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9 Tips For Packing For A Family Trip

Author Aimee Thomas

Planning a family trip is so much fun. If it’s across the country flight or a couple hour drive planning is fun.  Packing is stressful. My family and I are going from Las Vegas to New York in a couple weeks for 10 full days. Packing was stressing me out but I did a lot of research and I got you covered now. A little organization and planning will help you in this department. 

  1. Create A Master Packing List For Everyone – Before you start tossing items into suitcases, create a master packing list. Break it down by category—clothing, toiletries, electronics, and special items (like favorite toys or books). This will help make sure that you don’t forget anything important and help keep you organized. 
  2. Roll Everything, No Folding – I learned this from Marie Kondo during quarantine. Rolling clothes instead of folding them saves space and also you don’t get as many wrinkles (If you do it right). Especially for long trips like ours, you need a lot of things so to take up less space rolling is your best bet. 
  3. Packing Outfits By Day – For longer trips, pack complete outfits for each day and you can even take it a step further and put the outfits in labeled bags. This helps you in the morning on your trip you don’t have to figure out what to wear but also helps you fight the urge to not over pack. Make sure you mix in your comfortable clothes and weather appropriate clothes like extra layers. 
  4. Keep Essentials Items Accessible – Keep a small bag with travel things handy. Like snacks, water bottles, wet wipes, hand sanitizer… Things like that. Make sure you put that in your carry-on if you are flying or upfront with you parents if you’re driving. You should also have games, books, tablets and headphones accessible too. 
  5. Minimize Your Toiletries – They take up a lot of space so you can opt to do the travel sized bottles or you can leave them at home and purchase them at a store when you get to your destination. 
  6. Laundry Bag – If there is no washer and dryer in the place you’re staying. Bring a lightweight laundry bag to keep the dirty stuff separate from the clean stuff this helps when you unpack when you get home too. 
  7. First Aid Kit – No matter if you’re traveling a short distance or a long distance bring Band-Aids, pain relievers, and prescription medication. You never know what minor thing could happen it’s good to be prepared. 
  8. Bring Plastic or Reusable Bags – Use them for carrying snacks, wet bathing suits, holding things you may want to bring back like souvenirs. 
  9. Pack For The Kids – books, coloring supplies, travel games, download movies. DO NOT forget the headphones and chargers for everyone.

Packing for a family trip doesn’t have to be stressful. With these tips, you and I will all be organized and ready to enjoy your family trip. Remember, the goal is to have more fun, less stress. Safe travels. 

Aimee Thomas is the morning show co-host of Aimee + Shawn on 102.7 VGS. She has been VGS since the birth of the station in 2022 and has been with Beasley Media Group for nine years doing mornings at various stations in the cluster. Before working in radio Aimee was a bartender at a local restaurant in Las Vegas when a local radio veteran thought she would be perfect in radio because of her crazy stories, knowledge of pop culture, and contagious laugh. Aimee loves writing about new recipes she creates in her kitchen, her favorite artists and actors, and being a mom of two boys.

Great Basin National Park Is Nevada's Best Kept Secret

Great Basin National Park in Nevada was just deemed one of the most underrated in the entire country, in spite of being rife with beautiful scenery and history. An American national park is one that has become so known for its nature and wildlife that the American government protects and preserves it.

The Silver State is home to many national areas, but only two of them are considered national parks by the National Park Service (NPS). When people are asked to name the national parks in Nevada, most people will immediately say Death Valley. It’s easily the most popular, especially for its famous movie sets.

A mountain range in the foreground on the right, in front of a flat canyon below. The skies in the background are clear and blue. This is one of the most famous movie sets in the country.
noblige via Getty Images
Dante’s View at Death Valley National Park. One of six locations in the park used for filming of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Related: Death Valley National Park – 25 Reasons To Visit This Stunning Park

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is recognized by the NPS, but not officially labeled a park. Other such areas include the Tule Springs Fossil Beds Monument and various national historic trails, including the California, Old Spanish and Pony Express trails.

Great Basin National Park Is One Of America’s Most Underrated

A vacation rental platform called Lake.com recently conducted a survey to determine what the most underrated national parks are in the country. They did this by looking at data from the last year from NPS, specifically which parks had fewer than 750,000 visitors. Combining this with the number of visitor reviews and ratings, the experts came up with the top parks considered hidden gems in America.

#1 – North Cascades National Park

Located in Washington State, North Cascades is officially the most underrated national park, according to the study. It is 500,000 acres of lakes, forests and snowy mountains to explore.

Aerial view of a lake surrounded by tall mountains covered with pine trees under a blue sky.
Kelly Liu via Getty Images
Aerial View of the bright Blue Ann Lake. On either side of the lake is the Rising Mountains, covered with a lush bright green pine tree forest. Ann Lake is near the Pacific Crest Trail, North Cascades National Park in Washington.

#2 – Isle Royale National Park

The second most underrated national park in America was deemed to be Isle Royale in Michigan. Located near Lake Superior, the park is a popular spot for campers and hikers.

An island view of Lake Superior in Michigan seen from Isle Royale national park. There are pine trees and clouds in the distance.
Sanya Kushak via Getty Images
Looking out over the shoreline and pure waters of Lake Superior from the coast of Rock Harbor on the Northern island of Isle Royale. The coastline of this island is covered in green evergreen trees and moored ferries and sailboats dot the shoreline.

#3 – Dry Tortugas National Park

The title of third most underrated national park went to Dry Tortugas. Located in Key West, Florida. The area is just seven islands accessible only by plane or boat. The park is mostly water.

A J-shaped island with an old military fort is seen from an aerial view surrounded by blue green ocean water.
Winand Deerenberg via Getty Images
When you think of national parks, you don’t normally picture an island. But Dry Tortuga is a series of islands accessible only by plane or boat.

The fourth and fifth national parks considered the most underrated in the study are Gates of The Arctic and Wrangell-St. Elias, respectivly. Both parks are located in Alaska and known for their scenic rivers and artic beauty.

#6 – Great Basin National Park

As mentioned before, Death Valley National Park is the more popular of the preserved areas in the Silver State. It’s the other Nevada national park that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Great Basin National Park is located on the eastern border of Nevada, just west of Sevier Lake, Utah. Much like Death Valley National Park, Great Basin is a popular spot for campers because of the amazing views of the stars at night.

But unlike Death Valley, Great Basin National Park offers a lot of really cool caves to explore. The Lehman Caves are full of beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites. According to nps.gov, the Lehman Caves are the longest cave system in the Silver State and have been providing guided tours to visitors since 1885.

Great Basin National Park is also home to the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak. A highly coveted place for photographers because of the amazing views and beautiful bristlecone pine trees that cover much of the park. And much like Death Valley, Great Basin shows off a lot of Nevada’s history. The area has been home to native Americans for thousands of years, and still shows signs of more recent settlers as well.

10 Reasons To Visit Great Basin National Park

So, with the oldest cave system in Nevada, some of the oldest trees on the planet, beautiful lakes and hiking trails, and plenty of American history, it’s clear to see why Great Basin is one of the most underrated national parks in America. Here are 10 photos that show why this hidden gem might need to be on your next road trip through the Silver State.

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Author Aimee Thomas
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