You could visit a new national park every month and it would still take years to see them all. There are 59 vast areas currently preserved as National Parks across the US, not to mention the hundreds of other recreation sites, state parks, and national monuments. Take some time in 2020 to mark these ten amazing parks off your bucket list.
10. Glacier National Park, Montana
Take this hike: Hidden Lake (pictured below)
Camp here: Many Glacier Campground or the new West Glacier RV Park
Glacier National Park spans over a million acres in northwest Montana along the Canadian border. The massive park encompasses mountains, glacier-carved valleys, surrounding forest, and strikingly blue alpine lakes.
Hidden Lake, Glacier National Park. Photo by Mark Wagner
Mark Wagner, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Over 700 miles of trails extend across the park varying in length and difficulty. It’s home to diverse wildlife like mountain goats and grizzly bears, as well as over a thousand types of plants.
Going-to-the-Sun Road provides a scenic 50-mile drive across the park, with the highest point at Logan Pass (an elevation of 6,646 feet). Keep in mind the road is narrow with hairpin curves and has vehicle size restrictions.
9. Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Hike this trail: Medicine Root Loop Trail
Park your RV here: Cedar Pass RV Park & Campground
Badlands National Park has Mars-like scenery only an hour and a half east of Mount Rushmore. Nearly half of the 244,000 acres protect ancient geologic formations and deep canyons, and the other half is mixed-grass prairie.
Badlands National Park. Photo by Christian Collins on Flickr
along the white river by Christian Collins is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
The park has a variety of hiking trails from easy nature walks through flat prairie to more challenging climbs up the formations.
Another way to experience the park is by driving the scenic Badlands Loop Road. The 31-mile stretch takes you past fourteen scenic overlooks where you can get views of the buttes, cliffs, and spires.
8. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Take this hike: Navajo Trail
The best camping spot: Sunset Campground
Bryce Canyon has an otherworldly landscape filled with colorful hoodoo rock formations. Shaped from years of erosion, the pillars stand in a massive, natural amphitheater along the Paunsaugunt Plateau in Southern Utah.
Bryce Canyon National Park. Photo by Luca Galuzzi via Wikipedia Commons
Luca Galuzzi (Lucag), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
You can take trails of various lengths down into the canyon or follow the Rim Trail for views of the entire amphitheater. Sunrise Point and Sunset Point will give you the best viewpoints.
7. Arches National Park, Utah
The best hike: Delicate Arch
Camp here: Devil’s Garden Campground
This park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches in Eastern Utah. You can take trails to see arches like the Delicate Arch (pictured below), Turret Arch, and Landscape Arch in the Devil’s Garden area.
Delicate Arch at Arches National Park, Utah. Photo: Murray Foubister on Flickr
By night, Arches National Park also has some of the darkest skies in the nation for stargazing. Devil’s Garden is the only campground in the park, but just south in the Moab area there are several more RV parks and campgrounds.
6. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Don’t miss: Hiking down the Natural Entrance
Where to camp: Bud’s Place RV Park or Brantley Lake State Park
This park in Southern New Mexico has a huge network of cave passages filled with stalagmites, stalactites and other formations. The largest chamber, “The Big Room” is 8.2 acres and the largest accessible cave chamber in North America.
Carlsbad Caverns. Photo by Wing-Chi Poon on Wikipedia
Daniel Mayer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Most people like to explore at their own pace on the Self-Guided Tours, but if you prefer having a guide with more information, consider taking one of their ranger-guided tours. From May-October, the park also has a Bat Flight Program, and in the summer they host several Night Sky Events for stargazers.
The park does not allow overnight camping, but you can find RV parks and campgrounds nearby.
5. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
What to see: Taggart Lake
Stay here: Signal Mountain Campground
Grand Teton National Park is south of Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming. The park protects the jagged Grand Teton mountain range and surrounding pristine wilderness.
Grand Teton National Park. Photo by Shanthanu Bhardwaj on Flickr
Jackson Lake is a highlight in the park and popular among boaters, swimmers, and kayakers. You can also go rafting and fishing on the Snake River which winds its way through the park and empties into the lake.
4. Olympic National Park, Washington
Take these hikes: Hurricane Hill (on Hurricane Ridge) and the Hall Of Mosses Trail in the Hoh Rainforest
For ocean views, camp here: South Beach Campground
Olympic National Park has mountain, coast, and rainforest to wander. You could easily spend days exploring the Quinault and Hoh rainforests and seeing the offshore sea stacks at Ruby Beach and Shi Shi Beach. Further in the park, you can hike through the lush green ancient woods to hidden waterfalls like Sol Duc Falls.
The road up Hurricane Ridge. Photo by Miguel Vieira, Flickr
Near Port Angeles, drive up Hurricane Ridge Road for the best views of the Olympic Mountains. The road also leads to several hiking trailheads where you can get out and venture further into the wilderness. Occasionally you can spot wildlife like deer and native Olympic marmots, and in the spring you can see wild rhododendrons blooming.
