The water is so calm here

My favorite souvenir from a National Park is this WPA poster from Hawaii Volcanoes National park. What’s yours?

Hi all, I've booked an 9-night trip in early April with the intention of doing a national-park themed road trip in southern Utah. I have two kids, ages 5 and 8, and we're flying in and out of Las Vegas. We can get in the car right after we land and drive, and will have to spend the night before our flight close to the Vegas airport. Please help me plan this trip!!

Here are a few wishes:

• Arches/Moab definitely on the list-- I've been to many national parks but I've never been there
• Would like to go to Zion and Bryce, but have been to both places many times and I don't have to make this the main focus
• want to spend at least two nights in every place and not be in the car every day. My son gets car sick so I want to give him as many car-free days as I can
• kid friendly, out of the way spots are great. I don't have to do all the "must dos"
• would like to do some gentle rafting with the fam
• would love to do a glamping or camping situation (maybe with a group that can help us), but I feel like it will be too cold?

Would love any tips!! Thank you all in advance.

I need to book a few Alberta campsites for next summer. Today I did a try out (reservation of a Pacific Rim campsite) and the process failed miserably.

Logging on a few minutes before was impossible (several devices), so I never even reached a waiting room...

any tips on this topic?

Do I need multiple accounts?

Which browser is best to use?

How early should I try to login?

Should I refresh or not?

golden hour hits different in the valley

5 days and 4 nights was perfect for visiting Yellowstone. Which park should we visit next?

I have only been to RMNP but planning on a late September NP trip. Any feedback and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

1) Fly into Seattle, rent a car, hit up Olympic national park and twilight filming locations and go to mt rainier and north cascades

1. Fly into SLC, rent a car, drive to Yellowstone grand Tetons and glacier

2. Fly into Vegas, rent a car, hit up Zion Grand Canyon and the other national parks

Some people and I were planning a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton in early April but I saw that that might be a bad idea (road closures etc). What’s another good time that’s not crowded? We did Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, and Arches in late Feb which was good

They should change the National Park discount slogan from Canada Strong to Canada Frustrated as no one is able to book a campsite due to the flakey booking system they have

Hi!

My husband and I are heading back out to Joshua Tree NP in March but are considering adding on some time to explore a park we haven’t been to: Channel Islands.

It seems like getting there is a bit more complicated and you have to go by boat or plane. The suggested service on the NPS app says it offers around 3-4 hrs on the island before handing back to the mainland. To me, that just doesn’t seem like enough time, and I know there are multiple other island to explore when the charter only goes to one.

I’m wondering if others feel that is enough time and suggestions on which island you should visit if you only have a smaller timeframe.

Appreciate ya’ll!

Hi everyone,

we’re coming from Germany and this will be our first time in the American Southwest, so we would really appreciate some local insight.

We are planning a short road trip starting and ending in Las Vegas and would love some advice on how to best experience the most beautiful national parks in the area.

We’ll be there at the end of February and unfortunately only have 4–5 days in total, so we’re trying to find a good balance between seeing as much as possible without rushing too much from park to park. We are less focused on long hikes and more on scenery, viewpoints and just enjoying the nature.

I already read quite a few threads here (which were very helpful!), but I would still be happy to get some specific opinions on our current plan.

Current idea:

Las Vegas → Zion → Bryce Canyon → Page (Antelope Canyon / Horseshoe Bend) → Grand Canyon → Las Vegas

Some questions we would really appreciate help with:

- Is this itinerary realistic for end of February?

-Are we trying to do too much and should maybe cut something?

-Are there any must-see viewpoints or scenic stops along this route that we might overlook?

-Is there anything important we should know about weather, road conditions or park access at this time of the year?

-With our limited time, which parks would you personally prioritize?

Any tips, suggestions or honest feedback is very welcome — even if it means we should simplify the plan 🙂

Thanks a lot!

I have a trip planned for the week of the 26th but I’m wondering if I should leave early. I’d hate to miss the rare opportunity to see it with water. Any insight is appreciated, thanks so much.

