Visiting all U S National Parks!

Many people ask Tom and me, “How did you come up with your goal to visit all 58 (now 63) US National Parks?”  Before I answer that question, I am compelled to answer the next two questions which are, “Does this include monuments and seashores?” and “Do you have any rules?” 

Visiting all US National Parks – our Rules

The goal only includes the 58 (now 63) National Parks. The National Park Service manages 425 sites – too many for us to visit. The rules are simple. To count a park, we must spend time in and enjoy the park together - no drive in and out. Tom and I got together as older adults and have both visited parks on our own. So, if we haven’t been to the park together, it does not count. One of us must go again.

Inspiration to visit all National Parks

Now back to the original question, “How did we come up with this goal?”. We were both intrigued by The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, a Ken Burns Documentary about the National Parks formation. 

It’s incredible to me how our land has changed so much in the last 150 years due to settlement and industrialization.  Some special visionaries had the foresight, long before environmentalism, to save the most unique natural, geological and cultural wonders for all of us to continue to enjoy.

We both love the outdoors and nature, so we found ourselves especially drawn to these cherished and preserved wonders!

In addition, Mt Rainer National Park is our “home park”. We get to enjoy this spectacular place often for hiking, wildflowers and cycling. Knowing that there are 57 (now 62) comparable places out there, we just had to go and see them. We began with Yosemite National Park, one of the most historic (cover photo for this blog). We made our goal official during that trip in 2010.

Mt Rainer National Park, WA, our home park!

Visiting all US National Parks – our Status

As of August 2023, we have visited 57 parks with six to go! I hope that our visits to  all 63 National Parks will inspire and assist you on your National Park travels. Click here for blogs about each of our 27 trips!

So, we have only six parks remaining! We are headed to American Samoa National Park in November 2023. And we will visit New River Gorge National Park in fall of 2024. The four remaining Alaska parks are still TBD since we aren’t backcountry or bush plane folks!

Our Favorite US National Parks so far:

We often get asked, “What is your favorite?” which, of course, is impossible to answer – they are all so special and unique. But we do have some favorites by category:

Big Bend National Park, TX is our biggest and best surprise so far! The park is huge, has the Chisos Mountains, great hikes, the Rio Grande River, which is no longer grand, unique wildlife and wonderful scenery. Staying in the park is awesome. Who knew we’d find such a big surprise in Texas!

Big Bend National Park, TX, our biggest suprise!

Glacier National Park, MT is a tremendous park, one that after we complete our quest is worth going back to with 750 miles of hiking, four historic lodges and wonderful wildlife!

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT geologically is our favorite – there is nothing like it. Although technically not a canyon, hiking down among the hoodoos is magical!

Mesa Verde, CO in Tom’s home state, is our favorite in the cultural category. Experiencing the Ancestral Puebloan’s cliff dwellings while imagining life in 500AD-1,300AD is mind blowing. Being in the park after the crowds depart is stunning.

Dry Tortugas, FL is our favorite from a historical perspective. Who knew that a massive brick fort was built on an islet back in 1846 to protect the original US shipping channels? During the Civil War it served as a prison. Eventually it was abandoned because of disease and the fort was sinking. It’s closer to Cuba than the US, only accessed by boat or seaplane and is gorgeous!

Isle Royale, MI wins in our “most remote” category, as least so far. It takes eight hours via boat to get to the Isle, in the middle of giant Lake Superior from Grand Portage, MN. And once there you know that you are far away from most anything other than the small park lodge. Moose abound and wolves are controversial.

Trip Planning for Visiting National Parks

First of all the National Geographic’s Guide to National Parks of the United States has been my “bible” for planning all of our trips! This guide gets us started and helps us choose when to go, where to stay and how long to visit each park. I highly recommend it!

Next, I recommend checking NPS.gov for the park(s) you want to visit. They also give good information on what to do and where to stay along with any current alerts (road closures etc) for each park.

And, finally, we find the best way to begin a visit to each park is at the visitor center. The information and movies are a wonderful introduction to every park. We are hikers and they always help us plan our hikes. (And we must get our stamp!)

I’d recommend planning your National Park trips for six-twelve months out to get lodging (including camping)! If that doesn’t work, last-minute cancellations are probably the next best option. We love staying inside the parks, in a historic lodge, if possible. Check out Top Ten Historic National Park Lodges to learn more.  

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT our favorite park geologically.

Approach to Visiting all US National Parks

While it has taken us many years because of the pandemic, injuries, and life in general, we like our pace. Some folks visit all national parks in one year. I think we would get overwhelmed and burnt out with that plan.

If possible, it’s best to visit the parks in spring or fall to avoid summer crowds, especially now. In this ideal itinerary, I’ve recommended mostly 10-day and two-week trips by region. But we’ve done many one-week trips because of other commitments. It’s fun to not only explore our National Parks but differing regions in our own country!

Ideal Itinerary to Visiting all US National Parks – a Guide

Northwest National Parks – Mt Rainer, Olympic and North Cascades National Parks are all in Washington State a few hours apart from each other, but they are vast and there is much to explore, but being a Washingtonian I am biased! Visit after the snow melts (June) but before it falls again (Oct) and avoid summer weekends and July and August if you can. These three parks are doable in a week, but it will be rushed. Crater Lake is the only park in Oregon, so you’ll want to combine it with the Washington or Northern California parks – timing is the same.

Northern California National Parks - Redwoods, Lassen, Pinnacles and Yosemite National Parks make a great grouping.  Redwoods and Pinnacles can be visited year around, but the snow needs to melt in Lassen and Yosemite, so this is a good spring or fall 10-day trip. Yosemite is the biggest and most crowded so plan around that. (Yosemite can also be done as a winter wonderland trip.)

