My Epic Trip to Visit All 424 National Parks in the USA

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I’m a well-traveled person, but even with a lot of travel in my life, I’ve been having CRAZY wanderlust throughout spring 2017, and have fully realized that there is no reason to have a long list of trips on my bucket list if I’m just going to create a list and only take 4-6 trips per year…so last weekend I decided to drive across the entire continent (multiple times) and visit all 421 National Parks in the United States National Park System.

I’ve visited a few of the National Parks, and I am lucky enough to live between two of them (Everglades National Park and Biscayne Bay National Park), but there are so many more to explore. The United States has 63 National Parks, and 423 total parks in the park system; so if I were to just visit 4-5 a year for the rest of my life, I’d never come close to seeing them all. Instead, I’m going to get in the car and drive to each of them, one by one, until I’ve seen all of them. I won’t have a schedule, I won’t try to plan in advance, and I won’t have a set number of days or weeks in each park. I’ll just see how it goes, as it happens.

Normally when I travel, I exhaustively research everything in advance; from things to do to restaurants, to historic sites, to people to meet, to day trips, etc.; but since I decided to do this major road trip just last weekend, and since time is ticking, I won’t have that luxury. I always research my trips and hikes in advance because I want to ensure that I see everything there is to see, and do everything there is to do; I never want to regret missing out on something memorable…but this trip will be different. Without having a schedule, and without ever having to “go home”, I’ll have unlimited time in each park and each city to do everything that I want to do.

I have obviously had very little time to plan this trip, so what I did to give myself a basic plan, was to start with the most efficient route to visit all of the National Parks, and then simply throw in a few (200+) cities along the way so that I can visit all of my friends across the country in the process.

Here is the general list of locations that I plan to visit; I will be filling in other locations along the way. There will be countless places for me to visit in between each of the National Parks on the below list such as ghost towns, National Monuments, State Parks, cities, locations from the Atlas Obscura book, restaurants, events, roadside attractions, and many, many more!

My Quest to Visit All 424 National Parks in the United States:

 

What are the National Park Service Designations?

There are 14 different designations in the National Park System. Parks are found in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The National Park Service holds each of the 424 units in equal standing and fund each park according to their individual needs regardless of their designation.

The numerous designations within the National Park System sometime confuse visitors. The names are created in the Congressional legislation authorizing the sites or by the president, who proclaims “national monuments” under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Many names are descriptive—lakeshores, seashores, battlefields—but others cannot be neatly categorized because of the diversity of resources within them. In 1970, Congress elaborated on the 1916 National Park Service Organic Act, saying all units of the system have equal legal standing in a national system.

National Park

These are generally large natural places having a wide variety of attributes, at times including significant historic assets. Hunting, mining and consumptive activities are not authorized.

National Monument

The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorized the President to declare by public proclamation landmarks, structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest situated on lands owned or controlled by the government to be national monuments.

National Preserve

National preserves are areas having characteristics associated with national parks, but in which Congress has permitted continued public hunting, trapping, oil/gas exploration and extraction. Many existing national preserves, without sport hunting, would qualify for national park designation.

National Historic Site

Usually, a national historic site contains a single historical feature that was directly associated with its subject. Derived from the Historic Sites Act of 1935, a number of historic sites were established by secretaries of the Interior, but most have been authorized by acts of Congress.

National Historical Park

This designation generally applies to historic parks that extend beyond single properties or buildings.

National Memorial

A national memorial is commemorative of a historic person or episode; it need not occupy a site historically connected with its subject.

National Battlefield

This general title includes national battlefield, national battlefield park, national battlefield site, and national military park. In 1958, an NPS committee recommended national battlefield as the single title for all such park lands.

National Cemetery

There are presently 14 national cemeteries in the National Park System, all of which are administered in conjunction with an associated unit and are not accounted for separately.

National Recreation Area

Twelve NRAs in the system are centered on large reservoirs and emphasize water-based recreation. Five other NRAs are located near major population centers. Such urban parks combine scarce open spaces with the preservation of significant historic resources and important natural areas in locations that can provide outdoor recreation for large numbers of people.

