By Janine DeFao
Junior ranger programs are a terrific way to get kids engaged in learning in the great outdoors. More than 100 California State Parks offer free programs, as do many national parks and recreation areas.
Kids participating in the state parks’ Junior Ranger program can generally pick up guides at visitor centers and complete activities to earn a wooden badge with the park’s name as well as a logbook and park stamps.
Adventure Guide
The state parks also offer a downloadable Junior Ranger Adventure Guide in English and Spanish that can be used in any park. Activities include puzzles and games, participating in an interpretive program, exploring the park’s nature and history, and interviewing a park employee. Find it here.
There are many state parks in the Bay Area with staffed Junior Ranger programs. Here are a few throughout the region. Check websites for scheduled events or stop at the visitor center for more information. While programs are free, most parks charge day-use fees. Find more staffed and self-guided programs at learning.parks.ca.gov/visitors/youth/junior-ranger-program.
Halt Moon Bay State Beach
One-hour Junior Ranger programs are held during the summer months and teach about the importance of nature and our coastal heritage through exploration, games and various activities. Meet at the Campfire Center.
Half mile west of Highway 1, Half Moon Bay
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
This park includes a redwood grove with a self-guided nature path, a stand of Ponderosa pine and 15 miles of hiking and riding trails. It’s also adjacent to Roaring Camp Railroad, a steam train popular with families.
Graham Hill Road, Felton
Mount Diablo State Park
This East Bay park is renowned for its views of over 100 miles from the summit on a clear day, as well as the wind caves at Rock City, which are always a hit with kids who like to clamber over rocks.
Entrances at Mitchell Canyon Road, North Gate Road, Green Valley Road (Macedo Ranch) and South Gate Road, Walnut Creek
Samuel P. Taylor State Park
This Marin park includes shady woods, sunny slopes and strolls through the redwoods along Lagunitas Creek. You can hike, bike, watch salmon spawn and then visit the nearby Point Reyes National Seashore.
Sir Francisco Drake Boulevard, 15 miles west of San Rafael
Kids can also participate in Junior Ranger programs at one of California’s nine national parks, as well as many other sites managed by the National Park Service, to earn park-specific badges. Activity books can be picked up at parks or downloaded online.
Here are some parks and park sites within driving distance of the Bay Area. Learn more at nps.gov/kids/parks-with-junior-ranger-programs.htm.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area – The recreation area includes Alcatraz Island, Fort Point National Historic Site, the Marin Headlands and Muir Woods National Monument, famed for its old-growth coast redwoods. Junior Ranger booklets can be picked up at visitor centers or downloaded.
nps.gov/goga/learn/kidsyouth/junior-ranger.htm
Pinnacles National Park – This park in San Benito and Monterey counties is named and best known for its rocky spires created 23 million years ago from volcanic eruptions. It is also home to the majestic, endangered California condor.
nps.gov/pinn/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks – Learn about giant sequoias, bears, caves, dark skies and more by participating in the Junior Ranger program at these parks in Tulare and Fresno counties, home to the world’s largest trees.
nps.gov/seki/learn/kidsyouth/junior-ranger.htm
Yosemite National Park – This park is a popular day or weekend trip from the Bay Area with its awe-inspiring granite faces, waterfalls and more. The park also offers a virtual junior ranger badge that can be completed from home, as well as an adapted activities companion guide for children with diverse communication, learning, motor or sensory needs who have difficulty using speech or writing implements.
nps.gov/yose/learn/kidsyouth/junior-ranger.htm
Janine DeFao is an associate editor at Bay Area Parent.
