akeisel's Passport
 | Been to 167 Attractions |
 | 162 Reviews |
 | 106 First to Review |
 | 852 Photos |
 | 105 Helpful Votes |
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Send a ComplimentAbout Me & My Family
My family and I love road trips. In fact, our annual road trip miles amount to at least 10,000 per year! We love National Parks and any place that is off the beaten path.
Our Family's Travel Personality
adventurous, curious, simple, independent, energetic, spontaneous
We Just Got Back From
The road (wherever it takes us), of course!
Our Favorite Vacation Spot
National Parks
A Place We'd Love To Visit
Alaska
Favorite Vacation Memory
There are so many to name. We love Alta Ranch Montana. We have so many fun memories of just staying at the ranch. We never left the place and we were never bored!
Worst Travel Moment With My Kids:
My daughter got car sick on the way to New Mexico. She puked in every state on the way. I sat in the back and caught the puke in a Ziploc bag for about 8 hours. Once we got to our destination, she was just fine and happy to be there.
Websites I Like:
Family Friendly Hiking in Utah's Wasatch Front
There are several family friendly and easily accessible hikes from Utah's metropolitan areas. Wasatch Mountain trailheads are within miles and minutes of Utah's valley floors. These trailheads lead to some of the most amazing places for families to explore and enjoy.
Provo Canyon
Hwy 189 Provo, Utah
Comment:
Nice paved trail leads to this waterfall. Let the kiddos wade around at the base of this waterfall for plenty of family fun. Hike does get busy, but pack a picnic and stake a claim at one of the many picnic areas nearby.
Alpine Loop Rd
Provo, Utah
Comment:
This hike is family friendly with groomed trails and an amazing payoff at the end. This is a longer hike, so be prepared for an all day activity.
reviewed on: June 24 2011
"Great hike with a payoff"
Stewart Falls is a great beginning to intermediate hike for families. It’s great because there is a payoff at the end of this hike – a beautiful 200 foot 2 tiered waterfall with plenty of pools for the kids to play in. This hike to Stewart Falls is a 3.5 mile round trip hike from the Sundance Ski Resort or the trailhead at Aspen Grove along the scenic Alpine Loop in American Fork Canyon. Note that there is a small fee to enter American Fork Canyon but families with the National Park Annual Access pass get in free. There are some fairly steep switchbacks along the trail but kids 5 and older should be able to climb. I carried our baby in an baby backpack and she loved the scenery. Late spring and fall hikes to Stewart Falls provide the best weather for hiking this trail as certain portions of the trail can be quite hot in summer months.
There is also a shorter and easier option to hike to these falls if families prefer to ride the chair lift to the top of Ray’s Summit which is accessed from the Sundance Ski Resort. The ride on the chair lift is quite fun and scenic and provides a good option to explore the area. Either way, the hike to Stewart Falls is enjoyable and very beautiful as you travel through wildflower and forested areas.
I would suggest bringing plenty of snacks and drinks because kids will definitely want to stay at the base of this waterfall for a while. There are some nice places for kids to throw rocks or wade along the pools below the falls. Don't forget the camera as this hike is full of perfect photo opportunities!
American Fork Canyon
American Fork, Utah
Comment:
Good hike for an active family. This hike is off the beaten path from the busy American Fork loop and a wonderful place to experience this beautiful area.
reviewed on: June 25 2011
"Great hike for experienced hiking families"
The hike to Silver Lake is a moderately strenuous hike and best suited for older kids or experienced hiking families. The trail is approximately 4.1 miles round trip and there are sections of steep switchbacks. My family successfully hiked this trail with kids aged 10, 6 and a toddler in the backpack. This hike was perfect for our 10 year old, but a little tough on our 6 year old. Out toddler just enjoyed the ride (lucky girl)!There are things to relish all along this trail whether it is jumping over mountain streams, enjoying the views of Timpanogos, finding moose in the willows or identifying mountain wildflowers. Families with smaller kids will enjoy this trail whether they climb all the way to Silver Lake or not. Fishing is permitted in Silver Lake however be sure to refer to each year’s local fishing regulation to confirm the exact regulations. We brought a couple of fishing poles on our hike and within seconds my son was catching some nice Brook Trout.
