The grand circle road trip includes parks. I ve designed this road trip to form a circle around the u s so you can hop on at any point and proceed whatever direction you like.
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.
Us national parks road trip. This road trip is focused solely on those you can reach by car in. National parks so you can make the most of your road trip. National park system technically consists of 59 parks but 12 of them are in alaska hawaii and other u s.
Randy olson a data scientist at the university of pennsylvania fashioned together an itinerary for the ultimate national parks road trip. 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. 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.
We ve planned out the best itineraries through all the u s. Incredible outdoor adventures six national parks and ancient ruins combine to make this a trip of a lifetime. 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.
In total this road trip spans 14 498 miles 23 333 km of road and will take roughly 2 months if you re traveling at a breakneck pace. Randy olson a computer science and engineering ph d. The optimal road trip to the u s.
Zion and bryce canyon national parks arches and canyonlands national parks grand canyon national park capitol reef national park and more. There are 59 well known protected lands that are the. 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.
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. Planning an epic national park road trip. Start in salt lake city where you may be surprised by the craft brewing scene and how easy it is to get around this city framed by the great salt lake and wasatch mountains.
Along the way you ll be treated to sheer sandstone.
