We have always been a family that prefers road trips over flights, and we have been taking our little one on them since he was an infant. In summer 2025 we took our first big one: from California to Seattle and Olympic National Park with our 4-year-old. I knew I didn't want to use phones or tablets, so I packed his bag with fun games, books and an audiobook.
What kept him busy in the car
A magnetic dot pad became an instant favorite for quiet creativity, while puzzles and "I Can Read" books kept his curiosity going. The real hero of the road, though, was his Toniebox: a small audio player with storytelling characters he could swap in and out himself. Whether it was a classic fairy tale or a story about animals, the Tonies kept him happily listening for hours.
Turning the park into a scavenger hunt
We knew we would be doing a lot of hiking, so the visitor center was our first stop. There he met a ranger who gave him his first Junior Ranger booklet and got him excited to complete it. He was amazed at how varied the park is. The booklet became his scavenger hunt, an idea we picked up on our camping trips with Family Adventure Squad.
We always talked about what we might find, like the mossy trees of the Hoh Rain Forest, banana slugs, tide pools on the beach, the Hole-in-the-Wall hike along Rialto Beach, the Sol Duc hot springs and Sol Duc Falls. Talking it through built anticipation rather than resistance.
Slow is fine
The pace was slow: we took regular breaks and never pushed him too far. We also let him play in small streams along the trail. It took us much longer, but we finished every hike without a meltdown. Along the way he collected stones and used them to tell me stories, something he learned from a game we play at home, where we pick up an object and make up a story about it.
He hiked more than 12 miles with us over three days, and walked plenty in Seattle too, where we did things he would love, like the Museum of Flight. At the end we bought him a few small souvenirs; it always helps, and he looks forward to it.
What we learned
When you are well prepared, children will surprise you with their resilience. Keep their curiosity alive and they thrive. We picked up many of these tips on our Family Adventure Squad trips, and we can't wait for more adventures!
— Sneha Mahecha, Family Adventure Squad team member