Texas State Parks Junior Ranger Program
Does your kid want to be a Junior Ranger at a Texas State Park and learn how to protect the park’s plants and animals? Check off activities to earn a Junior Ranger badge, and visit more Texas State Parks to earn even more badges! Borrow a Junior Ranger Explorer Pack with all the tools they need to explore nature and be junior park rangers.
Every Texas state park visit should begin at the park headquarters to pay for day passes (choose online advance registration during covid-19 and at popular parks), obtain a park map, ask which trails are best for kids, find out any park-specific rules, and of course use the restrooms before your adventure begins. Kids can get a Junior Ranger Activity Journal at the park headquarters, as well as any other park-specific activities for kids that might include more activities. Check online or ask at park headquarters for Events such as ranger tours, nature art, and other guided excursions.
The Junior Rangers Program teaches kids about wildlife, safety, Leave No Trace, being water wise, park poetry, nighttime creatures, benefits of being outdoors, discovering nature’s recyclers, learning about history, and learning about park rangers. Each kid gets their own Junior Rangers Activity Journal with great information just for kids, and they get to sign their own Junior Ranger Pledge.
Junior Ranger activities are the same for all kids, however they are divided into different levels for different ages for kids to earn their badge. Complete a certain number of activities to earn a Junior Ranger pin!
One activity is to ask questions to a park ranger such as what they like best, what is the hardest part, and what is the strangest or funniest thing they have seen. Kids can ask a park ranger what they can do to help the Texas State Park. Don’t be surprised if your kids decide to be park rangers after this kid-friendly interactive experience!
Texas State Parks also have Junior Ranger Explorer Packs available at park headquarters. The Explorer Pack is a backpack with binoculars, magnifying glass, animal tracking key, and guides to flowers, birds, butterflies, trees, rocks, wildflowers and plants. Also included are crayons and watercolors with a journal and sketchbook.
To find a Texas State Park near you and its amenities, check out the Texas State Parks Official Guide. If you can’t get to a state park as soon as you would like, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has many online activities for kids.
If your kids are anything like mine, they will keep you on your toes and make sure that you also adhere to the rules of the park and the pledge as well. It’s important that kids understand the importance of protecting our parks, plants and animals since they are the future caretakers of these ecosystems!
