Half a Park, Fully Worth It: Lassen Volcanic
Lassen Volcanic with half the park under spring snow — a volcano rising over northern California, the hydrothermal basins, and what’s actually open early.
Floor’s Lava! Lava Beds National Monument
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.
Pacific Coastal Giants: California Redwoods to Tasmanian Swamp Gums
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.
Volcanoes, Fault Lines, and a Junior Ranger Oath at the Gate: Pinnacles National Park
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.
Scorpions, Bears, Rainbows and Waterfalls: Easter at Yosemite
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: But Where Is the Canyon?
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.
Into the Cloud: A Chilly Climb to Sequoia Giants
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.
Whales, Wildflowers, and the World’s Smallest Fox: Channel Islands National Park
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.
From Tasmania to California: Same Ocean, Different World
Two Pacific coastlines, one family — the empty squeaking beaches of eastern Tasmania set against California’s crowded shore, and how travel with kids compares.
Desolation and Connections: The Extremes of Death Valley
Crossing the salt flats of Badwater Basin — 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America — under a shimmering sky in Death Valley with five kids.
A Near Miss on the Lava Tubes: Mojave National Preserve
‘No services next 100 miles’ — the empty, almost unnatural quiet of Mojave National Preserve, California’s high desert crossed with five kids and a full tank.
Seeking Sixties and Sunny: Springtime in the National Parks
Spring in the parks means split-second calls — snow at elevation, closed roads, and choosing between Sequoia, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon, with kids.
7 Parks. 6 Days. 5 Kids. 4 States. 3 Minivan Rows. 2 Exhausted Parents. And 1 Welsh Springer Spaniel.
Seven parks, six days, five kids: the southern-border route from Guadalupe’s caverns to Organ Pipe’s cactus, and the seven Junior Ranger badges we earned.
Joshua Tree National Park: Climbing Rocks, Chasing Shade, and Earning an Oasis
Joshua Tree with five kids — Skull Rock, Arch Rock, the 49 Palms Oasis, and an absurd number of Starbursts as the Sonoran desert gives way to the Mojave.