Favorite Family-friendly Hikes in U.S. National Parks

Are you considering taking your family on a national park road trip? Great!—stop thinking about it. Go out and do it.

America’s national parks are truly our nation’s best idea, and for your family they represent a lifetime of memories in the making. Not only will visiting a national park offer quality, good old-fashioned family time where you can truly catch up with one another, the physical exploration of the park is good for the body, soul, and mind.

National parks are in many ways the educational stronghold of this country. They tell the story of our geological and cultural past. They include some of the most breathtaking places, the kinds of bucket-list destinations that you will want to visit again and again.

Also, if you haven’t ever invested in an annual pass to all the national parks, 2018 might be the best year to start doing it. With the proposed fee hike to get into some of these parks, it’s actually now more economical to pay the $90 annual pass rather than the $70 one-time access fee. Get your money’s worth and visit as many as you can!

So don’t wait and don’t hesitate. Plan your family's trip to a national park ASAP. To make it easier for you, here is a list of our favorite national parks and the family-friendly adventures (short, easy hikes) you can explore in each of them.

Acadia National Park, Maine

• Wonderland trail
• Jesup Path
• Otter Point + Otter Cliffs

Badlands National Park, South Dakota 

• Notch trail
• Fossil Exhibit Trail
• The Door Trail

Arches National Park, Utah

• Sand Dune Arch
• The Windows Loop + Primitive Trail
• Double Arch

Zion National Park, Utah

• Kolob Canyon Viewpoint + Timber Creek Overlook Trail
• Emerald Pools Trail Hike
• Canyon Overlook Trail Hike

Yosemite National Park, California

• Tenaya Lake
• Lower Yosemite Falls
• May Lake Trail Hike

Joshua Tree National Park, California

• Hidden Valley Nature Trail
• Skull Rock Nature Trail
• Arch Rock Nature Trail

Olympic National Park, Washington

• La Push, Second Beach
• Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail Loop
• Hoh Rain Forest, Sikta Nature Trail

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

• Sunrise Rim Trail
• Narada Falls
• Silver Falls and Hot Springs Loop Trail

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai'i

• Sulpher Banks + Crater Rim Trail Loop
• Devastation Trail
• Thurston Lava Tube

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

• Mammoth Hot Springs
• Ribbon Lake Trail
• Brink of Lower Falls to Lower Lookout Point

Here are more must-see national parks. Click through to see more family-friendly adventures listed on each page. 

Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Haleakalā National Park, Hawai'i

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Redwood National + State Parks, California

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado