Some of the most inspiring travel experiences were always our family trips to the US National Parks. We started taking our kids to America’s natural treasures when they were five and seven years old … And it has been an incredible journey! Over the years, we’ve had our fair share of unplanned mishaps, but this never stopped us from seeking these adventures time and again. We are on a quest to visit all US National Parks and experience each park’s unique beauty. (To see where we’ve been so far, scroll down to our checklist. There will be many more US National Park articles coming in the near future.)
US National Park Adventures
US National Park Checklist
Visited: Posts Available / Visited: Posts Coming Soon / Not Visited Yet
ALASKA
Denali
Gates of the Artic
Glacier Bay
Katmai
Kenai Fiords
Kobuk Valley
Lake Clark
Wrangell-St. Elias
AMERICAN SAMOA
American Samoa
ARIZONA
Grand Canyon
Petrified Forest
Saguaro
ARKANSAS
Hot Springs
CALIFORNIA
Channel Islands
Death Valley
Joshua Tree
Kings Canyon
Lassen Volcanic
Pinnacles
Redwood
Sequoia
Yosemite
COLORADO
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Great Sand Dunes
Mesa Verde
Rocky Mountain
FLORIDA
Biscayne
Dry Tortugas
Everglades
HAWAII
Haleakala
Hawai’i Volcanoes
KENTUCKY
Mammoth Cave
INDIANA
Indiana Dunes
MAINE
Acadia
MICHIGAN
Isle Royale
MINNESOTA
Voyageurs
MISSOURI
Gateway Arch
MONTANA
Glacier
NEVADA
Great Basin
NEW MEXICO
Carlsbad Caverns
White Sands
NORTH DAKOTA
Theodore Roosevelt
OHIO
Cuyahoga Valley
OREGON
Crater Lake
SOUTH CAROLINA
Congaree
SOUTH DAKOTA
Badlands
Wind Cave
TENNESSEE
Great Smoky Mountains
TEXAS
Big Bend
Guadalupe Mountains
UTAH
Arches
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Zion
VIRGIN ISLANDS
Virgin Islands
VIRGINIA
Shenandoah
WASHINGTON
Mount Rainier
North Cascades
Olympic
WEST VIRGINIA
New River Gorge
Quick Tips
Before heading to a US National Park, always check the official website for that park. This way you can get the latest information about closures in the area and other important alerts. To find the park(s) you are planning to visit, go to the US National Park Service Website. Be sure to prepare well for the specific environment and time of year!
Another good idea is to bring snacks, food, and water to the park. In other words, don’t plan to buy all of that once you get there. This will save you time, and you can spend your day exploring rather than looking where to eat. We learned this a long time ago, when we visited Yellowstone. It took us so long to drive to the nearest food stop for lunch, and the bison blocking the road didn’t exactly speed things up. Bringing food and drink with us has saved us not only a lot of time, but also quite a bit of money. As you can imagine, buying food in a US National Park isn’t cheap. Not to mention, it isn’t always available.
US National Parks with Kids
If you are traveling with kids or teens, we highly recommend they participate in the Junior Ranger Program. To get started, stop by any visitor center and request a junior ranger booklet. After that, complete the requirements for the correct age group. These requirements may, or may not include participation in a ranger-led program. When you are all done, show the booklet to a ranger at any of the visitor centers in the park; then take the Junior Ranger Pledge and receive the park’s unique badge. The Junior Ranger Program is a great way to educate and inspire love of the great outdoors early on. Have fun building a collection of fun badges and lifelong memories!
