National Parks in America: The Ultimate Cross-Country Journey
There are so many spectacular National Parks in The United States of America that we could barely decide which ones to visit when crossing from Virginia to Oregon. Naturally, a northern route makes sense, but we wanted to see the best parks this country has to offer, and that is definitely not a straight path.
Twenty-three out of fifty states have designated National Parks from Denali Alaska to the Everglades of Florida and everything in between. You can hike the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah, watch the sunrise over the Badlands, see the glow of a lava lake in Hawaii, or explore Mammoth's caves in Kentucky.
We tried to see as many National Parks in America as possible, but unfortunately, we could not see them all. However, we did visit 17 of them, which is quite a feat!
We started our journey in the great state of Virginia at Shenandoah National Park. This gorgeous park was in our back yard, and we had visited many times over the years, but we decided this would be the perfect place to start our cross-country adventure. We had the opportunity to take in the expansive Blue Ridge Mountains one last time before moving to the West Coast. Shenandoah National Park includes a 101-mile portion of the Appalachian Trail, making this a perfect place to take a hike and enjoy the scenery, rich vegetation, and a diverse array of wildlife.
The Blue Ridge Mountains offer some of the most beautiful sights in all of Virginia. The highlights in this park include Skyline Drive, which contains 75 overlooks perfect for snapping a photo and hiking the Fox Hollow Trail or the Overall Run Falls trail. If you are staying in the area, you may consider a side trip to Charlottesville and three past presidents' estates. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, James Madison's Montpelier, and James Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland.
After soaking up the sights of Shenandoah, we set our sights on Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. This cave system is the largest in the world, so we knew we had to see it for ourselves. This underground system has over 400 miles of caves. Which is full of amazing rock formations, stalagmites, stalactites, and underground rivers. We were awed by the Frozen Niagara Tour, which was about an hour long and allowed us to go 50 feet into the cave. We recommend camping in the Mammoth Cave Campground when in the area; it is a short distance from the cave entrance and the visitor center.
Our next stop after several days of camping was in St. Louis, Missouri. This city was the perfect place to rest up in a nice clean hotel, get a hot meal and check out the smallest National Park in America, Gateway Arch National Park. Given the National Park designation in 2018, it is a new addition to the park trail. This arch is situated next to the Mississippi River and is an iconic landmark when you think of St. Louis. We recommend taking the tram ride to the top of the gateway arch to see the Mississippi and the city's views. Other nearby attractions include the Old Cathedral and the Old Courthouse.
Nicely rested, we headed to the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It is quite a haul from St. Louis to the Badlands, so we stayed the night in Sioux Falls. That night we experience the most intense weather we have ever seen in our lives; the sky turned an eerie green, and it began to rain sideways, and extreme winds made me think we may have been close to a tornado. Thankfully, we made it through the night and booked it to the Badlands.
Finally, at our destination, we wasted no time checking out the colorful, dry landscape that makes up the Badlands. This is a fascinating place to explore. We opted for the Badlands Loop Road drive through the park. What a great way to see the sights; this road is a 30-mile road that runs through the park's most beautiful parts. This drive gives you plenty of opportunities to stop at one of the many overlook points or take a brief hike. We enjoyed the Notch Trail, a popular short adventure into the canyon, but there are many ways to explore this unique landscape.
We decided to camp in Custer State Park after our Badlands adventure; this is a beautiful park to stay when in the area; we like it for the close proximity to Mt. Rushmore (a must-see attraction when driving through South Dakota) and the Badlands.
Driving straight from Custer State Park to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is about a nine-hour drive, so we decided not to stay overnight anywhere along the way and arrived in West Yellowstone that evening. West Yellowstone is a cute little town that borders Yellowstone National Park; it is a good place to book a hotel, have dinner and do some souvenir shopping. This is the perfect spot to rest before entering the park. Yellowstone National Park is my favorite place in all the United States; this vast landscape is home to so many natural treasures and really deserves a weeklong trip to see everything.
We decided that we would camp and stay for three days. You will want to make sure to see as many geyser basins, hot springs, and animals as you possibly can.
Yellowstone National Park is home to sprawling forest, ferocious wildlife, bubbling geysers, and meandering rivers. This park offers everything from hiking, camping, fishing, and exploring that anyone could ever ask for. Best known for the geothermic activity, this park is home to some of the craziest sights around.
