Visiting All The U.S. National Parks
Last year the National Park Service celebrated 100 years of managing the numerous national parks in the United States. There are 59 protected areas in the U.S. and you can visit them all with a little bit of planning.
What You Will Have To Visit By Plane
There are 12 national parks that are located in Hawaii, Alaska and U.S. territories, so they will most likely have to be visited by flying on a plane. However, there are still 47 national parks that can be visited by taking the ultimate road trip throughout the country.
Here’s how to visit all of the national parks in the continental United States by going on the ultimate road trip.
National Parks By State
Arizona: Grand Canyon National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Saguaro National Park
Arkansas: Hot Springs National Park
California: Channel Islands National Park, Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Pinnacles National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park
Colorado: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Mesa Verde National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park
Florida: Biscayne National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, Everglades National Park
Kentucky: Mammoth Cave National Park
Maine: Acadia National Park
Michigan: Isle Royale National Park
Minnesota: Voyageurs National Park
Montana: Glacier National Park
Nevada: Great Basin National Park
New Mexico: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
North Dakota: Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Ohio: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Oregon: Crater Lake National Park
South Carolina: Congaree National Park
South Dakota: Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park
Tennessee: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Texas: Big Bend National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Utah: Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Zion National Park
Virginia: Shenandoah National Park
Washington: Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park
Wyoming: Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park
Making The Trip
You can start your trip in virtually any state. You will need to drive to the closest park and then work your way around in a similar fashion. For example, if you are in Colorado, it makes sense to visit all of the parks in that state then moving onto the next one rather than driving back and forth to different parts of the country. If you find that there are just too many national parks to visit at once, concentrate on certain parts of the country. For instance, you could visit all of the national parks in the south and then move on to the central part of the United States at a different time. No matter how you plan on making the trip, just make sure that you reserve enough time so that you can fit everything into your itinerary.
We have a great selection of National Park 2021 tours that range from 7 days to 3 weeks. Why not let someone else do the driving and planning so that you can sit back and relax.
Discover more of America’s extraordinary destinations in our advisors’ Bucket List Worthy Destinations guide — capturing the travel experiences that make America a world-class travel destination.
