The Wandering Hart

I love traveling to the US National Parks and they’ve been a particularly great way to continue seeing new places and meeting new people during COVID. Everyone has their own thoughts about what makes a great National Park I’m sure, but below are my thoughts on some of my favorites (in no particular order) with details on what I thought about these places in terms of hikes available, lodging, and unique experiences!

Bryce Canyon National Park

Lodging: 5/5; Hikes: 5/5; Unique Experiences: 5/5

Bryce isn’t a large park but it definitely stands out! Bryce Canyon is known best for it’s hoodoos (the sandstone rock formations left behind by erosion over time). I highly recommend staying in one of their cabins near the edge of the canyon — you can be in a comfortable room just steps from the edge of the canyon and the main lodge. The hikes available are very unique and there is a lot of variety (although almost all will unfortunately end on a step uphill out of the canyon though) and the views of the hoodoos all around are unlike anything I had experienced before. In addition to the wonderful experience of viewing the hoodoos, we had an amazing night stargazing! The rangers even gave very educational talks on astronomy and set-up a telescope for visitors to take turns viewing Mars. Truly one of my favorite park experiences!

Death Valley National Park

Lodging: 3/5; Hikes: 4/5; Unique Experiences: 5/5

Death Valley is one of the most unique places I’ve ever been and even within the park there is a surprising diversity of nature. My favorite parts were the Mosaic Canyon hike which involved some scrambling over rocks and cool formations and the Sand Dunes (pro-tip: bring a sled to go sledding on the sand!). The campsite we got (Stovepipe Wells Campground) was sufficient and near some of the attractions just mentioned but I wish we could have had our own fire pit — desert nights can be cold!

Also, if you’re looking for a bonus trip: stop in at a real ghost town called Ballarat on your way back toward LA!

Rocky Mountain National Park

Lodging: 3/5; Hikes: 5/5; Unique Experiences: 5/5

I didn’t really know what to expect going into Rocky Mountain but what I found was a park full of wildlife (including the most adorable but also greedy chipmunks!) and incredible mountain lakes. The only downside here is it’s hard to get lodging in the park. Luckily nearby Estes Park has plenty of AirBnB and hotel options — we actually found an AirBnB so close that we could hike into part of the park. My personal favorite hike here was Sky Pond which involved scrambling up a small waterfall to see an amazing and mostly isolated lake surrounded by mountains.

Pinnacles National Park

Lodging: 5/5; Hikes: 4/5; Unique Experiences: 4/5

This is another very small park but I fell in love with the very nicely established campgrounds and cool hikes including caves! Pinnacles is best known for the rock climbing available and my husband has enjoyed a few trips with climbing buddies. High Peaks trail is great for those willing to take a few steeper paths and can also take you past Bear Gulch recreational area and caves! For those looking for something lighter there is a nice hike to Balconies Caves toward the other side of the park. As for the campgrounds, I loved that there were some tent cabins (one room cabins perfect for families and with handicap access) and there was a handy little campground store walking distance from the sites.

Yosemite National Park

Lodging: 3/5; Hikes: 5/5; Unique Experiences: 5/5

Last but not least, one of the most popular parks in America. Yosemite certainly doesn’t need my endorsement but I’ll give it anyway. This is a beautiful and massive park with a trail for every type of hiker. I’ve been several times at this point and my one recommendation is to avoid the main campsites: they’re very crowded and cramped so either backpacking or paying for a full lodge is a much nicer experience. Most recently I backpacked and stayed at Little Yosemite Valley the night before going up Half Dome (see here for my tips on doing this!) and that was my favorite out of all my trips there.