Online maps are a great family travel planning resource and a great way to get the kids involved in a family trip. Use online maps to plot your route to Moab as well as the Green and Colorado rivers. Map Westwater Canyon and Cataract Canyon. Get detailed river maps and river guides complete with campsites and hiking trails for do-it-yourself float or rafting trips in southeastern Utah. Geocaching - GPS treasure hunts - is popular with kids and may provide the incentive needed to get them paddling. And if you are traveling with primary school aged children teach them how to read a map and use a compass before you depart on a backcountry adventure whether you are embarking on an unassisted or fully guided river journey. Maps are a great way to turn a trip with mom and dad into a different kind of family adventure.

Books are a great way to introduce younger children to a new adventure and get teens and tweens ready for a family trip. Our age-appropriate reading lists - bestsellers, classics and non-fiction - are designed to spark the interest of kids and go beyond a romantic view of Utah and the wilderness.

Explore nature through sound. Learn about natural sounds and the effects of noise. Discover 'soundscapes' and human sources of sound.

Newspapers are yet another family vacation planning resource. Discover tips and tidbits about rafting and find out what's happening on the water before you depart. Dig a little bit deeper and learn more about the Colorado River's struggle to meet growing water demands in the Southwest.

Online resources make learning about the Green and Colorado rivers fun. Map the Colorado River from its headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park to the Gulf of Mexico. Learn about John Wesley Powell and the first expedition of the Grand Canyon by boat. (The Grand Canyon may be Arizona but the adventure began at Green River City, Utah.) Read about the Colorado River Compact signed in1922 and discover how it has defined politics and policy in the Southwest. Find out about the controversy surrounding the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and why environmentalists believe it has affected the ecology of the Colorado River.