Before we retired and started traveling in our RV, we had never visited a national park. I know…hard to believe, right?? Now, after our first year and a half of traveling, we’ve been to 9 parks in 4 different states on our quest to eventually see them all. Through our experiences (and some mistakes!) we developed a 4-step beginner’s guide to make trip planning easier for a national park visit.
You might not know that our National Park system includes 419 areas covering more than 85 million acres! These areas include not only the 62 national parks (get map here), but also monuments, battlefields, historic sites, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. We are so fortunate that conservationists and leaders had the foresight to create the National Park Service back in 1916. It ensures the preservation of our nation’s natural beauty and resources so they’ll be around for everyone to enjoy and learn from for years to come.
Step 1: Find a Park
With so many choices, the first step is to find a park to visit. A key factor to take into consideration is your family’s interests and what you like to do. There are so many different parks—do you like exploring caves, mountains, canyons, or maybe oceans and rivers? Are you interested in hiking, biking, climbing, boating, photography, or learning about history? There are many sites online that list the national parks and highlight their attractions: the National Park Service website has a FindYourPark feature that allows you to narrow down your search by activity, topic, or location.
Speaking of location, deciding how far you want to travel may impact your park choices. If you will be driving and only have a set number of vacation days, you might want to choose a park closer to home. That will allow you to maximize your time exploring the park and not traveling to and from your destination. If you are not limited by time, you’ve got lots to pick from and may even want to visit several parks in the same region or along your travel route. If you will be flying, then price and availability of tickets and hotel rooms will be a consideration too.
A third factor to think about when choosing a park is the time of year you want to visit. Not all parks are open year-round. For example, some parks in the northern parts of the US are only open from May to September due to cold weather and snow. Also, during the peak summer season prices for many things are usually higher. If you have the flexibility, you might prefer to choose a spring or fall time frame which will also help you avoid the crowds in many popular spots.
Step 2: Plan Ahead
Once you know where you want to go, it’s best to make some plans ahead of time. One of the biggest considerations is booking a place to stay. If you are traveling during peak times, in-park campgrounds and park lodges can book up very quickly. There are usually commercial campgrounds and hotels near the national parks, but they too can fill up during the busy summer travel season. Searching online can help you check out available places, but I also like to read what fellow travelers have enjoyed by following their travel blogs (like this one!). Two other blogs that I really like are Chapter3Travels (Laura writes humorous and informative posts on their travels) and ParksExpert (Riley knows the ins and outs of national parks).
After securing a place to stay, you will want to decide on things to pack. Some basics are food, clothing for different types of weather, good walking shoes, sunscreen, a hat, camera, backpack, and water. Many who visit national parks like to participate in some type of outdoor activity. It’s important to think about necessary gear and supplies if you are going to be hiking, biking, climbing, boating…and of course, camping. If you have supplies at home, it will be much more cost effective than buying or renting things in a pricey resort area.
One thing that can save you money is investing in a national Park Pass. One of the best deals is the annual pass. For $80 it gives you access to as many parks as you can visit in a year. Given that some parks charge between $25-$45 for entrance fees, just visiting 2 or 3 parks makes the cost worthwhile! There are also lifetime passes for seniors, free passes for active duty military and all 4th graders, and access passes for visitors with permanent disabilities. You can purchase passes at the park entrance station or at the online store here.
When planning ahead for your trip, it is helpful to go to the park’s website. There are so many things you can find out: activities to do, maps of the park, special events, parking, and accessibility. Some high-volume parks have shuttles you must take to get around, while others allow you to drive in your own vehicle. In these current times, it is also important to check for any active alerts or closures that might be in effect. As of this writing, many parks are opening back up but at different stages based on the state, so definitely check before you go!
Look at all of the great information you can get from the park guide! (This 8 page guide shown below is from Great Sand Dunes National Park) It’s available online for planning purposes but you can also get a hard copy when you get to the park.
