Short answer: Dartmoor is open moorland with rough, boggy, uneven ground and most of it does not work with a buggy. The exceptions are the forestry tracks at Bellever, the woodland paths at Yarner Wood, and the National Trust gardens on the moor's edge.
Dartmoor is 368 square miles of open access land and almost none of it is surfaced. The ground is tussocky, boggy in places and strewn with granite. Paths to tors are worn tracks rather than made ones. If you arrive with a standard buggy expecting to get up a tor, you will not.
That is not a reason to skip the moor with small children. It is a reason to pick the right ground.
Bellever Forest on the high moor is the best bet. Marked trails on forestry tracks rather than open moor, a clear shallow river running through it, wild ponies, toilets and a coffee trailer. Parking is £3 for two hours or £5 all day.
Reviewers describe the forest walks as more like walking up a track than through woodland — a mild criticism if you came for wilderness, and exactly what you want with wheels. The area by the river is the good bit; several visitors say they wish they had brought a picnic and stayed there.
East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve at Yarner Wood, near Bovey Tracey, has four car parks feeding a network of looping paths through ancient woodland and along the river, with a riverside hide. There are some steep hills, so it is not uniformly easy, but you can build a route around the flatter sections.
Castle Drogo near Chagford has extensive gardens with made paths, a café and toilets — a National Trust site with the moor around it rather than a moor walk. The 173 bus stops outside if you would rather not drive the narrow lanes.
Weather on the moor changes fast and there is very little shelter. Take waterproofs whatever the forecast says at sea level, and be aware that the popular car parks fill early and phone signal for payment apps is poor.
Pick a town and plan the day around who's with you.
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