From what I know, both White Sands and Carlsbad only need a day each, and 2 days is probably enough for Guadalupe. Nearby, you can also visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Our time in NM so far has been limited to Carlsbad Caverns (we ended our NM trip early in March 2020 because of COVID). But if you like hiking, Utah is an awesome area to explore. However, I think that Utah will be busier than NM this summer. If you don’t mind the heat, Utah gets my vote, just because there is so much to do. And if you plan to go to Colorado, you will drive right past Colorado National Monument, which looks wonderful. If you don’t do well in the heat, visit Moab and then go to Colorado because it is cooler in the mountains). Cheers, JulieĮverything you list are great travel destinations.
Once you narrow things down, feel free to write in again if you have more questions. One more option…you could do a New England/NYC trip where you visit Acadia NP, Boston and NYC. We will be in Alaska in July…it is probably too late to plan a trip for August but we will have some great info if you haven’t been yet and are looking for a US destination for 2022. Skip Hawaii…we planned our trip this spring but summer and fall hotel prices have doubled. In California, visit Pinnacles and Lassen Volcanic and maybe even Redwood National Park (we haven’t been to these yet so unfortunately there won’t be any info on our website). Another option is to visit the less popular national parks. I think these make great destinations this summer and I think that they will be less crowded than Yellowstone and Glacier. Last summer, we had a great time in Washington (Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades) and Colorado (Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, Gunnison, Mesa Verde). The national parks are going to be mobbed this summer, especially Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier. I have been getting reports from people that they can’t get rental cars in this area right now. I’d skip Yellowstone and Glacier this summer if you don’t have it planned out yet. If you have any other questions, feel free to write in again. You could spend 3 days in each park.Īnd just to throw one more thing at you, we also have a USA road trip post that has more ideas. We spent a week here and loved every minute of it.įinally, another good summer road trip would be Olympic + Mount Rainier from Seattle. But just parking at RMNP for a few days is very nice. You could skip the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Mesa Verde, since those won’t be that interesting to your kids. Definitely go to RMNP and Great Sand Dunes.
We have a 10-day itinerary that can be modified. But this is not an itinerary I recommend from the end of May through September because of the heat.Ĭolorado is great. You could spend one day at a resort in Palm Springs or spend a day or two in San Diego. Then, drive to Joshua Tree, spend about 2 days here. You could fly into Las Vegas, and from Las Vegas, spend 2 days day tripping to the Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon. But Tim and I just visited Joshua Tree National Park and it is a great park for kids of all ages (I haven’t had time to add it to this post yet). In the summer, I wouldn’t recommend this. I think those 5 parks are great for kids with your age ranges, since the there is a wide variety of hiking trails and the scenery is awesome.Ī Las Vegas to San Diego/Los Angeles trip is nice, depending on the time of year you will be traveling. ? My first suggestion is a Utah Mighty 5 road trip, but you said that you have already been to Moab. There are lots of cool landscapes to explore and places to go rock scrambling in Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua Tree National Park | Best National Parks with Kids If you are looking for a winter break destination, this is a good one, and it can be paired with Death Valley (mentioned later in this article), Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Palm Springs, and/or San Diego. Joshua Tree is best visited from fall through spring, when temperatures are mild. What can you do in Joshua Tree National Park with kids? Hike the Arch Rock Trail and take a photo in front of Heart Rock, learn about the plants that thrive in the Mojave Desert on the Cap Rock Nature Trail, see Skull Rock, go hiking in Hidden Valley, and adventurous kids will love hiking through the Hall of Horrors slot canyon. Seuss book…Joshua Tree National Park is a great place to take the kids. Short but sweet hiking trails, lots of opportunities to go rock scrambling, and trees that look like they were plucked from the pages of a Dr.