Visiting the lower 48 National Parks in the USA
Views of the White Sands as they seemingly stretch on forever.
I have now finished visiting all the US National Parks in the lower 48 of the USA! As some know Hashtag59 got its name from the fact that were 59 National Parks in the US when we launched this website several years ago.
Amy K and I as co-founders had grown up exploring the parks on long road trips across America. While we were kids and young adults. It was our jumping off point to our love for adventure and International Travel. Without the parks who knows if I would have become such a global wanderluster?!
Fast forward from childhood to adulthood and my love for the parks continued. It was an interesting and healthy way to explore wild and open spaces for a vacation. The more I did it the more I wanted to go see new ones I hadn’t been to! For many years though I just went to the same few (Rocky Mountain in Colorado and Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, mainly.)
Then I went and explored Crater Lake in Oregon, Yosemite in California, and Acadia in Maine. I realized I wanted to eventually, if able, go on a visit to all of the US National Parks in the lower 48! Well 59 of them grew to 63 since the founding of this community (no name change for our website is planned LOL!)
I was able to complete the journey of visiting the lower 48 National Parks in the USA. Let’s review my adventures to the final few parks!
Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park, Washington State.
The ability to explore the wild and open spaces of the lower 48 of the US is a huge privilege. I also fully recognize this privilege. I will always be working on action and direction to give this access and availability to everyone in the US, not just for some of us.
The parks that I had left to visit before 2020 were as follows:
1. North Cascades National Park, Washington. Visited July 2020.
2. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California. Visited August 2020.
3. White Sands National Park, New Mexico. (An addition just prior to our road trip!). Visited October 2020.
4. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. Visited November 2020.
5. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. Visited November 2020.
This now puts me at 56/63 National Parks in the US. I have been up mountains, down canyons, out to islands, and ventured through forests. And SO MUCH MORE!
Update As of February 2024 I was at 57/63 Parks. I went to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska in 2021 on a ferry!
North Cascades National Park, Washington.
The remaining US National Parks I have to visit are Volcano in Hawaii, American Samoa (quite a detour from anywhere but looks amazing), and four left in Alaska!
I have been to four in Alaska but many remain. There are a few I will DEFINITELY GO VIST in Alaska but I am not sure if I will go to all of them or not at this point.
Two parks in Alaska are so hard to get to that people often just fly over them or land for an hour. These are Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic National Park. I would want to experience them and take time in them. If I am unable to do that then I am not interested in visiting them personally. It’s not about the bucket list for me, it’s about adventures and experiences to grow as a person.
If I were venture to guess I could go to Alaska for a whole summer and still not have enough time to experience all four of them slowly. PLUS I would be missing out on so many other amazing towns, state parks, festivals, and people in the state. I am open to what happens and not clinging to the idea of visiting all of them. The lower 48 was enough.
The boiling mud in California’s least visited National Park: Lassen.
I know it might seem crazy to some after finishing the lower 48 and getting this far that I would not “finish what I started.” But we evolve, change our minds, and grow. (At least I hope we do.)
This experience has allowed me to also visit all 50 of the United States.
As I have watched all of the US States become more divided between BLUE and RED and US vs THEM I have been given the greatest gift of all from these travels: Perspective.
I have been to cities, towns, and states that I never would have visited in my wildest imaginations without this quest. I made my way down windy roads, narrow paths, and towns filled with HATE and cities filled with HOPE. And sometimes it was vice versa.
The West Mountain Region of Hot Springs National Park is a trail runner’s dream come true!
When I hear the excuses, rationalizations, and odd (to me) stories about why people have biases and racism towards other people I am truly thankful for my experiences. Visiting all the National Parks gave me a great way to connect with all of the country.
If you want to understand why EVERYONE should have human and equal rights then you need to go out and talk to people and have conversations.
This Road Trip that encompassed visiting these last few parks also allowed me to have many other experiences. Including the chance speak in Spanish with families in California as I passed out fresh food to them, encountered gun toting Trump supporters in Oregon on a fishing trip, cooked food with a retired Michelin chef for unhoused individuals in Arizona at a Mission, and attended peaceful protests for Black Lives Matter in Washington.
What have I learned from this experience?
Get out of your bubble. Go see things. Go have conversations. Go volunteer. Get a therapist. Take a walk outside. Meditate. Live light.
If you live in the country go to the city, if you live in the city go to the country. Go travel abroad if able. Learn languages. Read books. And whatever you do, don’t read Yahoo Articles for your education on news matters.
You may start to see why Black Lives Matter and why the LGBTQ+ are so scared. You will understand why women are still feeling sexism in this country every day. Why the Trump supporters and their anger and privilege is categorized under several different reasons, not just one.
(Racism, money, fear of disappointing a lifelong tradition of voting Republican, propaganda, 2nd amendment rights, he’s not a lifelong politician, military policy, clinging to a singular issue like abortion and then skipping all the other issues, the list goes on.)
The point being you might see things in a way you hadn’t imagined or considered.
This is what you can learn on a quest. It can change you forever.
I believe the two party political system is the biggest flaw in our political climate beyond systemic racism and the idea that we should stay divided instead of come together is a LIE.
Of the 99% I believe 97% if they got perspective and experiences like going to visit all the US National Parks would naturally see much more eye to eye and realize we can build something better in unity. Than just being divided.
America has gotten a lot of things wrong. One thing they got really right (after years of devastation to it and its people who inhabited it first of course) is the National Parks System.
Land is being protected for us to experience and see what can be revealed to us in a way most countries could never dream of having.
I have now visited every single US National Park in the lower 48 of the United States. I would challenge each and every person reading this blog to go out and do the same. See how nature changes you. Volunteer in the communities near these parks. Visit the downtowns of the cities that you fly into before driving to a park. Have conversations with park rangers, other park visitors, and anyone else you can.
You will change. I GUARANTEE IT. Or you can choose to believe what the headlines tell you about people you have never met or places you have never been.
The choice is yours…it’s America’s Best Idea…I hope you can take advantage of it you have the privilege to do so! And fight for others to have the same opportunities.
The alpine blue in Lassen Volcanic.
Thanks for reading and being a part of our community!
What are your favorite National Parks in the lower 48 of the US? Do you feel you gain perspective when visiting them? Share your experiences below would love to hear them!
Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R
Peace to you and yours until we meet on the next dirt path.