Opinions for First National Park Visit

I think we are going to try for Colorado. It seems like the closest area for our first time and based on some feedback has a lot to offer.

I think that is an excellent choice.

IF . . . you might like an alternative route here is one with which I am very familiar. Just one possibility:

Don't know where you will start in Florida, I have randomly picked near Crestview on I-10.

First night in Fairview Riverside State Park near Madisonville, LA just off I-12. In Layfayette, LA take I-49 north to Shreveport.

Second night in Texarkana, Shady Pines 380 miles. West on US 82 to Wichita Falls then US 287 to Goodlett, TX and

Third night at Ole Town Cotton Gin in Goodlett, 354 miles. US 287 to Amarillo then on through Clayton, NM to Raton.

Fourth night at Raton Pass RV park, 358 miles. That leaves 278 to Estes Park.

I have towed over most of this route several times. Only exception is between Shreveport and Paris Texas--because our home is off this portion of the route. I have stayed in every campground I've mentioned except Shady Pines in Texarkana, but am familiar with that one as well.

Just one of many possibilities, but this one I know well.

I think if I only had 3 weeks and I was coming from Florida I wouldn't bring the RV. I would fly to Helena, and rent a car and then visit both Glacier and Yellowstone and even the Grand Tetons. Montana is full of cool stuff for kids. If you could afford it, staying at the lodges would be so cool. (I recommended the Grand Canyon earlier but with a 4 year old I think I"d postpone that until s/he was a bit older.)
If your on a budget, flying into Salt Lake City or Seattle would be cheapest and then renting a car there, its about an 9 hour drive, but a straight shot either way.

I am one who thinks that kids are durable, malleable and will have fun almost anywhere you take them no matter which park. It's all going to be an adventure to them.

The BIG THREE Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone are VERY crowded in season. but worth the hassle in my book.

Take 'em and go they'll have a ball.

I think we are going to try for Colorado. It seems like the closest area for our first time and based on some feedback has a lot to offer. The two routes I've looked at take me up I-75 and then either to I-40 or I-70 into RMNP. I haven't researched it very well, but I think most of the other parks that were mentioned (sand dunes, gunnison etc.) in Colorado are South of RMNP. Anybody have driving route advice? Thanks

CloudDriver wrote:
You can get two National Parks for one entrance fee. Yellowstone and Grand Teton are about 40 miles apart and the 7-day entrance fee for either park includes entrance to the other. Yellowstone is amazing and Grand Teton has beautiful mountain scenery.

Sorry to report that this is no longer true, or won't be within weeks. Entry fee for each is dropping a little, but it will no longer be a "two for the price of one." I don't recall the exact fee, but I just read it the other day. I'm thinking it's going to be $20 (per car) for each rather than $25 for both.

I'm probably a little prejudiced, living between Yellowstone and the Black Hills, but my vote would be Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and the Black Hills, including S.D. Badlands. The Black Hills are really geared to kids -- lots of great attractions in and around. Glacier is just too far for 3 weeks. Utah's parks/Grand Canyon is too hot for summer vacations. If Yellowstone is too far, my second choice would be Colorado/RMNP, etc.

double post

Starting from Florida, "The West" begins in Alabama and "The North" in Georgia.

Do you have any idea of how far you want to go, or what kinds of things you want to see? How young are the children? Under age four, they will remember almost nothing but enjoy almost everything if they are free to run around and do what immediately interests them, so your choices should be based on your own interests, rather than theirs. What they will remember most about the trip might just be that they took a trip with the family; I know this was the case for the three youngest of my siblings when we took our first trip "out west" from Michigan (we went to the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa and Nebraska).

Are you interest in history? Geology? Wildlife? Active outdoor recreation? Checking off a bucket list? People go to the national parks for all these reasons. I can recommend National Geographic's "Complete National Parks of the United States" which has descriptions of more than 400 properties in the National Park system, almost all of them north or west of Florida.

I hesitate to recommend any particular parks because your interests are likely different from mine, as I deliberately do not live in, or seldom visit, Florida, having once lived there and visited many times in my first 30 years of life.

Want to see desert landscapes? Almost all of the parks of southern Utah and northern Arizona feature desert morphology, and the Federal lands around the parks in the Moab area allow for active recreation: four wheeling, mountain biking, etc.

Historical interests? Most of the parks and monuments for the Civil War are spread out from Pennsylvania to Georgia, and east to Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Early Native American culture? The parks are mostly in northern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, southern Utah, and northern Arizona, spread among the extensive tribal lands.

