California Road Trip with Young Kids | Glamping & Easy Activities

Do you dream of traveling when the weather warms up? Our family loves to explore new places! This road trip with kids took us down the California coast, where we enjoyed many slow travel days. We visited extended family and stayed in our toy hauler RV trailer. This made traveling with kids so much easier. See the highlights of our California road trip with kids!

Our California road trip took us near Mount Shasta where we enjoyed gorgeous views and balmy weather. The weather may not be quite as nice towards the top of this mountain!

Our RV gives the kids comfortable spaces to nap after a busy morning and a place to rinse off after a swim. We can also wake up and make a full breakfast. This saves money and skips the hassle of eating out with little ones.

RV Camping

We stayed at several RV parks in Northern California. One of our favorite stops was at the Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff CA, which offered walking paths, a fire pit and lounging area, luxurious pool, hot tub and beautiful views of the nearby river. My kids also had fun chasing the little frogs that hopped along the paths near the river, definitely a family adventure!

Our toy hauler RV trailer allows us to bring along bikes! The back of the trailer folds down to make a little patio area, which my daughter wasted no time in turning into her ballet stage.

Bike Riding & Park Stops

We also stopped at several parks along the way so the kids could stretch their legs. After a long car ride, they wanted to run around, play on the playground and enjoy bike riding. We borrowed this tag-along bike which took some getting used to. I think we didn’t have it aligned to the bike quite correctly when we attached it. After a few adjustments, I had an easier time riding along the park trails with my little girl cruising behind.

Lunch at In-N-Out

We also had to stop by our favorite lunch place, In-N-Out. When we lived in California, we often went to this fast food burger place for the delicious hamburgers and crispy fries. In-N-Out makes their menu from fresh ingredients and they only have locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Utah. We always love eating lunch at In-N-Out every time we are in the area.

Hiking Through the Sequoias

Another day took us through the California Sequoias. My kids really enjoyed this family hike! They crawled through several massive hollowed out tree trunks. We stopped for a snack break right across from the General Grant Tree. This giant is the largest sequoia in Kings Canyon National Park and the second largest tree in the world.

The sequoia forests have many paths that are easy to hike. Along the walking paths you can explore hollow trees and climb over boulders. Most of the trees are big and some of the older sequoias are absolutely huge! It is very cool to see these amazing displays of nature, especially for kids.

Swimming & RV Camping

During our RV glamping trip we went swimming at several locations. With our young kids, we kids really enjoyed the pool at Durango RV Resort. The weather was beautiful during our stay, the perfect temperature for playing in the pool. Our kids also gained some confidence in learning how to swim on this trip. Of course, it’s important for parents to stay close when little kids are playing in a pool. My husband and I took turns watching the kids, and we all enjoyed lounging in pool chairs after our swim.

Overall, we found so many things to do on our California road trip with kids. Our route didn’t take us too close to the coast, but next time we’ll visit the beach! We aimed for flexible afternoons, naptime for the kids, and afternoon adventures. Our method of slow travel, bike rides, and family walks gave us time to enjoy each location we stayed.

Which activities would you do on a California road trip with kids?