TAKE A HIKE

Explore an iconic national park: the Grand Canyon. In spring, moderate temperatures and fewer crowds make everything from hiking to ranger programs more fun than during summer, when busloads of visitors pack the paths.

An April descent along the South Rim’s popular Bright Angel Trail gives you enough space to pause and find coral, sponge and other fossils and to look for ancient pictographs on the canyon walls.

Take advantage of free admission April 19-20, the start of National Parks Week. On Earth Day (April 22), sign up for a volunteer project. Have your nature-loving kids sworn in as junior rangers on National Junior Ranger Day (April 26).