Touring the National Parks With Kids

Our editor, Lissa Poirot, and her family are on their “Great American Road Trip” to visit as many National Parks in the west as they can during their last week of summer break. Their tour includes Dinosaur National Monument, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater, the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reed National Park and Timpanogos Caves National Monument — driving more than 2,000 miles in the desert in a minivan!

While traveling, Lissa will be video blogging about her adventures, so check this page daily to see live videos and get tips, ideas and musings to help your family plan your own Great American Road Trip. Follow along with live updates on Twitter, using the hashtag #FVCroadtrip. If you have any questions while we’re on the road, feel free to tweet using the hashtag, and we’ll do our best to answer!

To learn more about our National Parks, visit USA National Parks Family Vacations.

Watch as Lissa’s kids, Sophie and Ethan, get sworn in as Junior Rangers at Dinosaur National Monument.

Watch as Lissa and her family tour their way through Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. They end their day at the Holiday Inn in a Kids’ Suite — which you will see the kids are very excited about.

Watch as Sophie and Ethan explore Mesa Verde in Colorado.

Watch as Lissa and her family sample Prickly Pear at the Canyon de Chelly, check out the Meteor Crater, get weaving lessons from a Navajo woman at the Hubbell Trading Post and have a dance party after a long day spent in the car.

Watch as Lissa and her kids explore the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The kids participate in a Junior Ranger program and ultimately get sworn in as official Junior Rangers of the Park.

Family Vacation Critic doesn’t have service in the Wild West, but Lissa was able to get a few seconds on video of her family having fun in Utah.

Lissa and her family spent hours at Zion National Park in Utah this past weekend. Here they enjoy zip lines, horseback rides and cliff jumps — experiences you can have with your kids, too!