January – Death Valley National Park
Visit the hottest place in the US during the coldest months of the year. Death Valley National Park is absolutely stunning, but basically inaccessible between May – October due to extreme heat! Early spring can also be a nice time as you might get lucky with some wildflowers, but only if the area got enough rain during the winter months.
Death Valley is a designated Dark Sky zone and has some of the best star gazing opportunities so make sure to get a place away from light pollution so you could see some of the most pristine skies!
Best time to Visit: November – March
Duration of trip: 2-3 days
Where to stay: Somewhere in Pahrump for easy daytrips
For a more detailed post on where to go and where to stay, check out our Death Valley with Kids post.
February – Haleakala National Park
Haleakala is good any time of year, but if you’re already coming to Maui to hike here you might as well come during Whale season! Maui is the best place to see whales breaching in the US, and December – March is the best time for it. Haleakala National Park is quite large with many different access points and terrains. Our favorite hike here is Pipiwai Trail, accessible via the Road to Hana, but the best viewpoint is certainly at the Observatory at the very top of the volcano.
Best time to visit: December – March for best chance to see whales while in Maui!
Duration of trip: 4 days minimum!
Where to stay: The best place to stay to visit the park and everything Maui has to offer is in Kihei, and do a road trip from here.
For more details on Haleakala and Maui with Kids, check out our Maui with Kids post!
March – Zion and Bryce National Parks
These two parks should be done in one trip if you’re already in the area, and they’re both absolutely stunning! Late March to early April is spring time here and you’ll get to see wildflowers blooming and spring waterfalls running. It’s also a good time to beat the crowds before the rush of summer tourists!
Best time to visit: October – May
Duration of Trip: 1 day for Bryce, and 1-2 days for Zion
Where to stay: The best place to stay to visit both of these is somewhere in Kanab and do day trips from here. The other option is trying to get campsites right at the entrances of these parks, but those needs to be booked well in advance!
April – Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
These two are probably my favorite combo for a road trip, and we’ve done it many times from Colorado. We’ve camped in many different areas and we’ve also stayed in Moab at various accommodations – both are great options!
April weather is absolutely ideal for hiking these two parks and the crowds are still pretty low this time of year. It’s also a great spot and time for star gazing, as the Milky Way starts to come back out into view in March.
Best time to visit: October – May
Duration of trip: at least 2 full days; 1 for Canyonlands, and 1-2 days for Arches
Where to stay: Moab
For more details on visiting Moab with Kids, check out our post!
May – Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon is huge; and my favorite hike here is actually outside of the National Park boundary but is still considered part of the Grand Canyon. There’s a North Rim and South Rim entrance. The North Rim is much quieter and less visited as it is harder to reach. It is also closed in the winter, from October to mid-May. North Rim offers peaceful wilderness and unique viewpoints, whereas the South Rim offers more options for tours, better accessibility and amenities.
But my favorite hike in this area is definitely Havasupai – something you must do at least once in your life, when the kids are old enough! Check out our Havasupai with Kids post for more details on this hike.
Best time to visit: September – May
Duration of trip: 2-4 days
Where to stay: If you’re interested in visiting the South Rim, check out hotels like Holiday Inn Resort in Tusayan. For North Rim, the best place to stay is in Kanab, so you could combine this with a trip to Zion and Bryce as well.
June – Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks
June in this region is absolutely magical. Going on Safari in Yellowstone in June is an experience you must do at least once! The snow has finally melted, all the animals are coming out of hibernation and all the babies are being born! If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see lots of mama bears with their cubs, tons of Buffalo, foxes, wolves, elk and so much more. Just writing this down makes me want to pack up and go visit one more time!
Grand Teton 
Grand Teton 
Yellowstone 
Yellowstone
Best time to visit: June – September
Duration of trip: 3-4 days
Where to stay: I would split this trip into two stays; 2 nights in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for accessing Grand Teton National Park, and then 2 nights in West Yellowstone, Montana for accessing Yellowstone National Park.
We especially loved the Explorer Cabins in West Yellowstone as they were super close to the entrance of the park, as well as restaurants and shops in West Yellowstone
July – Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks
July is peak bear season in Katmai National Park, and it would be a shame to come all the way out here and not also visit Lake Clark. We loved the remoteness and wilderness of these two parks, it really felt like quite the adventure!
We stayed at Lake Clark Resort and took day trips around Lake Clark park, Katmai National Park, and then kayaking by the resort.
You’ll need a full day to visit Katmai National Park – and honestly I wish we had even more time! There’s quite a bit of logistics to get to it, as it’s only accessible by boat or float plane. The flight can be rough since the seaplanes are tiny and prone to turbulence. But the effort is absolutely worth it!
The best time for bear viewing is between July and August as the bears start feasting on the salmon. Even just seeing the salmon jumping upstream is a show of its own! I had no idea fish can jump that high, especially against the current.
Best time to visit: June – September
Duration of trip: 3-4 days
Where to stay: Lake Clark Resort
August – Kenai Fjords & Denali National Parks
If you already find yourself in Alaska (after visiting Katmai and Lake Clark), you may as well add a Southern Alaska road trip to visit Denali and Kenai Fjords – both super different than Lake Clark and Katmai.
