I visited 8 National Parks in one year; October 2023 through October 2024 on the National Park Pass. It’s such a fun adventure to go see the world and learn history up close and personal. Making plans and anticipating what will happen is what makes life so interesting. I’ve always loved having something to look forward to and National Park planning makes me happy and makes me feel so alive.
It all started in October 2023. When training for Javelina Jundred went badly, and I couldn’t race, I decided to keep my flight to Arizona and go see National Parks that were a day trip from Phoenix. My friend Mark came along for the adventure, and what an adventure it was.
During that trip we visited 4 National Parks with the pass.
1.) Grand Canyon – my second time and saw more of the park this time. My goal for next year is a Rim to Rim hike.
2.) Mesa Verde was magical, and cliff dwellings are other worldly.
3.) Petrified Forest – driving and hiking its trails was like being in a painting. It’s in the Painted Desert so it makes sense, but so much more than I ever thought.
4.) Saguaro – this park was my home park for three years but seeing it again after being away is like coming home. The thousands of Saguaros all lined up in the distance is a sight to see.
Then in May I traveled solo to Glacier National Park, and back to Glacier again in July using the pass. The first time the park was a side trip and I realized that I had more I wanted to see and do, so the July trip was all about the park. Read my blog post about the trip here.
In August I visited Harpers Ferry and Shenandoah National Park.
That is 7 National Parks in one year, which is a pretty good use of the pass.
I live next to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and go there at least four times a month to hike and run but there is no entrance fee so I’m not going to count it.
I visited two National Historic Sites in Arkansas: Little Rock Central High School and Fort Smith, but didn’t use the pass there either. I also traveled to Banff National Park but it’s in Canada and doesn’t count for this pass.
My National Park obsession began when I watched Ken Burns documentary in 2009, but I had been to parks in the western US before watching it. I lived near Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado for 10 years and next to Saguaro National Park in Arizona for 3 years.
Smoky Mountains National Park is now my home park, just 30 minutes away. I love to trail run and hike the high peaks of this park. The history is pretty fascinating too. I’ve read several books about it, my favorite being Strangers in High Places. Highly recommend if you want to learn about the Great Smoky Mountains and all the people and animals that have lived in the the park: Eastern Cherokee, back-country settlers, lumbermen, moonshiners, bears and boars.
Missed Opportunities this year:
I would’ve visited more but plans got derailed or I just didn’t have time. It would’ve been so cool to say I visited 11 in one year, but alas, just 8.
In March I was in Little Rock, Arkansas for a race. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas was a 2 hour drive that I could’ve driven to after my race but my anxiety kicked in and I just wanted to get home.
Next weekend, I was signed up for a 50K race in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park, but when I injured my ankle and it wasn’t healing fast enough, training went down the drain so I deferred until next year. I think the race willbe so fun plus, my lodging is in the park. I can’t wait to run this in October 2025.
Hurricane Helene canceled my plan to visit the last state in the US so I can say I’ve been to them all: North Dakota. When the hurricane hit Eastern Tennessee, I was too nervous to leave town, not know what was going to happen with flooding. I opted on Friday, Sept 27 to cancel all plans. I couldn’t leave my dogs in a kennel and just leave when there were so many unknowns. I really wanted to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park but will defer to next year; and finish my 50 States list. I tried to find flights for the following weekends but all the flights were too expensive, and I didn’t want to visit North Dakota in winter. I will get there in 2025.
I’m a bit of a National Park junkie and love planning a fun trip. In 2025, my plan is to visit a few National Parks that are close to me in addition to Theodore Roosevelt National Park:
Ohio – Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
South Carolina – Congaree National Park, South Carolina
West Virginia – New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia – dogs allowed
