Family Travel and National Parks Expert

McComber Kids at Bryce Canyon National Park

Summer is finally upon us, and hopefully your family has a few fun summer trips planned. Whether you’re planning to visit one of Utah’s gorgeous National Parks, an amusement park, or hopping a plane abroad, here are some tried and true travel tips to make the very most of your family’s travel experience.

The early bird gets, literally, EVERYTHING…the lowest summer temperatures in the sweltering national parks, the least amount of traffic on road trips, the quickest lines getting through National Park gates, the cheapest flights with the lowest chance of delays, and they get to ride MORE rides than anyone else at any of the amusement parks (Lagoon, Disney, Universal, or otherwise!). Be there, ready and waiting and first in line, for those gates to open, or for that rope to drop. I do admit, getting up early can be painful, especially with kids in tow, but the effort to arrive early always pays off!

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and always be snacking…a refillable water bottle for everyone, and an arsenal of snacks that looks like a toddler ransacked a convenience store; we’re talking the good snacks that you NEVER allow your kids to partake off. This is the time! This is such an easy way to keep everyone fueled and motivated throughout long days of exploring, whether it’s hiking through a national park, a day of rides at an amusement park, or exploring an exciting new city abroad. It’s amazing the bad attitudes and meltdowns that are instantly cured, with a little break, a little water, and little snacky snack. Epic snacks and hydration offer the biggest and easiest wins.

For multiple days of hiking and amusement parks…bring TWO pairs of hiking/walking shoes for everyone. Reason #1: if a hike or camping is involved, a river or lake is likely close by, and at least one pair of sneakers will be getting wet, no matter how much you tell your kids not to get those shoes wet; just accept your fate and bring a backup. #2. Hiking in one pair of shoes on one day, and a different pair of shoes on the next day, provides your feet with different pressure point support, and avoids re-aggravating sore spots, or blister spots that the previous day’s shoes may have aggravated. Bring at least TWO good pairs of sneakers for everyone, and rotate!

The easiest souvenir and memory memento…for national parks trips and road trips where we bring our cooler and water cooler along, we collect stickers from each place we visit and add them to our coolers. This is the cheapest and easiest souvenir that the kids love to help pick out, and our coolers have quickly turned into a giant memory box full of all the magical places we have visited. Our once very boring cooler is now one of our family’s most prized possessions.