Climbing the dune at Sleeping Bear with five kids — the legend behind the name, the wind off Lake Michigan and the run back down.

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 largest mammoth deposit in North America, bones still lying where they fell — the Hot Springs, South Dakota dig that held five kids longer than any museum.

Two granite monuments in the Black Hills, half an hour apart — how they compare, and how long to allow for each with children.

Devils Tower with five kids — the base trail, the climbers overhead, and the Wyoming monolith Roosevelt made America’s first national monument in 1906.

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.

Little Bighorn with young children — the markers scattered on the hillside, both sides of the story, and why it stays with them.

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.

Idaho’s lava fields with five kids — the caves, the cinder cones and the strangest picnic spot on a cross-country drive.

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.

Lava tube caves you explore on your own in far northern California — flashlights, no timed tickets, and five kids underground at the best cave stop of our trip.

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.

Towering rock spires and the slow drama of the San Andreas Fault — Pinnacles’ quiet east side, Ranger Joe, and a duct-taped visitor center, with five kids.

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.