The United States are really brimming over with National Parks and the most beautiful landscapes you can imagine. From lush greens and mossy trees to the hottest & driest deserts you can imagine, the US National Parks really cover any kind of vegetation, and some of the parks are incredibly huge and you could easily spend a week exploring them. However, let’s start with the essentials: In the US, almost all National Parks can or must be explored by car, as they are so huge, so: a rental car is a must. You always pay the entrance fee per vehicle (with up to 4 people in it). For a single entry you pay between 20-35$, and if you are planning to visit 3 or more National Parks, I totally recommend to buy the “America the Beautiful Annual Pass”, which gives you unlimited access to more than 2,000 National Parks across the US for a whole year. The price of this annual pass is 80$ and is valid for up to 4 people in 1 vehicle J. Creating our personal ranking of our favorite National Parks was definitely one of the hardest decisions ever, but however – here you go <3:
#9 Death Valley
When we arrived at Death Valley, it was already 6 pm, but the heat in mid-August was still unbearable. At Badwater Basin, which is 86 meters below sea level, the temperature outside was 50°C, and it felt like the air was burning our skin. We could only stay outside for some minutes, it was simply too hot. But the place itself is really beautiful, so dry and dead! Places you shouldn’t miss there are Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, the Devil’s Golf Course, and – a 10-minute-drive away – Mesquite Sand Dunes. We arrived there just in time for sunset and were lucky to experience a really magical sunset in between those dunes <3. However, better go there in spring or autumn ;)
#8 Arches National Park
The drive into this National Park was probably one of the most breathtaking rides of the whole trip. The landscapes will simply take your breath away, promise!! When we were there, it was again incredibly hot, but nonetheless we wanted to do that short hike to the famous Delicate Arch. From the right parking lot, it will take you about an hour if you are in good condition, but you have to go uphill (not steep) and again, there is not much shade on the way. So the temperatures and the lack of shade are what make this hike so strenuous, and if you are clever, you better do that hike early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Guess when we did it? Right, at noon. We brought 2 big bottles of water and they were both empty when we arrived at Delicate Arch, so we had to go down without any water, but fortunately that wasn’t such a big problem. The Arch itself is gorgeous, a real natural wonder, and you totally shouldn’t miss it!
#7 Joshua Tree National Park
About a 2-hour-drive from Los Angeles (if you do not stop at the Outlet on the way for hours :D) you will find Joshua Tree National Park, famous and named after its funnily shaped trees. The landscape again is absolutely beautiful, and when we arrived there shortly before sunset, we were almost alone in the park and the colors were even prettier. I would definitely return there to do some of those short hikes, but driving through and stopping for some amazing pictures was also quite nice. Not far from the NP, you will find a sleepy town named Twenty-Nine Palms, where we had dinner afterwards and stayed for the night.
#6 Sequoia National Park
Is that the place with those huge trees? – Yes, that’s it, and we were also really keen on visiting it J. You can reach all the places inside the park with your car, which is on the one hand quite comfortable, but on the other hand after all those hours driving, a little bit of walking wouldn’t have been too bad as well. The mammoth trees are really really big (not high, but rather “big”) and you will feel really tiny in this National Park. Our favorite stops were the famous “tunnel log”, where you can drive your car through a tunnel-shaped tree trunk, and of course you shouldn’t miss General Sherman, the biggest tree in the world.
#5 Zion National Park
Zion NP is one of the few parks where you have to park your car outside – and pay an extra free for the parking lot -.- however, I would never ever skip it, because it is in our opinion the best place to go hiking. Shuttle busses will take you to different hiking trails. We absolutely wanted to get on top of that rock called “Angels Landing”, and as all the other warnings from the National Parks before turned out to be helplessly exaggerated, we didn’t care much about the warning about this “strenuous and dangerous” hike. And most of the hike was really no problem, until the trail turned into a tightrope walk, with a 1000-feet drop to both sides. I’m slightly afraid of heights and I was really glad when we were at the top. The view from up there is amazing, you can see all over the valley and there are lots of chipmunks up there, which kept me from thinking about my way down :D. The hike is doable, if you are aware that it will be dangerous, but bring some good shoes!
