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While the COVID era of our lives was pretty crap, it offered me the opportunity to slow down my travel and focus on what was right in front of me. Instead of jetting off to an all-inclusive in Mexico or spending two weeks traipsing around Europe, I was grounded, so to speak. This meant exploring my surroundings, driving instead of flying, and appreciating the outdoors.
I’ve taken three national park road trips, so I’m basically an expert at this point. Keep reading to learn how to plan a national park road trip that is equal parts epic and manageable.
National Park Musts
Before we jump in, a quick PSA:
- Download offline maps, service can be spotty.
- Tell someone your plans and check in after your hike.
- Carry more water than you think you’ll need (trust me).
- Pack salty + protein snacks.
- Always stay on the trail to protect the landscape.
- Absolutely no smoking in or near the park.
Park Access
Don’t forget that entry to most national parks for four people in one car is about $30. If you plan on visiting more than one park or staying multiple days, you should absolutely opt for the annual pass.
The America the Beautiful Pass costs $80, lasts an entire year, and gives you unlimited access to national parks across the United States. It has paid dividends for me time and time again.
My Road Trips
What was originally supposed to be a trip to Patagonia turned into a two-week American Southwest national park road trip (read about it all here). We started in Las Vegas and visited the following parks (you can find my complete travel guides to some of these below):
- Death Valley National Park
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Arches National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
Four girls, countless miles driven, dozens of miles hiked, one bonus state park, a photo shoot in the salt flats, and more giggles than I could count.
That spring we continued our exploration with a shorter—but still robust—road trip through Texas (which you can read about here). We flew into El Paso and visited Big Bend National Park, explored the caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, climbed the highest peak in Texas at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, had a dance party in the desert at White Sands National Park, and wrapped up the trip at Saguaro National Park seeing the famous cacti.
While not nearly as expansive, I also visited almost every national park in Florida the following year. We flew to Miami and, after soaking in the sun and accidentally feeding my phone to what I now refer to as the sewer crocodiles (a phrase I made up after stepping off a curb and watching my phone slip straight from my hand into a giant sewer drain), we began our park tour.
We started at Everglades National Park, followed it with a slightly comical boat ride through Biscayne National Park, and finished the adventure with a ferry ride to Dry Tortugas National Park.
Consider this my résumé for how to plan a national park road trip. Now let me help you plan yours.
Hopes & Dreams
I think the most important step when figuring out how to plan a national park road trip is deciding what your hopes and dreams are. This is a phrase my best friend and I use constantly when planning trips. It’s how we frame everything we want to see, eat, accomplish, or experience.
Yes, I’ve had friends roll their eyes when I ask the question. But it genuinely captures what matters: what do you want to get out of this trip, and how do we design an itinerary that makes that happen?
Do you want to see the bottom of the Grand Canyon? Visit the most remote national park in the U.S.? Start checking parks off a list in a quest to visit them all? Are you craving beautiful scenic drives or rugged multi-day hikes? Something close to a city, or completely off the grid?
The beauty of national parks is that there is truly an experience for everyone. Once you know what you want, it becomes much easier to start shaping the trip.
Time
The next question when planning a national park road trip is how much time you actually have.
Are you renting a van for a month and planning to explore every nook and cranny? Or do you have a long weekend where you want to see as much of one park as possible? Can you fly to a starting point, or do you need to begin driving from where you live?
Once you’ve chosen your starting point, you also need to decide how much time you’re comfortable spending in the car each day. Is five hours too much? Would you rather visit fewer parks but spend less time driving? Or are you totally fine with a longer drive if it means seeing something incredible?
Travel time between parks is important, but so is the commute once you’re there, which we’ll talk about more later.
I’ve visited three national parks in three days, I’ve seen everything I wanted in one park in a single day, and also felt like I could easily spend more time somewhere like Arches even after multiple visits. It really comes down to personal preference, PTO, budget, and your tolerance for long drives.
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Proximity
Every good road trip is built on proximity. You probably aren’t going to visit Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys and then swing over to Zion National Park on the same trip.
Yes, this sounds obvious, but choosing parks close to each other is how you maximize a national park road trip. Even visiting all the national parks in Florida still requires several hours of driving.
When you’re deciding which parks to visit together, think about regional clusters. A few ideas to get you started:
- Alaska parks
- Florida parks: Everglades, Dry Tortugas, Biscayne
- Utah parks: Zion, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches
- Northern California parks: Redwood, Kings Canyon, Sequoia
- Pacific Northwest parks: Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades
When to Go
I have a hard time recommending travel outside of spring and fall. In my opinion, those seasons are the sweet spot for exploring almost anywhere and that includes national parks.
