Parks & Outdoors

Travel reports and advice for families for the best outdoor experiences, including national and state park visits, camping or glamping

Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries

Three Days in Maine — Day One on a Lobster Boat
ByEileen Ogintz June 21, 2011June 28, 2023

We learn from our affable captain Dave Coleman that Maine provides the world with 75 per cent of its lobsters and that licensed lobstermen work very, very hard—with each one having about 800 traps and checking on about 150 a day. We see how much work it is for Dave to haul in just the one trap andcheck the lobsters for size.

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Families & Groups | Destinations | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries

On a houseboat in Lake Powell — a great place to gather families together
ByEileen Ogintz June 20, 2011June 29, 2023

Who said today’s families—even teens and college students—are too jaded for old-fashioned vacations? Not on a Lake Powell Houseboat. These days, it’s hard enough to gather the family at the same place together much less come up with something that will please everybody, whatever their ages

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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Disney | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column

To Orlando for the first time? Here’s how to make the most of it
ByEileen Ogintz June 9, 2011June 28, 2023

According to recent polls from Travelocity and Orbitz, Orlando is the number one destination for families this summer. It is affordable with some of the summer’s best room rates (plenty of hotels and condos under $100 a night and special deals for those in the U.S. military) and flights. And we all know you won’t run out of things to do

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Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries

Kayaking around the tip of Baja California
ByEileen Ogintz June 9, 2011June 28, 2023

Our kayak guide Carlos Michaud tells us locals call the Pacific side beach Divorce Beach because it is so rough. We’ve kayaked from Cabo San Lucas to see the famous arch—the natural rock arch that is surrounded by towering rock walls. It is said this is where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez here on this peninsula but our guide tells us the true spot is probably two hours north of here.

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Backyard Vacations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Taking the Kids Blogs

On the road again — exploring America in an RV
ByEileen Ogintz June 6, 2011June 28, 2023

RVing may not be for die hard backpackers like my grown kids, but it’s still a great way to get kids outdoors and get some R&R. You don’t have to worry about what to do when it rains either. Sure gas prices are high, but some families park their RV in one spot rather than touring the region. What a great way to explore one part of the state or one national park, returning to the camp ground in the evening where you’ll find congenial neighbors, activities, Wi-Fi in many places and even swimming pools.

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Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Taking the Kids Blogs

AT MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK – WHO SAYS LEARNING CAN’T BE FUN?
ByEileen Ogintz April 25, 2011June 28, 2023

It is amazing that we are standing in stone rooms where families flourished so many centuries ago. Balcony House is one of the best preserved sites in the park and offers a spectacular view down into Soda Canyon. There are some 38 small stone rooms and two ceremonial kivas here with plazas and even some of the original wood poles that formed a balcony.

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Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries

A unique biosphere on the Mexican Riviera Maya
ByEileen Ogintz April 15, 2011June 28, 2023

Welcome to Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve — the name in Mayan language translates to the Entrance to the Sky — with 1.3 million acres the largest protected area in the Mexican Caribbean that is part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program and a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is unique for its diverse geography.

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Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Weekly Column

The many ways to visit the Grandest of Canyons
ByEileen Ogintz April 14, 2011June 28, 2023

The Grand Canyon, set aside as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, became a national park in 1919. Today, it remains one of the most visited parks, drawing more than 4.3 million visitors a year. Families from around the world come here to experience what is widely considered one of the great wonders of the world. Like I said, wow!

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Beach Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Lodging | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service

Exploring the history of the Mayas
ByEileen Ogintz April 14, 2011October 3, 2023

One of the best preserved coastal Maya sites — it was at its height between the 13th and 15th Centuries — Tulum is built along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea –the high cliffs protecting the city from hurricanes even in ancient times. Tulum was one of the last cities inhabited and built by the Mayans.

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Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Taking the Kids Blogs

Communing with penguins in Patagonia and California
ByEileen Ogintz April 6, 2011June 28, 2023

If you can’t get to Patagonia, head to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.montereybayaquarium.org) in California where you can meet and greet Magellanic Penguins who were rescued and brought here. Climate change is forcing these creatures to swim farther to find food so they must swim an extra 25 miles or so from their nest for fish. So sad!

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