After visiting the Muir Woods last time we were in the Bay Area, I knew I wanted to visit the site that John Muir called home. About 30 minutes outside the downtown area, I was surprised at this oasis tucked in off a busy road.
When We Visited: July 2014
Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 4
How long: We spent about an hour and a half and my kids felt super rushed. Its quite a peaceful places and there are plenty of picnic tables!
Our deal was they had to earn a Jr. Ranger badge this week in order to skip school completely while we were out camping with the cousins. I thought I would have more complaining, but the kids actually seemed to really enjoy visiting this Historic Site.
It helps that John Muir had a pretty cool house.
We spent quite a bit of time exploring the house. The Jr. Ranger Book has a scavenger hunt to find objects in the house, plus Rachel and Andrew enjoyed climbing up to the bell tower (Cara had a panic attack at the top and almost refused to climb down the steep stairs!).
My favorite was John Muir’s “Scribble Room”. It seemed to be his private sanctuary and a room where he could pen his thoughts without reservation. Muir spent quite a bit of his early life wandering the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and quite a bit of his later life writing about them to sway public opinion in favor of preserving these beautiful places.
The National Park Service was officially created two years after his death, but was influenced largely by Muir and his constant advocacy for preserving natural wilderness areas.
One voice really can make a difference. As we visit many of these National Parks during our travels, I’m grateful for those who saw beauty and strive to preserve it so that others may enjoy as well!
Just recently I had the opportunity to visit the 
They also have a room that combines water play as well as pretend play. Cara was super cute at the cash register, and Rachel did a great job grocery shopping and then loading all her groceries into the kitchen at “home”. I even got in on the action and delivered some mail! 
Upstairs they have a communication station where you can send messages back and forth on a pulley: 
A Storytelling area: 
And you can even forecast the weather! 
My favorite recent edition, however, is the new Emergency Center outside on the plaza. While they’ve had the Life Flight Helicopter for some time, they’ve added in an emergency room. My kids were able to “stabilize” their patient during the flight to the hospital, and then wheel him in for x-rays and even surgery. We had lunch out here, and then the kids played for at least an hour. It was fantastic! 
I feel like the Gateway Discovery Museum does a great job of keeping their exhibits exciting for kids! They also currently had a Bob the Builder rotating exhibit which we didn’t have enough time to thoroughly explore. This museum is also a participant on the
As you can see the scenery is quite breathtaking. My kids (and Sam!) were fairly impressed with my impromptu hike to the top of the waterfall as well. I’m pretty sure Andrew was just jealous as scrambling into dangerous places is one of his favorite past times. We definitely enjoyed this trip and look forward to the next time we get to visit this amazing places!
2. Go for a bike ride. Cyclist, or not, both the paved Whiptail trail and the road through the canyon make for great bike riding. With our kids, Sam dropped us at the top near the Upper Galoot Picnic area and we rode down to the sand dunes where he picked us up. We also had my family with us, so we took turns shuttling and riding and generally had a great time. Since the road goes through the canyon south to north, you could actually do a loop ride if you wanted something a little more serious.
4. Scramble on the rocks. Climbing on the rocks near the campground is not permitted, but there are designated areas where kids of all ages can scramble over the fun rocks. Scrambling is permitted at the Galoot Picnic Areas, Whiterocks, and the Petrified Dunes. All over the Galoot Picnic area are these small, rounded pebble rocks called marbles. 
5. Go for a Hike. There are plenty of hiking trails in the area – most are not dog friendly so just be aware. Johnson Canyon is closed to the general public from March 15 – September 14, but you can sign up at the visitor center to hike in with a ranger. There is very little water in Snow Canyon and their rules protect what little water there is and preserve it for the wildlife.
6. Earn a Junior Ranger Badge. Snow Canyon has its own State Park Jr. Ranger badge that the kids really enjoyed, or if you are visiting other parks in the area there is also the Junior Desert Ranger that encompasses Snow Canyon, nearby Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Zion National Park, and Sand Hollow State Park. As we had just left Sand Hollow, and weren’t aware of this activity book, we decided we’ll save that one for the next time through.
7. Visit St. George. Surprisingly, the smaller city of St. George is quite bustling. There is a splash fountain in the downtown area next to the Mormon Tabernacle for your kids to cool off, or if its super hot (like it normally is in the late spring and summer) stop by Iceberg for a delicious, ginormous thick milkshake. I’ve also heard Pioneer Park is very fun with lots of rocks to scramble over, but we didn’t have time to stop there. They also have a Costco in nearby Washington, outlet stores and other shopping.