Step 3: Start at the Visitor Center
Good planning ahead of time will allow you to make the most of your time in the park. If you looked at the park’s website, you’ve already got an idea of the park layout and some of the activities you might like to do. When you arrive, I suggest making the Visitor Center your first stop. Be sure to talk to a park ranger — they are your experts and can answer any questions you might have or even make suggestions if you aren’t sure of the best options for your family. The Visitor Center will also have specific maps for hiking or biking trails and can suggest which ones would best match your ability and available time.
Visitor Centers usually have many displays featuring the history and geography of the area. If you are like me, you want to know more about the awesome features of the park you’ve chosen and how they came to be. All of the parks we’ve visited had a 20-30 minute film you could watch to get an overview. Many parks also have special events like ranger talks, guided hikes, and night sky star viewing. Kid-friendly displays and activities, as well as the Junior Ranger program, will keep your little ones happy and entertained.
Visitor Centers also usually house a gift shop area where you can find interesting books about the park, fun souvenirs and toys, t-shirts, snacks and postcards. I love having a parks passport book where I can get the stamp from each park that we visit. There are also collectible coins and tokens, bumper stickers, wall art, and patches you can purchase.
Step 4: Enjoy your Visit!
After checking out the visitor center, now you are ready to head out into the park! Make sure you have your good walking shoes, hat, sunscreen, water, snacks, and a map of the area you want to see. If you have several days in the park, you can spread out your activities so you don’t overdo it. Sometimes we will save the hikes for day 2 so that we can go early and get a jump on the crowds… or the heat. Don’t forget your camera so you can take awesome photos to preserve your memories!
Whether you are visiting monuments, hiking, or just looking out at beautiful scenery it is important to remember to minimize your impact. As we spend time in the outdoors, we must be conscious of the effect our actions can have on plants, animals, and ecosystems. The motto Leave No Trace encourages visitors to respect wildlife, be considerate of others, leave what you find, and dispose of waste properly. Staying on trails and following park signs and regulations will ensure a good visit for your family and for those who come after you.
While there are many tour companies who cater to national park visitors, you can have an excellent vacation and save money by doing the planning yourself. All it takes is a little research and using these simple guidelines. Thinking ahead will ensure you are prepared and ready to have fun. A well-planned visit will not only keep you from stressing out but will help you enjoy the beauty of our national parks and leave with amazing memories.
Nine down...only 53 to go!
The pictures in this post are from some of our visits to the national parks. If you missed the original full article, you can type in a park name on the Search My Site block to easily find it (see sidebar area of my website or toward the very bottom on a mobile device).
I love your tips and your trip! My husband and I saw quite a few before we settled down and we can’t wait until we can get back out there! One thing I would add is the National Forests often surrounding the parks will have lots of things to do and sometimes free camping if you ask the visitor center! Have fun and be safe!
Thanks for the information about the National Forests, Shea. We haven’t visited one yet,but will be sure to remember that. I hope you are able to travel and visit more parks soon!
I love your blogs, they are fun to read and have a wealth of information for RVers and all travelers. Your pictures of all the beautiful places and attractions are great. We do live in a beautiful country.
Thank you for the sweet comments. We are definitely fortunate to have such a beautiful country! We are really enjoying our travels:)
Beautiful pics and great advice !!! We’re soooo jealous!!!! Lol. Have fun, stay safe and keeping on truck’n!!!
Hey Jane! Thanks for following along with us. I was going to ask you what some of your favorite hikes and sights are at Rocky Mountain National Park since I know it’s your favorite. We are hoping to get there soon:)
Lots of great points here and things we’ve definitely found to be true, especially the value of checking out park websites beforehand and always stopping by the visitor’s center first. We have been to a number of these national parks now and every single one of them has been great, and we’ve always found park staff to be so helpful and friendly (which I’m sure must be tough since they probably answer the same question 7 million times a day. 🙂 ) I, too, love the national parks passbook. We’re hoping to collect some more stamps this Summer. Stay well – and thanks for the shout out!
