Is anyone planning on taking in any national parks this year? You will need reservations (not kidding) for some of them. These National Parks Are Requiring Reservations in 2022 (tripsavvy.com)
I had no idea. I know they were considering it (Yellostone) but didn't realize it was in effect. I hadn't run into it anywhere out west. How long has this been required?
It all depends on the park and how many visitors. It has been going on for a long, long time in some areas that have millions of visitors every year. Try to go to one of those big parks in CA. Long waiting lists. Zion I hear has set up where you reserve and there are maybe 3 or 4 time slots. Denali is and has been where if you want to go to the end of the road it is by bus only. I think the Grand Canyon has different rules for the north vs the south rims.
My wife keeps mentioning the apostle islands. I haven't been in decades and she's never been there. I'm not driving as far this year as I did last fall with the road trip out to California and back. When we go back to visit the Bay area to see family, we're flying. Hopefully the airlines have their crap together before September.
We went to Yellowstone a few years back and we loved it. The problem with Yellowstone is the bathrooms, not enough and very dirty from too much usage. Most of the bathrooms aren’t the flush kind. If I go back to Yellowstone or other big national park I would rent an rv with a bathroom.
If you plan on visiting or camping in national parks, the senior pass (if you're 62 or older) pays for itself. You get free entry into parks, and half price on camping. It is $80.00 now, we were fortunate to get them at $10.00 each before they jumped up in price, but they're still worth it. They're good at a lot of federal facilities also, we live near a Corps of Engineers lake, and we can use it at the boat ramp and gun range. America the Beautiful - National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass | USGS Store
Another fun thing to do, if you're going to be visiting several national parks, is get the "Passport, To Your National Parks" book. You can get it stamped at the national park visitor centers you visit, as a record of where you've been. You just have to remember to take it with you, but if you forget you can still get a piece of paper with the stamp on it. My wife enjoys doing this, and she also has several pieces of paper which she keeps in the passport book. Stamp Your Passport Book (U.S. National Park Service)
We talked before the scamdemic about Yellowstone and the grand Tetons. That never happened. Next year is our 25th anniversary. She’s been talking about Niagara Falls and a few other places on the east side of upstate New York like Lake Placid and Ticonderoga And lake George area. I might surprise her or she might get Niagara.
I have a pass that is supposed to be good for life as it is a Golden Access Passport. It says on the card it is a lifetime admission permit. I think it is still good.