhaps we can do as you did and couple it with a stay at Whitefish. I will check out your trip report.

Thanks. Since you have experience with kids, do you have a suggestion regarding the best ages to go to the parks you visited? I am hearing from others that perhaps the cruise is also best for kids this age and save the parks until they are a tad bit older. Thanks again.

We were posting at the same time . . . I personally think such young children would be even more out of their element visiting Glacier NP than doing Yosemite.

I live in between Glacier and Yellowstone. We have visited both with our daughter at both your kids' ages. The highlights for her were getting out of the park and going back to the hotel to swim in the pool. I would keep your expectations really low when it comes to how much the kids will care about the national parks.

If you decide on the Glacier route, I would try to stay near Many Glacier for part of the trip, then you could move to Whitefish and enjoy the Whitefish Mountain (ziplining, alpine slide, etc.). I would stay at the Whitefish Lake Lodge with kids. We've stayed there several times and it's nice. We prefer their sister property, The Firebrand, as it is newer and in town so easier to walk to restaurants, but it's not as fun for kids.

I think the cruise suggestion is the best one for your kids.

I wouldn't spend the entire vacation in Whitefish because I think the 27 mile drive back and forth every day would get tiresome. How long is your trip for? I do think splitting it up between Whitefish and in or very near the park would be ideal. You get a more luxurious stay at the Lodge at Whitefish Lake and the restaurants are better, and there is enough to do in the area. But for actually visiting the park, I would prefer to stay in or very near the park. We were very happy at St. Mary's Village. And hopefully more restaurants will be open in the area than last year. And in the summer the lodges inside the park will be open and you can try their restaurants, too.

I LOVE National Parks and highly encourage you to enjoy them with your children. However, I do agree with some of the others that your little ones might be a bit young to for such an extensive trip. Hikes, nice restaurants and spa services really aren't little kid friendly activities. In just a few years your kids will be ready to race you to the top of the mountain, raft down the river, jump into the swimming hole, etc.

I live in Utah, so we took our kids when youngest was 1 and oldest was 3--but that was for a weekend. The one year old got nothing out of it But you get something out of it watching your kids enjoy themselves! I would say 5 is the youngest age I would take kids if you want them to get something out of it. Arches is a great park for young kids. Short, easy hikes. And even a 5 year old can make it to Delicate ARch given enough time, Gatorade, and M&Ms! All of the Utah parks can be done by young children. The driving from place to place can get a little long but not insurmountable. Joshua Tree was ok for younger kids--but you have to make sure they wiill pay attention to where they are going or they will end up in cactus. (ask me how I know....)

Yellowstone is more like a 6 year old and up park. Lots of driving, lots of walking. Totally beyond cool stuff!!! I think Glacier would be a bit much for kids under 10--lots of driving and not easy hiking. Just my opinion.

I try to tack on a National Park or historical sight to any vacation we take! In San FRancisco--Alcatraz is amazing and then there is a National Historic site on Fisherman's wharf where you can explore 3 cool boats. My husband and I liked the boats. My kids just wanted to watch sea lions pushing each other off the docks And don't forget the East Coast parks--Shanendoah, Acadia, Smoky Mountains. Some day I really want to visit the Everglades!

Add me to team--Alaskan cruise with your kids at this point. I really think you will have fun time.

I am not trying to push Glacier but want to reiterate there are easy hikes in Glacier. You will have to buy the book I mentioned upthread in order to find them. My daughter did a few of the very easy hikes with their daughter who was under 2 at the time.

If you are interested in the East Coast parks, Acadia would be a good choice. There are easy hiking/walking trails, especially on the carriage roads. And you have beaches. And lobster pounds!
https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm

I don't really have an opinion about the cruises. We took our daughters on a few cruises but they were about 10 and older at the time.

