Grand Canyon National Park

At the Grand Canyon, the granddaddy of the park system, people often visit on a day trip, walk to the South Rim, turn around and go home. According to Alice and David Hohl of Columbus, Ohio, this is precisely the wrong approach. With their 2-year-old daughter and newborn son, the Hohls spent a week at a campground inside the park as part of a 6,000-mile RV trip in 2006. "It was the most family-friendly place we stayed," David says. They hiked rim trails, shopped for groceries at the camp's store and rode the shuttle when they got tired.

An alternative to driving into the park is to take the Grand Canyon Railway to the South Rim from Williams, Ariz., 65 miles away. Vintage Pullman cars carry passengers for the 2-1/2 hour ride.

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