New River Gorge with five kids — the bridge, the overlooks, and the blowout that rewrote the plan. America’s newest national park.

Acadia with five young kids — the carriage roads, the cold water and the July crowds. What we would do differently in high season.

Shenandoah National Park with five kids — Skyline Drive, a stretch of the Appalachian Trail, and which walks suit young legs.

The Smokies with five kids — elk calves, salamander hunting, and the steep one-way mountain road to our Airbnb that finally taught us the Suburban’s low gears.

Indiana Dunes National Park with five kids — the beaches, the dune climbs and the fair food. A short stop worth a whole day.

The Badlands with five kids — the Loop Road overlooks, the sharp light, and a landscape that holds children’s attention.

Wind Cave National Park with five kids — boxwork formations underground, bison and prairie above, and no crowds at all.

The North Dakota badlands where a grieving Theodore Roosevelt found healing — bison, the painted canyon, and a quiet that shaped the man who saved the parks.

Yellowstone with five kids — the geyser basins, bison blocking the road, the West Entrance we took, and the plans we cheerfully abandoned along the way.

Grand Teton in spring snow with five kids — what is open before summer, and why the shoulder season is better than it sounds.

The loneliest national park in the lower 48 — why Great Basin in eastern Nevada is worth the long detour, and how we very nearly drove past it with five kids.

Lassen Volcanic with half the park under spring snow — a volcano rising over northern California, the hydrothermal basins, and what’s actually open early.

Crater Lake buried in spring snow — the bluest water in America, what is open before July, and how deep the caldera really is.

Walking among the world’s tallest trees on California’s foggy coast — how the coastal redwoods compare to the giant sequoias, seen with five kids and a dog.

Easter morning at Yosemite with five kids — a chapel service in the valley, waterfalls and rainbows, and the scorpion sting that nearly derailed the day.

Kings Canyon in spring with five kids — the General Grant Tree, the longest dead-end road in America, and how far up Highway 180 the snow still closes it.

Climbing through a cloud to the General Sherman Tree — the largest tree on Earth at 6,500 feet — on a misty spring day at Sequoia with five kids.

Channel Islands with five kids takes planning — the ferry books out weeks ahead, the dog goes to daycare, and then the boat to California’s wild isles.

Two Pacific coastlines, one family — the empty squeaking beaches of eastern Tasmania set against California’s crowded shore, and how travel with kids compares.

A blue-sky morning in a Utah slot canyon with five kids and a spaniel — narrow walls that keep everyone moving one way, and the scents that overwhelmed the dog.