Traveling to National Parks

If you haven’t figured out by now, my family likes to travel. However, we try to live frugally and can’t necessarily afford super lavish vacations. My husband and I tend to go when opportunities arise that we simply cannot pass up, especially if the trip is partially paid for by someone else. This happened a few years back when an opportunity arose for my to attend a work conference in Vancouver. My hotel and flight were covered by my work. So my husband and I made a vacation of that trip and ended up going up into Alaska on a cruise after the conference.

One of our favorite things to do when traveling is visiting National Parks. It’s a love that we want to pass down to our young daughter. This year, we plan to go to Montana and visit Glacier National Park with other members of our family.

My last post mentioned several ways to save money when traveling, and I mentioned National Parks. However, I thought I’d dive a little deeper on the subject.

When traveling to National Parks, you always need to account for weather and wildlife. Please use common sense and stay away from wild animals. But national parks can be an amazing experience! If you plan to go to several national parks, consider getting an annual national park pass. This will allow you to get into most national parks without having to pay an additional cost. If you only plan on visiting one or two, check out their individual costs to see which one is more cost-effective. If you are a veteran or active military (thank you for your service!), you can get a free national park pass! This also applies to people with a documented disability and children who are currently in the fourth grade. Seniors (ages 62+) can get a significantly discount price as well. Check out: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm#america-the-beautiful-passes for more details!

National parks are a wonderful way to explore nature and learn history and culture. You can even document your travels with a National Park “passport” book (we do!). These give you some information on parks and allow you to use the “passport” stamps at visitor centers in the parks.

If you’re looking to save money while traveling, consider camping at a national park! It’s a great way to support the parks and save money on hotels.