Kenai Fjords can be experienced by foot and by boat, and both are accessible from Seward. There are a few easy hikes you can do, where you can see glaciers and beautiful mountains. The boat tours will give you a different perspective and a view of the Fjords that cannot be reached by foot. If you’re lucky – and take the longer boat tour out into the open ocean – you can catch whales bubble net fishing! We got unlucky (and also picked the shorter tour due to fears of getting seasick) and did not see this, but we did see a bunch of otters, seals, whales swimming and Dall’s porpoises.
Best time to visit: June – September
Duration of trip: 3-4 days
Where to stay: We stayed at Harbor 360 Hotel in Seward for 3 nights over the July 4th long weekend and it was perfect. Really great location, reasonably priced and a great view of the harbor. We could even spot harbor seals from our window.
Make sure to also spend some time in Whittier, as the glacier boat tours there are absolutely unreal!
If you’re lucky, on a clear day you could see Denali right from your flight from Lake Clark to Anchorage!
Best time to visit: June – September
Duration of trip: 2-3 days
Where to stay: Denali National Park is a bit of a challenge to get to as it’s quite out of the way. I would either stay in Talkeetna and get an areal tour or a day trip in, or stay near the park entrance at something like the McKinley Creekside Cabins. Some of the roads are still not open to the public and you have to use the shuttle system which is a bit of a pain with kids. That being said, you could still drive up to some of the hikes and lookouts with your own car, just not as far as the shuttle could take you!
August – Glacier National Park
I had way too many parks to fit into August, so I have one more entry for this month and it might be my favorite National Park of them all. Glacier National Park is just pure raw beauty.
For this park, it’s important to check the National Park Service website to make sure that Going the Sun Road is open. It’s closed for snow over the winter and usually opens in June/July once the snow has melted enough! You also need to check the status of the hikes for bear activities. Some of the hikes I was hoping to do (like Highline Trail) was closed due to bear activity. Unlike Katmai, the bears here don’t have an insane amount of salmon to feast on and can be dangerous. We saw a few grizzlies on the trail, but they were far enough away from us thankfully.
Best time to visit: June – September
Duration of trip: 3-4 days
Where to stay: We really enjoyed staying at the St Mary’s / East Glacier KOA cabins and doing day trips from there! The West entrance has a lot more accommodation options and even an aerial course for the kids if they get tired of hiking so much 🙂
For more details on Glacier, check out our Glacier National Park with Kids post.
September – Rocky Mountain National Park
This is our home National Park, and one we visit quite often. We’ve visited it at every season at this point, and I can confidently say fall is my favorite time of year here. If you time it right, you can even come watch the Elk rut in September. People come from all over with their lawn chairs to watch thousands of elk out in the field battle it out as they find their perfect mating partner.
You’ll get a chance to spot moose at Sprague Lake, and walk up to Dream Lake for the classic Rocky Mountain National Park shot.
Best time to visit: June – October, though winter is quite fun here too!
Duration of trip: 2-3 days
Where to stay: Estes Park or Grand Lake are both great towns to base yourself in. The YMCA of the rockies is actually super fun for the kids and right at the entrance of the park!
October – Cuyahoga or Capitol Reef National Parks
We recently visited Cuyahoga National Park on a road trip across the US to Canada and I really liked it! The kids got to see hundreds of fireflies for the first time and were so fascinated by them. But the best time to visit this park is definitely during peak fall colors – this is when Cuyahoga Valley National Park truly shines!
Best time to visit: June – October
Duration of trip: 1-2 days
Where to stay:
Capitol Reef is nice in the fall and winter, but I absolutely love the fall colors in the desert right around late October and November. Capitol Reef National Park is quite underrated and usually not very busy at all. It’s a bit out of the way but so worth the trek out!
Best time to visit: September – May
Duration of trip: 1-2 days
Where to stay: Capitol Reef Resort
November – Sand Dunes and Black Canyon National Parks
Sand Dunes National Park is one of the most underrated national parks in the US. It’s quite small, but is so unique. I’m still amazed at how all this sand could have gotten here, in the middle of the Colorado. The dunes are really impressive and also super fun to sandboard down. If you’re up for a challenge, you can hike up to the tallest sand dune – Star Dune. We’ve done this a couple of times with kids and it’s quite the workout.
Best time to visit: September-November, and April-June. Winter here can be quite windy and cold, and sometimes snowy!
Duration of trip: 1 day
Where to stay: Either Alamosa or Crestone.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison is mostly good year round, but can get quite hot in the summer months. There are two main entrances to the park, though the South Rim was severely impacted by recent fires and may be closed. The North Rim is seasonally closed in the winter, so make sure to check the National Park Service website for up to date information.
Best time to visit: March – early November. The North Rim is closed in the winter.
Duration of trip: 1 day
Where to stay: Montrose
For more details on visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison with kids, check out our post here!
December – Saguaro National Park
This felt like a different world – the cacti towering so many feet above us looked unreal!
Arizona gets quite hot in the summer, so it’s best to visit this area in the winter months when temperatures are cooler and you can actually spend time outdoors 🙂 We came here on Thanksgiving and it was perfect weather for exploring!
Best time to visit: October – April
Duration of trip: 1 day
Where to stay: Tucson