My first national park road trip happened in November. It was perfect for the Grand Canyon, where I was hiking in a T-shirt by noon, but I also accidentally smoked us out of our yurt trying to keep warm at night (you can read all about that here).
Timing becomes even more important if you plan on camping or backpacking. Trailheads may be closed due to snow or seasonal conditions. For example, Highway 20 in Washington doesn’t reopen until April or May, which makes visiting North Cascades National Park difficult outside of summer.
While I don’t love traveling during June, July, or August, sometimes you just have to make it work. If that’s the case, avoid places with extreme weather. Visiting Death Valley in July, for example, would be a nightmare.
Camping Accommodations
If you’re feeling adventurous and planning to visit multiple national parks over an extended period, you might consider renting a camper van or motorhome. These can be pricey, but they come with everything you need: a kitchenette, a place to sleep, sometimes even a bathroom and shower.
Traveling this way opens up campground options within the parks themselves.
If you’re starting the road trip from home, you can also bring your own camping gear. This significantly lowers accommodation costs and gives you more flexibility.
One thing to keep in mind with camping is reservations. Some campgrounds take bookings, while others are first-come, first-served. During peak summer season, competition can be intense. Camping in the Pacific Northwest is particularly cutthroat, I’ve learned the hard way that even when you think it won’t be busy, it absolutely will be.
Finally, there is often BLM land available near parks. Around Capitol Reef, for example, there are many free first-come-first-serve camping areas on BLM land. If you go this route, remember to pack everything out, leave no trace, and respect the landscape (a rule we should all be practicing regardless of where we go !!).
Planning Your Stay
If you’re like me and will camp if necessary but still prefer a roof and a bed each night, don’t worry, there are plenty of options.
Towns surrounding national parks often have a surprising number of Airbnbs specifically catering to park visitors. Many even include maps, hiking suggestions, and local restaurant recommendations.
That said, proximity can be tricky.
When visiting North Cascades National Park, we stayed outside the town of Winthrop in a beautiful cabin. It was cozy and scenic, but hiking Cascade Pass required nearly three hours of driving each way, including about an hour on a gravel road leading to the trailhead.
During our trip to Big Bend National Park, we stayed in the town of Alpine and drove an hour just to reach the park entrance each day. From there, reaching hikes like Santa Elena Canyon required even more driving inside the park.
When choosing accommodations, consider the following:
How many days you plan to spend in the park. If you’re just passing through, a longer commute may be fine. If you’re staying several days, it might get old quickly.
- Use Google Maps to estimate drive times, not just to the visitor center, but to the actual hikes you want to do.
- Be honest with yourself about early mornings. Are you really going to wake up at 4 a.m. to drive three hours to a trailhead?
- If you can’t find clear directions online, contact the park’s visitor center. Rangers are some of the most helpful people in the world and are always happy to give advice.
- And finally, AllTrails is your best friend when planning hikes. Trail descriptions, closures, conditions, and trailhead details are all there, which means fewer surprises when you start your drive down that inevitable gravel road.
Activities
Hiking is usually the main activity for me in national parks, but if you’re more adventurous, the options are endless. Rock climbing, cycling, backpacking, canyoneering, remote backcountry hikes, there is truly something for everyone.
If you’re planning to do multiple hikes in one day, read the trail descriptions carefully on AllTrails or the national park website to estimate how long they will realistically take.
For certain activities, you’ll also want to reserve gear ahead of time. For example, if you plan to hike the Narrows in Zion, stop by Zion Outfitters the afternoon before to get fitted for shoes, socks, and waders. They allow early pickup the day before your hike, which lets you start whenever you want instead of waiting for the shop to open.
Add Ons
Don’t miss the chance to explore nearby destinations during your national park road trip. While the parks are the main attraction, you’ll often pass incredible places along the way.
During our Texas road trip we stopped in the quirky art town of Marfa (read all about what to do in Marfa here). On our Southwest road trip we visited Dead Horse Point State Park and hiked there as well. We ended that trip in the Bonneville Salt Flats outside Salt Lake City, where we made some of the most memorable moments of the entire adventure.
Enjoying the journey and what’s along the way is just as important as reaching the summit.
The Bottom Line
National parks are truly one of the greatest treasures in the United States, and I hope everyone gets the chance to visit at least one in their lifetime.
Whether your goal is to check every park off your list or simply see what America has to offer, learning how to plan a national park road trip is absolutely worth the time and effort it takes.
And if you need help planning your national park itinerary, send me an email or slide into my DMs at @updatelater on Instagram.
Happy trails.
