To set the default child view, you can refer to this example. When clicking on Route 1, it will load the default state of route1.list.

// Redirect unmatched URLs to /route1
$stateProvider
  .state('route1', {
      url: "/route1",
      abstract:true ,
      templateUrl: "route1.html"
  })
  .state('route1.list', {
      url: '',
      templateUrl: "route1.list.html",
      controller: function($scope){
        $scope.items = ["A", "List", "Of", "Items"];
      }
  })
  .state('route1.desc', {
      url: "/desc",
      templateUrl: "route1.desc.html",
      controller: function($scope){
        $scope.items = [];
      }
  })
  .state('route2', {
    url: "/route2",
    templateUrl: "route2.html"
  })
  .state('route2.list', {
    url: "/list",
    templateUrl: "route2.list.html",
    controller: function($scope){
      $scope.things = ["A", "Set", "Of", "Things"];
    }
  })

Encountering a similar issue led me to discover a helpful solution:

https://github.com/angular-ui/ui-router/issues/948#issuecomment-75342784

This insight was shared by @christopherthielen on github

"For now, don't declare your state abstract, and use this recipe:"

 app.run($rootScope, $state) {
    $rootScope.$on('$stateChangeStart', function(evt, to, params) {
      if (to.redirectTo) {
        evt.preventDefault();
        $state.go(to.redirectTo, params)
      }
    });
  }

  $stateProvider.state('parent', {
      url: "/parent",
      templateUrl: "parent.html",
      redirectTo: 'parent.child'
  });

  $stateProvider.state('parent.child', {
      url: "/child",
      templateUrl: "child.html"
  });

Let's break down how this process unfolds:

1. User goes to the state “parent”
2. The “$stateChangeStart” event is triggered
3. The listener for “$stateChangeStart” captures the event and passes “toState” (“parent”) and “event" to the handler function
4. The handler function checks if “redirectTo” is specified in “toState”
5. If “redirectTo” is NOT set, the user proceeds to the “toState” state without any interruptions
6. If “redirectTo” is set, the event is canceled (event.preventDefault) and $state.go(toState.redirectTo) directs them to the state mentioned in “redirectTo” (which is “parent.child”)
7. The “$stateChangeStart” event happens again, but this time “toState” == “parent.child” and the “redirectTo” option is not set, so it continues onwards to “toState”

Although it may be a little delayed, I believe there is a way to "redirect" to the desired state.

.state('manager.staffDetail.view', {
    url:'/view',
    templateUrl: 'views/staff.details.html',
    controller: 'YourController'
})

app.controller('YourController', ['$state',
function($state) {
    $state.go('manager.staffDetail.view.schedule');
}]);

You have the option to include your controller directly within the state configuration for brevity.

I made a modification by converting 'manager.staffDetial.view' into an abstract state and keeping the URL of my default child state empty ''

// Staff
.state('manager.staffList',    {url:'^/staff?alpha',      templateUrl: 'views/staff.list.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}, controller: 'staffListCtrl'})
.state('manager.staffDetail',   {url:'^/staff/{id}', templateUrl: 'views/staff.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}, controller: 'staffDetailsCtrl'})
.state('manager.staffDetail.view',   {url:'/view', abstract: true, templateUrl: 'views/staff.details.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})
    .state('manager.staffDetail.view.schedule', {url:'', templateUrl:'views/staff.view.schedule.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})
    .state('manager.staffDetail.view.history', {url:'/history', templateUrl:'views/staff.view.history.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})
    .state('manager.staffDetail.view.log', {url:'/log', templateUrl:'views/staff.view.log.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})
    .state('manager.staffDetail.view.files', {url:'/files', templateUrl:'views/staff.view.files.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})
.state('manager.staffDetail.edit',   {url:'/edit',  templateUrl: 'views/staff.edit.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})

When using "angular-ui-router": "0.2.13", it seems that @nfiniteloop's redirect solution may not be effective. I found success after reverting back to version 0.2.12 (and possibly rearranging the order of the $urlRouterProvider.when call before the $stateProvider?)

For more information, refer to this Stack Overflow post

Additionally, check out this workaround if you prefer not to downgrade to version 0.2.12.

As of November 28th, 2014, this GitHub issue suggests that the problem should be resolved in version 0.2.14.

This might be coming in late, but the solutions provided here are not for the most recent version of angular-ui-router for AngularJS. In the latest version (specifically @uirouter/angularjs#v1.0.x), you can simply use redirectTo: 'childStateName' in the second parameter of $stateProvider.state(). For instance:

$stateProvider
.state('parent', {
  resolve: {...},
  redirectTo: 'parent.defaultChild'
})
.state('parent.defaultChild', {...})

You can find more information in this documentation section:

I hope this explanation proves useful to someone!

One straightforward and transparent approach to achieve the desired outcome is by adjusting the parent state in UI Router:

.state('parent_state', {
    url: '/something/:param1/:param2',
    templateUrl: 'partials/something/parent_view.html',  // <- crucial
    controller: function($state, $stateParams){
      var params = angular.copy($state.params);
      if (params['param3'] === undefined) {
        params['param3'] = 'default_param3';
      }
      $state.go('parent_state.child', params) 
    }
})

.state('parent_state.child', {
    url: '/something/:param1/:param2/:param3',
    templateUrl: '....',  
    controller: '....'
})

Integrate the angular-ui-router-default plugin and include the abstract and default options in the main state:

...

.state('manager.staffDetail.view', {abstract: true, default: '.schedule', url:'/view',  templateUrl: 'views/staff.details.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})
  .state('manager.staffDetail.view.schedule', {url:'/schedule', templateUrl:'views/staff.view.schedule.html', data:{activeMenu: 'staff'}})

...

Please make sure to include a <ui-view/> element in the parent template for this setup to function properly.