#4 Horseshoe Bend
I have seen that place so many times on social media, and it was a fixed point on our schedule from the moment we knew we would go on a USA road trip. About a 3-hour-drive from Grand Canyon, just outside of a city named "Page", you will find a small sign showing you the way to Horseshoe Bend. It is also not included in the annual pass, but the entrance fee was only 10$ per vehicle. There is a big parking lot, and from there you have to walk for about 15 minutes until you will find yourself at the edge from where you can see the Colorado River making a perfect bend. The colors are so intense and beautiful, but there are no handrails, so be careful when taking pictures at the edge. The bend itself is also quite huge, so try to bring a wide-angle camera or lens! And: bring some water, as there is no shadow and it gets incredibly hot during summer months!
#3 Antelope Canyon
This was probably the most nerve-wracking stop on our road trip. We thought about booking the tickets in advance (the annual pass is not valid for this place), but as we didn’t know when exactly we would arrive there, we waited until we knew for sure – and that was about 2 days before our arrival. And seems like that was too late. Tickets online were sold out on almost every website, until we finally found one that had two tickets left. Lucky us, we thought… except that this page was scam and when we arrived there, we were told that we didn’t have real tickets… WHAT? We were devastated; we absolutely wanted to see that place! However, we willfully stayed there until we were told that we could sit there and if people wouldn’t show up for their booked slot, we could have theirs. Along with another family we sat there for almost 4 hours, but then finally someone didn’t show up and we could all get in. And it was really worth all the effort, the canyon is amazing, I have never seen such beautiful colors. BUT: There are hundreds of people inside and the tour guides shoo you through the canyon if you admire the canyon too long :D I think I would have stayed in there for several hours, if they’d let us. Try to book your tickets online via Ken’s Tours, they are reliable!
#2 Grand Canyon
What shall we say about Grand Canyon? No pictures or videos will ever do this place justice, and you won’t believe how huge it is until you go there by yourselves and stand there at the edge of this canyon. However, you don’t have to go by foot to explore the canyon, there are several shuttle busses that take you to different points of interest. My dad has been there almost 30 years ago and he is still telling everyone about that magical sunrise at the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately we spent half of the night before in our car, and we simply couldn’t get out of bed, but what can I say – we regret it! So if you go there, get your ass up early and see that magical sunrise from the edge of Grand Canyon, you can sleep when you are back home :P!
#1 Yosemite National Park
And here it is – our personal number 1!! Yosemite National Park has been on our bucket list since years, and what can we say – it didn’t disappoint, it was even prettier than expected. Parts of the park are still seriously damaged from the huge fires in 2018, but luckily the most beautiful areas of the National Park remained unharmed. We spent 2 days at Yosemite National Park and we still didn’t see everything we wanted to. Driving into the park (one way) alone takes approximately 2 hours, so make sure to fuel up your car before going there ;). For a start I would always go to Glacier’s Point, as it gives you an idea how huge the park is, and from the viewpoint you can see Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, the Yosemite Falls and many other waterfalls, and the famous El Capitan. As the park got really crowded during lunch time, we took a break at Cathedral Beach, a nice sandy beach next to a crystal clear river with a breathtaking view of El Capitan. Bring your bikini, the river is perfect for a cooldown! In the afternoon we made a short hike to Yosemite Falls, the 5th– highest waterfalls in the world. Another spot that you really shouldn’t miss is “Valley View”, one of the prettiest viewpoints of the park. Well, what shall we say, Yosemite – you stole our hearts <3
Other places that are worth a stop:
- Forrest Gump Point: Go for a run on the world famous spot, where Forrest Gump quit his run around the world.
- Monument Valley: one of the most stunning landscapes we have ever seen. Feel like a cowboy in one of those westerns.
- Goosenecks State Park: a nice alternative to the famous Horseshoe Bend. The colours aren’t as intense, but it isn’t crowded at all
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