The only downfall to the Silver Lake hike is you do have to carry all of your food and drinks and you may run out before you’re really ready to return. We only brought enough snacks for a few hours and wished we had brought more in order to allow us to enjoy the lake longer. This lake would be a good destination for overnight backpackers carrying more supplies.
In summary, this is a five star trail for families with older kids. However, even if your family doesn’t hike all the way to Silver Lake, this trail is enjoyable all along the way.
Timpanogos Cave National Monument
American Fork, Utah
Comment:
This steep hike to the national monument may not be for every family. Be sure to review safety with kiddos while hiking and then be prepared to enjoy an awesome cave tour at the top.
reviewed on: January 11 2011
"Watch your little ones - This steep hike is worth it!"
Timpanogos cave is a unique family outing for any nature loving family. Please note however that the hike to the cave base is steep so it is not for everyone. My kids, age 6 & 10 (and baby in backpack) had no trouble on the hike. But we are an experienced hiking family. The upper part of the trail is carved in to the rock and is fairly narrow with huge drop-offs. There have been injuries and deaths due to falls from this trail but incidents like these are rare as this is heavily used. It is is important to watch your kids closely and warn them of the dangers on the trail. I would suggest that you have your kids to slow down and hold your hand on the upper part of the trail. The park service has recently made some safety improvements to the trail and added more handrails. Be sure to leave any baby backpacks at the "backpack storing area" a few yards below the entrance. We missed this sign and had to run back to leave our baby backpack. There are some areas in the cave too tight for carrying baby backpacks so you are required to store these (don't leave valuables because the storage is just a place on the trail, not a locked storage area). The cave tour walk is short enough that you can just hold your little one.
The tour of the cave is so interesting, unique and educational. There is one part where the tour guide turns off all of the lights. Be sure to be holding your children's hands and have fun experiencing "true" darkness.
Make reservations in summer months as spots for the tour fill up quickly.
approx 9 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon
Salt Lake City, Utah
Comment:
Easily accessible, a bit steep and can be busy; but a good short hike for families.
900 East to 820 North to Oakmont Lane to Oakcliff Drive
to Terrace Drive to Y trailhead access Provo, Utah
Comment:
Good family friendly hike to explore the area.
12601 Big Cottonwood Canyon Road
Salt Lake City, Utah
Comment:
Family friendly walk around Silver Lake. Take a stroller on the boardwalk or take a toddler around the entire lake. Consider bringing a fishing pole and spending the entire day.
reviewed on: July 29 2011
"Family Friendly, but Crowded"
On a hot summer day, I love living close to mountains where within 20 minutes I can drive 3000 feet higher in elevation and find it 20 degrees cooler. I drove my kids, age 10, 7, and 2 up Big Cottonwood Canyon on a hot summer day. Our destination was the Silver Lake trailhead near Brighton ski resort. This hike is an easy ¾ mile loop hike around Silver Lake, along flat marshland boardwalks and forested trails. Kids 3 and older should be able to hike this trail by themselves. Strollers and wheelchairs can even be pushed along the boardwalks which would make a very enjoyable and scenic stroll. My two year-old easily completed the entire ¾ mile loop hike unassisted and enjoyed stopping along the way to admire ducks, fish, and the pretty wildflowers.
The only downfall to this hike is that it is an extremely popular hike and fishing lake. You never get the feeling like you are alone in nature on this trail. That is why a deducted a star from my rating. There is a less crowded trailhead that breaks off of the Silver Lake hike to Twin Lakes or Lake Solitude. These hikes are 1 mile and 1.25 mile one-way respectively, good options to find some solitude. One thing to note, bring plenty of sunscreen, shoes that can get wet, and bug spray.
In all, this hike was a fun activity for a weekday afternoon. However, I would recommend finding a different hike during the weekend if you want a real getting-away-from-it all nature experience with your family.
