National Park tips & tricks learned the hard way

OFF THE GRID // July in Glacier National Park is not to be missed. Consider staying outside the park if you have any sort of RV. If you’re in a tent, the world is your oyster - just don’t forget the bear spray.

No matter your method of travel madness, sooner or later you’re going to arrive at The National Parks. It’s hard to say anything about this collection of locations aside from recognizing them as the crown jewels of the North American continent. Most certainly it has been one of the nation’s greatest achievements. After all, it takes a special collection and culture in a group of human beings to decide that nature has a voice.

The National Parks demand your time and attention. They are more or less, free of charge - depending on how you do your accounting. It’s up to you to take full advantage of these magical locations. Across the last 49 states and dozens of NPS parks, National Forests and National Grasslands I hope I’ve made the mistakes you don’t have to. After all that NPS travel, below are the things I try and remember to tell myself each time I plan a new trip. I wouldn’t wait if I were you, and it’s only your mistake if you miss out on the nation’s best.

OFF THE GRID // Airstream departure from Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Living on the Road - preferably in a 25ft or less camper, tent, or hotel (yuk) //

The NPS has more ways than anywhere you’ve ever been to sleep and stay on the cheap. If you’re obsessed as I am and have an entire home on wheels, the #1 one piece of advice I would share is stay under 25 ~ 26 ft. for travel trailers or RV’s of any kind. If you can, the National Park campgrounds are open for business. Consider that 93% of NPS RV-accessible campgrounds can accommodate RVs up to 25 feet in length. Want to roll in the ultimate luxury of a giant motorhome or fifth-wheel? Then you are most likely camping outside the park boundaries.

My second favorite option outside of vehicle-based // travel trailers is the good old tent (it wins in all travel scenarios aside from foul weather). All hail the low budget among us - as you will quickly learn in the National Park System, a tent is a key to freedom comparatively speaking. You will very nearly always have an option or be able to snag a reservation if you’re willing to hoof it into the backcountry or avoid the peak of travel season.

The fly-in method is my very least favorite but I do recognize sometimes you have to get on an airplane and stay in a hotel. My angst here is based on the 1) vastly increased cost 2) distance from the park itself keeping you outside of it far longer than you initially imagine 3) why fly when you can drive? I would take a Geo Metro and tarp on the ground before I visited a National Park in the day and went to anything other than a campground or NPS lodge at night. (have seen many such cases, everyone was having a blast.)

If you do need to make a fly-in visit, try and stick to the parks with lodges owned & semi-operated by the NPS themselves. Recreation.gov has the exhaustive list, as does Xanterra. I would aim for Mt. Rainier, Grand Canyon, or Yellowstone lodges.

Yellowstone National Park // The Grand Prismatic - perhaps, the origin of all life.

Reservations, with loopholes //

Don’t fear the dreaded entry pass, although the current administration gutted pieces of the National Park Service, you can reutilize your tax dollars and sneak some research yourself to ensure the golden ticket. If you peruse recreation.gov, you’ll notice a few of the major national parks (Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, etc.) have entry pass requirements. I’m here to demystify that for you, and in relation to Glacier National Park, can hopefully alleviate all the fears you have for entry.

Although these parks have daily entry pass requirements that are only available from Recreation.gov lottery winnings, my advice to you is singular: go there, ask questions later. You will get in. The secret hack is this - enter before 6am or after 4pm and you don’t need a pass. There’s that old saying “the early bird get’s the worm”, well, in this case, get your ass out of the bed and get into the park and you can skip the entry lotto altogether.

Petrified Forest National Park // Talk about off the grid, good luck finding a cell phone signal anywhere within 100 miles. BYOS (bring your own starlink)

Expect no cell phone reception //

Even though it’s often better than you would hope, much of the land in and around the NPS is still living in the year 2000. Although your phone may display a bar of LTE, this is what I like to call “fake reception”. The spam calls will come through, not much else. Take the time in advance to download your offline maps and any content you need to enjoy the parks (not much). All you really need inside is your camera, and God knows what sort of no data fun you’ll get into without the constant pulse of notifications that mean absolutely nothing. Surprise inside.

