So, it all started on a drive from Logan, Utah to Provo, Utah. Madison and I were scheming and planning – some of our favorite things to do. When, one of us, we still can’t remember who had the original idea, said,”wouldn’t it be cool to go to EVERY single national park in the U.S.?”
That idea didn’t die there; It was expounded on so quickly we could barely keep up with ourselves! Different ideas came to mind as to HOW we could get to every National Park… would we do it in one massive loop? Would we do it in different trips and eventually make it to each one? Would we fly to some? And then it happened. We drove past a little toyota RV that was moving down the road at what some may call a “snail’s pace”.
The vision became completely clear for both of us! We were going to travel to every single National Park in a Toyota mini RV!
Now we just had to find one we could afford – and make the idea a reality!
I took it upon myself to start the “hardcore scheming”. I threw together a little spreadsheet of the distance we would have to travel. I mapped each leg of the trip out to get a total milage count – you know, you gotta run the stats!
Stop Number | Attraction | State | Trip Mile Marker | Miles From Last Stop | Drive Time | Trip Drive Time | Notes |
0 | Provo | Utah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | Grand Teton National Park | Wyoming | 301 | 301 | 5.26 | 5.26 | |
2 | Yellowstone National Park | Wyoming | 353.6 | 52.6 | 1.12 | 6.38 | |
3 | Glacier National Park | Montana | 826.6 | 473 | 8.68 | 15.06 | |
4 | Gates of the Arctic National Park | Alaska | 3265.6 | 2439 | 49 | 64.06 | *No road access. We can fly in, or hike in from the HWY… |
5 | Kobuk Valley National Park | Alaska | 3265.6 | 0 | 0 | 64.06 | *No road access. We MUST fly in. From Fairbanks? |
6 | Denali National Park | Alaska | 3388.6 | 123 | 2.31 | 66.37 | |
7 | Lake Clark National Park | Alaska | 3783.6 | 395 | 7.55 | 73.92 | *No road access. We can fly or take a boat in from Kenai |
8 | Katmai National Park | Alaska | 3783.6 | 0 | 0 | 73.92 | |
9 | Kenai Fjords National Park | Alaska | 3783.6 | 0 | 0 | 73.92 | *No road access. We can fly in or take a boat. (I think boat is a better option) |
10 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | Alaska | 4186.6 | 403 | 8.2 | 82.12 | |
11 | Glacier Bay National Park | Alaska | 4780.6 | 594 | 16.4 | 98.52 | *Boat tour from Juneau (Bartlett Cove) |
12 | North Cascades National Park | Washington | 6369.6 | 1589 | 40 | 138.52 | |
13 | Mount Rainier National Park | Washington | 6555.6 | 186 | 3.73 | 142.25 | |
14 | Olympic National Park | Washington | 6671.6 | 116 | 2.56 | 144.81 | |
15 | Crater Lake National Park | Oregon | 7065.6 | 394 | 6.58 | 151.39 | |
16 | Redwood National Park | California | 7219.6 | 154 | 2.95 | 154.34 | |
17 | Lassen Volcanic Park | California | 7433.6 | 214 | 4.06 | 158.4 | |
18 | Yosemite National Park | California | 7732.6 | 299 | 5.2 | 163.6 | |
19 | Kings Canyon National Park | California | 7876.6 | 144 | 3.2 | 166.8 | |
20 | Sequoia National Park | California | 7886.9 | 10.3 | 0.23 | 167.03 | |
21 | Death Valley National Park | California/Nevada | 8188.9 | 302 | 4.88 | 171.91 | |
22 | Channel Islands National Park | California | 8415.9 | 227 | 4.46 | 176.37 | |
23 | Joshua Tree National Park | California | 8614.9 | 199 | 3.31 | 179.68 | |
24 | Grand Canyon National Park | Arizona | 8969.9 | 355 | 5.25 | 184.93 | |