I experienced answering the same questions so many times a day when we volunteered at Lake Mead earlier this year. So true but we enjoyed talking with all the different people from so many places–it’s fun because they are excited to be there! We postponed our Alaska caravan trip until next summer to hopefully give things more time to open back up. Canada is still an unknown for now and some events on our itinerary were already cancelled for this year 🙁 Hope you are able to get out again too –Stay safe!
Very good tips and information. I really enjoy seeing all of the very beautiful pictures too!
Thanks Sandi! Have you been to any national parks? We really love the parks we’ve been to and hope to see more soon.
This is my dream and what I hope I can do when the last kid leaves the nest. Following!
Hi Jen–thanks for stopping by my site. I am glad you enjoyed the post and hope that you get to visit many national parks, but why wait? You can get started with parks close to your home and take the kids with you! Happy travels:)
I remember learning about the National Park Service on the series America: The Story of Us (I think that’s the name of it) on the History Channel and being so grateful that they had the foresight, too. While I am not a National Park kind of traveler, my aim is to become more so because we have a beautiful country. This article is so informative and such a big help for a new-timer like me. I have pinned it. By the way, I am originally from Michigan and always wanted to visit the Sand Dunes (not sure if that’s the same one from your picture). Hopefully, I will be able to one day, soon. Thank you for sharing these excellent tips!
Hi Robyn—love your name:) We had never been national park travelers either, but we discovered that they were so beautiful and had so much to offer. It’s definitely worth the trip! The Great Sand Dunes National Park that we visited is near Alamosa, Colorado, but there is a new one called Indiana Dunes National Park not far from Michigan. It used to be Indiana Dunes National Seashore but was designated as our 61st national park in 2019. We haven’t been to that one yet, but plan to soon!
Great post. We hope to start our adventure in the next few years so saving this and look forward to following more of your travels.
Hi Dawn–thanks for checking out my blog and following along with us. We are having a blast and are happy to share our adventures on the road. Happy Travels!
I’d love to visit some national parks. Thank for this guide!
Hi Jaclyn–thanks for checking out my post. National parks have so much to offer–you’ll definitely love them!
i wish we could stay at more state and national parks but alot of them dont accomadate our size rig boo hoo!!!!! nice pictures!!!
Hi Lori, I feel your pain—we actually don’t camp inside most state and national parks either because our coach is 43 feet long. We have found that there are usually several commercial campgrounds right outside or very near most parks, though. Being near the park still gives us easy access to the parks with our towed car and has worked good for us.
I never knew there were only 62 national parks! For some reason I thought there were many more. You have a great guide!
Hi Cynthia–thanks for checking out my post! I didn’t know how large the whole national park system was. When you include the parks, monuments, historic sites, etc there are over 400! I hope you are able to get out and explore some–we have loved all the ones we’ve visited so far:)
This is a great kickstart guide of things to think about in planning a national park trip!
Hi Samantha–thanks for checking out my post. I hope we’ll all soon be able to get out more and visit our nation’s beautiful parks!
I loved your tips and all your pictures! We hope to one day travel the US in an RV and I know I will turn to you for advice!
Hi Stephanie–thanks for checking out my post and for your nice comments. We are loving our travels in the RV and seeing so much of our beautiful country. I hope you are able to venture out and explore too–I think you will love it!
The National Parks are something we have not tackled yet. We were suppose to go the Smokey Mountains this week, but due to travel restructions in our own state, we cancelled. Instead I have been visiting state parks in my home state and really have been enjoying it. I can’t wait to add the National Parks to my list.
Hi Heather–thanks for checking out my post. I’m sorry your trip to the Smokey Mountains had to be put on hold, but luckily most people can usually find great places to visit close to home as well. State parks are a great place to start. You will be amazed at how much there is to see and do when you do get to a national park. Happy travels!
We love National Parks. I need to get my kids out west though. Our spring trip got canceled so we are looking to go soon.
