Cheree Larson, Author at Fun Family Next Door

Arches and Canyonlands National Parks 3-Day Itinerary

Wednesday Afternoon

Leave Salt Lake City

Drive to Arches National Park, Delicate Arch Trailhead. (236 miles- 4 hours)

Evening hike to Delicate Arch

Meet at the trailhead at 5:00. (If you stop in Moab first, plan for 40 minute drive to trailhead.) Early evening hiking is magical! This famous hike is 3 miles across red rock and takes 2-3 hours. It’s listed as “more difficult” but our little kids have done it without any problems. Bring a head lamp for the hike back.

Late dinner in Moab (8:00)

Thursday

Departure 9:00 AM

Drive to Arches National Park

Start at Landscape Arch.

This arch is more than a football field in length. It’s super cool! The trail is 2 miles and relatively flat- probably one hour of hiking.

Hike to Sand Dune Arch.

This is a super short (15 minute, ½ mile hike) We’ll spend some time here playing in the sand. You might want to bring a little towel to wipe down sandy bare feet. Get ready for an epic long jump contest.

Lunch- Head to the picnic area near Balanced Rock

We’ll eat sack lunches and have a game of Ultimate Frisbee

Afternoon hike to Windows and Turret Arch– 1 mile loop.

The rest of the afternoon can be spent wherever you want. You can go back to Moab, conquer another hike, explore the Visitors Center, or take a scenic drive.
Dinner in Moab

Friday

Departure 9:00 AM

Drive to Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky Entrance is 21 miles from Moab)

Hike Grand View Point Overlook

This is 2 miles along the canyon edge. Hold on to your hat and your small children! You’ll be humming the song “I’m On Top of the World.”

Drive to Whale Rock Picnic Area and eat sack lunches.

Hike to Whale Rock

About 1 mile walk to the tail of the whale. The kids will love climbing all over the whale.

Drive to Mesa Arch for final hike. Less than a mile.

Check it out- http://backcountrygallery.com/mesa-arch-sunrise/

Saturday

Drive to Corona Arch Trailhead 20 minutes from Moab via US-191 and UT-279 in Bootlegger Canyon. This will be our grand finale. It’s a 2.5 mile hike with a few cables, a ladder, and some natural stairs through steep parts. We’ve never done this one, but it sure looks fun and should be less crowded than the national parks- especially on a Saturday.

Lunch: You can bring sack lunches again or pick up something on your way home.

Arches National Park entrance fee $25

Canyonlands National Park entrance fee $25

If you have a 4^th grader, make sure you get your free NP pass!

Cooler full of food for 2-3 lunches.

If we get to have tin foil dinners in Canyonlands, we’ll join forces to pull that together.

2-3 dinner meals at restaurants and possibly lunch on the drive home

5-Year-Old Backpacking Trip

Let’s go on an adventure!

I think it’s time I posted one of our favorite annual traditions: The 5-Year-Old Backpacking Trip. When our first child turned five, my husband took him on a backpacking trip. The next year, he invited our 5-year old niece.

Every year since, we’ve organized a family overnight backpacking trip for anyone who wants to go. However, only the kids who are five years old or older are invited. This has become a kind of “coming of age” event for children in our family. They can hardly wait to turn five and be included in the adventure. After 17 years, our trip includes nearly thirty people!

Destinations

My husband chooses destinations that can be reached by an easy 1-2 mile hike. We live in Utah, so we have lots of hiking options nearby. Most of our trips have been in the Uintah Mountains, but we’ve also backpacked canyons closer to Salt Lake City. You can find lots of trails that are family friendly on websites and hiking apps like All Trails.

Food

The menu for the trip is always the same. (This adds to the feeling of tradition.) The group eats the fish they catch, Uncle Ben’s rice, steamed broccoli, and either s’mores or berry cobbler. For breakfast, we eat oatmeal hot chocolate, and bagels. It’s the same every year and the kids all love it. In fact, they all love to eat fish and we think it’s because of this annual trip. (No self-respecting five-year-old is going to let the older kids mock them for not eating fish.)

As our group has grown, we haven’t been able to catch enough fish to feed everyone. No problem! We pack in seasoned frozen salmon fillets wrapped in tin foil and cook them in the fire to supplement our meal.

Packing List

Here’s a packing list if you need a little help planning your own 1-night backpacking trip: Backpacking List for Overnight Camp

We live near many mountains so this trip is very inexpensive and a highlight of the year. There’s a lot of power (and a whole lot of fun) in family traditions!

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Family Sports Fans

Do you have crazy sports fans at your house? So do we. Our family loves cheering. My high school and college kids especially love to dress up, cheer loud, and pump up the crowd. They have flags, wigs, capes, and coveralls in their team colors. It’s serious business.

Henry Flag

One weekend, when they were all home, my 11-year old nephew mentioned that he had his last rec basketball game of the season. My older boys decided it was time to do something awesome. They invited all of our extended family that lived in town to come to the game. The theme was “White-Out” so everyone was asked to dress in white.

We showed up early to tailgate in the rec center parking lot. The kids played cornhole and ate pizza. We loved the confused looks of some of the folks driving by in the parking lot.

Then we took over the stands in the rec center. As you may know, there are usually just a few parents and siblings in the stands, so our group really stood out. The other families thought it was hilarious. The statisticians and referees also got the giggles. This was not a normal day for recreational 6th grade basketball.

The boys worked the crowd, leading them in cheers, chants, and the wave.

One of my sons decorated a few thrift store t-shirts so they could be thrown into the stands during time-outs. It was pretty funny.

Grandma Super Fan

t-shirt winner

We learned all the players’ names and cheered just like we were watching a college game. The players were a little confused at first, but they soon embraced the crowd and the court was full of smiles. Every time Cousin Henry made a shot or stole the ball, the crowd went absolutely crazy. It really was so fun! And, that big smile on Henry’s face was the best of all.

family sports fans

So, we hope this easy idea adds a little fun one day for your family. Make a little person’s day by really showing them you’re their biggest fan!

Find more family fun ideas on our website!