Adventuring beyond through travel, food, and more.
Our family recently visited Mount Rainier National Park and it is gorgeous, though I still think Glacier NP is my favorite. We did some longer hikes, but there are many Mount Rainier National Park short family hikes for those who are not up for a longer hike. Here’s a list of the shorter hikes we did, some are not really even a “hike.”
…Our best food and lodging tips for Glacier National Park. Note: this post contains an affiliate link. We receive a small commission if you purchase through the link at no additional cost to you.
Food… Sleep… When you are out of town and busy exploring, what could be more important than finding places you actually want to eat and are worth going to as well as a great place to relax at the end of a long day? We rarely settle for whatever restaurant we come across on a trip but instead try to find local / organic options where we will be able to enjoy something special.
On the lodging front, I do a lot of research into what area we would want to stay that is close to our destinations and has a good deal of options for home rentals. In Glacier, both of these necessities align on the west side of the park in either Whitefish or Columbia Falls. Following is our list of best food and lodging tips for the Glacier National Park area.
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Summer is officially here at the Nelson house, the kids finished up school last week and are now onto 2nd and 4th grade. WOW! I can’t believe that. Anyhow, summer inevitably means boredom at some point for my kids, which is fine, but when they get bored they tend to pick on each other more. My kids seem to need some structure in the summer and this summer screen-time chart helps with that. This year I have modified the routine a bit to better suit our family and have made my own printable summer rules for kids (link at bottom of page). We are getting ready to head to Washington in July and visit 3 of the National Parks there but for the weeks we are home, the kids really do better when they know what to expect and what is expected of them. There is, of course, some flexibility to this as I know things inevitably come up that will require a change. So here’s my new list, which will likely be modified again as needed, but this is what we’re trying this summer. (Content below updated May, 2021)
…Our family’s Top 10 hiking gear essentials for families. Updated 5/21/22. Note: this post contains affiliate links, we may receive a small commission if you purchase something through the links.
Hiking with kids can be a challenge, but it’s so great to experience all the sights through your kid’s eyes. It makes those amazing views at the end of the trail that much more fun and beautiful when you’re enjoying it with your entire family. If you’re planning to hike with your kids (or with adults for that matter), the most important thing to remember is to be prepared for anything.
On one of our family hikes in Arizona, “JoyJoy” slipped on a rock while crossing a stream and skinned her knee. Luckily Ross was prepared with a small first aid kit and got her patched up quickly. Other than the obvious things like water and snacks, our family has compiled a top 10 list, in no particular order, of some of our favorite and/or essential hiking gear items below.
…The best family-friendly hikes in Glacier National Park. Note: This post contains affiliate links.
Glacier is one of the best parks for kids — with a variety of animals, waterfalls, mountains, and lakes, there is something for each kid and adult to enjoy. Our kids were 5 & 7 when we went, and they were troopers (a hiking stick or pole really helps!).
We did each of these hikes as the primary activity of the day and then lighter activities the remainder of the day. This isn’t the final list of all the hikes we did, but rather those that we would do again if we went back. Here’s our family’s picks for the best family-friendly hikes in Glacier National Park.
…Our family’s picks for Glacier National Park’s top 5 family-friendly activities. Note: this post contains affiliate links.
Glacier… What a gem! We fell in love with National Parks here – and for good reason! It’s great for kids, there is a lot to see, and it is always changing! We spent a full 5 days in the park, because Glacier National Park is a large park with a lot to do. So, what are the can’t miss spots to visit? Below is our list of Glacier National Park top 5 family-friendly activities. These are the sights we believe you shouldn’t leave the park without seeing.
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We love muffins and peanut butter in this house and I love bringing muffins on our road trips for quick breakfasts or easy snacks, but the regular size muffins get squished so easily and end up a crumbly mess. These flourless peanut butter chocolate chip mini muffins from Averie over at averiecooks.com are awesome and they travel much better than a bigger muffin. An added bonus, they’re gluten free! Super moist and pop-able, nothing goes better together than peanut butter and chocolate, or peanut butter and banana for that matter. These little guys come together pretty quickly as they are mixed in a blender or food processor. When taking them on trips I make them ahead of time and freeze them until the day we leave. They then get stored at the top of our cooler (if there’s room in the cooler) or at the top of our “food bag.”…
Any other yogurt and granola lovers out there? When our family did a modified Whole 30 (really more of an elimination diet) with our kids back in February of this year, the thing my husband and I missed the most was our morning yogurt with granola. We both eat that for breakfast EVERY morning. Since finishing the modified Whole 30, our eating habits have changed a bit, amongst other changes we have switched to plain yogurt (I couldn’t give up yogurt, or dairy for that matter, completely!) and have drastically reduced our gluten intake. Thus my search began for a yummy gluten free, grain free granola with no refined sugar that still created those amazing, crunchy clusters. This recipe from Julia over at The Roasted Root is the best one we’ve tried so far. I will be making a big batch of this to take on our road trip to Washington this summer….
The best non-technology road trip activities for kids. Note: This post contains affiliate links.
We inevitably have a lot of long days in the car on our trips and we don’t like our kids to be on the iPad or watching movies the entire time. Over the years we have found quite a few other activities to keep them (and us) entertained and occupied on those long days.
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Adventures come in many types, and while we have taken trips to Colorado (Rocky Mountain NP and Denver), California (San Francisco and Muir Woods), Florida (Disney!), Chicago, and our own beautiful North Shore (Grand Marais, Duluth, and Larsmont MN), our first big adventure took place in the summer of 2015. We set out for a 2 week journey that began with an overnight stay at the Element Hotel in Fargo, ND.