But there is so much more to do in the western united states than explore the bubble of rich homes and hollywood clones that we would argue you should skip la completely. If you will be making a trip when going to the sun road is closed you will have to access the west and east entrances to the park separately by making a detour south of the park.
Within the continental united states aka lower 48 there are a total of 50 national parks there are 2 in hawaii 8 in alaska and 2 in the territories making a total of 62.
Road trip map of western us national parks. The first is that they spend too much time in los angeles. Candidate at michigan state university is a man who likes to design road trips he has previously organized the ultimate us road trip and the best cross canada journey and this time olson created an itinerary that would allow travelers to see every single national park in the 48 contiguous states without wasting any time. While this road trip can be done in around 2 weeks we recommend you allow yourself as much time as possible to explore these spectacular parks.
The 11 day ish depending on how often you stop road trip traverses 1 500 miles six national parks that s zion bryce canyon capitol reef arches canyonlands and grand canyon plus monument valley as seen in our fave hbo thriller westworld and a slew of tiny desert towns. National parks centennial road trip map was designed to commemorate the 100 th birthday of the national park service which was in august of 2016. Planning an epic national park road trip.
Along the way you ll be treated to sheer sandstone. This map plots the best route between nearby national parks so you spend less time. This is the ultimate guide for usa west coast road trips.
The west has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to national parks. If you like the outdoors a road trip between several national parks is perfect for a long weekend or vacation. Roaming ralph generally speaking the average daily budget for a road trip on the west coast will be between 175 250 this includes gas a rental car lodging food drink and activities.
But of those 50 national parks in the continental usa there are another four parks that are not accessible by vehicle due to the fact that they are maritime based national parks. Park 4 yellowstone national park. The grand circle road trip includes parks.
Randy olson a computer science and engineering ph d. The second mistake is that they assume las vegas is all about the gambling. Zion and bryce canyon national parks arches and canyonlands national parks grand canyon national park capitol reef national park and more.
Gas is very expensive on the west coast and will lead you to an early bankruptcy if you re not careful. As a frequent topper on lists of favorite national parks yellowstone absolutely deserves a stop on this road trip. For a road trip select a top park then link it up with other national parks nearby.
People planning a vacation in the western united states usually make two big mistakes.
