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Dad Field Manual · Field card 88 · Outdoors

A Junior Ranger day with Dad

Most national park sites run a Junior Ranger program, and the booklet turns a park visit into a mission. This plan gets you from picking a park to your kid taking the pledge.

Time
Half a day
Cost
Park fee, if any
Ages
5 to 13
Where
A national park site

What you need

  • The park's page, checked the day before
  • Pencil and a clipboard or hard book
  • Water, snacks and layers
  • Sunscreen and hats

Before you go

  • Check the park's page the day before for hours, closures, fees and alerts. Visitor centers keep their own hours.
  • Keep your distance from wildlife: at least 25 yards from most animals and 100 yards from bears and wolves in many parks. Never feed them.
  • Stay on marked trails and keep young kids within arm's reach near water, cliffs and roads.

Steps

  1. Pick the park. Pick a nearby park from the Junior Ranger list and check its NPS page the day before.
  2. Start at the visitor center. At the visitor center, ask for the Junior Ranger booklet and which pages fit your kid's age.
  3. Plan the booklet route. Circle today's activities and put them in the order you'll pass them.
  4. Do it together. Your kid does the activities; you read signs aloud and ask what they noticed.
  5. Take the pledge. Return the booklet to the visitor center, take the pledge and get the badge.
  6. Log the park. Write the park and date in the booklet and pick the next park.

If it stalls

  • If the booklet looks long, ask a ranger which pages are enough for your kid's age. Do those and stop.
  • If the visitor center is closed, check the park's page for another place to pick up or turn in the booklet.
Parks visited
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date