Visiting A National Park? 6 Secrets For Unique & Inviting Family Adventures
Visiting a US National Park means selecting one of the available 429 parks or 150 related preserves or battlefields. With such an extensive menu, your visit may be in anywhere in the US, including Hawaii and Alaska. How can you plan for a family visit that is both inviting and unique? From wearing matching outfits for your family to taking a midnight flash-stroll on a park trail, consider the following secrets that will bring a true adventure to your family.
1. Start Planning 8 Weeks Ahead of Travel
Almost every travel site will announce that a traveler should always plan ahead. When traveling with a family to visit a National Park, you’ll want to take this advice seriously. Planning ahead also requires packing supplies that meet your needs throughout your visit. A unique and inviting family adventure calls for more specific packing, such as water balloons for the hiking game you’ll play, or plastic bags for the family treasure hunt. Planning is key to success for a memorable family adventure.
2. Walking Out Your Door? The Fun Starts Now
If you have young children, the excitement for your visit to a National Park will likely begin to build days before your trip. If you have tweens or teens, the excitement may not be as apparent. Either way, start your adventure with an enjoyable moment as you leave home. You might hand out “Vaca Bucks Coupon Books” to each child, containing five or ten dollars worth of coupons for snacks, beverages, or souvenirs. Children can redeem the coupons for items of their choice during the trip. Offering children some freedom in making choices helps them understand that the vacation will bring opportunities to make independent decisions, just as the adults do.
3. Collect Memorable Moments Along the Way
Making a family trip memorable involves more than simply traveling, seeing, and going home. A unique and inviting family adventure will include experiences that are memorable. Your family may want to try new food flavors or combinations, some of which are available only near National Parks. Imagine biting into a world-class date in the warm sun of the southern California desert, or tasting a variety of specialty grilled mushrooms in a restaurant at Glacier National Park. Everyone in the family may want to choose a warm breakfast popover in Acadia National Park. Yum! The National Parks often have restaurants nearby that serve exciting meals or snacks with foods found only in the region, creating memorable experiences for all. Consider getting matching dresses to wear on your trips to parks for some memorable photos.
Unique adventures for your family will depend on which National Park you visit and the ages of your children. If you are hiking, a unique adventure will mean studying the environment to find the biggest bugs (be sure to take a magnifier for each child) or filtering water from a stream or riverbed. You can help young children devise 3-D pictures using leaves, acorns, and other naturally-appealing treasures using white school glue pressed on flat pieces of cardboard. Press flowers or leaves between heavy items and take them home to make bookmarks. Be careful to leave behind any growing plants and do not take rocks or other natural components out of the parks; use what is found on the ground.
If your family is visiting a large National Park with a variety of animals or inviting surroundings to view, hold a drawing contest at the end of each day. Children can use crayons or markers to draw a picture of what they’ve seen each day, but the catch is that they are each blindfolded. Take crayons or markers, paper and blindfolds. Make it a fun exercise and award prizes each evening. Keep the pictures; they will be great reminders of a memorable trip.
When young children are tired, take a rest in the middle of the day. In fact, when parents are tired, take a rest in the middle of the day. One family we know gets up early, visits parks until after lunch, then swims or naps all afternoon. They grab a quick dinner and visit events and area happenings each evening. This schedule alleviates exhaustion and crankiness throughout the trip.
4. Enjoy the Mishaps, Mistakes & Misery
Although no one enjoys a mishap or mistake on a family trip, the truth is most of us enjoy a good laugh about it long afterward. Misery is no fun when the entire family is in the middle of it, but it can lead to many hours of gentle teasing and laughter years after the incident is closed. Laugh when things don’t happen as planned. Allow your children to see you in awkward or uncomfortable moments and laugh with them because they’ll surely laugh at you.
5. Create a King or Queen Each Day
If your family has difficulty agreeing on where to eat or what to do, the easiest way to solve the problem is to appoint a king or queen for each day. That adult or child makes the choices all day long and everyone goes along with it. It is amazing how quickly the arguments disappear, as everyone knows they will each get a turn to be royalty for a day.
6. Take the Fun Home: Literally
After you’ve collected numerous homemade pictures and craft items that are dripping wet or falling apart, you may not feel like taking them home is the best option. However, we encourage you to take plastic bags to hold these treasures, insert all artwork or crafts, and do so, as your children will surely ask later where their artwork is and they’ll certainly want all artwork to go on the refrigerator door when they arrive home.
A visit to a National Park is inviting and unlike any other. Create a unique and inviting family adventure to make it a memorable benchmark of your family enjoying life together.