Southern California National Parks – Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Channel Islands and Death Valley National Parks are a group of classics. You don’t have to wait for the snow to melt in these parks. However, Death Valley (closed as of August 2023) is just too hot in the summer so it can be a stand-alone trip in the winter, or you can hit all of these in the spring or fall. Once again, these are a nice 10-day-two-week adventure.  Joshua Tree, a lovely two-day adventure (or longer), can go here or with AZ.

Arizonia National Parks – Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and Saguaro are spread out across the state and the Grand Canyon is closer to Utah.

The north rim of the Grand Canyon is less crowded and has an historic lodge but it’s harder to get to than the south rim and is only open mid-May through mid-October. The south rim is open all year around, but you’ll want to avoid weekends and arrive early! Rafting the river, or a portion of it is another option April-October. You will probably want to plan your trip(s) around what you choose to do in Grand Canyon National Park.

Petrified Forest National Park is worth a full day at most any time of year. Saguaro National Park has two sections with Tucson in the middle, so you’ll probably want two fall, winter or spring days there before it heats up. Saguaro can be combined with the Southwest parks too.

Mesa Verde National Park, CO our favorite park culturally!

Southwest National Parks – Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Parks can all be visited year around. A few days in Big Bend is nice, especially if you are a hiker. Staying inside the park is the way to go! Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Parks can each be enjoyed in a full day. Saguaro can also be included with this group – see above.

Colorado National Parks – Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes and Rocky Mountain National Parks provide a wonderful tour of Colorado – ideally a two-week adventure. Stay inside Mesa Verde for at least two days and avoid busy summer weekends if you can.  Spring or fall are best since Great Sand Dunes is hot in summer and Rocky Mountain is closed in the winter.

Utah National Parks – Someone suggested that we split all these parks (5) into two trips because it’s too much “red rock” all at once.  I’d suggest visiting the Utah parks on one ten day-two-week trip, since they are all different. Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Arches are fabulous parks! They are all open year around, but spring or fall are best since summer gets hot and crowded and winter is limited.  Great Basin is off on its own but probably best combined with Utah.

Wyoming and Montanna National Parks – Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks, what classics! Ideally, this would be a great two-week spring or fall trip. Glacier National Park is large with four beautiful lodges, so people spread out, Grand Tetons doesn’t seem to get the crowds, but Yellowstone is crazed in the summer. (Yellowstone is another one that can be an abbreviated but lovely winter wonderland visit.)

Glacier National Park, MT - a park to go back to again and again.

Dakota National Parks – Wind Cave, Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks are lesser known but important and enjoyable! A weeklong trip is perfect. Although they are open year around, once again spring and fall are best – summer gets the heat and crowds, and winter operations are limited.

Upper Midwest National Parks – Voyageurs, Indiana Dunes, Cuyahoga Valley and Isle Royale National Parks are lesser-known and unique parks. Isle Royale is open June-September and only accessed via boat, so you’ll want to plan your trip around visiting this special park for two-three days. The heart of Voyageurs is also only accessed by a shorter boat ride and needs at least two days. Voyageurs, Indiana Dunes and Cuyahoga Valley are open year around but are best spring-fall. A week to ten days for this trip would work well.   

Isle Royale National Park, MI the most remote park so far.

Southeast National Parks – Gateway Arch, Mammoth Cave, Congaree and Hot Springs National Parks are all open year around but once again spring and fall are best. Each of these parks can be visited in one or two days so a week-long trip is perfect.

East Coast National Parks – Great Smokey Mountains, Shenandoah, and New River Gorge are best done together although not that close. I’d suggest visiting in the spring or fall to avoid crowds and heat. We love visiting DC at the same time. Acadia National Park is at the northeastern tip of the US so not really close to other parks. I’d plan two weeks if you plan on visiting DC and Acadia, otherwise a week will work.  

Florida US Virgin Islands National Parks – Everglades, Biscayne, Dry Tortuga and US Virgin Islands National Parks are a good place for winter sunshine but avoid hurricane season (July-November). Biscayne is primarily an underwater wonder easily accessed via a tour boat for the day. Dry Tortuga is closer to Cuba than Florida, so the boat ride is much longer but still a long day unless you camp under the stars. The Everglades is at the tip of Florida with a couple different sections so two to three days are best. St John is a three-hour plane ride, so you’ll want to stay several days to a week. You’ll need ten days-two weeks to visit all four parks. Mosquitoes are at their worst June-October!

Dry Tortuga National Park, FL our favorite park historically.

Hawaii and American Samoa National Parks – Haleakala, Hawaii Volcanoes and American Samoa National Parks are nice to visit anytime of year. You’ll need at least two weeks to visit all three. American Samoa is a 14-hour flight from the west coast, so I suggest visiting one of the Hawaii parks/islands on the way to and one on the way back from Samoa.

Alaska National Parks are a challenge! There are eight parks in Alaska, Glacier Bay is in Southeast Alaska accessed via cruise ship or boat out of the Glacier Bay Lodge. The remaining seven are in northern Alaska with three only accessible by bush plane. Denali, Wrangel St Elias and Kenai Fjords, the non-bush plane parks, make a nice weeklong trip. The bush plane parks can be seen from the air in as little as five hours or via much longer backcountry trips. Katmai National Park can be accessed via plane and water taxi in addition to bush plane.  It’s a beautiful, mountainous, and enormous state. Transportation between parks is long and once at the parks, access is limited. Alaska is by far the most expensive state to visit! Summer is really the only time to visit these parks.

(Note that Pinnacles, White Sands, Gateway Arch, Indiana Dunes and New River Gorge were promoted to parks after we began our quest, so we had to “back track” to visit them thus the difference between the ideal itinerary and our actual trips.)