Click the link for the full article:• Intro: How to get your children interested in day hiking• Adventure Journal• Coloring Pages• Hiking Checklist• Make your child the hike’s new assistant p…

Yosemite National Park Great hiking trails abound in California, ranging from beach walks to mountain backpacking trips, from lush coastal redwoods to stark deserts. Here’s a small sampling o…

Red rocks at The Narrows in Zion National Park Santa Elena Canyon TrailBig Bend National ParkThe mighty Rio Grande defines Big Bend National Park, carving through the desert landscape as offering a…

Old-growth forest on Drummond Woods Trail. Bayfield CountyTravelers to Bayfield County can enjoy a number of cool day hiking trails, ranging from views of Lake Superior to old growth forests that e…

Great Smoky Mountains National Park abounds in visual delights. Among the best ways to see Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just five short trails will allow you …

View from Minisink Overlook on Cliff Trail in Delaware Gap National Recreation Area. Day hikers can explore a clifftop above the Delaware River Valley and enjoy some great vistas along the way. The…

Every thing eventually wears out, and that’s especially true of hiking boots, which can take a beating after traversing rough trails. Here are some great tips for maintaining your hiking boot…

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park Ruby Beach TrailOlympic National ParkDay hikers can explore a Pacific Ocean shoreline featuring gushing seastacks, piles of driftwood logs, and colorful, wave-poli…

View from atop Yellowstone Lake Overlook Trail. Day hikers can enjoy a beautiful vista of Yellowstone Lake and the mountain range beyond via the Yellowstone Lake Overlook Trail. The 1.8-miles round…

Washington Harbor from the Windigo Nature Trail at Isle Royale National Park A rarely visited island full of moose and wolves awaits day hikers at Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale, a 45-mile …

Mingus Mill. Photo courtesy of Great Smoky Mountains NPS. Mingus Creek Trail heads through narrow mountain valley Day hikers can take a trip to the 1800s on a segment of the Mingus Creek Trail at G…

Race Point Lighthouse in Cape Cod National Seashore Day hikers can walk a beach to a 150-year-old lighthouse on Cape Cod’s northwest tip. The 3.2-mile round trip hike on the Race Point Lighthouse T…

Lighthouse at Biscayne National Park Though most of Biscayne National Park’s top sights – shipwrecks and coral reefs – are underwater, landlubbers still can discover much about the region via day h…

• Intro: Hiking activities, games are age dependent• Animal Homes• Bird Trail• Birdwatching• Boot Twister• Braiding• Build Your Own Compass Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin…

Little Rock Recreation Area in Los Angeles County Verdant patch runs through high desert If visiting the Mojave Desert, a great spot to find a little blue water and green lushness is the Little Roc…

Walhalla Glades Pueblo at Grand Canyon National Park Day hikers can visit the ruins of an ancient pueblo and enjoy a fantastic vista of the Grand Canyon on the Walhalla Glades Pueblo Trail. The tra…

Bog rosemary grows on moss mats along the Raven Nature Trail. Day hikers can enjoy wildflowers and other interesting plants on the Raven Nature Trail in northern Wisconsin. The 1.43-mile loop heads…

Cedar Sink Trail at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Among the best ways to see Mammoth Cave National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just four short trails will allow you to enjoy each…

The sun sets over Lake Erie on Beach #1 at Presque Isle State Park in Pennsylvania. Beach lovers can walk a long stretch of sand along Lake Erie at Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle State Park.   Th…

Generally, exploring and discovery is enough for kids, but sometimes even they can grow bored with that and become restless. Remember that they naturally have shorter attention spans than adults. F…

Mudpots at the Salton Sea Volcanic Area You don’t have to leave Southern California to see volcanic activity – it’s not in the form of an erupting cinder cone, of course, but it’s still prevalent. …

The Grand Canyon West Skywalk Hikers can stand above the the Grand Canyon with nothing but glass separating their feet and the river bottom 3600 feet below on the Hualapai Indian reservation. The G…

Big bluestem grows along the Amador Prairie Loops at Minnesota’s Wild River State Park. The Northwoods is far more diverse than fragrant pine trees and picturesque lakes. At Wild River State …

Big Bend National Park Boquillas Canyon Trail at Big Bend National ParkCaves the size of auto show rooms and grand views overlooking the Rio Grande await intrepid travelers who hike the Boquillas C…

Beech Forest Trail in Cape Cod National Seashore Day hikers can enjoy a walk through the woods and birdwatching opportunities along the Beech Forest Trail on the northern tip of Cape Cod National S…

• Stay on the trail when day hiking with kids• How to keep kids from being noisy on trail• Leave these beverages home on hike with kids• Watch for kids who are ‘risk-takers’ on hikes• W…

The Devil’s Punchbowl sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Route heads through deep, boulder-strewn depression There’s a bit of Yosemite just a few miles from Los Angeles: Devil&#82…

The saguaro cactus is a favorite perch of the cactus wren. Birds can be seen throughout Saguaro National Park, but some spots are better than others either for spotting rare species or for seeing a…

Big bluestem grows across a restored prairie at the Carpenter Nature Center Wisconsin Campus south of Hudson, Wis. Ask most any hiker in the Twin Cities metro area where the Carpenter Nature Center…

Laurel Falls drops 80 feet in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Popular route sits in northcentral Great Smoky Mountains NP A picturesque 80-foot waterfall awaits day hikers on the Laurel Falls …

Round Pond on Albany Brook Trail Day hikers can walk between two small ponds on the Albany Brook Trail. The 1.8-miles round trip hike sits in the Maine portion of the White Mountain National Forest…

A number of places exist where you can find infant carriers and daypacks as well as clothing and other outdoor gear: sporting goods stores, discount stores, garage sales, family and friends, second…

Abbey Island with Cedar Creek in foreground. Ruby Beach Trail starts in forest, runs alongside Pacific Ocean  Day hikers can explore a Pacific Ocean shoreline featuring gushing seastacks, pile…

The Watchman formation from the Watchman Trail in Zion National Park. Watchman Trail heads up canyon wall in Zion NP Hikers can see several of Zion National Park’s exotic geological formations on t…

The Cromwell Lookout Tower. Photo courtesy Minnesota’s Historical Fire Lookout Towers blog. Minnesota’s Rogers Lake Trail runs for 7 miles across brushland Families with older children …

The view from atop Clingman’s Dome. A vast, sprawling park covering 816 square miles, Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers a number of access points and sections. Most visitors enter th…

The Jessup Path is a birch-lined hiking trail in Acadia National Park. Whether you’re a resident of or are visiting the Northeastern United States, here are 23 great hiking trails you’l…

When lost, often the best solution is to stay put. How do you know you’re lost? When you don’t know where you are and you don’t know which way to go. The two are not mutually exclusive. You could b…

El Capitan reflected in water at Yosemite Valley. A number of great trails allow hikers to experience Yosemite National Park’s rich heritage. The area now making up Yosemite National Park has been …

Petrified Forest National Park boasts nearly a quarter-billion-year-old fossilized trees. Much of Petrified Forest National Park is a glimpse of the Triassic, which occurred about 225-207 million y…

Crystal Cave in Wisconsin boasts 1300 feet of passageways. Half-mile hike heads 7 stories underground Day hikers can explore Wisconsin’s longest cave near the village of Spring Valley. The Crystal …

Ramsey Cascades at Great Smoky Mountains National Park Thanks to geography, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a great destination for waterfall lovers. All across the park, the steep grade of …