I’ve also deliberately tried to route the map to visit a number of incredible scenic areas that aren’t necessarily national parks, like Monument Valley or Grand-Staircase Escalante, for instance. White Sands National Park, on the other hand, is included on the main route and is definitely not to be missed! And at the end of 2020, the New River Gorge in West Virginia was designated as a National Park. Indiana Dunes, on the other hand, would be easy to include and is a nature area.

That’s one park I would probably skip if your focus is on nature. Honestly, I’m not really sure why Gateway Arch is a National Park when it is more of a historical monument. I’ve added an option to the route which would include these new two Midwest parks, but the addition of Gateway Arch makes it difficult to make a nice, clean route… This Epic National Park Road Trip covers terrain in at least 39 of the 50 states, across more than 16,950 miles (27,277 km), and visits 45 of the 51 National Parks located in the Continental USA, but does not specifically include the four island-based National Parks (although you get pretty close and could organize boat transport to reach them), nor the two Midwest national parks.īack in 2019, three national parks were added to the system: Indiana Dunes National Park, Gateway Arch National Park, and White Sands National Park.

National parks road trip planner