There is no better way to discover the natural splendor and beauty of America’s incredible national and state parks, than camping under the stars.
With so many national parks, campgrounds and sites to choose from, it can be quite overwhelming to decide where to camp. Especially, if you are new to camping you might wonder where to pitch your tent in the summer. Here’s a guide to the best National Parks and campsite locations in the U.S.
1. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The Yellowstone National Park is undoubtedly one of the most popular camping locations with 12 campgrounds and over 2000 sites. The National Park Lodges take reservations for five of these and the rest are on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are driving down with a recreational vehicle or an RV, then it is recommended that you make a reservation as a limited number of campsites available. Some of the most popular campgrounds here include Bridge Bay, Canyon, Fishing Bridge RV Park, Grant Village and Madison. The sites at the drive-in Canyon Campground are excellent for spotting wildlife and have trails into the Grand Canyon of the .
2. Biscayne National Park, Florida
At Biscayne National, Park you will find two campgrounds that are located on the islands. These are Elliott Key and Boca Chita Key. One can only access these islands by boat and no services are available on the island.
Of the two, Boca Chita Key is the park’s most popular island. Its highlights include stunning waterfront views, a grassy camp area, picnic tables and grills. While there are toilets, there are no showers, sinks or drinking water.
Elliott Key is the larger island and has restrooms with sinks and cold water showers.
3. KĪPAHULU CAMPGROUND (MAUI, HI)
Hawaii is well known for a range of camping sites available on its many islands. One of the most beautiful among these is the Haleakalā National Park at Kīpahulu Campground on Maui. The location is picturesque with lush green surroundings, streams and waterfalls and some of the best views of the coast. While you’re there, you may want to go snorkeling in maui and check out some of the local cuisines. However, the campground is somewhat remote so you will need to do this before or after you camp and you need to carry some essentials. You need to pack camping accessories both for sunny and rainy weather. Check out this site for the best tents and shelters that you can buy.
4. Glacier National Park, Montana
Who hasn’t heard of Montana’s Glacier National Park. It is probably on your list too. Glacier as the name suggests is named for its unmissable glacier carved terrain.
Glacier National Park has more than 700 miles of trail for campers with unprecedented beauty, alpine meadows, lakes and mountains. The Park has more than one million acres of forests, peaks, glacial-carved valleys and boasts of 70 species of mammals and 270 bird species.
Glacier has 13 campgrounds and more than 1000 campsites. The best thing perhaps is that pets are allowed in these campgrounds, however not on the park trails.
5. Mount Rainier National Park, WA
Washington State is well-known for some of the most breathtaking and wet landscapes in the USA. But Mount Rainier is something else. It is an active volcano that has more glacial terrain than all of the mountains in the entire Cascade Mountain Range.
Within Mount Rainier National Park, you have the White River Campground that has beautiful campsites that give you an incredibly private camping experience. It has stunning vistas and decent visitor amenities and is ideal for car campers too. Since it is at a higher altitude of 4232 feet, it is the last of the campgrounds to open and the first to close.
Conclusion
There are plenty of beautiful campgrounds and campsites all across national parks in the country. Whether you love fishing, hiking, adventure activities or photography, there is something here for everyone.
