Tag: National Park Hiking

Hot Springs National Park (Junior Ranger Program)

We visited our third national park this weekend. We camped at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. The younger girls got a Junior Ranger National Park Passport Book to put their stamps in. They also completed the Hot Springs Junior Ranger program and received their Junior Ranger Badges. The older boys enjoyed exploring and hiking.

Junior Ranger Guide

We studied about Hot Springs before we went because they wanted to participate in the National Parks Junior Ranger program. I found this list of all of the Junior Ranger Park Programs here. The girls filled out this National Park Research Paper and Hot Springs Brochure (well, I filled out most of these since Storm broke her right arm again). We used The National Parks Scavenger Hunt by Stacy Tornio for help along with Hot Springs National Park website. We also printed out the Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide before we left, so we could look it over and plan out our trip.

Once we got there, they told us that they now have an updated Junior Ranger activity guide and gave us a copy, but they still let us use the one that we had printed out. Below is a picture of both activity guides next to each other, but my instructions are for the online printed one.

We planed our visit to see all of the things that interested us and also the locations that were mentioned in the Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. We read and filled out pages 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11 at home. We learned about the hot water springs water cycle and the growing city on these pages. We also filled out the certificate on last page, so we wouldn’t have so much to do at the park.

We arrived Friday afternoon and went right to our camp site at Gulpha Gorge Campground (read more about this below).

On Saturday morning we were planning on hiking to the Mountain Tower, but it was still raining so we decided to find an indoor family activity. First we went to the Pancake Shop in historic Hot Springs for breakfast. Then we decided to visit the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arkansas. You can read more about our Pancake Shop and Mid-America Science Museum experience below.

Saturday afternoon we it finally stopped raining so we got to visit Bathhouse Row. We started at one end of the street so that we could walk along the front of all of the bathhouses to fill out page 4 in our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. We stopped in front of each bathhouse and looked at the page in our booklet to match up the architecture of the bathhouse with the name. The girls really enjoyed this scavenger hunt type activity. When we finished that, we went into the Fordyce Bathhouse which is now the visitor center and Hot Springs museum. While on the tour we filled out page 3 of our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. In the music room we found the answer to page 9 on the ceiling:

Once we were finished in the Fordyce Bathhouse we went back outside to the right so we could see the Grand Entrance and the hot spring fountain. We filled out page 5 in our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide when we saw the 1921 “Hot Springs Reservation” monument statue:

Then we walked behind Bathhouse Row on the Grand Prominade for finish up page 11 in our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. You can read more about our Grand Prominade walk below. After this we returned our Junior Ranger books to the Fordyce Bathhouse visitor center. the Park Ranger helped the girls say the Junior Ranger Oath, and then she gave them each a badge. Then they got to stamp their Junior Ranger National Park Passport Books.

Sunday morning we finally got to hike before heading home. We also went up in the Mountain Tower, which you can read more about below as well.

Gulpha Gorge Campground

The only campsite at Hot Springs National Park is Gulpha Gorge Campground. Unfortunately the park was under a burn ban so we could not have a campfire this weekend. It also started raining after we set up our campsite so we decided to go out for dinner and then we went back to the campsite and played games in the tent during the rain. It continued to rain and occasionally storm until Saturday afternoon. We set up our CAMPROS tent and the girls liked using our LED lanterns once it got dark. We also used our new Asinking Car Rooftop Bag to pack things in for our drive this time.

Pancake Shop

We were hoping to go for a hike to the Mountain Tower, but since it was still raining, we found a local place for breakfast. The kids all really liked the Pancake Shop. They had giant banana and chocolate chip pancakes along with scrambled eggs and bacon.

Mid-America Science Museum

We didn’t plan on visiting the Mid-America Science Museum, but since it was raining, we decided to give it a try. It was amazing, all of the kids from the 3 year old up to the 20 year old enjoyed much of the museum. They had so many hands on educational activities. The little girls loved the water spouts best and the older boys like making a short video. Titus (15 years) also loved the blacklight climbing area, but this scared the girls too much.

Bathhouse Row

We walked down Bathhouse Row to see the front of all 8 historic bath houses. Then we toured the museum in Fordyce Bathhouse and got to see all sorts of old bath utilities and attire. When we came out of Fordyce Bathhouse we went to the right and saw a hot spring fountain. The kids all tried to touch it, but the water is over 140 degrees so be careful. We also saw the grand entrance to the original Hot Springs Reservation. Once we walked past it we came to the Grand Prominade.

Grand Prominade

Before you reach the Grand Prominade you can see a natural hot spring on the right. The kids also touched this Hot Water Cascade as well. Then we climbed the stairs to reach the Grand Prominade. The Grand Prominade is an easy half mile walk. We found some chess boards, but no chess pieces. The boys thought this one very neat since they both enjoy playing chess. At the other end of the Grand Prominade there was a fountain to fill your water bottles with the hot springs mineral water. It was too hot to drink at first, so be sure to let it cool.

Hiking

We got to hike around the Gulpha Gorge Campground. There were several trails to follow once you crossed the stone path going over the river. All 4 of the kids loved crossing the river and exploring the trails. The 15 year old wanted more time to explore, but hiking was cut short this trip because of all the rain. We tried to cross the river right after the rain, but there was so much water it was covering the stone path.

Mountain Tower

We ended our trip with an adventure up the Mountain Tower. When you enter the bottom (visitor shop) of the Mountain Tower you can purchase your tickets to go up the elevator. If you go to the second floor you get an enclosed window view with a little museum. If you go to the third floor (the top floor) you get an open air view of the surrounding springs. We could see the steam rising from the woods.

