Traveling through national and state parks is a great option for affordable family travel—but why not get your kids involved in the educational aspect? Many parks have naturalist programs designed just for kids.

If you’re headed to a park, monument or seashore that’s part of the National Park Service, ask about the Junior Rangers program.

For about $3, you get an activity book that has kids spot certain plants and animals, learn about local history, and draw pictures about their experiences.

For each book they complete, kids earn Junior Rangers badges.

You can even get them excited ahead of time—the National Park Service has an online Web Ranger program, where kids can play educational games, and share their park-related pictures and stories.

But this isn’t just limited to big national parks.

Many state parks also offer naturalist and ranger programs for kids. 
In California, programs are available in more than 70 state parks, with guided and self-guided activities involving plant life, geology and more. Similar programs exist in New York, South Dakota, and Iowa, among others.

Also ask about litter programs, where kids are rewarded for every bag of trash they pick up.

Hey, if you can teach them to clean up parks while they’re on vacation, imagine how that might affect their rooms when you get home!

For more information on traveling with kids, check out our Kids Travel Programs section.

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