A Guide to US National Parks

Use our realistic Guide to get the most from your next trip to a National Park.

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Most people saw the beauty of National Parks in movies, TV series, books, and games. It is only natural to wish to see it in person. High time to start planning a trip a National Park.

However, inexperienced travelers and travel gurus alike face many challenges.

• Many national parks are in very remote areas.
• The number of visitors to national parks continues to increase.
• Parks introduce requirements to limit overcrowding.

This Guide aims to help you make the most from a National Park trip.

Get Interagency Pass

Most National Parks charge entrance fees. The same is true for National Monuments and other federal lands. Some parks charge per vehicle fees. Others grant per person admission.

What is a Pass?

You can pay the fees directly to each park. Or you could get a pass. Most people call it America the Beautiful, Interagency, or, simply, annual pass.

What does the Pass Cover?

The pass covers admission to the sights that charge fees. It sounds straightforward. But there are a few things to consider.

• Per vehicle fees: the pass admits you and your passengers in a personal vehicle.
• Per person fees: the pass covers up to four adults.
• Other fees: the pass does not cover most activity fees, like tours. Still some sights reduce fees if you have a pass.

As one name suggests, this pass works across several government agencies. You can visit sights by National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and several other agencies.

How to Use the Pass?

The pass allows two pass holders. At least one holder needs to sign the pass. You would need to show both your pass and your ID at every park.

There are a few simple rules to follow with the pass:

• You cannot transfer an Interagency pass to anyone but its holders.
• Do not lose your pass. The parks will not replace it. And you would have to buy a new one or pay the entrance fees out of pocket.

Types of Passes & How to Get Them?

There are several types of passes available. Pass duration is the first difference. There are annual and lifetime passes.

Continue with this section of our Guide to learn how you can get most from a National Park trip. Take a look at their cost and requirements below.

Annual Passes

These passes are valid for one year from the date of purchase.

• America the Beautiful: open to everyone; costs $80
• Senior: open to US citizens and permanent residents over the age of 62; $20
• Volunteer: open to volunteers with 250+ hours of service; free
• Military: open to current members of the Military; free
• 4th Grader: open to current 4th grade students; free
• Individual Park Passes: open to everyone; pricing varies but below $80.

Most people get America the Beautiful annual pass. This pass provides a truly extraordinary value. Just see for yourself.

Most popular parks, like Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Zion, increased their admission fees over the years. You need to pay $35 to visit each of these parks.

But America the Beautiful annual pass still costs the same amount as back in 2004. During times of record inflation and volatility, this pass is a rare example of an unbeatable value preservation.

Individual park passes grant admission to a particular park. America the Beautiful pass offers a better value in most cases. An individual park pass makes sense only if you live close and only plan on visiting one park.

There is a well kept secret. You can convert an individual park pass into America the Beautiful annual pass. But you need to do it within 7 days of buying an individual park pass. Any difference in price is due at conversion.

Lifetime Passes

These passes are free and valid for the lifetime of the pass holder.

• Senior: open to US citizens and permanent residents over the age of 62
• Access: open to persons with permanent medical disability
• Military: open to veterans

Each of these passes requires prospective holders to provide a proof of eligibility. You would have to do it both at purchase and when entering sights.

How to Get Most Value?

If you visit this blog often, you probably noticed that we continuously recommend getting an annual pass. There is a reason for it. You can break even on your pass investment almost every time.

You can get a positive return on America the Beautiful annual pass by visiting three National Parks in a year. Or you could visit the same park three times. Just do it during different seasons.

In a way, the pass encourages you to venture further and visit additional sights. For example, you could add Sunset Crater Volcano and Petrified Forest to your Grand Canyon itinerary.

You could get value even if you live far from National Parks or do not take several trips a year. The pass grants admission to other federal lands. These sights are a lot closer to your home than you think.

Mount Evans Scenic Byway is a great example. It is not a national park or monument. Forest Service manages this scenic byway. But your annual pass will cover admission to Mount Evans.

Other Ways

Using calendar to your advantage is another way to boost the value of the pass. The pass expires a year from purchase, on the last day of the month of purchase. If you buy a pass on the 1st of the month, you would get a 13th month free.

It is best to purchase the pass at the first park on your trip. This way you would not have to worry about getting the pass in the mail. And you could save on processing and shipping fees.