Grab the two-way radios //

Re: no cell reception. Because a lack of communication is fun until it’s not, and the National Parks are best experienced with friends. A good set of two-way radios will go a long way to keeping you sane while you traverse the best the country has to offer. I use the Rocky Talkies, bonus points if you go Eastbound and down and opt for the handheld attachment. I once had a delightful discussion with a fellow traveller on the radio as I looked for my friend heading into the main lodge at Yellowstone National Park. “This channel is private and locked!” I exclaimed “like hell it is” they squaked back. Never know who you will meet on the airwaves.

Tent camping the banks of the Missouri // Retrace the footsteps of Lewis & Clark by visiting the Oacoma flats boondocking area just south of Interstate 90 in South Dakota. The Travel Library holds the exact coordinates.

You were never here / leave no trace //

Remember folks, don’t come to the National Parks to get your 007 on. You will wind up getting shamed - deservedly so - on the Tourons of Yellowstone account. The easiest way to look at this is simple - you are a guest. This is not your house. It belong to bears and science and shit that will kill you. If you detract from this very simple yet somehow impossible for some antidote, you deserve what’s coming. Our parks are a gift and you need to operate with the reality and understanding that this ain’t Disney World, and there’s a good chance no one is coming to save you. If you’re ready to tread lightly and follow some basic human principles, the world is your oyster, stay as long as you please.

Shoulder seasons are your friend //

This one is very simple: Don’t visit National Parks at peak season. But when will we go?!?!? I’m here to avoid all that confusion and tell you the shoulder seasons are your best friend. Do your homework or click around this website a bit and determine which places are a month early or late - this is the sweet spot. Badlands in October? Outer Banks in March? See where I’m going here? If you can get over a minority of closed establishments and welcome the lower prices, this is the open secret of the National Parks. After all, who wants to go to a human zoo? Impossible to rag on peak season without sharing this: some parks really are fully loaded the entire time they are open. I’m looking at Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Teton, Arches, etc. In these cases, it’s usually because weather prevents the parks from being safely open any longer than the window each year they are. DO NOT go to Utah in the burning summer. Don’t get lost in the Teton’s too early in a June snowstorm. Research, homework, safety. Follow that, it’s hard to go wrong.

Find that paper map, even when they run low //

There may be no single piece of paper more important inside a National Park than the official NPS map you get when you enter. Easy to toss into the back seat or ignore, this is your ticket to bedlam. Seems like these have been more and more scarce in the last two years specifically, so beg, borrow, or steal your way towards paper (I’m kidding, you can borrow and return).

Find that Park Ranger //

These days, perhaps mythical - like the hunger games, you gotta imagine the ones left are some talented folks. More than anything on your trip, these individuals can have a profound impact on your experience. Seek them out, ask for advice. What’s good this week? Where would you go if you had 1 day, 3 days, 5? Most of the time, the rangers are there to experience the park themselves and have worked their way through a number of the parks best to-do’s. The best way to look at it is, you already paid Uncle Sam for them to be here - it’s on you if you forgo the free knowledge. One of the best websites for NPS advice you can find is run by a former Park Ranger: Dirt in My Shoes. Check out their podcast on the way there and you’ll enjoy hearing Ash (the former ranger) and John (her husband and geologist) dig into all the science and questions you’ll have for each park.

Off the Grid // Sunrise over the Idaho National Forest in a place among the pines.

Rise with the Sun //

I know you didn’t come all this way to sleep in? The best of the National Parks can be found in the first and last two hours of the day. The best pictures, no lines, premium wildlife viewing opportunities - you see where I’m going here? If you get up early enough, you’ll be one of the first inside the oasis, and will never - I repeat, never be disappointed by forgoing that extra hour of sleep. You’re most likely only here once (on earth). How many times in your life will you come back here? You can sleep when you’re dead, just don’t waste your precious time - it’s particularly hard to borrow and impossible to get back.