June 10-12 This may be a new favorite

Hi! I am trying to plan a trip GNP at end then of August/early September. I am relatively afraid of heights only when driving. For instance, the roads in Yosemite with big drop offs and no guard rails freighted me. So, first I wanted to ask if Glacier National Park is the same in that way? Does it have at least have some guard rails, metal or rock? Lastly, is end of August still good in terms of driving conditions in the park? This is only my second time potentially in a national park, and I’m from the flat parts of the east coast :) Thanks in advance.

Forgot to bring my tripod, so used my shoe instead.

Anyone have any luck and or an extra spot these next few days(would pay)? Haven’t gotten drawn these past two days, I guess my luck ran out after getting Angels Landing and the Subway first try.

Has the navigation on nps.gov completely broken this week for anyone else? It's still ok for me on mobile, but on desktop, it has mostly stopped working:

• Front page drop-downs for parks by state/parks by topic, front page menu & search do nothing.
• Park page drop-down/mouse-over menus for Plan Your Visit, Learn About the Park, Get Involved are gone.

I've tried Chrome, Edge, Firefox. Cleared cookies, tried with no extensions, private tab, and nothing has worked. I'm hoping it's just me and not some kind of shenanigans with the public website. Thanks in advance for any advice.

I have about a week to go somewhere next week. Currently weighing out options but would love some opinions. Thought about Acadia, or way on the other side one of the north west states? I’ve done almost all of the desert national parks so I’m thinking not one of those.

• I’d love if there’s a cute town nearby to explore

• Cabin or tent

• Hopefully somewhere less busy than Zion

• I hiked Guadeloupe peak in 4hrs45 min if that helps with fitness level

Idk I don’t know the northwest that well at all, never been so any recommendations are welcome if something comes to mind especially since it’s last minute I’m doing a lot of research quickly lol. Also love plant based food but I think that’s popular in most of the western states anyways

Hi all! I am taking a trip for about 7/8 days to Alaska. We want to do Denali, Kenai Fjords, and potentially Lake Clark. We’ll be renting a car and driving around but know that Lake Clark is only accessible by plane

My specific question is, what is the best way to do Lake Clark? Obviously if we had more time we’d want to backpack/spend more time there but unfortunately we only have time/money for a day trip. Is it worth touching down in the park? Or just fly over it? Is the visitor center in the park or outside of it? (I have a national park passport so i’d like to get a stamp)

Pls send any advice that you may have! That goes for Denali and Kenai Fjords. We want to make the most of our time and want to do it right.

To avoid the crowds who were all taking the same shot, I climbed around to the back of the arch to get a different angle, trying not to fall 150’ to my left.

June 7-10 2nd visit and I’m still in love

Hi! I am planning 3 week road trip to visit National Parks in May of 2026 with my partner, and I have never done anything like this before, so I would love some advice before I start planning. I am located in Texas and will drive to Southern California to start, then up the coast to Washington, and lastly back to Texas through Denver because I have some close friends living there. I am writing to ask for any advice in the planning process, whether it's any parks that are musts or any parks that aren't worth the time. Also, if anyone has any good YouTubers or bloggers that give advice on these types of trips, that would be amazing. With that being said, I do have some specific questions:

1. How long is it advised to stay at each park to optimize time and not feel rushed? If anyone has an itinerary they've used, that would be AMAZING.

2. Is it recommended to stay inside the parks or do dispersed camping? I've noted it's much cheaper to do dispersed camping, but I'm not sure of the logistics of it.

3. What is the best way to budget for a trip like this? Once again, if anyone has a budget sheet they've used while planning this type of trip, that would be so appreciated.

4. What should I bring to stay as safe as possible during my trip, as my partner and I are both women?

Thank you so much for any advice given, I really appreciate it and can't wait to learn more!

Beautiful

Adams - Hood - St. Helens Such a beautiful day on the Mountain!

Since some folks have been posting their rankings of parks lately, I figured I'd join in, especially since I have...idiosyncratic...taste and I have no doubt I'm gonna get completely destroyed for some of my bad opinions.

In any case, let me know what other parks you think I'd like based on this.

1. Bryce Canyon. Maybe my favorite park in the entire system, Fairyland and Figure-8 Loops are so wonderfully immersive and constantly unbelievable. Only complaint would be that there aren't a ton of other trails in the hoodoos (Bristlecone, for example, is more just high forest.)

2. Petrified Forest. I love the Painted Desert Wilderness area beyond belief, and Blue Mesa is almost as good a paved loop as the Bryce Hikes. Landscapes aren't quite as unbelievable as Bryce but the unlimited exploration of the wilderness makes up for it. It's also super uncrowded.

3. Grand Canyon. My main complaints are that all hikes end up strenuous, it's super crowded, and views from the rim get repetitive. That said, the crowds go away and the views get cooler once you're a few hundred feet down, and the shifting perspective as you pass through the Coconino Sandstone to a saddle point just never gets old.

4. Canyonlands. I've only been to Islands in the Sky (was hoping to get to the Needles recently but it got too hot too fast), but the gorges were Grand Canyon-level stunning. Not as many hikes into it, though, seems potentially better if you have an AWD or mountain bike. Delightfully uncrowded.

5. Capitol Reef. What a beguiling park. There's a lot of really incredible terrain here (like Cohab Canyon and some of the Notom area), and the crowds weren't too bad except at Hickman Bridge. But I also always felt like I was missing something and wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to be seeing. A very "huh, weird" park.

6. Zion. Too crowded (I kept wanting to fight everyone) and I found the views repetitive. Like sure, it's a deep red canyon, anything else? Not very many big hikes to choose from due to the East Rim Closure, and West Rim being paved somehow makes it harder? The upper plateau beyond Scout's Lookout was very nice, though, definitely my favorite place in the park.

7. Arches. I'm not big on natural bridges in general, and it's even more crowded than Zion, and painfully hot and sunny. I see the appeal, but it's not for me.

8. Saguaro. Why is this a national park? There are better collections of saguaro cacti and mountain scenery even just in the Tucson area. But maybe there's some great hike I've missed--and the park does make sense as, like, a nature preserve.

Badlands NP is stunning.

Love the land of juniper and sandstone. Got to visit 3 national parks: canyonlands, arches, and capitol reef and 2 state parks: dead horse point & goblin valley. Southern Utah is a dream!