Youngsters are essential to the future of national parks, for they will be tomorrow’s advocates and possibly even stewards. But taking children who can barely ride a bike or aren’t old enough for their learner’s permit for driving into a national park can seem daunting. Hiking in Yellowstone’s backcountry with grizzly bears? Exploring the somewhat technical route to Angels Landing in Zion?

Harley and Abby McAllister used their four sons to field-test those two parks on a kid-sized level. The result was Adventuring With Kids, a series by Mountaineers Books that currently has two titles, Yellowstone National Park and Utah’s Big Five National Parks. The guides contain some of the expected information you’d find in most park guidebooks. There are sections on wildlife, lodging, camping, when to go (“Since this is a book about going to Yellowstone with kids, we have mostly operated under the assumption that readers will be visiting in the summer months”), and itineraries.

Naturally, considering the audience, the McAllisters address Junior Ranger programs, and strongly suggest you base your choice of hikes on your kids’ abilities and stamina, not yours. While they try to be reasonable with their itineraries, their suggestions should be just that, suggestions.

For instance, in Yellowstone they recommend one day to explore the Norris, Midway, and Upper geyser basins. But setting aside just an hour to tour the Midway Geyser Basin seems too short, especially if you’re going to visit Firehole Lake Drive, Biscuit Basin, and maybe hike to Mystic Falls. Also seeming to be missing was mention of the Museum of the National Park Ranger at Norris, a wonderful stop if you think your kids might be interested in a career as a park ranger.

Whether it was the publisher’s or authors’ decision to put all five national parks in Utah – Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion – into one book, it was the wrong decision. Each of these parks has its own unique personality deserving of thorough exploration. Spending just a day at each does them a disservice. Pairing Arches and Canyonlands in one book might be reasonable, and possibly Zion and Bryce Canyon, but five in one is too much to ask.

With so much to do in these five parks, why it was necessary to include the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is somewhat of a mystery, other than that it’s within a half-day’s drive of Zion.

At Zion a full day alone could be spent in Zion Canyon, with additional time needed to explore the Kolob Canyons end of the park with its homesteader cabin and unique geology. Arches requires more time in part because of the huge crowds that can affect your ability to park and simply get around, and it has some outstanding hikes (Park Avenue, the Primitive Trail) that deserve a look.

Bryce Canyon has gorgeous views from the 18-mile-long rim top drive… and equally gorgeous views from the hikes that take you below that rim and into places such as Queen’s Garden. One day would be rushing things. Trying to take in Canyonlands in a day means you’ll likely only see one of the three districts, the Island in the Sky, because of its proximity to Arches. Capitol Reef has amazing geology, rich archaeology, interesting homesteading history, and even outlaw tales. That’s a lot to checkoff in one day.

While the authors provide three- and five-day itineraries, and suggest you review those to plan a seven-day vacation in Utah’s national parks, it’d be nicer, and perhaps more realistic, to see individual guidebooks to these parks that enable you to do more than quickly scratch the surface.