By Alicia Coffman 

Love the outdoors but hate sizzling in the sun? Parks are offering a cool alternative: night hiking. The benefits go beyond lower temperatures. “Animals, just like humans, take cover in the shade during the day because it’s so hot,” said Scott Egy, an interpretive ranger at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park in Blue Diamond, Nev. ($5 for entry; 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in summer; parks.nv.gov/smr.htm). Depending on where you’re taking your hike, owls, deer, coyote, flying squirrels and bobcats are among the critters you might see. Most nighttime guides will also provide your family with information about the glistening constellations, along with the usual plant and animal information. Kids love it, too. “They’re so intrigued by the dark, and they don’t even realize they’re learning,” says Lynn McIntyre, director of community relations at Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, Ga. (one 8 p.m. outing in June and one in July; $8 for nonmembers, $6 for members; chattnaturecenter.com). For more locations, contact your local parks department—if it doesn’t have a night hike scheduled, it may add one to its activities. Or check the Sierra Club chapter in your state (sierraclub.org). It posts hiking schedules under the Get Outdoors section on its Web site.