By Tara Weingarten

Spring is an ideal time to visit California’s Yosemite National Park, with backcountry meadows for cross-country skiing still blanketed with snow and lower-elevation hiking trails cleared of the white stuff. Yosemite Falls, the nation’s longest waterfall, builds volume throughout early spring and will reach its thundering peak in mid-May. It’s a magical place for your kids to unplug the iPod and tune in to the sounds of nature.

Stay: The Ahwahnee Hotel, a grand hotel in the arts-and-crafts style of the 1920s, has Native American art displayed throughout (rates from $439). The more reasonably priced Victorian-era Wawona Hotel features electrified gas lamps and antique furniture (rates from $195; yosemitepark.com for accommodations).

Hike: Beginners will find a pleasant paved path offering a 20-minute journey through imposing ponderosa pines to the base of Yosemite Falls (easy even for wheelchairs). More- experienced hikers can leave the crowds behind and trek to Inspiration Point, a two-hour steep ascent with amazing views of the valley (nps.gov for a menu of hikes).

See: Mariposa Grove features the park’s largest stand of giant sequoias, including the 2,700-year-old Grizzly Giant and about 500 other ancient redwoods.