Opinions for First National Park Visit
We live in FL and I am looking for some opinions on which National Park(s) to visit for our first Western trip. We want to go out West and will have about 3 weeks and we have 3 young children. Plan...
Forum Discussion
MVH1 wrote:
I would love to go to Yellowstone, but am concerned about the drive for our first trip. Maybe Grand Canyon, Colorado, Utah. Is this too aggressive for 10, 8, 4 year old and 3 weeks?
Drive a day, stop a day. Repeat to destination.
We took our 3 year old 500 miles and it was doable but I was glad not to have to do it the next day. Be sure to look for McDonalds with a play area or a park while you have lunch. Pack lots of DVDs and a portable player. I think this is manageable with 3 weeks.
I wouldn't hesitate to take my 8 and 10 year olds on the drive.
Last year we went 650 miles in a straight shot with 11, 9, and 5. It was only one day and we managed. I know many people that drive 20 hours straight to get to Florida in the winter months. Seems crazy to me, but it's the norm here. I have some friends that like to leave their houses at 3am; the kids fall back asleep and they get an extra 5 hours of drive time before everyone is awake. Others like to leave at 5pm and drive through the night while the kids sleep.
Those both sound unappealing, but you could do it once at least to cover more ground. Then rest for the day, etc.
If you want to stay closer and not drive so far but still get to a national park, have you considered Mammoth Cave or Smoky Mountains? We've done both of these b/c of our youngest's age and not wanting to drive too far. We're holding out the 2000 mile trip until next year when she's 7. ;)
Good luck.