There is so much to do in this vast park, but some of the highlights are Grand Prism Spring, an immense geyser basin, Old Faithful, a geyser that erupts hourly and shoots water up to 180 feet high, Tower Fall, a 132-foot waterfall and Hayden Valley where you can spot plenty of Bison, bears, and eagles.
A trip to Yellowstone should always include a few days in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming as well, just 30 miles away. Grand Teton is an outdoor paradise. This picturesque park has something for everyone from leisurely boat rides, miles of hiking trails and plenty of fishing opportunities. Our favorite spot in the park is Jenny Lake, known to be a photographer's dream. This area makes for the perfect base when visiting the park. Check out Grand Teton Mountain along the Paintbrush Canyon-Cascade Loop, which offers incredible views of the mountain, and don't miss Schwabacher Landing for the most scenic views of the Teton Mountain range reflecting in the Snake River.
After taking in all the beauty of Grand Teton National Park, we stayed in Jackson Hole for the night before heading to Arches and Canyonlands in Utah. Jackson Hole is an adorable town with great food, entertainments and shopping, an absolute must when visiting Grand Teton.
We spent one fantastic night in Jackson Hole and got up bright and early for another 8-hour drive, this time to Moab, where we would stay while visiting Arches and Canyonland National Parks in Utah. Moab is another great town and is the perfect place to stay while visiting these two parks. Arches and Canyonland National Parks sit just 30 minutes apart. In our opinion, one should not be seen without the other. Both parks offer some of the most incredible scenery in all of Utah.
Arches is known to have over 2,000 natural stone arches, pinnacles, and balanced rock formations. The main attractions in Arches are Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch and The Devil's Garden trail, to name a few. Just down the road, Canyonland, the largest park in Utah, offers stunning viewpoints and plenty of hiking opportunities. Don't miss Mesa Arch, The Needles, and The Grand Viewpoint Overlook Trail when visiting Canyonland. We made a point to return to Arches after dark for some of the best stargazing in the United States.
Moab to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah is just a 4-hour drive. We stayed at the Lodge at Bryce Canyon, which was very convenient. There are not many accommodations outside the park, but the Lodge offered a pretty decent dinner and a lovely gift shop. Bryce Canyon is famous for housing the most extensive collection of spire-like sandstone rock formations called Hoodoos in the world. This park is quite remarkable and otherworldly, making for an adventure you will never forget.
We enjoyed a leisurely drive from lookout point to lookout point as well as immersed ourselves in a scenic hike. Our recommendations include hiking the Fairyland Loop Trail to get an up-close look at the majestic hoodoos. Take in a sunset at Sunset Point to see some of the most famous hoodoos like Thor's Hammer and the Silent City and gaze upon the Aquarius Plateau's Pink Cliffs to see wonders like Boat Mesa and Sinking Ship formation.
Zion National Park in Utah is just a 1 ½ hour drive from Bryce Canyon. We decided to camp in South Campground in the park. This is the perfect spot to stay when visiting due to the close proximity to the main attractions of Zion. Zion National Park is the most visited in Utah, and it is no wonder! This spectacular park is filled with fantastic scenery and tons of adventure.
The Narrows is one of the most unique and exciting hikes available. This path leads you through narrow rock formations and into the Virgin River; if you choose this path, be ready to get wet! If you don't want to get wet, we recommend the Angels Landing trail. This 5-mile hike is a strenuous path not for everyone, but the views at the end make it worthwhile. If you are looking for a leisurely hike, the Canyon Overlook trail is beautiful and only a one-mile round trip.
Fully satisfied that we saw the best sights in Utah, we made our way down to The Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. We stayed at Grand Canyon Village in the South Rim of the park. This made the whole adventure to the Grand Canyon so easy and convenient. This massive expanse of ridges, rock formations and gorges have captivated travelers for years.
The park offers several options for viewing the natural wonder and four entry points. The South-Rim entrance is the classic Grand Canyon view and where we recommend you start. The best ways to enjoy this park are the Lookouts at Hopi Point, Grandview Point or Mather Point. All of these spots offer panoramic views of the awe-inspiring landscape. If you want to get, another perspective take a hike down Bright Angel Trail or the Rim Trail.