I have a totally different suggestion. Denver and Colorado. The playgrounds in Colorado are fantastic. The best I've ever seen traveling around the country and we've traveled a lot of the U.S. The Littleton Museum was great for kids and the Centennial Center Park was the best I've seen. Then you could do a day at Rocky Mountain National Park. Then go to a ski resort. Most ski towns should have a nursery or camp activities for little kids. Go somewhere like Breckenridge or Vail. They have lots of amenities. Short hikes, places to play. The weather is wonderful in Colorado in the summer.

I would hesitate to recommend Vail and Breckenridge because of high altitude effects. Vail Village is at 8200' and Breck at 9600'. Some people (and kids) have little trouble adjusting, but others are miserable for several days.

OK I’ll give you another suggestion.

You are a NY based family with 2 young children. Instead of flying across the country to visit a National Park, why not look at the ones on the East Coast?

https://www.destguides.com/en/itiner...the-east-coast


FWIW – As Gardyloo said, a cruise to Alaska is an option where you will see scenery, have spa and babysitting services, and lots of food options. We did an Alaskan cruise with our kids (who were about 6 and 9 at the time), and then rented an RV in Anchorage and drove to Fairbanks. We camped at the Denali Campground and took the Park Bus halfway. It was a long ride and figured the kids couldn’t handle the full day trip. Near Fairbanks, you can visit North Pole, Alaska complete with a visit to Santa in the summer.

Thank you all! This building consensus really makes a lot of sense and I am looking into the Alaskan cruise. I will be patient on National Parks but still have learned a lot here on what to think about when the time comes. I am a bit concerned about all the travel time for Alaska but since the travel time is part of the actual trip, it may work very well. If anyone has any specific suggestions for cruise lines, that would be great.

Another thing I am considering is taking advantage of one of the Lakes in upstate NY like Lake George. Clearly a very different thing than the large trip I was considering but it's only a drive and then you have a bunch of hikes and other outdoor activities you can do.

Thanks! I would be totally open to this if it made any more sense for kids than the other national parks, but clearly advantageous in travel time. Similarly, I am considering doing a Lake George trip or some other lake area in upstate NY. Thanks.

Thanks! I would be totally open to this if it made any more sense for kids than the other national parks, but clearly advantageous in travel time. Similarly, I am considering doing a Lake George trip or some other lake area in upstate NY. Thanks.

One thing that isn't clear to me is how many days you have available for this trip. Most Alaska cruises are for seven days/nights; add a day's travel in each direction and you have nine days. Do you have two weeks available? More?

There are two main types of Alaska cruises, round trip and one way. Due to US maritime law, all the one-way cruises must have one of their termini in Canada (either departing or arriving.) There are round trip cruises that depart from Seattle, San Francisco and Vancouver BC but those departing from the US require a stop in a Canadian port to comply with the same US laws (the Passenger Vessel Services Act, sometimes wrongly referred to as the Jones Act.) Those ships typically stop in Victoria, BC for a few hours. The Seattle and San Francisco-departing round trips generally travel on open ocean west of Vancouver Island, which can make for much less scenic and rougher water than the Vancouver sailings (both one way and round trip) which stay on protected "Inside Passage" waters for much more time.

The one-way cruise from or to Vancouver use either Seward or Whittier as their Alaska termini. Both are accessed from Anchorage by road or rail (roughly three and two hours respectively) so there's an unavoidable bit of logistic complication at the Alaska end. If one wants to spend some days touring southcentral or interior Alaska, then one needs to rent a vehicle or join a tour of some kind, which can be quite expensive (cars are very pricey at present) or potentially inconvenient, particularly if traveling with small children.

The two most frequently visited national parks in Alaska for cruise passengers (once off the boat) are Kenai Fjords National Park and Denali National Park. Kenai Fjords is an undeveloped park accessed by boat (or long cross-country hikes) from Seward. so convenient if one's one-way cruise starts or ends in that town. However, the boat trip from Seward into the national park is partly on open ocean, and can be quite rough, so seasickness is a risk for those vulnerable. The reward is stunning scenery - mountains, glaciers - and abundant wildlife - whales, seals, birds, maybe some bears on the shoreline...

