3 Steps to Prepare for National Parks Visit

There is so much to take in when you visit a national park. But before you can enjoy all a park has to offer, you need to get there first! The getting there part is a whole adventure of its own.

Preparing for your national parks visit takes time, effort, money, and strategizing. Many parks now require entrance reservations, making spontaneous trips less feasible. Preparing for a big national park trip will make your time at the park a lot more enjoyable! Learn the basics of Park Prep by following these three steps!

Step 1: Pick Your Park

First things first, you need to know what park you're going to! There are 63 national parks that are part of 423 national park sites, which include national monuments, historic trails, memorials, and more. Search for your next adventure at the National Park Foundation or the National Park Service pages.

A little while ago, a friend of mine was planning a trip and needed help deciding which park to visit. Her list of options was Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Glacier, and Yellowstone. There's a lot to say about all of these options as each is a great choice. They are also not your only choice! These are park overviews I wrote for a friend that I'll share with you, too!

Think of the following as an elevator pitch for each of these parks. If you are in the same boat as my friend and don't know which to choose, here's a little overview of each of these parks!

Yosemite

This is my favorite park of all time. One of the best parts is the versatility of activities. There are super easy yet still beautiful scenic hikes. Even some of the more moderate to difficult hikes are super doable. It has hiking for every level. Yosemite gets an A+ for accessibility.

You can also purchase bike rentals! FYI- you can do bike rentals at most parks, but Yosemite is the best one because it has paved routes in the valley. Other parks allow biking on roads, but I think the bike paths are great and less stressful.

If you go, I suggest doing lower to upper Yosemite falls. It’s a decent elevation climb and so worth it! It’s a long day, but you have the option to turn back whenever. If you just want to go to lower falls, you still have a great view. There are so many options throughout the park in addition to these falls. You can spend a week just in Yosemite Valley and still have more to explore in the area!

Yosemite is a highly trafficked park and reservations go quickly. Get your passes ahead of time so you can enter the park with ease.

Grand Tetons

One of the coolest places in the world, hands down. It is breathtaking. Wildlife roams everywhere! I saw a few moose, a marmot, and a fox while hiking! A big attraction for me, along with the Tetons themselves, are the rangers and volunteers who create Grand Teton park's culture.

It’s one of the smaller parks, so you get to know the rangers around your campsite and it’s super easy to chill with others around campfires. Overall a super wholesome park.

Some Teton Tips

• I camped at Jenny Lake this year and it was the best. This spot is the closest to all the good hikes

• Even if you don’t camp at Jenny Lake, you can park around there and explore. Take the boat shuttle across the lake, for sure!

• Stop at all the lakes! They have beaches, bars, and restaurants

• Grand Tetons is right by Jackson hole which is a SUPER cute town. If you want to super glamp, get a spot in Jackson hole. It’s expensive but such a cool little spot

• Jackson hole also has an airport. The flights are stupid expensive and limited, but it's easy to access to the town and park

• Hikes here range from easy to extreme. Plan out your days to get the most out of each hike

Glacier

The word "awesome" has been diluted to a go-to adjective that I feel takes away from the original meaning. When I describe parks using the word, I mean a sense of total awe and amazement. Glacier National Park is Awesome, capital A.

The park itself is one million acres of land that stretches from Montana into Canada. It's actually a national park in both countries and is the world's first "international peace park." A land bridge representing peace between the nations. It's a large part of both nations' history, but its true gems exceed the confines of boundaries. It's called Glacier national park for a reason. The entire park is made of glaciers that have shaped the land and will continue to do so long after we're gone.

Glacier Notes

• Going-to-the-Sun Road is the famous drive. A good portion was closed when I went SO, instead of driving it, I parked near the road and walked a few miles. This was a unique experience because I got to take my time walking rather than getting just a glimpse while driving. Whenever you get the chance, pull over, walk a ways, spend extra time in the present

• The west side will have the most open camping and is just a fun time because there are little “towns” in this area! Have a beer or huckleberry mule (the best mule of my life)

• All of the lakes are crystal clear. They’re called fruity pebbles lakes because all of the rocks are colorful and you can see all of them. Nuts !!!!

