Regional Guide

Have your child become a Junior Ranger! Yellowstone's program is for kids ages 5-12; after attending a couple ranger-led programs, completing an activity workbook, and hiking a trail, they're awarded a Junior Ranger patch.

Easy access for the kids? Try Yellowstone's Artist Paint Pots Trail, a flat, mile-long walk (mostly on a boardwalk). The payoff is great views of small geysers, hot pools, and steam vents—all those things that the kids will love.

Introduce your kids to fishing. Trout Lake in Yellowstone holds large rainbow, cutthroat, and rainbow-cutthroat for the catching. As a bonus, the lake rests in a huge, wildflower-filled meadow.

Don't let the kids miss out on the Grand Canyon—at least, Yellowstone's version of it. Take everyone on a two-and-a-half mile hike along the South Rim Trail; you'll get a close-up view of the canyon. Add on Uncle Tom's trail and you'll get 500 feet into the monster-size Lower Falls.

This one's for the older kids: Grand Teton's Ski Lake Trail is an easy walk but it clocks in at a little over four-and-a-half-miles. Still, with deer, elk, moose, and waterfowl along the way, no one will be asking"Are we there yet?"