Yellowstone · With kids
WITH KIDS
Boardwalks, bison and a supervolcano — endlessly interesting, with long drives between the good bits.
Upper Geyser Basin
Flat boardwalks link Old Faithful to dozens of other geysers. Eruption predictions are posted at the visitor centre, which turns waiting into a countdown.
Young Scientist and Junior Ranger
Two programmes run side by side: the standard Junior Ranger booklet, and a Young Scientist toolkit with a real thermometer, borrowed at Old Faithful and Canyon. Ages five up.
Lamar Valley at dawn
A drive, not a hike — bison herds on the road, pronghorn, and wolves through other people's spotting scopes. Go at first light and bring breakfast.
Mammoth Hot Springs terraces
Stepped white travertine on a boardwalk loop, with elk usually lying on the lawns of the old fort below. Short, strange and photogenic.
Distances and thermal safety
Villages sit two hours apart on the loop, and bison jams add more. Nothing thermal is safe to touch or swim in; keep children on the boardwalk, always.