• The west side also has easier hikes with views of the mountains. The east side is actually IN the mountains. It’s probably 10-15 degrees colder than on the west side. I suggest camping west side and driving to the east side to go on a hike. The trails are more intense, so find one that best suits your ability. I hiked a super moderate trail called St. Mary falls and it was a lovely time that wasn't too strenuous

• Carry bear spray

• Definitely get a campsite in the park here. A lot of trails and everything can only be accessed if you have a reservation. Glacier is super strict about letting people in, so be prepared

Yellowstone

Adding this one just because it’s dope. Lots of driving! You probably won’t hike that much unless you're backcountry hiking, so if you’re in it for the fun, drinking, exploring, and sightseeing parts of nature, go to Yellowstone. If you do want to hike, there is a huge range of wilderness backpacking. Yellowstone is 2.2 million acres of land. It is ginormous. This means that you drive around a lot to get from one area to another. This is a fantastic park for motorcycle trips, too!

Step 2: National Park Reservations

Reservations need to be done SIX MONTHS in advance (at least). Keep checking for availability for when you do want to go. Make a rec.gov account in order to reserve a spot. Hint: you'll use rec.gov for a lot of your permit needs such as national forest campsites, hiking trails, river permits, event tickets, and more.

The type of campsite you choose will depend on your comfort level. Most parks have lodges, cabins, trailer camp spots, and tent spots. If you want to glamp (no shame in the game), it’s best to do a lodge or cabin. Note that these go fast and are fairly more pricey than camp spots, which can also be pricey depending on the park. For example, Teton camp tenting at Jenny lake is $45 a night, Yellowstone was I believe came out to $130 for a few nights or something wild for a tent spot.

I highly suggest staying in-park. The lines to drive into parks in the morning can be atrociously long. I've stayed both inside and outside of park borders. Both have their own perks. I always like to maximize the time I have in the park. If you feel the same, make a reservation and camp inside the park. If you're ballin' on a budget, utilize the national forest campgrounds or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land outside the park.

Seasonal Tips

Every park has different busy seasons. The earlier or later you go, the less crowded they will be. But, the parks are also "out of season," so you'll get a different experience than if you go during busy seasons (i.e. colder weather, different safety precautions, hibernation seasons).

There's a chance you'll travel during bear season! This is absolutely fine! National parks are great about bear awareness. I’ve traveled during the season when bears just had their cubs and are coming out of hibernation. I feel absolutely safe when this happens because rangers explain what to do if you spot a bear. I’ve had a few bear encounters and you just have to be smart about it. Ask me more about this if you have questions!

Step 3: Getting to the Park

When you go to national parks, you’re going to want a car or some sort of vehicle. Don't be intimidated if that's not an option: it's totally doable to do parks without a vehicle, it will just make your trip a bit more logistically complicated.

A lot of parks require driving even to get to trailheads. If not to trailheads, then getting into the park always takes a few hours via road, so account for that. A lot of parks have shuttles if you want to fly to the closest airport. This will work but will make life inconvenient when actually in the park.

If you have access to these options I suggest the following:

1. Driving: it takes a lot of gas and time so this does depend on the amount of time you have, but road-tripping to the parks is always a great experience. I’ll give more notes on that later down.

2. Renting a car once you fly into the airport. Rent if you're limited on time and don't want to road trip.

Rental Car Tip: AAA

Car rental agencies can give people under 26 a discount if the renter buys AAA. It’s about $100 and definitely worth it because renting a car is so expensive if you’re under 26.

Other General Notes

Some other things to know about National Park prep.

• You can never have enough water!!!!

• You may want to bring bear spray if you're allowed to (Yosemite doesn't allow it, Yellowstone encourages it. Depends on location)

• Keep your gas tank above half a tank

• Bring your camera

• Pack for rain, even if it's not in the forecast

• Get a national parks annual pass

That covers the basics of prepping for parks! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out on the contact page. You can also contact each park for per-park questions and information! In my experience, rangers are great at giving details over the phone. You may have to wait on hold for quite some time. Thanks for reading this and I hope it helps as you plan for your big national park trip!