National Seashore

Ten national seashores have been established on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts; some are developed, and some are relatively primitive. Hunting is allowed at many of these sites.

National Lakeshore

National lakeshores, all on the Great Lakes, closely parallel the seashores in character and use.

National River

There are several variations to this category: national river and recreation area, national scenic river, wild river, etc. The first was authorized in 1964 and others were established following passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.

National Parkway

The title parkway refers to a roadway and the parkland paralleling the roadway. All were intended for scenic motoring along a protected corridor and often connect cultural sites.

National Trail

National scenic trails and national historic trails are the titles given to these linear parklands (over 3,600 miles) authorized under the National Trails System Act of 1968.

Affiliated Areas

In an Act of August 18, 1970, the National Park System was defined in law as, “any area of land and water now or hereafter administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service for park, monument, historic, parkway, recreational or other purposes.”The Affiliated Areas comprise a variety of locations in the United States and Canada that preserve significant properties outside the National Park System. Some of these have been recognized by Acts of Congress, others have been designated national historic sites by the Secretary of the Interior under the authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935. All draw on technical or financial aid from the National Park Service.

Other Designations

Some units of the National Park System bear unique titles or combinations of titles, like the White House and Prince William Forest Park.

Type	Number
National Park	63
National Monument	85
National Preserve	20
National Historical Park	58
National Historic Site	76
International Historic Site	1
National Battlefield Park	4
National Military Park	9
National Battlefield	11
National Battlefield Site	1
National Memorial	31
National Recreation Area	18
National Seashore	10
National Lakeshore	3
National River	4
National Wild and Scenic Rivers and Riverways	10
National Reserve	2
National Parkway	4
National Trail	3
Other	11

 

If I put as much research into this adventure as I normally would, I’d never get on the road. Instead, I am just going to pack my car this week and go. But…is my car the best option?

I’ve spent the last week struggling with a major decision regarding such a long road trip; should I invest $80k-$125k on an RV or a van, or should I drive my SUV and stay in hotels/Airbnb’s/tent camp? I’ve been going back and forth in my head so much that I’ve been losing sleep over the options! I have never even been in an RV, so the thought of driving, maintaining, and LIVING in one is daunting to me. I’ve completed many road trips across the United States in my own vehicle, and am very comfortable with that mode of travel, but the idea of being able to have everything that I need with me at all times, and the convenience of being able to sleep anywhere in an RV or a Mercedes Sprinter camper van is very appealing.

Research is one of my strong points, so in the last week I’ve pretty much become a leading expert on RVs; (something I never thought I’d hear myself say). Through the process of learning about every option that exists, ranging from roof tents, to travel trailers, to pick-up truck campers, to vans, to RVs; I narrowed down all of the options to what I considered to be the best compromise of utility and affordability: The Winnebago Travato 59K and the Winnebago Revel. The Winnebago Revel 4×4 has everything that I need: a place to sleep, a bathroom, a place to cook, bicycle racks, storage, and windows to enjoy the view along the way. It’s also small enough to be agile and easy to drive, and most importantly, I can park it anywhere. The only problem? It doesn’t exist yet.

The Winnebago Travato exists currently, but after looking at them I decided that they are far too large for just one person, they have the worst clearance of any vehicle I’ve ever seen, and parking them In cities is not easy. After I did all of the research on them for this adventure, my dad ended up buying one!

I still cannot make up my mind about what’s the best mode of transportation for me. The pressure to get on the road makes me think that I should just pack up my SUV and go now; but my mind keeps telling me that living in a Mercedes Sprinter camper van would be an amazing adventure; and a totally different experience. There is a huge community of van owners that help each other with issues, give each other tips and ideas, and meet up on their adventures. That last part is really appealing to me…as I thrive on meeting new people, and on meeting like-minded people. I think that going on a 2+ year-long road trip alone in my SUV would pale in comparison to one where I have a community of people who I can meet up with and interact with along the way. Time is ticking…I’ll make up my mind within the next week and just go with what feels best I guess!

You can follow along on this adventure via my Instagram and by following me on Facebook.

If you know of anyone that I should meet along the way, or if you would like to join me on this adventure, please contact me and let me know! I’d love the company, and I’d love to meet new friends.