Secure Reservations

The beauty of National Parks attracts lots of visitors each year. Almost 300 million visits took place to the National Park System sites in the year of 2021 alone.

It would have been less of a problem if all sights received equal share of visitors. But it is not the case. The system’s top 25 parks account for over 50% of total visits.

Most park’s amenities date back to the Great Depression. They cannot sustain overcrowding. Nobody likes waiting for a parking spot or hiking in a crowd.

Continue with this section of our Guide to learn how you can get most from a National Park trip.

Advance Entry

As a result, most national parks introduced measures to protect the environment.

• Some parks, like Rocky Mountain and Arches, started entry reservations. You can enter the park only at that time.
• Grand Canyon restricted access to certain park areas during the busy season.
• Zion introduced a lottery for hiking the Angels Landing trail.

You have to get advance reservations well ahead of your trip. If you do not have a reservation, you cannot enter the park. This is true even if you have an Interagency pass.

These reservations cost about $2. You can make them at recreation.gov website. Navigate to the reservation page from nps.gov or via a search bar on recreation.gov.

Activity

Many parks offer ranger-led activities, such as cave tours or guided hikes. These parks usually require advance reservations. Even if you can buy a ticket on site, a reservation is worth it. You could avoid waiting for a spot to open up.

For example, you need to get a reservation to visit the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde or tour Jewel Cave.

These activities usually run during the summer. And each tour is open to just a handful of people. It is unsurprising that these activities often sell out. The prices depend on the park, activity, and time of the year.

Utilize Official Resources

The nps.gov website has a vast collection of information. In fact, each national park or monument has its own space.

This space has information on operating hours and entrance requirements. You can find maps and pointers on activities. The latter two sections are very useful when planning your trip.

Example: Arches National Park Resources

Let’s take a look at Arches National Park as an example.

• First, you could navigate to Arches space on the NPS website. There you could learn about operating hours and road closures.
• Next, you could proceed to the Maps section. Select Brochure Map in the drop-down menu.

This is a great way to learn about the park’s major sights. You could see their relation to entrance stations, highways, and towns.

This map view is identical to the printed map in the park. You can save the planet by not taking the printout when visiting the park.

Once you decide what sights to visit, you could learn about different activities.

• Hikers could get detailed descriptions of the trails. They include distance, elevation, and difficulty.
• Photographers could get pointers on best times of the day to visit the sights.
• Rock climbers could get an overview of rules and regulations.

These online resources are excellent for large National Parks. But they are less useful for smaller sights.

In this case stop by the visitor center. Rangers are happy to share their perspectives with you. You could use their insight to make the most from the visit.

Research Lodging

National Parks are usually in remote areas of the country. They are far from the major cities.

There are not many places to stay near most parks. You would pay a premium for the location. To make things worse, the best places often sell out a year in advance.

You need to research and book places to stay well ahead of your trip. This is true for any national park. But this suggestion is a must for a great trip for the most famous parks.

Continue with our Guide to get the most out from National Park trip and lodging.

Places to Stay Inside the Park

Some national parks have historic lodges within the park boundaries. Yellowstone, Sequoia, and Badlands are examples of such parks.

These lodges are quite expensive. You can only book them on their own websites. They often offer stringent prepayment and cancelation terms.

On the bright side, you can stay in a historic building, right in the national park. It would mean shorter travel times. And you could avoid crowds at major sights.

You could also camp at most National Parks. This is usually the cheapest way to stay in the park.

Places to Stay Outside the Park

You could be better off securing places to stay outside of the park boundaries. This is true if you do not mid driving in and out of the park.

Most towns close to the national parks have some tourist infrastructure. For example, you could search for places to stay in Flagstaff, AZ when visiting Grand Canyon. Or you could stay in Moab, UT when visiting Arches and Canyonlands.

Check out our Guides on Getting Best Value from Hotels and Renting a Car Abroad for more insights.

Takeaways: Getting The Most from A National Parks Trip

National Parks are amazing places to visit. Parks attract more and more visitors. It could be challenging to organize a perfect getaway in a National Park. But do not let the crowds stop you from taking the trip.

Prepare in advance to get the most from a national park trip.

• Decide if you can visit one or several National Parks a few times a year.
• If you can, buy an Annual Pass. Get a free or discounted pass if eligible.
• Get reservations to enter some parks or participate in tours.
• Study the nps.gov website and its resources.
• Research transport and places to stay. Balance time, location, and cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Safe realist travels!