We do a lot of family road trips each year with the kids. Usually somewhere we can easily access fun attractions, family friendly activities and affordable food. We do have some favourite places we visit year after year, but we are also open to visiting new places. Any place that is family friendly is a good place for us. The more unique the destination, the better. Box Elder County is in the state of Utah and the box elder trees that are found everywhere in the area are perfect for families who love to go birding, since they offer a fabulous resting place for many birds. Nature is found throughout the region in Box Elder County and families will love spending time at sites that include the Golden Spike National Historic Site and the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is one of the many places in Box Elder County to go birding as a family. The refuge is open on Tuesdays through Fridays from eight in the morning until five in the evening and on Saturdays from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon. Families can walk along the one and a half mile trails that surround the Wildlife Education Center or they can drive the twelve-mile Auto Tour. The entire family will love observing and photographing the wildlife, and learning about the environment, hunting, and fishing. There are millions of birds inside the refuge who are in the middle of migration and looking for food and rest, and many more that call the refuge home to breed and raise their young.
The Golden Spike National Historic Site is covered with grasslands and a rocky desert and families can either walk the one-and-a-half-mile Big Fill Trail or drive along the Auto Tour. This is where children and adults alike will marvel at the sight of the Long-Eared Owl, Vesper Sparrow, Rough-Legged Hawk, and the Common Raven.
The Raymond M. Hansen Park is in Elwood and people can view the birds and the rest of nature from early spring until late fall. Unfortunately, the park is closed during the winter months, but people are told that they can drive further down River Road to look down into the park to see a hill covered with Russian Olives, the river, and waterfowl on the water. During the open season, families will see the Yellow Warbler, Ring-Necked Pheasant, Black-Capped Chickadee, and many other birds.
Birding can be incorporated with a family camp out and the Box Elder Campground is a fabulous campsite destination. The banks of the streams are lined with box elders, cottonwoods, willows, dogwoods, and other shrubs. During the months of October and November, people can hear the chirping of the Winter Wrens, while the Great Horned Owls can be found throughout the entire year.
Children may not be too interested in birding at first, but parents can increase the excitement with the following tips:
Let children take pictures
Look for other animals at the same time – no child can resist bugs and slithering snakes
Take water and snacks along
Plan a scavenger hunt
Use a child friendly bird book
Let children use binoculars to look for birds and other items in nature
Birding does not need to be boring and silent all the time. Instead, parents should plan on their children having fun doing things other than watching for birds. However, the more that families go out looking for birds, the more interested the children will be, so as with everything else, consistency is key. With that being said, go out and start finding some birds, even if they are just in the backyard right now.
A trip like this is one the entire family will remember always. Currently my youngest is in grade three and learning about birds in school. I know she would love to go birding in Box Elder County.
This post has been sponsored, all opinions are my own
Box Elder County sounds like a great place to go bird watching, I admit though that slithering snakes would make me run a mile!
This would be such a fun family adventure. The boys love finding new birds, imatating their calls and enjoying the nature.
Kids are always ready for an adventure! I have only ever been to Utah when our plane stopped for a pickup! Just saw it out the window!
That sounds like a great place for an adventure. My kids would have loved that.
That sounds like so much fun. We’ve never been birding before, but I think it would be an amazing experience.
I love watching the birds, I find them totally fascinating! Box Elder County sounds like the perfect spot for birdwatching.
I haven’t been bird watching since college. It was so much fun! I’ll bet my family would love it too!
What fun! It is so nice to just unplug and do something like this with the kids! It gets them off the screens and you all get exercise and talk! LOVE IT!
We have a wildlife sanctuary near us that has a lot of birds. I have been thinking about getting my kids a camera, my son has a video camera.
This is a real family adventure! I love the idea of letting the kids take the wheel and capture some shots!
Box Elder County sounds like a great place to go bird watching! We have a great place in my city too and we enjoy it very much! This year for Easter , my husband build bird house for each child my daughter babysit and my daughter give them to them in place of Easter goody bag.