25 | Petrified Forest National Park | Arizona | 9160.9 | 191 | 2.81 | 187.74 | |
26 | Saguaro National Park | Arizona | 9458.9 | 298 | 4.85 | 192.59 | |
27 | Carlsbad Caverns National Park | New Mexico | 9910.9 | 452 | 6.68 | 199.27 | |
28 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | Texas | 9946.6 | 35.7 | 0.6 | 199.87 | |
29 | Big Bend National Park | Texas | 10182.6 | 236 | 3.9 | 203.77 | |
30 | Hot Springs National Park | Arkansas | 11001.6 | 819 | 12.06 | 215.83 | |
31 | Biscayne National Park | Florida | 12232.6 | 1231 | 18.05 | 233.88 | |
32 | Everglades National Park | Florida | 12250.9 | 18.3 | 0.5 | 234.38 | |
33 | Dry Tortugas National Park | Florida | 12384.9 | 134 | 2.85 | 237.23 | *No Road access. We must take a ferry from Key West. |
34 | Congaree National Park | South Carolina | 13050.9 | 666 | 9.65 | 246.88 | |
35 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Tennessee | 13271.9 | 221 | 3.63 | 250.51 | |
36 | Mammoth Cave Park | Kentucky | 13508.9 | 237 | 4.33 | 254.84 | |
37 | Shenandoah National Park | Virginia | 14036.9 | 528 | 7.73 | 262.57 | |
38 | Acadia National Park | Maine | 14833.9 | 797 | 12.5 | 275.07 | |
39 | Cuyahoga Valley National Park | Ohio | 15750.9 | 917 | 13.91 | 288.98 | |
40 | Isle Royale National Park | Michigan | 16509.9 | 759 | 12.02 | 301 | |
41 | Voyageurs National Park | Minnesota | 16912.9 | 403 | 7.23 | 308.23 | |
42 | Theodore Roosevelt National Park | North Dakota | 17491.9 | 579 | 8.85 | 317.08 | |
43 | Badlands National Park | South Dakota | 17788.9 | 297 | 4.71 | 321.79 | |
44 | Wind Cave National Park | South Dakota | 17910.9 | 122 | 1.91 | 323.7 | |
45 | Rocky Mountain National Park | Colorado | 18248.9 | 338 | 4.41 | 328.11 | |
46 | Great Sand Dunes National Park | Colorado | 18510.9 | 262 | 4.75 | 332.86 | |
47 | Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park | Colorado | 18717.9 | 207 | 3.63 | 336.49 | |
48 | Mesa Verde National Park | Colorado | 18871.9 | 154 | 3.03 | 339.52 | |
49 | Canyonlands National Park | Utah | 18987.9 | 116 | 2.05 | 341.57 | |
50 | Arches National Park | Utah | 19014.1 | 26.2 | 0.5 | 342.07 | |
51 | Capitol Reef National Park | Utah | 19162.1 | 148 | 2.43 | 344.5 | |
52 | Bryce Canyon National Park | Utah | 19278.1 | 116 | 2.46 | 346.96 | |
53 | Zion National Park | Utah | 19350.4 | 72.3 | 1.35 | 348.31 | |
54 | Great Basin National Park | Nevada | 19549.4 | 199 | 3.68 | 351.99 |
Here is the breakdown of the trip:
Total Miles to Drive | Average Distance Between Parks (mi) | Average Time Between Parks (hrs) | Total Time Driving (hrs) |
19549.4 | 362.03 | 6.52 | 351.99 |
There are four parks that we wouldn’t be able to drive to:
55 | Haleakala National Park | Hawaii |
56 | Hawaii Volcanoes National Park | Hawaii |
57 | American Samoa National Park | American Samoa Territory |
58 | Virgin Islands National Park | US Virgin Islands |
We will have to get to these ones later. We have two ideas for funding those trips – we could sell the mini motorhome and buy a few plane tickets! OR – cash in all of our Southwest points we accumulated on gasoline through the trip!
So as you can see – the scheming hit an all time high as we planned and mapped things out. Now all we have to do is find the rig! Stay tuned for the next post on that!
Kelsey
This is super awesome!! Of course if anybody was going to do this it would be you Cees!! Good luck with everything, I am excited to follow along on your guys’ journey:)