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Essential National Park Packing List

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Essential National Park Packing List

National Park vacations have become more and more popular. This is evidenced by how much busier the parks have become since we started our goal in 2015 of visiting as many National Parks as possible before our kids graduate high school. When traveling to a National Park adventure there are some key items to pack whether you plan to rough it and camp at the park or whether you plan to relax at a nice home rental or hotel at the end of a long day of hiking. We as a family have visited 50 National Parks so far so we have a good idea of what we consider to be essentials for packing no matter the park we are visiting. We have compiled our essential National Park packing list for ANY National Park vacation.

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Stunning 3 Days in Redwood National Park

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Redwood National Park

We came for 3 Days in Redwood National Park for the trees, but stayed for the unexpected and special beauty of the ferns, the beaches, and the tidepools! Here is how we had a stunning 3 days in Redwood National Park!

This park, much like Olympic National Park, has a lot more to it than people typically would think.  We came from the north on our way from Crater Lake National Park and a quick stop at the Oregon Caves National Monument.  The beauty of the drive through the mountains and along the Smith River on Highway 199 was special before we came upon the exit for the Howland Hill Road near Hiouchi, CA in the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park.

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3 Unique Days in the Crater Lake Area

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Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake is the deepest and one of the most beautiful lakes in the United States.  It is also both easy to visit and hard to experience.  It is easy to visit because as long as the road is plowed you can get to see the lake itself often.  It is hard to experience because the shore is approximately 900 feet below the rim drive and only one path leads down to the lake itself.  Making matters worse is that the trail, as well as the boat rides that leave from it, are not open to visit for as long as you would expect and the boat tour was still closed in late June when we visited.  

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Fun 2 Days in Saguaro National Park

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Saguaro National Park. www.adventuringbeyond.com #nationalparkswithkids #saguaro #getoutside #nps #travelwithkids #MyNationalParks #familytravel

Sunshine, check. Cactus, check. Desert, check. Mountains, check. City, check.  Er wait, City?  Yes, Saguaro National Park is both in Tucson but in fact the two sections of the park are divided by the whole of the city.  I know this may sound like a detractor, but in both the Rincon Mountain and Tucson Mountain districts you will find that it is quiet, isolated, and feels wild enough to qualify as a National Park. 

Once you are done with your hike you can grab a great lunch or dinner or choose to return to your luxury resort and soak in the pool.  Or, you can camp, boondock, rent a home, or sleep in a cheap motel.  Obviously, one of the best parts of Saguaro is that it is so approachable and easy to visit.  

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Why we should care about National Parks

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A special post by Kelsey Nelson

Introduction

    When was the last time you walked in a National Park? How did that make you feel? Was it calming? There are 4 reasons that will be introduced to prove that National Parks are helpful to humans, animals, and the environment. 

Grand Prismatic Spring – Yellowstone National Park
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The Best Things to do in Voyageurs National Park with Kids

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Our tips for the best things to do with kids in Voyageurs National Park
Morning at our 2nd Houseboat Site

Our summer trip to Voyageurs National Park was perfect – it included beautiful sunsets, stunning lakes, great hikes, and some fun history.  We spent a total of 4 nights in the park, with 3 of those being on the water on our houseboat.  

As mentioned in our other post here on Voyageurs National Park, we went out on Crane Lake and as a result some of these things to see are on that side of the park, but we visited Kabetogema Lake Visitor Center and Rainy Lake Visitor Center as well so we got to two of the three Visitor Centers and did activities at each of them.  We have organized this post by the nearest visitor center so you can choose where you go and what to see in that area.  

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20 Best Travel-Friendly Stocking Stuffers

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Our picks for the top 20 road-trip worthy stocking stuffers for anyone on your Christmas list. Great for the travel and national park lover in your life. #stockingstuffers #roadtrip #travelwithkids #christmaslist

I am always looking for fun stocking stuffers for my kids for Christmas and finding their stocking stuffers is more fun for me than finding their main gifts. Because of my love for stocking stuffers, we decided to compile a list of travel-friendly stocking stuffers that are perfect for anyone on your list who loves to travel and road trip like we do. Hope you find this helpful!

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4 Practical Tips for Planning a Houseboat Adventure in Voyageurs National Park

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Planning tips for taking a houseboat vacation in Voyageurs National Park. Tips include where to rent, which boat to rent, navigating, and what to expect for the cost. It makes for an amazing family National Park adventure! www.adventuringbeyond.com #nationalparkswithkids #voyageurs #getoutside #nps #familytravelblog #travelwithkids #MyNationalParks #familytravel

This summer we spent 3 fantastic days in Voyageurs National Park exploring the most beautiful National Park in our home state of Minnesota! Voyageurs is really like the Swiss Army knives of parks in that you can explore this area in many ways including houseboat, fishing boat, canoe, kayak, snowmobile, car on an ice road, hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and more!

We chose one of the best, and to my knowledge unique to this National Park, ways to explore – by houseboat! Yes, for those who are going to ask, you can rent a houseboat in National Recreation areas such as Lake Mead or Glen Canyon/Lake Powell, but not in a fully designated National Park.

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Complete Guide to 1 Day in New River Gorge National Park

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New River Gorge National Park

Our newest National Park, christened in January 2021, is New River Gorge National Park and Preserve! I have to say first that I am often leery of new National Parks because they can be a stretch to consider them worthy of that status when compared to their peers (I’m looking at you, Indiana Dunes). Rest assured that after exploring New River Gorge this summer this is worthy of being called a National Park!

Our visit spanned a few days including 2 full days in the park, so we will share this as a choose your own adventure plan where you could spend a single day doing either itinerary or combine them for a great 2 day visit! I will dispel one other thought right off the bat here as well — you do NOT need to be a whitewater rafter to enjoy the park. We did not choose to do that and still had a fantastic visit that left us wanting to return to the area.

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Big Bend Top 6 Family-Friendly Hikes

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Note: this post contains affiliate links.

Best hikes with kids at Big Bend National Park

Despite the mental picture we had of Big Bend and more broadly West Texas before arriving (that it would be flat and desolate), we were pleasantly surprised with both the beauty and genuine diversity of ecosystems in this park. We did some wonderful hikes and wanted to highlight those specifically in this post. As for logistics and itinerary, our other post on Big Bend dives into those details more fully.

These hikes are in order, but honestly the first three are ranked in order of our favorites and from there they are all equally enjoyable in their own right. You can’t go wrong with hikes 4, 5, or 6 and your availability of time and vehicle (especially 5 but also number 6 would be best to get to in a 4-wheel-drive vehicle) should determine which of them you will tackle.

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