This is a wonderful adventure for families. My kids are obsessed with birds and would enjoy spotting them!
The Golden Spike National Historic Site sounds like a fun place to go bird watching. I love to get out in Nature and look for the wildlife.
I love to look at all the different birds in our area. It would be so fun to check out The Golden Spike National Historic Site.
What a fun adventure! Binoculars are a must for each member of the family. There is nothing worse than everyone trying to share the same pair and missing out on something cool because someone else had the binoculars.
I love nature and especially birds. I think my family would really enjoy this!
Sounds like a fun family outing! I love how you can make a full day of bird watching.
I would love to go birding. When I see a new bird I am always looking it up to see what it is.
I loved learning about all of the birds when I was in school so I can see where your child would. This looks like a great family day! Bird watching can be very interesting.
I haven’t been birding in ages. My dad used to make when I was younger and I bet my kids would love it!
Sounds like a really fun family outing! I can see how the kids would really love it especially if you did it as a scavenger hunt.
I think going birding would be a lot of fun! We like to geocache so we could combine the two activities fairly easily.
This sounds really fun! My son loves bird, so I’m sure he’ll love this!
Birds freak me out but my kids would love to see this!
That sounds like one beautiful place to spend time with family. We love taking pictures of birds.
This sounds like a lot of fun! Birding is really growing in popularity I hear. I have never heard of Box Elder County until now but would definitely add to the list if I were in the area with family. Birds can be fascinating.
It’s great to get out and interact with nature,i love watching the birds!
That sounds like a fantastic idea! I’ve got to find a kid-friendly camera 🙂
How fun! I love birds.
We have a small lake surrounded by house here, practically at the bottom on our garden. Of course we have Canadian geese, ducks too. However I was amazed to see 2 different sorts of birds actually diving for fish – seems someone put some goldfish in last year. I was however astonished to see pelicans on the lake, fishing too, at one time there were 3 of them – guess the lake is empty of fish now. 🙂
I live a couple hours from this place! Didn’t realize it was a good place to watch for birds. Good to know.
Great pics Kim! I’ve never thought about Birding but with all the photographer enthusiasts in my family it would be a great activity.
My kids would love to go to a place like this for a family road trip. They love looking at birds, so this reserve would be a great opportunity for them to love what they are learning.
I have never been birding but this sounds like an educational outing. Will have to bring my zoom lens too.
Sounds like a great way to spend family time.
I would love to go birding with the fam! There are so many different varieties to see, and its’ a great way to get out in nature.
This would be a cool new family adventure! We try to find new things to do and I’ve never thought about birding before. We like to hike and take nature walks so this seems like a good option too!
Nature-focused experiences like this are so refreshing! I think I’d have a lot of fun on a family trip to Box Elder County.
Box Elder County sounds amazing! My kids would love to explore the Golden Spike National Historic Site and the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge!
Box Elder County sounds like the perfect place for people wanting to bird watch! A scavenger hunt sounds like a fun way to include kids. Or even print them off a checklist where they can keep track of certain birds they see.
I love the idea of taking a family road trip, we always go just us adults but someday I hope to go with the kiddos to. Box Elder County looks like a great place to go birding, I love watching birds. Lately we have been seeing an influx of Blue Herrings, they are dinosaur-ish looking flying through the air!
My husband loves to bird watch. I am sure he’d love to visit and relax and soak up nature.
My uncle travels to go bird watching. I wonder if he has been here. I want to see the Long-eared owl and the Rough-legged hawk.
I have never been birding before. This looks like such a fun family activity.
Sounds like a great adventure. This would be nice to do with my girls. We love all kinds of birds.
This sounds like so much fun. We love to go hiking and see nature.
We like to look for birds at our local state parks here in Florida. It is a fun and usually free family activity.
Such a cool and unique experience. My boys are Scouts and would love this.
Sounds like a very fun day! My family loves adventure trips so I’m sure they’ll like this!
Birding would be a great activity to get the family outdoors. I will have to see what we have in the area.