Visiting National Parks with Young Kids

Yosemite was our first national park trip with kids, a three-and-a-half hour drive from our home in San Francisco. Our kids were five-months-old, and we were excited about hiking there with them in front carriers.

Hiking in Joshua Tree

Our most important discovery, however, was made in the Yosemite Gift Shop rather than the trail -- the Passport to Your National Parks spiral bound guide book. It listed all the parks and monuments in the U.S. national park system with spaces for official stickers and cancellation stamps from each park. We purchased one book for each child and made a goal of visiting as many national parks as possible.