National parks

US National Parks are expensive. You could always go during fee-free days but then you have to deal with crowds. The next best thing? National parks that are always free. Yup. They exist.

In a press release last month, the Department of the Interior announced some changes to the annual national park pass system, officially known as the America the Beautiful pass. The beneficial changes are few and mostly just bring the pass system into the 21st century, but the majority are distressing at best and potentially harmful at worst. Read on to see what’s changing, including the good, the bad, and the ugly (literally).

Dreaming of a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park or Estes Park, Colorado? Why wouldn’t you be?! They’re beautiful destinations in every season and for adventurers who love to meaner in the mountains, this part of Colorado is a great place to do it. We’ve spent some time in the park ourselves, but we also called on a few experts to share what they think are the best hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), all so you can hit trails with confidence knowing you experienced the best the park has to offer.

Tired of long longs and packed trailheads? Check out our list of the least crowded US national parks and take the road less traveled.

We recently visited all 5 Utah national parks (known as the Mighty 5) in one road trip with my parents (!). While Josh and I have been to all five before, including on road trips, backpacking trips, bikepacking trips, you name it, but this was the first time my parents had ever been to any of them. So they flew over, we picked them up at Salt Lake City International Airport, and we hit the road for a 10-day road trip for the ages. Want to plan your own Utah national parks road trip? Here’s our route and recommendations.

Wondering what the mass national park layoffs and cuts mean for you? We describe what’s happening and what to expect at parks this summer.

There are a total of 5 fee free national park days in 2023, which means you can get into any of the more than 400 parks, monuments and conservations areas, many of which usually charge a pretty penny, for free (or almost free)! And we highly recommend you take advantage of these days if you’re traveling on a budget, hoping to save some dough on your next adventurous outing, or you’re looking for any old excuse to visit a national park near you (or not so near you). Which you totally should, ’cause they’re pretty dang great! So if you’re ready to enjoy some seriously epic landscapes, pack the camera and start planning! And remember that you’ll still need to make reservations ahead of time at some national parks (we’ll tell you which ones).

We’ve long been enamored with the idea of Death Valley National Park in California. I mean, we’re pretty into the dark and macabre, so how could we not want to visit a place with landmarks named things like Badwater, Devil’s Golf Course, and Funeral Peak?! But rest assured, even if those places inspire more reticence than excitement, Death Valley National Park is still absolutely worth a visit. So here’s some info to get you started.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, split between Tennesee and North Carolina, is the country’s most visited national park. Like, by a lot. A lot, a lot. This park, which is free to visit, btw, saw over 12 million visitors last year. Twelve! Million! The next most-visited park only saw a little over three! So yeah, it’s safe to say that the Smokies are overrun with tourists and visitors, especially if you’re on the south side of the park around the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fortunately, there’s a trick to avoiding the massive amounts of people (and traffic) rambling through the area: head to the quiet side of the Smokies, the northern edge where there are still picturesque hiking trails and adventures galore, just a lot fewer people. Wanna know what things to do on the peaceful side of the Smokies? Here’s what we recommend.

Heading to Acadia National Park for the first time? Not sure where to start or what to expect? We feel you. We were wondering many of the same things not long ago. But since we were road tripping around the northeast, we figured we owed it to ourselves to visit the “Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast.” So we did! And here’s what we learned.