Summer 2025 National Park visits

I have been to almost all the parks that you list. I don’t have plans to visit any this summer as I am in New England now.

Badlands and Petrified Forest are going to be hot in August but I expect you are planning to catch them on your way down? I’d probably put off Petrified Forest until winter since you’ll be sort of in the area!

Rocky Mountain NP has timed entries but I expect you know that. Not sure about MV but you’ll check on that.

Near MV is an interesting National Monument called Hovenweep. It’s much lower than MV so also hot in summer.

I’ve been to about half on your list. You are the winner with all the hard-to-get-to ones in Alaska!

I have been to all listed except White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mt, Death Valley and Petrified Forest. Oh, and not the ones in Alaska. So many fun family memories at many of them. Pitching a tent on snow, and pressing our wine and other beverages into the snowbank at Crater lake to the other extreme, tent camping in the National Forest outside of Arches in between rocks still radiating heat at 2 am.

Hmm, maybe I didn’t word this right. I was hoping to hear which parks you have been to and which ones you are planning to visit this summer. Not which ones on my list you have been to.

My list hasn’t changed since your previous thread. But I did revisit Yosemite for 4 nights in October.

No plans this year, but I really hope to get to Glacier soon.

Pam, I haven’t been to the ones in Alaska that are really hard to get to! Lake Clark, Kobuk and Gates Of The Arctic. I don’t think I will either.

My list is nowhere near as long as yours, but this summer I should be adding Glacier NP and Teddy Roosevelt NP to my list (a list I guess I should make). Next year I am hoping to add some of Alaska - and I REALLY want to get to some of the big ones in CA soon.
Yellowstone
Grand Canyon
Zion
Arches
Bryce Canyon
Carlsbad
Capitol Reef
Petrified Forest
Grand Tetons
Hot Springs NP
Mesa Verde
and maybe a couple I have forgotten about.

TTM, if you find yourself in the Southern CA. Desert, Joshua Tree is just an hour from our place.

I am visiting these 3 in September:

White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mts

Here’s my already visited list, 35 so far:

Kenai Fjords
Olympic*
Grand Canyon*
Saguaro
Mt. Rainier*
Wind Cave*
Badlands*
Haleakala
Hawaii Volcanoes
Crater Lake*
Bryce Canyon*
Capitol Reef*
Arches*
Zion*
Canyonlands*
Death Valley
Redwood*
Lassen Volcanic
Yosemite
Sequoia
Kings Canyon
Joshua Tree
Mammoth Cave*
Everglades
Acadia*
Hot Springs
Shenandoah*
Rocky Mountain*
Great Sand Dunes*
Mesa Verde*
Yellowstone*
Grand Tetons*
Glacier*
Gateway Arch*
Isle Royale*

Hmm, at some point need to visit the closest one, Voyageurs.

*These are the ones visited on a road trip from home, no flying involved.

@Tammy, I love Badlands! And if you go there, definitely stop at Wall Drug Store for sheer kitschy value. :-)

I'm not sure if I'll make it to any this year, although the odds are better if I visit my brother in Salt Lake. These are ones I have been to.

Yellowstone
Zion
Arches
Bryce Canyon
Rocky Mountain
Yosemite
Dry Tortugas
Everglades
Mammoth Cave
Acadia
Glacier
Teddy Roosevelt
Great Smoky Mts.
Badlands

Acadia
Arches
Badland (we've been there many times, but we last spend the night on Tuesday)
Bryce
Denali
Everglades
Gateway Arch
Glacier
Glacier Bay (passed by on a ship)
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Great Smoky Mountain
Hawaii Volcanoes
Hot Springs (our newest one - 2021)
Mesa Verde
Rocky Mountain
Theodore Rosevelt
Voyageurs (closet one to where we live)
Wind Caves (our first in 1986)
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion

My Badlands tip is to rent a cabin at Cedar Pass and take in the nightly stargazing program at the amphitheater.

@mnannie-Unfortunately, Cedar Pass cabins which are the only lodging in the Badlands, were not available for our dates. We always prefer to stay in the park, but we will be staying in Wall this time.

Tammy, our response to your list hasn't changed much since your last post except that we've added all the Hawaii national parks and historical sites. This year, we are revisiting Theodore Roosevelt and North Cascades. Just returned from revisit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We are not sure what will be happening with the national parks this summer so we are choosing to revisit some favorite state parks--Itasca State Park, Custer State Park and Deception Pass State Park.

