Summer is almost over, but there’s still some time for more adventures! It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of our National Park Service. In particular, I love the Junior Ranger Program they offer, and any family vacations we take usually revolve around going to new parks and collecting more Junior Ranger badges for B and C. The parks are one of my happy places, and I love visiting them.
I’ve shared on Instagram a few times pictures of the various badges we’ve collected, and I often get questions about what this Junior Ranger program is. In a nutshell, the National Park Service offers a program (usually free, though there are a few exceptions) in many of its parks known as the Junior Ranger program. At participating parks, you can pick up a Junior Ranger activity book, usually at any visitor center. In these, you’ll find several activities and tasks your child will need to complete around the park or visitor center, sometimes based on age, to earn a Junior Ranger badge (or, in some cases, a patch) for that park. Once they’ve completed all the required tasks, they’ll present their booklet to a ranger who will usually ask them a few questions about what they learned, then have them repeat a pledge, after which they get a badge.
There can be variations on this – some parks offer a patch instead of a badge or even give both for extra tasks. Some parks offer both an in-person version of their program as well as an online version. Some parks offer several different badges, either based on age or different topics (e.g., the Santa Fe Trail badge is offered at several different parks). No matter how it’s done, the Junior Ranger program is an excellent way to help your kids learn more about the parks you’re visiting and take home an extra little memento from their time there.
The Park Service does have a page with a list of Junior Ranger programs at different parks, but in the past, it has not been complete, and I like to see them broken down by state and region. So today, I thought I’d offer a list of all the Junior Ranger programs at parks in the Western region, which includes Arizona, California, and Nevada. I’m also including an interactive map so you can figure out which ones are closest to you. If you happen to be taking a vacation this summer in any of these states, I highly recommend stopping at a park to earn a badge! And if you’re planning on visiting multiple parks, look into getting an America the Beautiful pass (or a FREE pass for fourth graders and their families!) as it can definitely save you money!
In the list below, you’ll find links to all of the Junior Ranger programs at the various parks, either to the National Parks website or to a write-up I’ve made about our experience doing that particular activity. Please note that this is not a list of all the National Parks in the states listed, so if you want to visit parks that don’t offer a Junior Ranger program as well, check out the National Parks website. And if you want a way to remember your visits to the National Parks as well, passport books or this beautiful passport journal can be a fun way to keep track!
Arizona
- Canyon de Chelly (Chinle)
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (Coolidge)
- Chiricahua National Monument (Willcox)
- Coronado National Memorial (Hereford)
- Fort Bowie National Historic Site (Willcox)
- Grand Canyon National Park (Grand Canyon)
- Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (Littlefield)
- Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site (Ganado)
- Montezuma Castle National Monument (Camp Verde)
- Navajo National Monument (Black Mesa)
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Ajo)
- Petrified Forest National Park (Holbrook)
- Pipe Spring National Monument (Fredonia)
- Saguaro National Park (Tucson)
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (Flagstaff)
- Tonto National Monument (Roosevelt)
- Tumacácori National Historical Park (Tumacácori)
- Tuzigoot National Monument (Clarkdale)
- Walnut Canyon National Monument (Flagstaff)
- Wupatki National Monument (Flagstaff)
California
- Alcatraz Island (San Francisco)
- Cabrillo National Monument (San Diego)
- César E. Chávez National Monument (Keene)
- Channel Islands National Park (Ventura)
- Death Valley (Death Valley National Park)
- Devils Postpile National Monument (Mammoth Lakes)
- Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site (Danville)
- Fort Point National Historic Site (San Francisco)
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area (San Francisco)
- includes Alcatraz, Beach Buddies, Fort Point, Marin Headlands, and Muir Woods Junior Ranger Programs
- John Muir National Historic Site (Martinez)
- Joshua Tree National Park (Twentynine Palms)
- Lassen Volcanic National Park (Mineral)
- Lava Beds National Monument (Tulelake)
- Manzanar National Historic Site (Independence)
- Mojave National Preserve (Barstowe)
- Muir Woods National Monument (Mill Valley)
- Pinnacles National Park (Paicines)
- Point Reyes National Seashore (Point Reyes)
- Redwood National and State Parks (Crescent City)
- Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park (Richmond)
- San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (San Francisco)
- Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (Thousand Oaks)
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (Three Rivers)
- Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (Whiskeytown)
- Yosemite National Park (Yosemite)
Nevada
- Great Basin National Park (Baker)
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Boulder City)
Multi-Sites
- California National Historic Trail (CA, CO, ID, KS, MO, NE, NV, OR, UT, WY)
- Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (AZ, CA)
- Old Spanish National Historic Trail (AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, UT)
- Pony Express National Historic Trail (CA, CO, KS, MO, NE, NV, UT, WY)
We’ve got some of the Arizona badges, but quite a few of these are still on our bucket list. If you’ve been to any of these sites, which was your favorite?
Did you know there is an Arizona Explorer patch offered? I believe we had to visit 4 National Parks in Arizona, and complete a page specific to the parks visited. Then you can get the park badges AND the patch.