Basically any National Park you choose to hike with your kids will be amazing. You just really can’t go wrong where National Parks are concerned. This being said, there are some parks that are more suited to hiking with the kiddos than others. Perhaps you’re wondering what exactly makes a National Park great for hiking with kids. Well, please read on to find out the 10 best National Parks to hike with kids.
Family vacations can get expensive, especially on the east coast. The following is a list of family and budget friendly places you should visit.
This museum is located on an air force base in Pensacola Florida. Due to it being an active military site there is some security to go through before getting inside. It is well worth it though. The museum is huge. You will see airplanes from all over the world and spanning through time. Also make sure to get on the trolley tour of the back lot, where you will see some of the planes they can’t fit inside the museum. Kids will love getting inside some of the planes, the best part is that it’s free.
Mosquitoes. Lot’s and lot’s of mosquitoes. Yes Everglades National Park is known for having mosquitoes, but all the other amazing things we were able to see and do while we were there made it bearable. We stayed on the gulf side of the park as well as staying at the Long Pine Key campground within the park boundaries. I don’t usually need bug spray, but I did have to apply it several times while staying in the park campground (we went through two whole bottles). There are so many things to do in Everglades, even if you don’t have a boat. We saw a ton of 
wildlife, walked several trails, visited the Nike Missile Base, and attended a ranger talk one evening. Of course a trip to the Everglades wouldn’t be complete without renting a canoe and rowing down a mangrove lined canal.
One of the greatest aspects of our adventure is seeing family that we haven’t seen in decades. We were able to see my aunt in St. Petersburg and the visit was wonderful. We took a stroll down memory lane and visited the gift shop my parents used to own at John’s Pass. We had our first dolphin sighting, which everyone was really excited about. During our stay we also took a trolley ride and the driver was hilarious, so everyone had a blast. The pool was a little cool 
as a cold snap had just come through, but there wasn’t any snow and the kids did brave going in for a little swim. It was great to get to reconnect with family and we were happy to be able to see my aunt.
It was a busy day inside the capitol building since we happened to arrive on opening day of the legislative session. The university was there with some interesting displays about the history and archaeology from around the state. We were all interested in learning about some of the different ways that the natives used shells for tools. After looking over the displays we decided to take the elevator 
up to the top. Like the capitol building in Louisiana, you can go all the way to the 22nd floor and look out over the whole town. It isn’t quite as tall as Louisiana’s but you can still get a great view of the city. They had some plaques around that labeled the different buildings in view and it was fun to try to spot them. After seeing the whole city 
we took the elevator down to wandered around some of the other floors. We got to see the House Chamber just after their session had ended for the day, and we also got a good view looking down on the state seal. It was a really nice building and we were excited to see what the old capitol would look like.
We rarely mention RV parks that we stay at on our blog, but the Sunburst RV Resort was so spectacular that we just have to talk about it. Although the pool was closed when we visited, the hot tub was still open so we took advantage of it, twice. After a long day on the road it was nice to soak away the stress. As an added bonus we met a nice couple from New York that we hit it off with. They met us again when we visited the hot tub a second time and they also loved the park. Both of our groups have extensive travel experience and we know it can be hard to find a great camp site. Although it was a bit of a drive to visit Pensacola from the park, it was well worth it because the manager truly cared about the people in the park. She was working non-stop to please someone the entire time we were there, yet she still found 
time to help the kids make hiking sticks and survival bracelets. She provided the materials and spent a few hours on two occasions doing crafts with the kids. Of all the campsites we have visited, she is the only host that we invited to dinner! The park was spotless and everything was in tip top shape, even the two swimming pools. This place was just amazing and if you are ever in the area, we recommend wholeheartedly that you spend sometime here. It is a short drive to the beach, the Naval Aviation Museum, the Gulf Island National Seashore and more. Our neighbor at the park was from Cape Cod and seemed 
super happy with the park. Yes when everyone at the park is smiling and in a good mood you know management is doing something right. Trish is a super star and one of the nicest managers we have met on the road! Good work needs to be called out and people like her that go above and beyond the call of duty are rare.
In order to see the Everglades while Rangers programs are still going on, we had to postpone seeing Alabama and Mississippi till later. Instead we just drove right on through to Florida and stopped north of Pensacola for a short stay. We found a campsite that was so great I will be doing a post just about them, so stay tuned. Pensacola was very pretty and everyone enjoyed our time in the area.
