The Junior Ranger Program at the US National Parks is the perfect way to get children engaged with nature and education in a fun way!
I am so excited today to tell you all about the Junior Rangers Program at the U.S. National Parks! Last fall we went on a weekend family road trip. My husband has a goal to reach the highest point in all 50 states, and he wanted to hit North and South Dakota’s high points in a weekend. I pretty much despise road trips, but he begged me to come along and make it a family getaway. The driving (we are Colorado folks) wasn’t fun, but the beauty of that part of the country was such a wonderful surprise, and the kids were completely smitten with Mt. Rushmore, as well as the herds of bison that we saw in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. One of the best parts of that trip was that we discovered a Junior Ranger vest on our last day in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I am not sure why, but none of the Rangers told us about the actual Junior Ranger Program, but we still bought our nature loving boy his vest and a bison notebook and on the drive home he drew pictures of all of the animals that he saw in his notebook and labeled them with perfectly hilarious Kindergartener phonetic spellings. It is a treasure!
About a month later we headed up into Colorado’s own Rocky Mountain National Forest to see the elk. (As you can see in the pictures, we got way too close to them for safety — we didn’t realize how dangerous they could be! Luckily we were all fine, but you should NOT try to get that close to them if you get the chance. We were majorly scolded by the real Ranger, as was everyone else around us.) While we were there we spotted a Junior Ranger hat to match our boy’s vest, and his little sister, who loves to be just like him, went bananas when she saw the bright pink Junior Ranger vest. Ummm….they are the CUTEST, am I right?! (Oh, and if anyone has seen a pink Junior Ranger hat anywhere please let me know! Seriously!!) As we were buying them the Ranger told us about the Junior Ranger Program. It was too late in our day to complete the booklet, but we intend to drive up again this fall so that he can complete the booklet and get his badge! I’m still super bummed that he didn’t get badges in North and South Dakota, but we didn’t know about the official program. :/
Speaking of the official Junior Ranger Program, let me tell you about it now. When you enter a U.S. National Park go to an information center/Ranger station and ask them about the Junior Ranger booklet. Each Park has its own set of activities for the kids to do.
Once the kids complete the activities for their age range they can turn the booklet in to a Ranger, take the Junior Ranger Oath, and receive a badge to pin onto their Junior Ranger vest! (Or their regular shirt, of course.) Some of the parks have Nature Centers for children as well where they can learn, explore, and do fun activities. Below you can see a picture of our kids getting “sworn in” as Zion Junior Rangers at the Nature Center at Zion National Park in Utah. (We forgot their vests. Boo!)
We LOVE going to the National Parks with our kids. I am *not* an outdoorsy person. Camping? Ummmm no. Hiking? Do I have to?! But stuff that kids six and under can handle . . . I can handle! I sure won’t be hiking to the top of every state’s highest peak with my hiking-obsessed husband, but I love to get the kids into nature and play games like “I Spy” as we walk and take in the beauty of nature together. It is always my husband who initiates the outings, and I am often reluctant to drive all the way to the mountains — or further! — but I must admit, our family has created some truly wonderful memories together in nature, especially in the beautiful U.S. National Parks. I recently started following the National Park Service on Instagram, and I am discovering parks that I had never heard of that are now on my MUST SEE list! Nature is awesome.
We just returned from a massive road trip from Colorado to California to Oregon and back to Colorado. So. Many. Hours. On the way from Colorado to California we squeezed in a day at Zion National Park, and on the way from California to Oregon we stopped to see Redwood National Park. Our kids were totally smitten with those trees, and, of course, became Redwood Junior Rangers as well! While we were there we found a super fun game in the Information Center gift shop called Jr.RangerLand. It’s not affiliated with the National Park Service, but a portion of the proceeds go the the National Parks. My son loves it. He loves all the facts about nature and the parks that you learn along the path. If you have a nature loving kid you may want to check it out! (Not an affiliate link – just something we found and enjoyed!) 🙂
When I was flipping through the Redwood National Park Junior Ranger booklet I noticed that there was a website for WebRangers! Oh man was my little boy thrilled! Junior Ranger activities online! He spent about 30 minutes just personalizing his “Ranger Station.” The program is free and easy to use. Find it HERE.
I love my little Junior Rangers, and I LOVE the Junior Ranger Program at the National Parks! Free, educational, fun?! Yes, please!
I hope this post inspires you to get your family into nature a little bit more often and into the U.S. National Parks. They are such a priceless treasure!
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Heather says
August 6, 2015 at 9:03 amI haven’t visited very many US Parks but I have visited Mammoth Cave here in KY! We loved it!!
Anita Carol Gambrell says
August 6, 2015 at 9:24 amThe Great Smokey Mountains are my favorite so far. I have so many more I need to see. I love traveling so this has been a great article for me too. Good ideas and places to see!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
August 6, 2015 at 11:24 pmI would love to see that one!
Lesley M says
August 6, 2015 at 9:26 amMy favorite National Park is Yosmite!
