One of the best ways to get your kids interested in a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is introducing them to the Junior Ranger program! When your children realize that Junior Rangers are critical to the success of the National Park System, they’ll feel more involved in their visit and want to teach others about keeping a safe distance from wildlife, cleaning up trash in the park and other important issues! Here are the top 4 reasons why kids love becoming a National Park Junior Ranger:
1. Easy to Become a Junior Ranger
The great thing about becoming a National Park Junior Ranger is that any child can participate in the program! There are no difficult courses to take or hard tasks to complete to become a Junior Ranger, so there is nothing to intimidate your kids! Your children can basically choose how they want to become their best Junior Ranger, whether it be coloring a wildlife scene from the National Park or playing a game of Smokies Bingo as your family drives throughout the park! To make things even more interactive, kids can print a Junior Ranger badge to color and display!
2. Fun Activities to Complete Online
Another top reason why your kids will love becoming a National Park Junior Ranger is because they will find some fun Junior Ranger activities to complete online! We know your children probably love technology, so they’ll have a blast discovering some of the interactive and printable activities! Kids will even be able to view some of the most fascinating parts of a national park from their living room, including wildlife, geysers and more! By viewing some of the highlights of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in advance, your kids are sure to get excited about visiting the park!
3. Creates a Sense of Leadership
When your kids become a National Park Junior Ranger, they’ll feel a strong sense of leadership as they teach their friends about the importance of safety while hiking, safe wildlife viewing and other important issues! While exploring the park, be sure to stop by one of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Visitor Centers so that your kids can meet a real Park Ranger and learn about what it takes to become one of the uniformed employees of the National Park System!
4. Provides Motivation to Visit Other National Parks Throughout the Country
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is just one of the many parks that offers a Junior Ranger program! After visiting the Smoky Mountains, don’t be surprised if your kids want to explore many of the other parks across the country! Most parks offer plenty of kid friendly hikes and other things to do that interest children. Since you are starting your adventures in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, be sure to visit these 6 kid friendly Smoky Mountain hiking trails!
Now that you know why your kids will love becoming a National Park Junior Ranger, discover some of the fun things to do in Smoky Mountains National Park for kids! You’ll find that a family vacation to the Smokies will create amazing memories that last a lifetime!
