The Ultimate National Park Road Trip We Plan On Following

Travel
Double O Arch is one of the seven arches that visible from trails in Devils Garden. NPS/Neal Herbert

For the summer of 2020 we plan on traveling across the United States, and hitting 47 public lands managed by the National Park Service. One of the great things about living the the United States is that there is such a variety of landscapes, many of which are protected and managed by the National Park Service. In searching for trips and itineraries that have been already established, we came across an excellent blog run by Dr. Randy Olsen. Dr. Olsen is a data scientist that enjoys optimizing road trips all over the US, and did an excellent job in the creation of a National Park map. The motivation for the blog was inspired by the recent centennial of the National Park Service.

A scenic drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road has been a popular activity since the early 1930s . NPS/Jacob W. Frank

The Road Trip

The trip that Dr. Olsen designed runs a total of 14,498 miles of road throughout the country, and takes a minimum of 2 months to complete. The route includes 47 national parks. Alaska, Hawaii and other territories are not included in the itinerary (because we are in a car). The route itself is one of, if not the shortest routes to travel if you are visiting all of the parks in the continental US.

A short walk or free shuttle bus ride from the main parking areas at Grand Canyon Visitor Center, Mather Point provides a spectacular view of Grand Canyon. 2010 improvements included a new accessible path to the overlook, an auto-free approach, and an updated guardrail system. The improvements provide a safer, more enjoyable experience to visitors of all abilities. NPS/M.Quinn

The route designed starts in Arizona and heads east, encircling the continental US. This allows someone to jump on at any location and follow along. Below is a list of all the stops along the route, beginning in Arizona.

The National Parks Road Trip designed by Dr. Olsen
  1. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
  2. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
  3. Saguaro National Park, Arizona
  4. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
  5. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
  6. Big Bend National Park, Texas
  7. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
  8. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
  9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
  10. Everglades National Park, Florida
  11. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
  12. Biscayne National Park, Florida
  13. Congaree National Park, South Carolina
  14. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
  15. Acadia National Park, Maine
  16. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
  17. Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
  18. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
  19. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
  20. Badlands National Park, South Dakota
  21. Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
  22. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
  23. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado
  24. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
  25. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
  26. Canyonlands National Park, Utah
  27. Arches National Park, Utah
  28. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
  29. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
  30. Zion National Park, Utah
  31. Great Basin National Park, Nevada
  32. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
  33. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
  34. Glacier National Park, Montana
  35. North Cascades National Park, Washington
  36. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
  37. Olympic National Park, Washington
  38. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
  39. Redwood National and State Parks, California
  40. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
  41. Yosemite National Park, California
  42. Kings Canyon National Park, California
  43. Sequoia National Park, California
  44. Pinnacles National Park, California
  45. Channel Islands National Park, California
  46. Joshua Tree National Park, California
  47. Death Valley National Park, California

Because we live in Maine, we are going to start there. We still have not decided which direction we will travel initially, and are open to suggestions. We are excited to make this trip, and to catalog our experiences on this site!