Here are some of our other National Park Adventures:

Indiana Dunes National Park (Junior Ranger Program)

We visited our first national park this weekend. We camped at Indiana Dunes National Park on the southern part of Lake Michigan. The younger girls got a Junior Ranger National Park Passport Book to put their stamps in. They also completed the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger program and received their Junior Ranger Badges. The older boys enjoyed cooking over a campfire and hiking up the dunes.

Junior Ranger Guide

We studied about Indiana Dunes before we went because they wanted to participate in the National Parks Junior Ranger program. I found this list of all of the Junior Ranger Park Programs here. The girls filled out this National Park Research Paper and Indiana Dunes Brochure (well, I filled out most of these since Storm broke her right wrist last week). We used The National Parks Encyclopedia by Allison Lassieur for help along with Indiana Dunes National Park website. We also printed out the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger activity guide before we left, so we could look it over and plan out our trip.

We planed our visit to see all of the things that interested us and also the locations that were mentioned in the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger activity guide. We read and filled out page 3 at home, we found the mission of the National Park Service online. We used this Great Lakes Map to fill out page 4 of the activity guide. On page 6, we looked up some of the Indiana Dunes Animals to figure out what the Potawatomi would have hunted. We had a little trouble on page 10 identifying the animals with their prints, so we got a little help from the big brothers! We talked about page 15 and answered the questions, then we filled out the last page as well, so we wouldn’t have so much to do at the campsite.

We arrived Saturday afternoon and stopped at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to pay the $25 for our stay (this pass is good for a week). You can also pick up your Junior Ranger activity guide there if you didn’t print it out ahead of time. After this we went to visit Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm near the Visitor Center. Bailly Homestead was under construction when we visited, but we could see the house a bit from the road. You can hike a quarter of a mile between the 2 places as well. After we visited here, we filled out the bottom of page 6 in Junior Ranger activity guide. Next we went to Dunewood Campground to set up our campsite for the weekend (read more about this below).

On Sunday morning we went hiking while it was still cooler out. We decided to hike the 3 Dune Challenge in the State Park at the Nature Center (we learned that we had to pay an additional park fee to enter though). You can read more about our 3 Dune Challenge experience below. As we hiked we tried to use all of our senses, then we filled out the bottom of page 12 in Junior Ranger activity guide. A short distance from the Nature Center we followed the Great Marsh Trail where we saw Bull Frogs and a Great Blue Heron. We were able to complete page 10 in Junior Ranger activity guide after this trail.

Sunday afternoon we wanted to go to the beach for the warmer weather. We tried to visit Dunbar Beach or Lake View Beach because it was closer to the Lake View Pavilion that we needed to visit for page 4 of our Junior Ranger activity guide. Unfortunately, there was no parking anywhere along the beach here, so we had to travel farther to West Beach and try to visit the Lake View Pavilion in the morning. At West Beach we didn’t see everything on page 8 in the Junior Ranger activity guide, but we saw a couple of them. We saw the toad, marsh grass, and Herring Gull; we also saw a tiny dead fish that had washed up on the beach (the girls had fun observing it).

Monday morning we stopped by Lake View Pavilion before heading back to the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to fill out the last pages (page 10 and 12) of our Junior Ranger activity guide. After the guide was completed, the Park Ranger helped the girls say the Junior Ranger Oath, and then she gave them each a badge. Then they got to stamp their Junior Ranger National Park Passport Books. We also bought a couple of the 3 Dunes Challenge t-shirts in the gift shop.

Dunewood Campground

The only campsite in Indiana Dunes National Park is Dunewood Campground. The girls brought play kitchen toys to use in the sand, and the had a blast getting filthy! The boys brought their cast iron camp skillet to make pancakes for breakfast and quesadillas for dinner (be sure to bring your own firewood). We also had the traditional hotdogs and s’mores! We set up our CAMPROS tent and Kijaro Camping Chairs. The girls liked using our LED lanterns once it got dark.

3 Dunes Challenge

The boys favorite part of the trip with the dune hiking; my 15 year old said that he would like to do it again some time. We wanted to climb The 3 Dune Challenge in the morning while it was still cooler out. The girls enjoyed this too, and discovered that climbing up the sand dunes was easier for them without their shoes on. The rest of us had piles of sand in our tennis shoes by the top of the first dune, except for one of my sons who wore his hiking boots… no sand in those!

The 3 Dune Challenge is a loop if you start at the Nature Center. We just followed Trail 8 until the top of the last dune, then we switched to trail 4. The first dune is Mt. Jackson, 176 feet with a 31 degree slope angle. I really felt it in my calf muscles but it helped to stop about three fourths of the way up for a rest. The next dune was Mt. Holden, 184 feet high with 34 degree slope angle. This one made my hamstrings burn, but again I took a short rest about three fourths up that really helped me. (I saw several families with small children and fantastical mommies with babies riding on their bellies during this hike!) My teenage boys and small girls just went right on up without stopping for rests. The last dune was Mt. Tom. This one had soooooo many stairs! And again, I stopped to rest halfway up. Mt. Tom is 192 feet with a 43 degree slope.

Great Marsh Trail

A short distance from the Nature Center we followed the Great Marsh Trail, which is just about a half hour walk. You can see herons and cranes sometimes, we ended up spotting Bull Frogs and a Great Blue Heron which was amazing.

West Beach on Lake Michigan

The beach was the girls favorite part of the trip, they would have stayed there all day but the boys are usually done with the beach after about an hour. One of the boys didn’t even wear shorts to the beach, so he sat on the towel and dug the deepest hole every… to his elbow! The little girls brought their toy kitchen dishes to the beach and kept collecting little white feathers. They also found and tiny dead fish that wash ashore that they observed until I had the boys throw it back.

Here are some of our other National Park Adventures: