We are the biggest fans of the National Parks. We try to visit as many as we can whenever we travel anywhere. There are so many cool things to see inside these parks. So many beautiful places and so much to learn!
Our boys have over 100 different junior ranger badges from National Parks, and other National Sites throughout Utah and the United States.
We also know that visiting a National Park requires some good information and planning, so we share all the details from our visit on these posts. We give tips and tricks, and all the things you need to know.
There are also specific posts about some of our favorite hikes in the national sites. This is to help you choose which trails are going to work for your family.
The Notch is a fun, intermediate hike in Badlands National Park. This out and back hike runs about a mile and a half through the rocky terrain of the Badlands. We rate this hike as moderate to strenuous and suggest that families with small children are careful if they attempt to…
Fossil Exhibit Trail is a short easy walk in Badlands National Park. We were fooled by this trail, though, because we thought we were going to see some dinosaur fossils. We didn’t. In fact, we didn’t see any fossils at all. Let me explain: Fossil Exhibit Trail is a boardwalk…
One of the trails that we hiked in Badlands National Park was called Cliff Shelf Nature Trail. The reason we love Cliff Shelf Trail is that we saw a five foot long rattlesnake slither right across the trail in front of us. It was the highlight of our trip! If you’re…
The Door Trail in the Badlands was a really fun hike for the boys. One of the reasons that they liked it is that it is not a well-defined trail. It wanders among rugged rock formations across the dusty terrain. The number one rule of hiking is to stay on the…
Park literature at the Badlands lists The Window as a hike, but we hardly think it qualifies. This short boardwalk meanders a mere quarter mile out and back to a viewpoint. This hike is doable by any member of your party who can get out of the car. The hike…
The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located in South Dakota near Badlands National Park. This site is fairly new, and there is not a lot to see, but it is definitely worth a stop if you are in South Dakota. History buffs will really like stopping at this site…