Quiet places for outdoor activities without crowds? The grasslands properties are in western Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Mountain forests can be found in the little know parks and recreation areas in Colorado (like the Curecanti in the Gunnison river valley), and the National Forests in SW Arkansas and SE Oklahoma.

Or do you want to see the bucket list parks that draw millions of visitors every summer, tens of thousands every day in season, so many that you might need to join a lottery for some activities? The big ones are Yosemite in California, Yellowstone mostly in Wyoming, Grand Canyon in NW Arizona. These are far enough apart that you can't fit all three into a three week road trip from Florida, so you have to look at what is where and pick one of them.

People who visit Yellowstone can usually fit Glacier into their schedule, and find that Mount Rushmore or The Badlands are on their way there or on the way home.

Those who get to Yosemite are often within reach of Sequoia and find Death Valley on their way there or back, and might also visit Las Vegas, Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam.

With a Grand Canyon destination, Monument Valley and Zion are not too far away (showing different aspects of the same High Desert geomorphology) and there are monument to a number of ancient Native American settlements along the way, as you cross New Mexico or southern Colorado.

My favorite places to visit are in southern Colorado, in the Arkansas and Gunnison river valleys, but that's because I'm a geologist. To most people, it is just more mountain and canyon country, and not the biggest, that would be the Grand Canyon further south and further west.

4runnerguy, that was an awesome post! I starred all your places on google maps :).

Thanks everyone so much for the great ideas!

4runnerguy wrote:
So with your kid's ages in mind, here's some ideas:

Head to the four corners area (CO, UT,NM, AZ). For southern Utah, maybe get a campsite at Watchman CG in the park. Electric hookups only, but there's a great stream right by the campground that is wide and shallow. Kid's can spend hours building little dams and wading beneath the cottonwood trees. Good way to keep cool during the heat of the day and it's a gorgeous place for the parents to take a couple of chairs down to the creek and watch. (This assumes you're not travelling in March and April when the flow can be high). Zion uses a shuttle bus system to access the canyon that leaves from right near the campground. There are lots of shorter hikes the kids will love (plus the excitement of riding the bus). If you watch kids, they tend to focus on smaller, up close things than taking in big scenes. For this reason, I'm not sure they'd get nearly as much out of a trip to the Grand Canyon as they would Zion. Likewise, a 4 year old can't take very long hikes either. (And they can be worrisome near the rim of a cliff.)

Down in the same area, you can also ride the Durango-Silverton train I mentioned. Take another day at Mesa Verde and do the short, paved path to Spruce Tree ruin. Explain to your kids that kids their ages lived there about 800 years ago. This is a place where they can get an education without even knowing they are!

Next, drive up to Ouray. It's a gorgeous drive through scenery that would probably be a national park except for all the mining. Take the kids to the Ouray hot springs pool. It's our favorite hot springs pool in the state (shh, we live in a town with a famous one - what a turncoat). Great scenery right from the pool and there's a great free slide for the older kids. When we were there a few years ago, we sat soaking in the pool while a bear was on the hill across the road foraging for food!

From Ouray, head east on US 50 to Salida. You can stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison NM if your schedule permits. A really dark CG where your kids will see more stars than they ever have in their lives. Deer often wander through in the daytime. If you get the time, drive down the East Portal road that takes off from right near the entrance station. No place to go with your trailer, but take the truck down. You'll end up right at the bottom of the Black Canyon looking up.

Spend a couple of nights at Salida. Head up to St. Elmo, a real ghost town. Across the street from the little store you'll find dozens of squirrels and chipmunks just looking for a handout. Hummingbirds all over the place. Great old wooden sidewalks. The older kids might enjoy an easy float trip. Salida has a great downtown with a park right on the river. Interesting art shops. Check out this one. Don't you think your kids would get a kick out of this shop?

From Salida, head south to Great Sand Dunes NP. The CG there is quite nice. If you're there in June or early July, Medano Creek may still be flowing. Sand dunes, a stream to play in, cool showers to rinse off in - it's a kids giant sandbox/playground!

Seeing the sights I've listed above might take 10 to 12 days out of a three week trip. So that leaves five days each direction to get out here and back home. That's 400 miles a day. Make it a couple of longer days interspersed with a couple of shorter days. I don't know where you are in FL, but maybe a stop near one of the MS beaches? It is tough, as any time you are talking about going across much of Texas, that's a day or two! But getting to the four corners region is probably a day shorter in each direction than Yellowstone via the Black Hills.

When you get back from this trip, you'll have seen a few NP's. Will you be able to brag about all the parks you went to? Maybe not. But you'll be able to brag that your kids had the most fun on a vacation ever.

I love that store! Decisions made we've got to go just to see it. Thanks