Over the years, we have found some lovely National Forest Campgrounds and State Parks. Thinking of Susan Creek in Oregon and Custer in South Dakota. Might be fun to hear about people's non National Park faves.

Over the years, we have found some lovely National Forest Campgrounds and State Parks. Thinking of Susan Creek in Oregon and Custer in South Dakota. Might be fun to hear about people's non National Park faves.

Custer State Park is a favorite of ours, too. There is so much to see in the SW corner of South Dakota. Itasca might have been the first state park I visited when I was very young. My favorite state parks are any of them on the North Shore of Minnesota. I also have a couple favorite MN campgrounds that we go to every year, but they are already too popular, so I won't name them;)

mnannie, I love the state parks along the North Shore, too. I regularly take the grandkids up to Gooseberry Falls. Sadly, I have not yet been to Voyager National park, which puts me to shame. I definitely need to rectify that this year.

I can highly recommend Voyageurs. We've done a fair amount of canoeing/camping there.

IMO, few natural places beat the state parks along Minnesota's Lake Superior shore.

Long time since I have posted. I've gotten big into wildlife photography and Europe keeps getting pushed back.

Have been to:
Acadia
Congaree (SC)
Rainier
Olympic
Grand Canyon (my favorite)
Zion
Bryce

That is sadly short. Have been to lots of national seashores and monuments. Also a huge fan of our refuge system. Like a national park but without the crowds.

In mid-June we are going to Yellowstone and Tetons for about 12 days.
In September I'm doing Sagauro.

I have a weeklong photo trip already reserved for Lake Clark in July 2026. Planning on doing daytrips to Brooks after as it is a bucket list for me. I apply every year for the cabin and have never even come close to getting picked. Will try to do Denali as well. Still in planning stages.

We are considering Yosemite for next year but I'm concerned it is too close to my Alaska trip and I have my heart set on waterfall season there so will likely postpone.

Have been to
Acadia
Arches
Badlands
Biscayne
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Bryce
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Carlsbad
Congaree
Crater Lake
Cuyahoga
Death Valley
Denali
Dry Tortugas
Everglades
Glacier
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Great Basin
Great Sand Dunes
Smoky Mountains
Haleakala
Hawai'i Volcanoes
Indiana Dunes
Isle Royale
Joshua Tree
Kings Canyon
Lassen
Mesa Verde
Mount Ranier
North Cascades
Olympic
Petrified Forest
Pinnacles
Redwood
Rocky Mountain
Sequoia
Shenandoah
Theodore Roosevelt
Voyageurs
White Sands
Wind Cave
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion

Last year we had planned to visit Kenai Fjords and Katmai, but my husband got sick. Hoping that we can go back there and maybe visit a couple more of the parks in Alaska.

I’ve been to
Denali
Arches
Capital Reef
Bryce Canyon
Zion NP
Crater Lake
Mt Ranier
Grand canyon

Acadia NP
Glacier Bay
St. Louis Arch
Smokey Mt NP
Badlands NP
Mt Rushmore
Yosemite NP

Tammy, noted. You’d have to be home before I could swing by, though. LOLOL.

We are on this trip and are heading to Great Sand Dunes today. Anyone been? How hard to climb up those dunes??

Tammy, we did that park at least 18 years ago but I don’t remember it being difficult BUT!, it’s deceptive in that you think oh it’s not that far and it is. And be sure to carry a lot of water. It gets very hot before you know it.

Tammy, We did the Dune "hike". Loved it, quite an experience. It, however, was exhausting, and hot. Bring lots of water. The sand in the shoes was annoying. Finally, I took my shoes off and walked in my socks. We were very glad we did it.

We loved that park, the views were incredible.

BTW--A couple weeks ago, we did our trip to Washington State. We drove thru North Cascades. Its always spectacular. There were no campsites available in the park, we ended up camping at a National Forest Campground on the west side of the park. We also went into Mt Baker National Forest and up to Artist's point. A must do! On the way home from Washington, we camped 2 nights at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, north unit. A very pretty, lest visited park, though the south campground consistently fills, the north unit campground, while supposedly it never fills, looked to be fairly full.

We went to Great Sand Dunes National Park a few years ago with my two sons and one son’s girlfriend (now wife). I still remember the girlfriend a bit freaked out climbing up the dunes yelling to the rest of us “My family would never do something like this!!”

My mother always said she was the only one with any sense!