Know Before You Go
Entrance Reservations and Trail Permits
Weather and Trail Conditions, Health and Altitude Precautions
Last Words from a Search and Rescue Tech
Choosing a Park
Many factors go into choosing a park. Flight and Drive times might make Geography a priority. You might be craving mountains, ocean or desert canyons, making the landscape your priority. Or perhaps you are limited in what month you can take your vacation, making seasons the driver of which park is best. Here are some notes to help you decide.
By Geography
Northwest: Yosemite, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Oregon/Northern California, Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades
Rockies: Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Rocky Mountains, Dakotas
Southwest: Bryce/Zion, Moab, Grand Canyon, Big Bend, White Sands/Carlsbad Caverns/Guadalupe Mtns
East: Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Southern Florida
Alaska: Glacier Bay, Central Alaska
By Landscape
Desert and Canyons: Bryce/Zion, Moab, Grand Canyon, Big Bend, White Sands/Carlsbad Caverns/Guadalupe Mtns
Mountains and Lakes: Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Tetons, Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Dakotas, Great Smoky Mountains, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Mount Rainier, North Cascades
Mountains and Coast: Oregon/Northern California, Olympic, Acadia, Glacier Bay, Central Alaska, Southern Florida
By Season
Summer: Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains, Oregon/Northern California, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Olympic, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia
Late Summer/Early Fall: Glacier, Grand Tetons, Dakotas, Glacier Bay (early Aug), Central Alaska (early Aug), Mount Rainier, North Cascades
Spring/Fall: Bryce/Zion, Moab, Grand Canyon, Big Bend, White Sands/Carlsbad Caverns/Guadalupe Mtns
Winter: Southern Florida
Booking Accommodations
The first thing to do is book your lodging. The National Parks have become extremely popular. At the beginning of the itinerary, the guide lists how many nights you’ll need in each location, and a section at the end details in-park lodging, camping and information on gateway communities. Many popular parks will open up lodging more than a year out and book that day (camping is usually 6mos out). Use this guide to mark your calendar and follow the links to book your lodging the day (and minute, and time zone) it becomes available. I’ve logged in (one year out from travel) at 5am when lodging opened at midnight, only to find it completely booked. Be flexible and regularly check (daily each morning) for last minute cancellations, esp over the last 2 wks.
Some Parks are too big to really enjoy staying outside the park. The long daily drives in and out would detract from the experience too much. Several parks are large/spread out enough to justify staying in more than one place—those locations are noted in the individual itineraries. Other parks don’t have hotels in the parks but have hotels in close-by gateway towns. And some parks have both in-park and gateway options—in-park is always better (more convenient, more scenic) but might not be available. And gateway towns are sometimes worth exploring and usually have better dining options. Information on accommodations is in the guide.
While we’re on it, don’t wait until the last minute to reserve excursions. While spontaneity can be fun, some of these book up months in advance. Some excursions listed in the guide, including tours, boat trips, etc, can book up a few months out, so reserve those too. Note that kayak/canoe and bike rentals are usually first come-first serve, so get there early.
Don’t forget flights and rental car reservations if applicable.
Entrance Reservations and Trail Permits
Most but not all parks require an entrance fee for typically $35, but some are less—the specifics including price are on each park’s NPS website. An $80 annual pass, also available at the entrance station, generally pays for itself if you are visiting more than two parks in 12 months. Keep in mind that a regular entrance fee is good for 7 days, so if you stay longer, it’s essentially two visits. Once you’re 62 years old, you can buy a lifetime pass for the same $80. And 4th graders can get a free annual pass, good for everyone in that vehicle. There are also programs for military, gold star families and volunteers. Details are here: nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm.
Next, in addition to Entrance Fees (or an Annual Park Pass), some parks are now requiring various additional reservations. These include entry reservation permits (timed by the week, day or even hour of entry) and even some specific trail permits. They can be purchased on recreation.gov. Details are in the beginning of the itinerary, but it’s important to check the nps.gov park website in advance for these requirements, as well as the earliest you can log on and get your permit. Note that if you have an in-park lodging, camping or tour (such as a booked ranger guided hike, boat tour or horseback riding) reservation, you won’t need an entrance reservation for those days, but you’ll need to print out your confirmation email to show the ranger at the entrance station. Note that all backcountry overnight stays require a permit.