Hi Leeanne, I hope you are able to get back out there soon–this virus has been tough on everything and everyone. The western national parks are so spectacular!
New to your blog. We are retired and interested in traveling full time for awhile, maybe a year or two. We have visited a few national parks in Utah and Arizona. Yours is the first RVing blog that I have visited. Looking forward to following your blog and Instagram.
Thanks,
Ralph & Kim
Hi Ralph & Kim, Thanks so much for checking out my blog. We have been retired now for 2 years and are loving our full-time RV adventures. I hope you will find my blog helpful in your planning–we have learned so much since we started. Happy travels!
Robin you are doing a great job on these articles.
Thank you Sherri–I appreciate your nice comments and am glad you are following along with us on our travels!
Hi Robin, I loved this! Thank you for the clear and easy-to-follow instructions, great links to more info, and photography that honestly makes me want to visit a national park! 🙂
Thanks for the great feedback, Becky. I was new to the national park scene and was hoping what we have learned would help others:) I love that these parks have preserved so much beauty for everyone to enjoy!
I love National Parks. There are so many great things to see. I have been fortunate enough to have seen over 20+ National Parks and some I have been to more than once. Even the ones I have been to before never get old. There are so many great things to see.
Hi Lori-thanks for checking out my blog. You are so lucky to have visited so many national parks! We are just getting started, but hope to continue seeing all the beauty of these great places.
Bryce Canyon is at the top of our list. We have family out west so we have already started figuring out how to travel and where we’ll end up in the end. I LOVE RVs. We have a stationary one upstate NY that we are constantly finding new reasons to consider a large one! Enjoy your travels and I’m keeping up with you so we can stay updated <3
Hi Wendie–thanks for following along with us on our journeys! We are really loving our RV experience and I highly recommend it…especially in these times. The western US is so amazing. I hope you can get to Bryce Canyon and see the amazing Hoodoos–I had never seen anything like it! Check out my blog post “Utah’s Mighty 5” to see the loop we did there to visit all 5 of the national parks.
Great post! It can be so hard to coordinate trips. I like the idea of the park pass, that’s a great way to save money when visiting parks. I also love that scratch off map! Super cool
Thanks for checking out my blog. The parks pass is definitely a money saver and also motivates us to use it often. I am a list maker and checker-offer (lol), so the scratch off map is a favorite!
I love this post. And your images. Visiting National Parks are a goal of mine, but I overthink and overindulge in information to the point I cripple myself with anxiety, instead of planning a fun trip. I look forward to reading more of your tips and adventures.
Hi Pam–thanks for following along with us on our journeys. It can be overwhelming to plan big trips, so I hope my post will help you get started on your goals. We have really loved seeing national parks and appreciate that you can see the maps and learn about the top sights online before you go. It helps with planning our time and priorities before we are in the heat of the moment…which lowers anxiety for sure!
Very informative post. Thanks for sharing. We are starting to plan on some trips and working on a RV. Had the opportunity to check out MOAB a few years ago and can’t wait to go back. I subscribed to learn about more great places to visit.
Hi Angela–thanks for following along with us on our journeys. We are loving our RV travels and visiting the national parks, among other places. We thought Moab was so beautiful! Please check out my post “Utah’s Mighty 5” to see the other national parks near there if you go back.
I always wanted to travel in a RV and go to the parks. Thank you for the great info and pictures.
Hi Shayne–thanks for checking out my blog. I had never dreamed of doing this, but am so glad we discovered RVing and the national parks. There is so much natural beauty out there to see! I hope you get to venture out soon:)
My husband and I are like you guys, we haven’t visited many parks yet. When we fully retire, that is on our list. We may also become full-time RV’ers(the discussion is ongoing). Thanks for the wonderful ideas! Your photos are beautiful too!
Hi Cathy. It’s a little scary at first, but we have embraced the full-time RV life. We have met so many great people and had a lot of fun adventures. You’ll have to let us know what you decide and maybe we’ll meet up someday on the road!