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 244 parks we track, with seasonal timing, how to get there, and the campgrounds and permits that park uses.
Start here
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Every park guide
- Acadia National Park
- American Samoa National Park
- Arches National Park
- Badlands National Park
- Big Bend National Park
- Biscayne National Park
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park
- Channel Islands National Park
- Congaree National Park
- Crater Lake National Park
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Death Valley National Park
- Denali National Park
- Dry Tortugas National Park
- Everglades National Park
- Gates of the Arctic National Park
- Gateway Arch National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Glacier Bay National Park
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Grand Teton National Park
- Great Basin National Park
- Great Sand Dunes National Park
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- Haleakalā National Park
- Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
- Hot Springs National Park
- Indiana Dunes National Park
- Isle Royale National Park
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Katmai National Park
- Kenai Fjords National Park
- Kings Canyon National Park
- Kobuk Valley National Park
- Lake Clark National Park
- Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Mount Rainier National Park
- New River Gorge National Park
- North Cascades National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Pinnacles National Park
- Redwood National Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Saguaro National Park
- Sequoia National Park
- Shenandoah National Park
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Virgin Islands National Park
- Voyageurs National Park
- White Sands National Park
- Wind Cave National Park
- Wrangell–St. Elias National Park
- Yellowstone National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Zion National Park
- Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park
- Aulavik National Park
- Auyuittuq National Park
- Banff National Park
- Bruce Peninsula National Park
- Cape Breton Highlands National Park
- Elk Island National Park
- Forillon National Park
- Fundy National Park
- Georgian Bay Islands National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Grasslands National Park
- Gros Morne National Park
- Gulf Islands National Park
- Gwaii Haanas National Park
- Ivvavik National Park
- Jasper National Park
- Kejimkujik National Park
- Kluane National Park
- Kootenay National Park
- Kouchibouguac National Park
- La Mauricie National Park
- Mingan Archipelago National Park
- Mount Revelstoke National Park
- Nááts'ihch'oh National Park
- Nahanni National Park
- Pacific Rim National Park
- Pituamkek National Park
- Point Pelee National Park
- Prince Albert National Park
- Prince Edward Island National Park
- Pukaskwa National Park
- Qausuittuq National Park
- Quttinirpaaq National Park
- Riding Mountain National Park
- Rouge National Park
- Sable Island National Park
- Sirmilik National Park
- Terra Nova National Park
- Thaidene Nëné National Park
- Thousand Islands National Park
- Torngat Mountains National Park
- Tuktut Nogait National Park
- Ukkusiksalik National Park
- Vuntut National Park
- Wapusk National Park
- Waterton Lakes National Park
- Wood Buffalo National Park
- Yoho National Park
- Arrecife Alacranes National Park
- Arrecife de Puerto Morelos National Park
- Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
- Arrecifes de Xcalak National Park
- Bahía de Loreto National Park
- Barranca del Cupatitzio National Park
- Basaseachic Falls National Park
- Benito Juárez National Park
- Bosencheve National Park
- Cabo Pulmo National Park
- Cañón del Río Blanco National Park
- Cañón del Sumidero National Park
- Cerro de Garnica National Park
- Cerro de la Estrella National Park
- Cerro de las Campanas National Park
- Cofre de Perote National Park
- Constitución 1857 National Park
- Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres National Park
- Cumbres del Ajusco National Park
- Cumbres de Majalca National Park
- Cumbres de Monterrey National Park
- Desierto del Carmen National Park
- Desierto de los Leones National Park
- Dzibilchaltún National Park
- El Chico National Park
- El Cimatario National Park
- Gogorrón National Park
- El Histórico Coyoacán National Park
- El Potosí National Park
- El Sabinal National Park
- El Tepeyac National Park
- El Tepozteco National Park
- El Veladero National Park
- Fuentes Brotantes de Tlalpan National Park
- General Juan N. Álvarez National Park
- Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park
- Huatulco National Park
- Insurgente José María Morelos National Park
- Insurgente Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla National Park
- Isla Contoy National Park
- Isla Isabel National Park
- Islas Marietas National Park
- Iztaccíhuatl–Popocatépetl National Park
- La Malinche National Park
- Lago de Camécuaro National Park
- Lagunas de Chacahua National Park
- Lagunas de Montebello National Park
- Lagunas de Zempoala National Park
- Lomas de Padierna National Park
- Los Mármoles National Park
- Los Novillos National Park
- Los Remedios National Park
- Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park
- Nevado de Toluca National Park
- Palenque National Park
- Pico de Orizaba National Park
- Rayón National Park
- Sacromonte National Park
- San Lorenzo Marine Archipelago National Park
- Sierra de Órganos National Park
- Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park
- Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Park
- Tula National Park
- Tulum National Park
- Volcán Nevado de Colima National Park
- Xicoténcatl National Park
- Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park
- Cabañeros National Park
- Cabrera Archipelago National Park
- Caldera de Taburiente National Park
- Doñana National Park
- Garajonay National Park
- Sierra de Guadarrama National Park
- Islas Atlánticas de Galicia National Park
- Monfragüe National Park
- Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park
- Picos de Europa National Park
- Sierra Nevada National Park
- Sierra de las Nieves National Park
- Tablas de Daimiel National Park
- Teide National Park
- Timanfaya National Park
- Bavarian Forest National Park
- Berchtesgaden National Park
- Black Forest National Park
- Eifel National Park
- Hainich National Park
- Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park
- Harz National Park
- Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park
- Jasmund National Park
- Kellerwald-Edersee National Park
- Müritz National Park
- Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park
- Lower Oder Valley National Park
- Saxon Switzerland National Park
- Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park
- Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
- Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park
- Alta Murgia National Park
- Appennino Lucano – Val d'Agri – Lagonegrese National Park
- Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park
- Archipelago of La Maddalena National Park
- Tuscan Archipelago National Park
- Asinara National Park
- Aspromonte National Park
- Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park
- Cinque Terre National Park
- Circeo National Park
- Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park
- Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park
- Gargano National Park
- Golfo di Orosei and Gennargentu National Park
- Gran Paradiso National Park
- Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park
- Majella National Park
- Monti Sibillini National Park
- Isola di Pantelleria National Park
- Pollino National Park
- Sila National Park
- Stelvio National Park
- Val Grande National Park
- Vesuvius National Park
- Brijuni National Park
- Kornati National Park
- Krka National Park
- Mljet National Park
- Paklenica National Park
- Plitvice Lakes National Park
- Risnjak National Park
- Northern Velebit National Park
- Triglav National Park