Little Cottonwood Canyon
Salt Lake City, Utah
Comment:
This trail is a strenuous climb but the views are amazing and the trail is fun along the way.
reviewed on: July 18 2011
"Steep hike, great scenery"
My family set out for an easy afternoon hike in Little Cottonwood Canyon’s Albion Basin. Little did we know that the huge amount of snow received last winter has kept the road to Albion closed, and it’s the middle of July. So we parked by the closed gate and discovered a trailhead for Cardiff Pass, a 1.3 mile 1,360 feet elevation gain hike with kids 10, 7 and 2 year old in the baby backpack.The trail starts out steep and remains steep throughout. There are some fun spots for kids to do a little exploring where old mines have left tailings full of pretty colored rocks. There is also some old rusted mining equipment left from the mines that the kid’s liked finding. There was still some snow on the trail making it a little difficult to keep our feet dry. But with steady steps we made it over these obstacles and enjoyed seeing the runoff flowing through the draws on the mountain.
Once we reached Cardiff Pass, we reached a payoff with a beautiful view of several Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons’ high elevation peaks. The trail does continue on to Monte Cristo or Mount Superior Peaks for those who want a little more adventure. We opted to turn around at this point.
In all, the afternoon hike was enjoyable, but definitely not easy for our young kids. I would recommend this hike to families with older kids who may decide to adventure further and enjoy the high elevation scenery.
4000 Canyons Resort Dr
Park City, Utah
Comment:
Getting to the trailhead via the Red Pine Gondola at Canyons Resort is half of the fun. Look for moose along the trail!
reviewed on: September 15 2011
"Loop Trail Love"
Hiking a loop trail is the ideal hike with kids since there is always something new to see along the way. The Red Pine Loop trail is one of those great family friendly loop trails, perfect for families with young kids. This trail can actually be split into two loops, a southern trail (1.2 miles long with a small elevation differential) and the northern trail (1.6 miles long also with a small elevation differential). The north and south loops are split by the High Meadow ski lift. Getting to the trailhead requires a ride on the Canyons Resort Red Pine Gondola which brings passengers to the Red Pine Lodge at mid-mountain. Here you can either hike the entire loop, uphill approximately 1.2 miles, then downhill another 1.6 miles, or catch a ride uphill on the High Meadow ski lift with your gondola ticket and hike downhill on either of the north of south loops back to the Red Pine Lodge. The High Meadow ski lift seats four, there is no age limitation and it’s a relatively short ride. However, be prepared to see you kids hanging from high elevations from the lift; it may not be conducive for families with a particularly wiggly toddler. Also note that the High Meadow ski lift is only available for uphill rides requiring a downhill hike to return to mid-mountain.
I took kids age 10, 7 and 2 on the south red pine loop trail, after our ride on the Red Pine Gondola and High Meadow ski lift. The walk was enjoyable along a nice groomed trail. This trail is a shared hiking and mountain biking trail so be prepared to share the trail. Proper outdoor etiquette requires that bikers yield to hikers, but its best to be cautious around tight curves. We did not have any issues with bikers and found that most of the mountain bikers stayed on the wider trails with biking obstacles.
The hike is lovely through wildflower meadows, across bridge covered streams and along the Canyons Resort private reservoir where you can cast a line to catch a Tiger Trout. We stopped to admire a squirrel tucking away acorns when low and behold a juvenile moose stood up from the brush, just 15 feet away from the trail! I was able to snap a few pictures of the moose, but we kept our distance knowing that if spooked, it could charge. Before long we had returned to the Red Pine Lodge and gondola. Nobody was whining and nobody was tired, instead we were happy and content comparing notes of our moose sighting; a sign of a good family hike.
In summary, this hike possesses attributes that make it family friendly; it’s a loop trail, plenty of wildlife to admire, and groomed for any age and ability resulting in a five star hike for families.
Disclosure: Although I received complimentary gondola and lift tickets, my reviews are always my own opinions and are not influenced by staff or its affiliates.
