Junior Rangers help to preserve and protect national parks. They learn about nature and history, have fun exploring the parks, and tell their friends, families, and schoolmates about their adventures. Junior Rangers continue to protect the environment at home and at school.
How can you become a Junior Ranger when visiting?
The Grand Canyon Junior Ranger books are designed with place-based activities to be completed on a visit to the park. The park is unable to mail out Junior Ranger booklets or badges.
When you visit Grand Canyon, come to one of the park's visitor centers, or to one of the bookstores operated by the Grand Canyon Conservancy, to pick up a Grand Canyon Junior Ranger Activity book. Read below for descriptions of the books available in the park.
South Rim Junior Rangers (Ages 4 and up)
Complete the requirements listed in the booklet for your age group. Requirements include attending a ranger-led program in the Village or at Desert View , writing your observations, drawing pictures, and creating poems. Pick up a Junior Ranger Activity Book at one of the following locations:
Grand Canyon Conservancy Main Store (Visitor Center Plaza)
Yavapai Geology Museum
Kolb Studio
North Rim Junior Rangers (Ages 5 and up)
Between May 15, and October 15, become a Junior Ranger on the North Rim.
Pick up a North Rim Junior Ranger Activity Book at the North Rim Visitor Center. Complete the requirements listed in the book for your age group, which includes attending a ranger-led program, and the activity pages in the booklet. It is also possible to request a special activity sheet for younger children at the Visitor Center.
Grand Canyon Explorer Junior Rangers (Explorers of All Ages)
How can you protect Grand Canyon and include others in taking care of the park? When you hike or ride a mule into Grand Canyon backcountry, pick up the Canyon Explorer Junior Ranger Adventure Guide from the corridor trail campgrounds or backcountry ranger stations. When you have completed the activities in the booklet, bring it to one of the backcountry ranger stations to earn your badge and free patch. (Available year round).
The patch, with a glow-in-the dark scorpion, can only be earned by explorers of all ages who visit backcountry ranger stations at the bottom of Grand Canyon or the remote outpost at Tuweep.
What to do when you finish your activities:
If you received a Grand Canyon Junior Ranger badge in advance, take the pledge with an adult or with our Park Rangers in the video below! If you did not receive a badge in advance, return to one of the locations you can receive a Junior Ranger book to earn your badge.
If you bring your certificate to one of our park's non-profit book stores, you can purchase a custom sew-on patch to go with the award you received.
How can you become a Virtual Junior Ranger?
If you are not able to visit Grand Canyon National Park, you can become a Virtual Junior Ranger at home! After completeing the activities for your age group, download your own Grand Canyon Junior Ranger Badge.
Join for a family-friendly program highlighting Junior Rangers. Park Rangers will emphasize youth education on these programs.
There are a number of Junior Ranger activity books available online on a variety of topics related to national parks across the country. Whatever your interests, check out these cool Junior Ranger programs that you can do at home or in your local area.
You can find Junior Night Sky Explorer, Junior Ranger Paleontologist, and more in these online activity bookets - There are 10 different booklets to choose from!
