What You Need to Know about visiting the Grand Canyon with Kids (South Rim from Williams, Arizona)

• My first tip is to bring a hat! We forgot to pack hats and ended up buying everyone one. The sun can be brutal!

• Plan on filling water bottles and going to the bathroom in Grand Canyon Village and again at the end of the shuttle Line at Hermit’s Rest. We couldn’t always find a bathroom or a filling station when we wanted one.

The picture above is the bathroom at the end of the line at Hermit’s Rest. It’s a glorified outhouse. The bathrooms at Grand Canyon Village are regular bathrooms.

As you can see in the picture above even the paved trails get close to the edge of the canyon. The trails don’t have railings in most places. The lookout points often have railings, but they are NOT child safe.

Strollers can be used on a couple of trails between shuttle stops, and most shuttle stops and lookout points are friendly for small strollers.

Small foldable strollers are allowed on the shuttles. Big strollers and jogging strollers are not allowed.

Parts of the Rim Trail are paved and parts of the trail are rocky and dusty like the bottom half of the picture above.

Toddler Safety at the Grand Canyon

Preparing before you leave is necessary for a safe trip to The Grand Canyon National Park with your baby, toddler, or Child with ADHD.

1. Use a child safety harness and leash. (For kids who like to walk.)
   1. At the lookout points
   2. On the safe trails for children (Some trails are not safe for kids!)
2. Strap your child in their stroller if they don’t want to walk and during nap time. (Take a small foldable stroller if you want to take it on the shuttle. Big strollers and running strollers are not permitted on the shuttles.)
3. Use a Baby backpack. This may be a suitable mode of transportation for your child. My kids never wanted to sit on our backs long, but some kids love riding mom’s or dad’s back. A backpack with a sunshade is a good idea in warm weather.
4. Keep your kids Hydrated!
5. Research your planned hikes and trail conditions. You’ll want to know which hikes have steep drop-offs, which viewpoints have guardrails, and which trails are paved or unpaved.
   1. We took the shuttle to the first viewpoint and then hiked the next two trails with our kids. They were easy (paved) trails that didn’t get too close to the edge. (My seven-year-old walked these trails, but I made her walk on the inside of the trail while I walked close to the edge.) It’s necessary to watch small children closely on the trails.
   2. Keep in mind there are no guardrails on most trails, and even the guardrails they have don’t make it safe for toddlers and small children to navigate these areas independently.
6. Research current weather and road conditions. The National Park Service posts updates on conditions here. If it’s going to be warm or sunny, you’ll want to bring plenty of sunscreens, water, and a wide-brimmed hat.
7. Don’t walk the Grand Canyon trails close to dusk. It’s dangerous to navigate the trails after dark.
8. Do not feed the wildlife. Don’t approach wildlife and don’t offer animals human food. We saw plenty of signs saying the most dangerous animal at the Grand Canyon is the squirrel! You don’t want to go to the emergency room because your child got a squirrel bite!
9. Stay on marked trails. You could get lost or encounter a steep drop-off if you leave the trail. Be sure to stick to the marked trails. 
10. Stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) away from the edge of the rim. There are documented fatalities from people getting too close to the edge and falling to their death. (Your safety is not worth compromising for a selfie!)
11. Don’t throw rocks (or anything else) over the canyon’s edge. You could injure hikers and animals below or start a landslide.
12. Closely supervise your child even when there are guardrails. A toddler could climb through or under many of the guardrails. As shown in the picture below, some guardrails are old, and the ground has caved in a bit. Keep a close eye on your child at all times.

Baby Safety at the Grand Canyon

• Keep babies cool in the summer!
  • Things you may bring to keep baby cool!
    • A fan that clamps on your stroller
    • Washcloths or hand towels to dampen
    • A sun hat
    • Sunblock clothing
    • Sunscreen
    • A small foldable stroller with a sunshade
    • Hiking backpack to carry your baby with a sunshade
• Don’t let your Baby crawl at the lookout points. The guard rails are not safe for babies and small children.
• Keep your baby hydrated!
  • Lots of liquid for MOM if you are nursing.
  • Extra water and formula if you’re bottle feeding.
• Strap your child in their stroller if they don’t want to walk and during nap time. (Take a small foldable stroller if you want to take it on the shuttle. Big strollers and running strollers are not permitted on the shuttles.)
• Use a Baby backpack. This may be a suitable mode of transportation for your child. Some kids love riding mom’s or dad’s back. A backpack with a sunshade is a good idea in warm weather.
• Research your planned hikes and trail conditions. You’ll want to know which hikes have steep drop-offs, which viewpoints have guardrails, and which trails are paved or unpaved.
  1. We took the shuttle to the first viewpoint and then hiked the next two trails with our kids. They were easy paved trails that didn’t get too close to the edge. (My seven-year-old walked these trails, but I made her walk on the inside of the trail while I walked close to the edge.) It’s necessary to watch small children closely on the trails.
  2. Keep in mind there are no guardrails on most trails, and even the guardrails they have don’t make it safe for toddlers and small children to navigate these areas independently.
• Research current weather and road conditions. The National Park Service posts updates on conditions here. If it’s going to be warm or sunny, you’ll want to bring plenty of sunscreens, water, and a wide-brimmed hat.
• Don’t walk the Grand Canyon trails close to dusk. It’s dangerous to navigate the trails after dark.
• Do not feed the wildlife. Don’t approach wildlife and don’t offer animals human food. We saw plenty of signs saying the most dangerous animal at the Grand Canyon is the squirrel! You don’t want to go to the emergency room because your child got a squirrel bite!
• Stay on marked trails. You could get lost or encounter a steep drop-off if you leave the trail. Be sure to stick to the marked trails. 
• Stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) away from the edge of the rim. There are documented fatalities from people getting too close to the edge and falling to their death. (Your safety is not worth compromising for a selfie!)
• Don’t throw rocks (or anything else) over the canyon’s edge. You could injure hikers and animals below or start a landslide.

Safety tips for taking kids with ADHD to the Grand Canyon

• Kids with ADHD (Predominately hyper) have LOTS of extra Energy! It’s not safe to let them run around the lookout points or run on trails. They may fall off the edge or endanger other tourists.
• Kids with ADHD often do not have concise control of their bodies. My kids have had a hard time knowing where their bodies are in relation to other people and objects. My son often flailed his arms around or waved sticks. He hit other children in the vicinity without meaning to. These behaviors could potentially knock someone over the edge.
• If your child is like my kids (who have ADHD or ADD) and feels overwhelmed by noise and blocks out sounds, then you must be a maximum of 2-3 feet away from your child at any given time because shouting your child’s name when he/she gets close to danger may have no effects whatsoever.
• Put younger children with ADHD on a child harness and leash.

Even though the Grand Canyon it’s the safest National Park to visit with kids there is a reason families visit every year. It’s breathtakingly beautiful!

The safest National Parks to Visit with Kids!

In my opinion, the safest National Parks to visit with kids are…

• Number one the Petrified Forest

• Number two Sequoia National Park.

• Yosemite is a close third.

The reason Yosemite is in third place is because of the long winding drive in and out of the park. My kids were extremely car sick and the road had no shoulder and no guard rails!

Once we were in the park it felt fun and safe for kids, and you can take kids on hikes from Yosemite Yalley that are easy because of the basically flat terrain. We did see fresh bear poop on one trail. The wildlife in Yosemite adds another safety hazard that you can’t control.

Copyright Annie Eklöv