One of my big grand adventure goals is to visit all 62 U.S. National Parks! I plan to use this National Parks Checklist to keep track of all the parks I’ve been to.

Defining My Goal
When I say “visit”, I mean really visit — not just pass through.
There are several parks on this list that I’ve actually “visited” by passing through them or stopping in for a few minutes, but I am not crossing those off the list.
I am only crossing a park off this National Parks Checklist if I feel I have fully experienced the park as best I can.
There are definitely some on this list that I’ve visited quickly in a day or two. But even then, I at least tried to fully experience each major part of the park.
On my very first road trip to see my first set of National Parks with my sister back in 2014, we saw almost 10 parks in two weeks. We started in Texas and took an epic road trip up to Montana.
While it was fun, I do not recommend seeing that many parks in such a short amount of time!

How We Experience the National Parks
The National Parks are full of vast wilderness and wonder. You could go back to the same park dozens of times and experience something new!
Everyone will experience a park completely differently and I believe the parks are for people of all walks of life and hobbies. However you choose to enjoy a park, I definitely recommend taking your time and really being present in the moment to fully experience it.
Since I’ve become such an avid backpacker over the years, my personally preferred way to take in the parks is by spending several days hiking a long backcountry trail — so that I can experience the wildest, most untouched parts of each park! But I also enjoy day hikes!
(And as I already mentioned, this is just my preferred way of experiencing the parks. Everyone has to find their own special connection to the parks and experience each park how they want to! I’m a firm believer of this!)

My National Parks Checklist
Current Count: 29 National Parks Visited So Far
- Acadia National Park, Maine
Arches National Park, UtahBadlands National Park, South Dakota- Big Bend National Park, Texas
- Biscayne National Park, Florida
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, ColoradoBryce Canyon National Park, UtahCanyonlands National Park, Utah- Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New MexicoChannel Islands National Park, CaliforniaCongaree National Park, South CarolinaCrater Lake National Park, OregonCuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio- Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
- Denali National Park, Alaska
- Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
- Everglades National Park, Florida
- Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska
Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri and Illinois- Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Glacier National Park, MontanaGrand Canyon National Park, Arizona- Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
- Great Basin National Park, Nevada
- Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and TennesseeGuadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas- Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii
- Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
Hot Springs National Park, ArkansasIndiana Dunes National Park, Indiana- Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
Joshua Tree National Park, California- Katmai National Park, Alaska
- Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
Kings Canyon National Park, California- Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska
- Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
- Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky- Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Mount Rainier National Park, Washington- National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa
- North Cascades National Park, Washington
Olympic National Park, WashingtonPetrified Forest National Park, Arizona- Pinnacles National Park, California
Redwood National Park, CaliforniaRocky Mountain National Park, Colorado- Saguaro National Park, Arizona
Sequoia National Park, California- Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
- Virgin Islands National Park, Virgin Islands
- Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
- White Sands National Park, New Mexico
- Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, Montana, and WyomingYosemite National Park, CaliforniaZion National Park, Utah