For 2024, these parks require additional entry reservations: Acadia (cars driving to Cadillac Mtn summit), Arches (timed park entry), Glacier (Apgar, Many Glacier and North Fork entrances separately), Haleakala (3am-7am for sunrise), Mount Rainier, Rocky Mtn (timed park entry), Sequoia (Mt Whitney hike), Shenandoah (Rag Mtn hike), Yosemite (timed park entry, Half Dome hike), and Zion (Angel’s Landing Hike).
Leave No Trace
The mission of the National Park Service is conservation. I hope you inspire your children and grandchildren to come back here when they’re grown with children of their own. We need to protect these parks (and all of nature) for them. Read the Seven “Leave No Trace” Principles at The 7 Principles - Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (lnt.org) and Leave No Trace Seven Principles (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov). While we’re on it, STAY ON THE TRAIL (prevents erosion, getting lost, falling off edges), PACK OUT WHAT YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU (trash, food scraps including fruit peels, human waste and TP, other people’s trash you found, etc) and RESPECT WILDLIFE (and other hikers). “Take only photographs and leave only footprints.”
Weather and Trail Conditions, Health and Altitude Precautions
Weather forecasts are notoriously inaccurate and can change in a heartbeat, esp in the mountains. Afternoon thundershowers are common in the mountains—they are almost daily during summer in the Rockies—and you’ll want to be down below tree line before they strike (so many reasons to start at the trailhead at 7am). Even if it’s sunny and clear, always be prepared for any conditions, including staying the unexpected night out. Also, check trail conditions for the latest before you set out. Trails can close due to rockslides, fires, wildlife activity, flooding (or risk of flash flood), ice/snow, etc.
These trips are described as moderately active. Be sure to prepare by exercising regularly, including lots of walking and hiking at home. If you live in an area without a lot of hills, stairs are a good way to build up strength and endurance (esp while wearing a pack). Be sure your physician clears you for any change from your baseline activity level. Lastly, a lot of these parks are at altitude (even the desert parks). If you live closer to sea level, give yourself time to acclimate, and listen to your body.
Last Words from a Search and Rescue Tech
Ninety-five per cent of my Search and Rescue calls could have been avoided with these three things:
-
Drive Slowly: Mountain roads are tricky—there are wildlife, sharp turns and steep edges, and other drivers are distracted. Pull over to look at scenery. Crashes are by far the #1 cause of Natl Park fatalities.
-
Carry and Drink Enough Water: I like “Camel Back” type pack hydration systems, as they encourage drinking more than water bottles stuck in your pack. Most of my medical calls were for dehydration. If your pee is dark like tea, you’re not drinking enough. If it’s light like lemonade, you are drinking enough.
-
Stay on the Trail: Most of my non-medical calls were for people getting lost. Some weren’t actually that far from the trail. (You are also less likely to fall off a cliff—the #2 cause of park fatalities.)
Resources
Most of this guide relies on my personal experience, along with tips from friends, fellow travelers and park rangers. I also like these resources:
-
National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States. This book has lots of useful info, including what to do and what to skip, and great photos to get you excited about your trip. It’s my favorite National Park guidebook and where I start when I plan any trip.
-
nps.gov Each park website is packed with tons of useful info, including lodging and dining, park maps, important alerts and updates, weather, shuttle info, etc.
-
alltrails.com Free account with trail descriptions, maps, elevation profiles and reviews. Paid account with GPS, etc. Note: Never rely on any on-line map in the backcountry--use a paper map and compass.
-
apps.nationalmap.gov/viewer Free USGS topographic map viewer (you’ll need to type in your search and then zoom in).
-
npmaps.com Do you REALLY like maps? Here are ALL the maps.
Driving Maps in this guide are marked up over the National Park Service maps. Topo maps are hand-drawn over the US Geological Survey maps. I have tried to include mileage and elevation change (typically net change from lowest to highest point) info for each hike. References conflict, and when they did, I took mileage from (in order from most to least reliable resource): actual trail marker signs first, then info from the nps.gov website, and then the alltrails website and other on-line hiking resources. Note that you should look at a topo map and/or alltrails map (elevation profile) to get an idea of the elevation changes of a trail—some go straight up a 1000ft summit, while others go up and down hills many times before reaching a 1000ft summit. Those two trails are not the same difficulty despite the same 1000ft net gain. Abbreviations used in this guide include RT for round trip mileage, and OW for one way. Multiply mileage x 1.61 for kilometers, and feet x 0.304 for meters.
Be sure to pick up the park map and park newspaper at the entrance station.