Our favorite thing to do while visiting Grand Canyon is to book a Colorado River Rafting adventure that will whisk you along the base of the canyon. The rafting trip offered the most beautiful perspective of the canyon and was so much fun!
After the Grand Canyon, we decided that it would be fun to stop in Las Vegas for a night before heading to Death Valley National Park. Las Vegas was a convenient stop and a fun departure from the small towns and camping we had been doing; our first time in Sin City, we enjoyed a little pampering, fine dining and took in a show. From Las Vegas, we drove to Death Valley National Park. At first, this felt like we were stopping because we would be passing it anyway and why not? But we were pleased to discover how amazing a place it is.
Death Valley National Park is full of shifting sand dunes, rainbow-colored mountains, barren salt flats, and a truly remarkable landscape. We made sure to drive Badwater Basin so we could brag that we have stood at the lowest point in the United States. Other sights you won't want to miss Devil's Gold Course, a spiky salt flat, Ubehebe Crater, a volcanic crater, Artist Palette, a colorful hill along Artist drive and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
After a hot day in Death Valley, we relaxed in the cool waters of our hotel pool and rested up for our drive to Three Rivers, California, where we would be staying a few days when visiting Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. We started our tour at Sequoia National Park; this is a magnificent display of giant trees; they are just incredible and certainly worth taking the time to visit this stunning park. The number one thing you must do while visiting Sequoia is to see General Sherman, the largest tree in the world, standing 275 feet tall.
Other sites worth seeing while in this magical park are the Giant Forest which is made up of more than 8,000 giant Sequoia trees, Crystal Cave, an incredible display of colorful minerals and get a photo at Tunnel Log, a tree large enough to drive your car through.
Our Next stop we enjoyed a visit to Kings Canyon National Park, where we saw Grizzly Waterfall and Roaring River Waterfalls. This park is home to the second-largest tree in the world, General Grant. We even had time for a wonderful hike on the Zumwalt Meadow Trail; this hike took us through soaring granite cliffs and along the river, a perfect walk to see some of the best scenery in the park.
We departed Three Rivers and headed to Yosemite National Park. We stayed in the park at the Lowers Pines Campground. If this one is not available, Yosemite is home to 12 other campsites, all of which are great options. Yosemite National Park is home to the highest waterfall in North America. Yosemite Falls is one of the main attractions in this remarkable park, but indeed not the only sight worth seeing. We were surrounded by untamed wilderness and sky-high granite walls.
We were sure to take in the scenery from Tunnel View or Glacier Point Outlook. We also enjoyed a hike along the Half Dome Cables Route, which made for an unforgettable adventure, the next day, we climbed the granite stairs of Mist Trail and witnessed the giant Sequoia Trees in Mariposa Grove. Our entire stay in Yosemite was magnificent, certainly a must-see destination for any traveler.
After our great California National Park adventure, we headed to San Francisco to stay with my brother for a few days. We had fun exploring the city and catching up with family.
The last leg of our trip was upon us, and we decided that a stop in Redwood National Park was necessary before we left California and entered Oregon. This park is a massive web of state parks that covers 100's of miles of the northern coast of California. That being said, we could not see as much of it as we would have liked but what we did see was quite wonderful.
We took a walk-through Humboldt Redwoods State Park down Founders Grove trail, where we experienced the grandeur of Founders tree. We recommend staying at Humboldt Redwoods State Park Campground and to take a drive down the Avenue of the Giants; this is a great route with lots of stops along the way.
Our last stop before heading to our new home in Portland was Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. We stayed at the Crater Lake Lodge, which was wonderful and allowed for the best views possible. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,949 feet deep and filled with the most pristine cobalt blue waters. This is a must-see attraction when visiting the west coast.
A trip to this fantastic park has plenty to offer, from the Rim Trail drive, a 30-mile route that circles the entire lake and offers plenty of places to stop, take in the views and find a nice trail to hike. We took the boat tour to Wizard Island, which was amazing to look down into the clear waters of this incredible lake. The next day we decided to take a swim in the cool, calm waters at the bottom of Cleetwood Cove Trail.
What an adventure we had! We were lucky enough to see some of the most remarkable sights in the United States. This was a trip of a lifetime; I highly recommend visiting one or all of the parks along our trail. I am looking forward to exploring the coasts, forests, and cities of Oregon next.