Jenny says
August 6, 2015 at 9:27 amOur kids love the junior rangers program they have been able to get more active when we visit parks! They have badges from Alaska Hawai’i Colorado South Dakota and more! I don’t have a favorite because we always find new things we love at each park because of the junior ranger program!
Cynthia says
August 6, 2015 at 11:59 amI love the national parks! My favorite are Yellowstone(the first) and Zions!
Tia Stokes says
August 6, 2015 at 2:28 pmThose pictures of your little ones are so stinkin’ adorable! I’m totally looking into this for my two oldest! They would LOVE something like this! Thanks for the info!
D Schmidt says
August 6, 2015 at 3:30 pmWe love Arcadia National Park.
Sarah Westover McKenna says
August 6, 2015 at 11:24 pmI want to go there!!
Marlene says
August 6, 2015 at 4:55 pmI would have to say Glacier National Park. I have fond memories of visiting the park with my family.
Sarah Westover McKenna says
August 6, 2015 at 11:23 pmDying to go there!
Marilyn says
August 6, 2015 at 7:01 pmThis a great giveaway. Thank you for being so generous.
Marilyn
Kathy Davis says
August 6, 2015 at 7:40 pmMy favorite is the Mark Twain National Park, because it is right in my own backyard.
Sarah Westover McKenna says
August 6, 2015 at 11:23 pmWhere is that one? Midwest? I’ve never heard of it!
Rachell says
August 6, 2015 at 11:39 pmYellowstone National Park
Glenda B. says
August 7, 2015 at 3:23 amMy favorite is Zion but I also like Yellowstone & Yosmite.
Nancy T says
August 7, 2015 at 5:32 amAcadia National Park would be wonderful to see with my family someday. I love national parks!!
Kristin O. says
August 7, 2015 at 9:38 amThe grand canyon – simply breathtaking
Laura C says
August 7, 2015 at 10:07 amOh, I’m good at nat. parks. My Mom’s dad took her and her siblings to all of them but the ones in Hawii and Alaskaa. Perhaps I like the Tetons best? Hard to say. So much fun everywhere. on that same trip we also saw Yellowstone and that was pretty awesome but a tad smelly at parts. All very gorgeous, though.
Sarah Westover McKenna says
August 7, 2015 at 2:58 pmThat’s amazing! That is a LOT of national parks to visit! The Tetons are spectacular.
Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas says
August 7, 2015 at 8:27 pmI love Denali National Park in Alaska. We have property close to there and get to go every summer.
Kristy says
August 8, 2015 at 9:22 pmSmoky Mountains!!!
MJ Moore says
August 8, 2015 at 9:37 pmI love Yosemite!
Carmen N says
August 10, 2015 at 6:34 pmWe love Devil’s Tower
Diane B says
August 10, 2015 at 8:48 pmYorktown Battlefields, Virginia.
Alina says
August 11, 2015 at 10:53 amMy favorite would have to be Yellowstone National Park.
Sean says
August 11, 2015 at 10:54 amRecently we went to Yosemite and it was amazing!
Dezi A says
August 11, 2015 at 11:02 amI’d have to say Zions cause I think it’s the only one I’ve been to. :/
Sarah Westover McKenna says
August 12, 2015 at 1:53 pmWell, goodness! There are loads in the UT area near Zions, so if you live there be sure to hit them all! 🙂 Zions is my husband’s all time fav!
Nicole Sender says
August 11, 2015 at 9:44 pmI like Rocky Mountain National Park the best!
Rebecca says
August 12, 2015 at 1:29 pmWe love Glacier National Park!
Diana Cote says
August 12, 2015 at 4:13 pmYosemite is my favorite.
Janie says
August 13, 2015 at 4:27 pmYellowstone.
Nate says
December 19, 2015 at 6:25 pmHi Sarah,
My name is Nate. I am a former national park ranger and the creator of the Redwood Junior Ranger booklet. I am hoping you can contact via email regarding doing a formal review of the booklet? Talk soon. Thanks.
Nate
Sarah Westover McKenna says
December 20, 2015 at 4:33 pmHi Nate!
Email me at bombshellbling@gmail.com. 🙂
Lisa @ Fun Money Mom says
May 25, 2016 at 11:14 pmThis looks like such a fun program and your kids are absolutely adorable! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Share The Wealth Sunday! xoxo
Jamie says
May 27, 2016 at 4:38 pmWe had some friends do this with their kids recently and it was so much fun! Thank you for sharing with us at the #homeMattersParty
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
June 1, 2016 at 5:27 pmWhat a super fun program with so many aspects and awesome qualities. Definitely would be great for homeschoolers like us!
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop). I hope you’ll join us again tomorrow!
Wishing you a lovely evening.
xoxo
Jamie says
May 5, 2018 at 6:27 amWe love the Jr. Ranger program too. Once your littles are in 4th grade, you can get a free annual pass to the national parks. Just Google it for the link. It’s a great savings!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
May 7, 2018 at 11:45 amI had no idea! Awesome!