One of America’s most diverse regions, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) is home to massive volcanoes, pristine temperate rain forests, high desert plains, sea stack-lined coasts and spectacular mountain ranges. In this post, I talk about the many must-visit Pacific Northwest national parks and offer a couple of suggested road trip itineraries.
Are you ready to swap out your dress shoes for hiking boots and add a backpack to your wedding day wardrobe? Elopements and small weddings in national parks have become increasingly popular recently. Check out the best national parks to elope to or get married at!
Their range extending from the north Rocky Mountains to the Cascade Range and into southeastern Alaska, mountain goats are an iconic species in the national park system. You can see them in their native habitat in these national parks.
I wholeheartedly believe that you can’t experience a national park to the fullest without spending the night there. As the saying goes, in many national parks “half the park is after dark.” So far, these are our all-time favorite national park campgrounds.
In spring, and in some parks early-summer, colorful wildflowers put up quite a spectacle in certain national parks, carpeting desert flats, covering mountain slopes and adding color to old-growth forests.
Washington, the Evergreen State, is a destination that offers endless adventures. Encompassing the rugged Pacific coast, unspoiled temperate rain forests, numerous glaciers, and the waterfalls and volcanoes of the Cascade Range, the three national parks in Washington State are world-class outdoor playgrounds.
When thinking about America’s national parks, the same five or six names always come to mind first. There are, however, numerous other parks that are basically just as spectacular, but receive only a fraction of the visitors.