Flew into New Mexico on a Saturday and spent 8 days exploring White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend. Knocked out about 60 miles of trails, met some great locals, tried some new foods and saw some unbelievable views. Guadalupe peak was no joke and Big Bend was even better than I imagined. Went in to this trip with 0 plans and absolutely winged it and couldn’t have been better.

We spent two days there earlier this year - started with Grand Prismatic Spring (you can get much better views from the overlook rather than the boardwalks) followed by Old Faithful.

The following day we started early and headed to Hayden Valley for wildlife viewing, and then stopped for photos at Artist Point. It wasn’t originally part of our plan, but we made the last minute decision to head up to Mammoth Hot Springs (which was worth it).

Photos are with my Sony a6700 with my Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 and Sony 70-350 f/4.5-6.3.

Pics were taken Oct, 25th 2026. Chiricahua may be new to the NP status but it is a very scenic park! (Trip was planned before the designation change.)

I wanted to share my American National park/wilderness art journals I create after I visit these areas. This is my way of commemorating my trips and the mood/vibes/feelings I felt being in these beautiful places. Figured I’d share here! I do have prints in a shop but not sure I can link it here! Either way, just wanted to share since I’m bad at showing my art off usually. :)

Taken from Burroughs 3 Mountain, a named bump on the side of Rainier. Looking South at the heavily glaciated North side of the mountain.

August 29,2026. My 2nd visit to this national park. First visit was july 17,2023. The mesa verde NP sign back then was under repair so it was covered with a tarp so i promised myself to come back so i can take a pic of the sign again! 😅How in the world did they build these dwellings from the edge of the mountains? 😳 and they were so small because the doors and windows were really for people who were less than 5 feet tall.

When I lived in the Silicon Valley, I used to hike Pinnacles often since it was a quick drive. My nephew was visiting so we spent a day hiking. Love the rock formations and the color of the stone. Great weather, brilliant sunshine. And we saw more than 1 tarantula!

Dry Tortugas National Park

Visited this park on june 8-9,2024. First day was spent on land, driving to all the spots on the unigrid and doing mini hikes. Second day was spent on the waters and visiting the famous hotel that can only be reached by boat. We had lunch in that hotel (loved the fried fish!) but they didn't accept apple pay so i had to walk all the way back to the boat to get my credit card from my backpack. So many islands we passed by on our boat tour bordering Canada. We didn't do the national park boat tour because it was booked when i had went yo reserve online ahead of time so we just did private boat tours with another couple.

Saw this doggo peeking at me when we stopped at a turnout. Seemed really friendly and wanted to come say hello, but poor thing couldn't manage a path down, and eventually ran off somewhere behind my visibility. Informed a ranger but they just said "dogs are lost here frequently and we can't help unfortunately". Please DM me if you want to find this dog.

Coordinates: 36.8037000, -118.9460000

We have settled on the Utah Mighty 5 for mid-April 2027. It will be me (45F) and my two teenagers (16M/14F). We will fly into and out of Las Vegas and spend 9 days visiting the parks. We plan on camping all but the last night. We are experienced campers who have flown and camped this way several times before. Coming from a cold climate.

We enjoy moderate hikes up to 6 miles. Not interested in Angels Landing or anything super strenuous. We would be interested in The Narrows (but looks 50/50 as to whether it will be open based on past years) and Fiery Furnace.

Otherwise I would like to book two experiences like kayaking, rafting, rock climbing, canyoneering, a worthwhile tour, or similar. Does not need to be inside the parks. Something the kids don’t get the opportunity to do often. Is April too cold for water activities? Suggestions?

I’m slightly late to the game as reservations have already opened for my dates, and availability is limited or nonexistent. I’m feeling pressured to finalize things, but the sheer volume of information out there is overwhelming. I need help determining the most efficient route, which parks need more (or less) time, and where the best locations are for memorable activities for the kids.

I know each park deserves more time. I imagine we’ll return to the parks we love to explore them more in depth in the future.

Day 1 = Arrive Vegas 9:05 am. Drive to Zion (4 hrs with time change).

Pick up rental (not 4WD), drive the strip, stop to get a cooler and groceries. Stay at Watchman Campground.

Day 2 = Zion.

