National park planning guides

Practical guides to the parts of national park travel that trip people up: when to go, how reservations and permits actually release, and how to build a route that works.

Plus a page for each of the 245 parks we track, with seasonal timing, how to get there, and the campgrounds and permits that park uses.

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Which national parks need an entry reservation
Which parks require a timed-entry permit to drive in, which dropped that requirement, and why a parking tag is not an entrance fee.
When national park reservations open
Sourced release cadences for named campgrounds, permits, and timed entry. No guessed dates.
First-come, first-served national park campgrounds
Campgrounds that never appear as bookable inventory on Recreation.gov.
Which national parks need a permit
Hike, canyon, and backcountry permits. Not a reservation to drive in.
Which national parks have timed entry
Park-wide gates versus one road, shuttle, sunrise, or beach.
National park campgrounds
Which parks list campgrounds on Recreation.gov, and which sites are walk-up only.
Which national parks have lotteries
Sourced lotteries for hikes, canyons, and firefly viewings. A wilderness permit is not a draw unless the source says so.
America the Beautiful and Discovery Pass
America the Beautiful does not cover Canada. A Discovery Pass does not cover the United States.
How national park campsite reservations actually work
Release windows, the six-month rule, cancellation churn, and how to get a campsite in a park that looks fully booked.
National park permits and lotteries, explained
Which national park activities need a permit, how the lotteries work, and what to do when you do not draw one.
When to visit a national park (and when not to)
How season, elevation, and latitude decide whether a national park trip is excellent or miserable.
Planning a national park road trip that survives contact with reality
Drive-time budgets, how many parks to attempt, where to sleep, and the mistakes that turn a park trip into a driving trip.
National parks with kids, without the meltdown
Choosing parks, pacing days, and picking hikes that a family will actually finish.
Your first national park trip: a short checklist
What to sort out before your first national park visit — passes, timing, reservations, and what to actually pack.

Reservations by state

Campgrounds by state

Best time by state

By topic

By region

Region pages compare the parks in one part of the country: how far apart they are, which ones a single drive can take in, and what each needs booked ahead.

All national parks by region

State park systems

A state earns a system page when its catalog matches a published agency count and the page can name a fact PAD-US does not carry. Individual catalog parks stay off this surface.

All published state park systems