Top 5 National Park Scenic Drives
I was thinking about how nice hitting the road on a scenic drive can be. Is there really anything better? You know, the ones where you are pressed to the windshield watching jaw-dropping landscapes roll by like postcards around every bend. Lower the window to let the fresh air blow. Listen to your favorite playlist, or better yet, let nature be the soundtrack. Just don't use your steering wheel as a tripod, Toonces.
So I made a list of my Top 5 National Park Scenic Drives that you have to see at least once in your lifetime. I thought I'd do a deep dive into each for you to save for future trip planning.
Arches Main Park Road:
Arches Main Park Road in Utah is in my top 5 driving experiences, featuring 18 miles of rock formations that defy imagination--awe inspiring arches, gravity defying balanced boulders, towering pinnacles, and fins that look like city blocks. All these brightly colored reds, oranges and golds are set against the backdrop of the snow-capped La Sal Mountains. There are so many highlights--Park Avenue, the La Sals, Balanced Rock, the Garden of Eden, Sand Dune and Skyline Arches, as well as my two favorite trails: Fiery Furnace (permit required) and the Devils Garden.
Note that Arches is a timed entry reservation park from April through October.
Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park:
Continuing with our list, we head to Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park. Trail Ridge Road is a drive through an alpine paradise. At 48mi long and topping out at 12,183ft, it's the highest continuously paved road (ie. uninterrupted surface) in the US. Connecting Estes Park in the east to Grand Lake in the west, it is worthwhile exploring the many high altitude pullouts and trailheads on your visit to Rocky Mountain. While I have several favorites, my choice for best pullout is Rock Cut--pictured (runners up: Fairview, Forest Ridge, Many Parks Curve, Gore Mtn), and my favorite hikes off Trail Ridge Road are Deer Mtn and Adams Falls/East Inlet Meadow (note that my top hiking picks for the whole park are off Bear Lake Road).
Rocky Mtn requires vehicle reservations, and Trail Ridge Road closes for snow in winter (open typically Memorial Day weekend through mid-October).
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Teton Park Road, Grand Teton National Park:
This drive is one of my favorites in the national park system. If I can sum up this drive in a single word, it's "dramatic." The Teton Range in Wyoming has no foothills--there is no gradual incline with peaks in the distant view. The valley floor is flat, and then the mountains shoot straight out of the ground into the sky. Their broken peaks and ridges form a skyline that's, well, dramatic.
While the Teton Park Road is only 20 mi from Moose Junction to Jackson Lake Junction, you'll want a lot of time to admire the views at each pullout. I recommend getting up early to catch sunrise and the morning light, as the mountains all face east. Some of my favorite pullouts are (north to south) Mt Moran, Cathedral Group and Jenny Lake (both on Jenny Lake Drive), and Teton Glacier. Worthwhile spur roads are to Colter Bay (Jackson Lake--my favorite kayak spot), Signal Mtn, Chapel of Transfiguration and Moose Wilson (for morning or evening moose spotting and the hike to Phelps Lake--one of my two faves). Favorite Hike--Jenny Lake Trailhead to Hidden Falls/ Inspiration Point/ Cascade Canyon.
Note that you can complete a loop road by driving back along 26/89/191 for a whole other set of dramatic pullouts along the Snake River. Keep your eyes peeled for pronghorn!
Kings Canyon Scenic Byway
This California gem is the one you're least likely to have heard of, at least until now. A 50 mile stretch along highway 180, it starts in the Sierra Nevada foothills just east of Fresno, topping out in the sequoia groves of Kings Canyon National Park at 6500ft before descending 2700ft through the mountains and deep canyons of Sequoia National Forest and finally reentering Kings Canyon National Park at Cedar Grove.
The views are absolutely stunning and you'll want to stop frequently to drink in the towering Sierras viewed from one of the deepest canyons in the US. My favorite stops are Grant Grove (of giant sequoias) and Junction (pictured), where the confluence of the Kings River and it's middle fork finished carving this landscape, Boyden Cave, Marble Canyon (jaw dropping) and Grizzly Falls. My favorite hiking trailheads are Roaring Falls (short but sweet), Zumwalt Meadows (can be done together with Roaring), and my absolute favorite of entire the park, Mist Falls. My favorite backpack is Rae Lakes, starting at the appropriately if uncreatively names Roads End.
Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park
We are finishing up the Top 5 National Park Scenic Drives with arguable the best drive in the NPS system--certainly my favorite. Montana’s 50 mile Going to the Road traverses Glacier National Park at Logan Pass, topping out at 6646ft. This engineering marvel took over a decade to build, finally opening in 1933. The drive will take you past alpine lakes, staggering peaks, weeping waterfalls, glaciers and lots of wildlife viewing opportunities.
My favorite pullouts are Big Bend, Logan Pass and St Mary Overlook. My favorite trailheads along the road are Avalanche Lake, Hidden Lake and St Mary Falls, but my favorite long trail is the Highline Trail.
If you find the steep winding dropoffs too harrowing to drive, take the red jammer bus tour and just enjoy the views. Glacier has changed its system (again)--you will need a vehicle reservation during the summer for the west side access to the road. The road is typically open to the higher park elevations sometime in early to mid July.