Denali is more problematic for the time being. It's several (driving) hours north of Anchorage but the only road into the interior of the park - used by shuttle and tour buses, no private vehicles allowed - is presently closed past a point roughly halfway between the park headquarters and the main visitor center in the middle of the park; it will remain closed (major repairs needed) for the duration of the 2023 visitor season. But even if it were open, I'd hesitate to take little kids on an 8-hour round trip in a repurposed school bus.

All of this suggests to me that - if I were in your shoes, and of course I'm not - I'd be looking at a seven-night round trip cruise from Vancouver. This is by far the easiest trip logistically - land at YVR, taxi to a hotel near the cruise terminal, cruise, then repeat the process in reverse, done. The flights (if you fly nonstop from NYC) will take around 5 1/2 hours westbound and around 5 hours eastbound, which is probably about how long it would take to drive upstate to Lake George or one of the Finger Lakes. Just sayin'.

If you have 9 or 10 days (or more) available, then adding on to your time in western Canada might be an easy option. You say you've been to Whistler, but was that in the summer or ski season? Whistler is terrific in the summer - plenty of affordable accommodation as it's built to host big winter crowds; lots of places to have fun with the kids, plenty of places to eat...and of course you know how beautiful the area is already. Maybe stay at the Nita Lake Lodge, which is a lakefront property with a spa.

As for which cruise line to choose, that really depends on a couple of factors. Disney Cruises would probably be the best for the kids, but it's also the most expensive of the mainstream lines. The smaller "boutique" lines - Seabourne, Regent et al - are also quite pricey but can offer more intimate and luxurious conditions - which might be great for the parents but not so hot for the kids. If it were me, I'd look for a cruise that includes either Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay, plus Sitka, for scenic beauty and a charming port of call, respectively. But I'd also encourage you to look at Cruise Critic where there are lots of posts on specific cruise itineraries, ports of calls, cruise line amenities and kids' programs, etc.

Hubbard Glacier:



I'll stop here. Hope (again) this isn't too confusing.

If you decide on the Alaska cruise... Make sure you have whatever documents are required for your kids. Don't assume anything; search both Canada and U.S. official government websites.

I was recently in Lake George and I wouldn’t call it outdoorsy, except for things like mini golf and lake cruises. Hiking is going to mean driving a ways— maybe you already know this. It’s a lot traffic to deal with for bopping around, and parking is an endless problem.

On the other hand an expensive trip with little children doesn’t make a lot of sense unless the trip is just for the adults. For young children a pool and nearby go karts is all you need for a memorable trip. Camping also works.

Lake George Village at the southern end of the lake is as tom_mn describes, and a place I typically avoid unless I want to go outlet shopping.... Once you get away from the village itself it is definitely more outdoorsy, with the predominant activity being access directly to the lake itself. Kid friendly hiking (aka flat path walking) is not great in that immediate area - simply because the terrain is very hilly. There are countless other lakes in the Adirondacks, ranging from small to medium to larger, some with very nice resorts on them. We typically stay at an AirBnB or VRBO and don't mind a short drive to hiking trails. We like like "moderate" hikes of 5-6 miles, with some limited elevation gain. Compared to Lake George, we prefer Lake Placid or Saranac Lake for weekend getaways. There are endless miles of more strenuous hike with elevation for those who want it so it's a hikers paradise. We may do a quick trip to the Sagamore on Lk George (away from the Village) later this month if they have any post leaf season specials.

For "luxury/family", maybe look at something "downstate" like Mohonk Mountain House www.mohonk.com.

Unless you fly into JAC and do GTNP and YNP in a big loop. There is no ground time needed because when you land at the Jackson Hole airport you are landing IN a national park.

But I like the cruise Alaska idea too.

Also agree with Gardyloo's post #36 about the benefits of seeing the SE of Alaska.