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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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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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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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2 Best Family Hikes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

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Best family hikes at Guadalupe Mountains National Park

If you aren’t a die-hard National Park visitor, or are not from the Texas/New Mexico area, I expect you may be wondering what this park, Guadalupe Mountains, is. Receiving just 172,000 visitors in the last report, it gets just 1% of the number of visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Most of those visitors will arrive the way we did, along Highway 180 between El Paso, TX and Carlsbad, NM.

Located just 25 miles west of Carlsbad Caverns, these parks are great to pair together into one visit. I’d suggest a day for each park as the minimum time to plan for and let Carlsbad take your priority as your ability to get an entrance ticket here is the most challenging part. We rented a home in Carlsbad, NM so we weren’t too far from either park.

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Our Best 5 Tips for Visiting Carlsbad Caverns

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Top tips for visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Oh, caves… They are all so similar, and yet very different! After visiting the Mammoth Cave, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Russel Cave units of the National Park Service we have been in some dark underground places! Someday we will cross off the last two park units named after caves – Oregon and Timpanogos Caves! Carlsbad Caverns is its’ own adventure and one we were glad to be able to visit!

Our top tips for visiting Carlsbad Caverns are as follows…

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1 Quick Day in Congaree National Park

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Quick day in Congaree National Park

Congaree National Park is fairly small with one main attraction – the swamp – so it is easy to spend a quick day in Congaree on the way to something else. I see why they didn’t name it Congaree Swamp National Park (its prior name was Congaree Swamp National Monument until 2003) as anything with “swamp” in the name brings a certain disdain. But, a little spit and a polish and a swamp transforms into…er, wait, it’s still a swamp…

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Best Family Tour in Mammoth Cave National Park

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Our pick for the best family tour in Mammoth Cave

Caves are an odd thing but people have been fascinated by these holes in the ground for a very long time. I suppose early on it was for shelter, but more recently the fascination has been the mystery of where they may go, how big they may be, and what is down that next passage.

Mammoth Cave has all of those hallmarks and the superlatives to go with a name like Mammoth. Thankfully Mammoth Cave lives up to its name as it is part of the longest cave system in the world since it is connected to the broader Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System of central Kentucky. Imagine 400 miles of known and surveyed passageways – more than two times the size of the next largest cave!

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4 Best Dog-Friendly Hikes in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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4 best dog-friendly hikes in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Sometimes plans don’t work out. We had planned to go on a summer trip to Colorado and visit a few parks, but life threw us a curveball. Instead, we headed east to Cuyahoga and Indiana Dunes National Parks as the consolation prize. Our pup, Jasper, also came along because we couldn’t find a dog-sitter so last minute. Each of the following are our picks for the 4 best dog-friendly hikes in Cuyahoga Valley!

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Top 9 Things to do with Kids in Great Smoky Mountains

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Our family’s picks for the top 9 things to do with kids in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Top 9 things to do with kids in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Of the national parks east of the Mississippi, Great Smoky Mountains is, well, the greatest! This beautiful park is, especially at sunset, a sea of hills that layer stunningly and distinctively. Mountains? Umm… Not in the western mind, but for the east it is a “yes!”

For families, Great Smoky Mountains should be considered solidly on the list of “top 5” national parks. It is easily accessible and has many kid-friendly programs and hikes. With Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg directly next to the park you can easily blend nature hikes and wildlife with mini golf, laser tag, wax museums, and a legitimate amusement park with a good dose of twang!

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