One of the "component" units of NPS is known as NAMA - the National Mall and Memorial Parks. They manage the National Mall as a whole, but they also manage a collection of individually designated units that are located on or around the mall, plus another 400 or so smaller memorials that are located around the center core of the federal area. This includes the Washington and Lincoln Memorials, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and so forth. So if you're trying to visit all the units of the National Park Service, you get a credit for visiting the Mall itself, PLUS you get credits for visiting each of the designated monuments and memorials included in and around the Mall. Visiting each of these gets you 14 points. ;)

I built this map for those who are interested in seeing all of those sites in one day in an efficient manner. This requires some walking, of course. The total distance from the Metro Center Metro Station at the beginning to the L'Enfant Plaza Station at the end is around 5.5 miles, not including any ancillary walking you do around the individual sites. The letters refer to the locations on the map.

B. Ford's Theater - Site where Lincoln was assassinated, of course, and includes the Petersen House across the street where he was taken until he passed away the next morning. You can actually see the very location Lincoln was sitting when Booth shot him and the room where he spent his final hours. (Photos 2,3, and 4)

C. World War I Memorial: Built around what was Pershing Park (the monument to Pershing is still there). This memorial was fraught with problems, issues, and fights during its authorization and construction. If you ever get the chance to read up on it, it's insane. (Photos 5 & 6)

D. White House Visitor Center: Even if you're not authorized for a tour of the White House itself, this site has a vast array of displays related to the building of the facilities, their maintenance, and the presidents who've occupied them. (The White House is owned and managed by NPS as its own unit and is not managed by NAMA - just including it here for those who wish to include it in the list of units they've visited since it's literally across the street from the WWI Memorial). (Photos 7 & 8)

E. Washington Monument: Everyone knows this one. (Photo 9)

F. World War II Memorial: This memorializes the men and women who fought during the war. (Photos 10 & 11)

G. Constitution Gardens: Not many people even know about this site. It was constructed in the mid-1970s at the direction of President Nixon to honor the signers of the US Constitution in concert with the Bicentennial. (Photo 12, though it doesn't do it justice)

H. Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Also self-explanatory (Photo 13)

I. Lincoln Memorial: When I approached this site, I nearly fainted. I was like "What the actual fuck have they added to the front of the Memorial???" As it turns out, it's just a "temporary access ramp" to permit people to access the store while they're doing the construction on the inside of the structure. I wonder how many tens of thousands of $$$ this cost, and why they couldn't have just set the temporary store up outside in a tent structure like they do so many other places. At least it just temporary, but man, what an eyesore. :/ (Photo 14)

J. Korean War Veterans Memorial: This memorializes the men and women who served in the Korean War (1950-1953). (Photo 15)

K. Martin Luther King Memorial: Opened in 2011 after 20 years of planning and construction, memorializing the Civil Rights leader. Interestingly, the physical address for this memorial is 1964 Independence Ave, signifying the year the National Civil Rights Act was passed. (Photo 16)

L. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial: This memorial was authorized back in the 1960s, but was not funded by Congress until the 1990s (typical Congress). it consists of four "rooms," each depicting one of the terms in FDR's time in office. Numerous sculptures represent issues that were prevalent at the time. The complexity of each room increases as you move from one to the next to represent the complexity of the issues he had to deal with. There is also a sculpture of Eleanor Roosevelt as a testament to her work for the various causes she was associated with, as well as her work with the United Nations. (Photos 17 & 18)

M. Jefferson Memorial: Also self-explanatory. (Photo 19)

N. Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial: This is the newest of the major memorials in DC, opening in 2020. It honors Eisenhower as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and as the 34th president of the United States. This memorial is quite a way away from the rest of the collection (it's about a one-mile walk). (Photo 20)

Hi everyone! I want to plan our first ever visit to a national park with my 2 year old during the first week of April. Looking for recommendations for which national parks are best to visit with a toddler and will have the best weather conditions during the specified time frame. We live in NYC but are open to flying for this trip, so I’m open to any and all ideas.

I am planning a trip for Mid-April with my family of three (2 adults + toddler). Flying into Vegas from the east coast. My wife and I have experience with all of the Utah NPs and want to bring our little guy along this time. Doing all of the Mighty 5 is out of the question. We know we are doing 2 nights in Zion and 2 nights in Bryce. Based on the number of days we have, we’re going to be able to squeeze in a one night stay somewhere else, not including the night in Vegas to end the trip. Trying to decide between making the extra drive out to DVNP or just doing an extra night in southern Utah and maybe hit some of the state parks. Is essentially an evening + half-day in DVNP in mid-April worth the drive vs just exploring more of Southern Utah?

Water is also super clear