We visited Arches National Park with kids in April as part of our 3-week Utah family road trip. Our family loves being active and enjoying the beauty of nature, so visiting Arches National Park with kids was something we knew we had to do.
Delicate Arch Trail in Arches National Park with Kids
The Delicate Arch Trail is the most popular hike in Arches National Park for good reason. The hike to Delicate Arch is scenic and enjoyable, and the up-close views of this highly photogenic arch are pretty incredible.
Devil’s Garden Trail in Arches National Park With Kids
The Devil’s Garden Trail in Arches National Park has some of the park’s most outstanding scenery. Unfortunately for families with smaller kids, it is also one of the most difficult hikes within the park. This doesn’t mean that you need to stay away though; families can easily do a lot of this trail and enjoy some epic scenery along the way.
Capitol Reef National Park With Kids: Hikes + Tips
We visited Capitol Reef National Park with kids in early-May (our two kids were 5 & 3 years old at the time). To be honest, before we planned our family road trip to Utah, we hadn’t even heard of Capitol Reef National Park. We were well aware of Utah’s other four super-star national parks, so we were intrigued to discover Utah has a fifth national park – Capitol Reef!
Best Hikes in Capitol Reef: Frying Pan to Cassidy Arch
While we may not have done all the hikes in Capitol Reef National Park, we are going out on a limb and calling the best hike in Capitol Reef National Park. For the final day of our family trip to Capitol Reef, we strung together three one-way hikes into one continuous back-to-back hiking trail: Frying Pan Trail to Cassidy Arch Trail to Grand Wash Trail.
Capitol Gorge Trail, Capitol Reef: Easy Hike With Kids
Capitol Gorge Trail is one of those hikes which is just naturally fun for the kids. It’s flat, it’s sandy, and the towering canyon walls keep them close so they can run wild and not get too far. It’s one of the best kid-friendly hikes in Capitol Reef National Park.
Hickman Bridge Trail in Capitol Reef: Hike With Kids
Hickman Bridge is one of the most popular hikes in Capitol Reef National Park and is a good introduction to the park. This easy, scenic hike begins by following the Fremont River before starting to climb along the side of a large hill. The views of the surrounding cliffs and valley get impressive quickly.
Chimney Rock Trail in Capitol Reef (With Kids)
Chimney Rock is an impressive, towering natural spire which rises over 300 feet above the road. The Chimney Rock Trail takes you to the top of a mesa where you can look down on Chimney Rock as well as the amazing scenery up and down the valley.
Goblin Valley State Park with Kids
With famous national parks like Zion, Bryce Canyon and Arches, it must be hard for the Utah state parks to get some attention. Don’t let that stop you though! A visit to Goblin Valley State Park with kids is so much fun! If you ask our kids, Goblin Valley was one of their favorite things to do in Utah!
Canyonlands National Park with Kids
When planning a family vacation to Utah, it can be hard to choose between visiting Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. With double the number of annual visitors, Arches is the more popular of the two Moab national parks but we encourage you to take a closer look at visiting Canyonlands with kids.