Day 3 = Zion to Bryce (2 hrs). Overnight at Bryce North Campground?

Day 4 = Bryce to Capitol Reef (4 hrs with sightseeing on Scenic Byway 12).

Stay at Fruita Campground.

Day 5 = Capitol Reef

Day 6 = Capitol Reef to Arches (3 hrs).

Stay at Dead Horse Point State Park campground (Arches is sold out!)

Day 7 = Arches

Day 8 = Canyonlands.

Stay at a hotel in Moab with a pool for the kids! Suggestions? SpringHill Suites sold out!

Day 9 = Drive back to Vegas (6 hrs with time change?). Fly out at 6:40 pm.

THANK YOU for your thoughts!

Visiting Bryce Canyon this weekend. Would really love to do Fairyland Loop Trail, but the weather isn’t looking great. Is this trail okay to do in rain? Or should it be avoided in poor weather?

We're hikers who don't love crowds or trips that are too fast paced. Ready to deal with some crowds but hoping to keep a healthy mix of less crowded areas and strategically time the more crowded destinations for weekdays (this is early May). I also hate flying through places and missing out on hidden gems and spending too much time in the car. We will not have 4WD. So with all that in mind, I would greatly appreciate any feedback on this initial itinerary! I'm open to cutting, adding, or swapping something out, and very open to things outside the national parks.

Day 1 (Saturday) Arrive in Monticello around evening

Day 2 Canyonlands - Needles

Day 3 Canyonlands - Needles (Chesler park loop) - move to Moab afterwards

Day 4 Canyonlands - Island in the Sky

Day 5 Fishers tower + red onion loop

Day 6 Dead horse point + anything else want to see in Island in the Sky

Day 7 Horseshoe Canyon en route to Torrey

Day 8 (Saturday) Capitol Reef

Day 9 Cathedral Valley jeep tour

Day 10 Capitol Reef - Cassidy arch (possibly via frying pan)

Day 11 Capitol Reef + Transit back to SLC city in PM

I may do a day at Grand Staircase if that's too many at CR but undecided. I'm worried this is too many things as it is (for my preference).

In only a few days I’ll be making my way down to Mammoth Cave National Park for a day then heading over to New River Gorge national park for a day. Does anyone have any recommendations of things to do around Mammoth Cave area since I’m not very familiar with it? I will be staying at the Mammoth Cave Campground for a night.

We are planning a trip to RMNP, black canyon and sand dunes in 2027. Currently, June 24-July 3 works for everyone in my party. My question is regarding RMNP; would it be smarter (less busy) to visit at the beginning of the trip Thursday June 24 through Monday June 28 or save it for the end of the trip (Tuesday June 29 through Friday July 2). One has the weekend and the other is approaching July 4th weekend. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

A few of my favorite photos from my trip to Dry Tortugas, Everglades, and Biscayne National Parks last week! (Photos in that order)

Photos taken by me with my new Fuji X-M5! No editing - the water was really that blue!

Hello everyone, this is my 1st time going to big bend national Park as well as any national parks and I’m a bit scared to go because I feel like I’m gonna be lost. I’m going for three days I guess. I’m from Houston so it’s 9 Hours Drive and I going to stay in Terlingua

So this is what I planned

**Nov (arrive)**
Balanced Rock on the way in (Grapevine Hills, \~2.2 mi)
Check in Airbnb , Terlingua Ghost Town, dinner at local

**Nov (full day)**
\~5:45am: leave for Lost Mine Trail at sunrise (4.8 mi) I really want to watch sunrise but I’m bit scared because it’s gonna be dark and I don’t wanna be lost. Hopefully, I can see people so that will make me feel little bit secure.

Late morning: Window Trail (5.6 mi)
Lunch
Early afternoon: Cattail Falls (\~3.6 mi round trip)
I heard this is really rare unless the fall is really flowing if it’s dry then I’m just gonna ignore it

Late afternoon: Santa Elena Canyon at golden hour,
I wanted to do stargazing but I’m going in November so it’s a full moon time not happening this time. May be better luck next time.

**Nov :** drive home
So this is my plan and I’m not just going by myself. I’m going with family so I want to be confident and if you guys can give me any tips suggestions or things that I need to watch out for please let me know. I would really appreciate it.