Opinions for First National Park Visit

Glad to see nobody mentioned Yosemite. Stay away, it's awful!! Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon are all close together. Sounds fun!

Seems to me that most kids will be interested in the geysers, critters, and other features of Yellowstone. And as has been mentioned, you have some beautiful mountains just south of there... the Tetons.

But with 3 weeks available, you'd have time to add some other places along the way. If you think they're old enough to appreciate Native American Ruins, Mesa Verde would be a great stop for a day or so.

Here in South Dakota, I know people think it is just a cave, but Wind Cave NP is awesome. You will see nearly as much wildlife as Yellowstone, minus the bears, otters, and possibly moose. Oh yeah, the wolves too, not a fan anyway.
Elk, deer, bison, and prairie dogs barely get a yawn from locals.

And it is free, except for the cave tour.

Badlands will cost you, but it is beautiful in it's own way.

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.

Yellowstone

When coming or going through NORTH TEXAS you might want to visit the WICHITA MOUNTAINS WILDLIFE REFUGE just NORTH of LAWTON OKLA at Medicine Park, OKLA. The kids will love seeing the wild buffalo and other wildlife there roaming all over the refuge... They also have an area called PRAIRIE DOG CITY which draws a hugh crowd...

Roy Ken

The countries first national park is a great one to visit. Yellowstone.

There are many other great ones other than Yellowstone as well.
Glacier - beautiful.
Rocky Mountain - spectacular.
Grand Canyon - not to be missed.
I would plan my route and hit as many of them as I could. You really cannot go wrong. There are 58 of them currently.

Yes, near Utah there are several including the Grand Canyon.

In and around southern Utah there's a bunch of them.

how old are your children? There are so many parks out west it is very hard to chose. When our children were young (6&11) we went to Bad Lands, Cody wy., Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone and Glacier in a 24 day period. Six year old still remembers it and he is now 40.Have a great trip and make lots of memories!