What ages are best for Grand Canyon and/or Yellowstone trips?

[hroyale]

I'm a little worried my kids are getting in a "trap" always wanting to do WDW for our family vacation. We have a great time and never get bored. But...

I've never traveled to the national parks and really want to do those at some point with the kids.

I've read some trip reports and they sound like wonderful vacations.

My kids just turned 6. We aren't big hikers or campers, but do enjoy nature.

At what age do you think kids really appreciate trips like Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce etc..?

It seems like a lot of the trip reports have kids in their early teens, or should I start planting the seeds sooner?

Thanks!
Heather

 

[kathy884]

We did our first National Park trip with our son when he was six. I think it worked out pretty well. It sounds like you're thinking the same way we were. We wanted my son to be able to do at least some short walks/hikes. Kids are so adaptable and love anything at that age. They don't really perhaps appreciate the pristine beauty, but even at that young age I think they can sense they are in a special place. And they love seeing critters -- both big and small. On one three hour family friendly hike (usually with younger ones we stick to shorter hikes than that), just when we were about as far as we could be from the trail head, my son said, "Mommy I'm tired, can you carry me?" There was no way we could. I had never given my son caffine before, but I saw that I had one can of diet coke in my backpack and gave it to him to drink. The next thing you know he was at the very front of our large extended family group with my brother who is the most in shape and most experienced hiker in our family and made it back first with his uncle They waited for the rest of us. // Interesting -- This year for spring break my son who is 14 and I are taking a mini trip to Orlando (just three nights) and then in June my husband, son, and I will be meeting with my parents and my brother and his family and doing three nights at Zion and three at Bryce. We've never visted these places before. National Parks we've visited frequently are Rocky Mountain National Park (near Estes Park, CO), and Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Orlando and National Parks are probably my very favorite choices for a family vacation.

I personally think that your kids will like whatever you do, so I'd do what you want to do. As for remembering things, kids sense things, enjoy trips, but don't remember as much as when they get older or are adults. Still exposure to Disney, often means an apprecriation for Disney/theme parks as they get older, and exposure to National Parks often means an appreciation for National Parks as they get older.

 

[kacaju]

we did Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion when my youngest was 6 She LOVED it.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We have been taking our daughter to museums and smaller national monuments around our state since our daughter was very little. We took her to the Grand Canyon when she was 6. Unfortunately, the trip was tainted with an outbreak of lice, so she didn't really jazz to it.

However, when she was 8 we took her Yosemite and she LOVED it! We are taking her to Yellowstone this year and she is really looking forward to it.

 

[VAN]

We took our kids on the Yellowstone/Badlands/Black Hills trip when they were 7 & 8. Grand Canyon may have been the year after that.

We have a camper and do a lot of walking on trails, etc.

My kids still talk about the trips and want to go back.

The age all depends upon your own children, however, I would think ages 6-10 would be ideal for first trips to the National Parks.

 

[kalamazoo]

For parks like Yellowstone/Grand Tetons (I highly recommend them, btw) I think you could have a good time with kids this age, however, I think you could have a better time if you wait a couple of years. Once they are 8 or 9 they will be able to go horseback riding, rafting, etc with more ease (some places will not even allow kids younger than 8). Overall they are just more able.

That is not to say that you can't enjoy yourselves now. I'm sure they woul love seeing all the animals in Yellowstone and enjoy some of the tourist activities in Jackson Hole. Just make sure, wherever you go that you don't have to do hours of driving to get somewhere for a day trip. In my experience a child's appreciation of a beautiful vista is extremely short-lived so do not plan your days just around sight-seeing.

Others may disagree, but I would not recommend going to the Grand Canyon at this age, especially if you are not hikers.

There are many different types of national parks to chose from with different degrees of organized visitor interaction (e.g. ranger-led programs). I personally find that beach vacations are the easiest and most entertaining with young children, but I remember thoroughly enjoying trips to places like Smokey Mountains NP and Shenandoah NP as a kid. Also, don't overlook state parks - many of those have excellent visitor services as well as really cool things to see.

As much as we love Disney, there are many many other experiences out there. If you feel like you should expose your children to something new then go for it!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I think this little boy enjoyed both places, WDW and Yellowstone-

 

[pperfectmom]

We are taking our kids on their first Western parks trip this summer. we are concentrating on Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, The Badlands and Mt. Rushmore. We are campers/hikers but the kids are pretty young still(will be 7 and 5) so we will most likely do shorter hikes in the 3-4 mile category with maybe one 6 mile thrown in. We mostly have to see what effect the altitude has on them. As for the Grand Canyon, we will definitely wait. DH and I hiked it when we were still young and in great shape and it was hard then. We could only get a permit for one night's camping so had to hike down one day and back out the next. After the trip down, I had blisters an inch long on the ends of my toes. Ouch. We are going to be treading a fine line between when the kids are able to do it and we are too old to.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I've been taking my kids camping since they were 3 & 4, and we've enjoyed each experience. They are 21 & 22 now, so we rarely go anymore, but during their young years through teens we've gone to the Sierras each summer.

This is a pic of them hiking near Yosemite Falls when they were 3 & 4.

 

[shelemm]

We did it the other way around. We always visited parks and natural areas until the youngest was 7. Then we took them to WDW. In fact, our first two trips to the Orlando area, we didn't go to any amusement parks at all, only to
natural areas in the state parks and national forests near Orlando.

 

[CPT Tripss]

We did short duration NP trips with DD beginning when she was about nine (she is 25 now). As she got older, the trips got longer. She was kind of iffy with them . . . part of the problem was she was into competative swimming and missed her lap time time.

Based on those experiences, I'd say start short, closer to home and see how the kids do. Get them out hiking and seeing nature . . . then move to longer more "intense" trips. Nothin' like seeing the real thing intead of the WDW copy.

 

[KEVIN632]

Hi
The best age is 12 ,i visited when i was 12.
Go to Yosimite National Park...It is the most beautiful place in the country. Skip LA...aint nothing there but trash and gangs...Las Vegas is a great idea. As for transportation, I'd suggest renting a car, or checking out tour buses.
Thanks!