3. North Cascades National Park, Washington
Take this hike: Diablo Lake and Artist Ridge
Our favorite campground: Newhalem Creek
Being so quiet and peaceful, it’s hard to believe North Cascades Park is less than three hours from Seattle. Within its boundaries are the glacier-capped North Cascade Mountains, evergreen forest, and beautiful lakes (like the vibrant Diablo Lake pictured below) that are ideal for kayaking in the summer. Take a small vehicle up the narrow, twisting road to Artist Point for up-close views of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker.
Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park. The color really is this vibrant! Photo by Steven Pavlov
Steven Pavlov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The hiking paths vary from easy ADA-accessible routes to multi-day backpacking trails. The North Cascades Highway (SR-20) provides a scenic route through the park and passes several viewpoints where you can find great photo ops.
2. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
For beautiful views: Hike to Sprague Lake (pictured below)
Camp here: Moraine Campground
Rocky Mountain National Park is only an hour and a half from Denver in north-central Colorado. Within its 415 square miles are the Rocky Mountains, surrounding forests, and a variety of wildlife. The park has miles of hiking trails, and lakes and rivers for kayaking, canoeing, and fishing.
Sprague Lake, Colorado. Photo: John B. Kalla
You can also go for a scenic drive up Trail Ridge Road—aka the “Highway To The Sky”—between Estes Park and Grand Lake. The route spans for 48 miles, reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation, and passes several overlooks and trailheads.
1. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Take this hike: Lone Star Geyser Trail—it erupts about 30 to 45 feet every three hours
Where to camp: Lewis Lake Campground
Yellowstone sits on top of a volcanic hot spot with erupting geysers, hot springs, and waterfalls. It was established in 1872 as the world’s first national park and is still one of the most visited in the national park system.
Yellowstone National Park. Photo by NPS
NPS Photo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
There are twelve campgrounds (some RV-friendly) across the park and over a thousand miles of trails. A diverse variety of mammals also roam the park including elk, moose, and bison.
Save money on entrance fees with an “America The Beautiful Pass.”
You missed two of the best: 1. Denali 2. Wrangell Elias
Both of these parks can be done via RV and are not to be missed.
You left off the most visited park east of the Mississippi – Great Smokey Mountains National Park..
You must be westerners!
This is a great list, as would be any list of our national parks, Each person’s top ten merits attention and will vary greatly. I’m not a westerner, but I believe the parks west of the Mississippi River are exceptional. In my opinion, the most beautiful national park east of the Mississippi is Acadia National Park in Maine. It offers such a variety and is very dog friendly compared to most parks. I’ve had the privilege of hiking every mile of trail in Acadia during my four years of full time RVing. Having had the good fortune to visit all of the eastern parks and many of the western parks, I now look forward to checking off more of the stunningly beautiful parks in the west.
Really have to agree with Bill, we are westerners and one of our favorite National Parks is Acadia. Exploring the park just before Columbus Day with fall colors everpresent warmed our souls despite the cooler Autumn air :). Another park that stirred us with joy was the Great Smoky Mountains NP. The forest fires of neighboring North Carolina made them extra smoky, but only nature can turn destruction into beauty!
Check out our blog at preciousventure.com or photo gallery at compositionbyjohn.com if you wish to see what we saw 🙂
John and Roni
Here is this summers list of parks we are visiting. Starting with Badlands, the to Wind caves. From there Yellowstone and Teton. Then off to Montana to Glacier. From there to Utah to see Bryce, Zion, Capital Reef. From there its off to Colorado To Sand Dunes then Rocky Mountain National Park.
Now before anyone mentions that I missed a lot along the way. We have already been to Canyon lands and Arches. Have visited Mesa Verde.
My wife and I have been to all of these parks before. We are taking the boys so they can enjoy them. Two years ago we visited Yellowstone , Teton , Mesa Verde and the Canyon Lands. We reside in North Carolina now, however before we had kids we lived in western Colorado.
As for next year, I have already reserved a RV to drive the 10 day loop in Alaska. We will see Wrangell and Denali, maybe a couple others if we can secure a float plane to takes us to them. Our trip last year took us to Acadia , then through New Hampshire and Vermont then into the Adirondacks,
After seeing most of the parks out west I can say that the hold a lot more to see. Not to discount the eastern Parks though, They too are beautiful, just a lot more people.
Go early and go often.
Jeff Ellis
Consider putting the Canadian National Parks on your “must see” list. They are located on the Alberta/British Columbia border. All are close to each other and offer breathtaking scenery and wildlife.
Death Valley National Park is really beautiful even in January thru March. all the wild flowers, that God has planted for us all to enjoy. visit sometime . and the night skies are really great also.