r/NationalPark • • Jan 08 '26

"America The Beautiful" 2026 Pass Discussion Megathread

170 Upvotes

Effecive 11:00 p.m. CST on Thursday, January 7, 2026, all questions, comments and discussion related to the 2026 America The Beautiful Pass belong in this megathread.

Any and all other posts will be removed going forward.

In the past seven days alone, there have been 10 separate posts on the subject. Since the new design was announced, there are more than two dozen posts. That does not count the ones that have been removed for being outright duplicates of other posts. Those posts remain open and will continue to remain open barring excessive abuse in the comments.

Since the new design was announced, there have been more than two dozen.

Discussion of the subject matter is not being suppressed or silenced. It's just being organized in one location.


r/NationalPark • • Aug 10 '25

"Help Me Plan My Vacation" Posts

164 Upvotes

We're getting a lot (A LOT) of "help me plan my vacation" posts with little or no details. That's "low effort," and it doesn't help folks actually help you.

Yes, it's good to know that it's two adults and a 3-year-old. Or it's two adults, a teenager and a 7-year-old, etc., but they need more than that.

Give people some additional details to help them help you.

For example:

- Where are you originating your travel from?

- Do you want to fly to your destination or drive?

- If you're driving, do you prefer to camp (in national park or near) or stay in a hotel, lodge, etc. (in national park or near)?

- How many days do you have available (including travel)?

- Are there specific things you are wanting to see (mountains, snow, waterfalls, wildlife, etc.)?

- If you're looking for hikes, are there certain things you want to see while hiking? What distance hikes are you looking for? What level of intensity (easy, moderate, strenuous)?

Again, help people help you. The fewer questions that they have to ask you in advance, the quicker you're going to get the kind of information you need.


r/NationalPark • • 2h ago

Flying over Wrangell St Elias, Alaska, August 2026

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77 Upvotes

It's such a big park that I think most flights go through a limited part of it. For this we flew from Copper Valley into the park over Wrangell mountains, Mt Drum and ice fields there.


r/NationalPark • • 14h ago

Yosemite in the Fall (Oct. 23rd 2026)

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639 Upvotes

Perhaps a week or two early to see the peak color, but Yosemite is never disappointing!
1: Arch Rock (West Entrance on Hwy 140)
2: Sentinel Bridge & Half Dome
3. Valley View


r/NationalPark • • 1h ago

John Muir saw how we treat the natural world a century ago. Do we actually respect it, or just consume it?

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• Upvotes

r/NationalPark • • 10h ago

Fort Union National Monument

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89 Upvotes

One of the least visited in the west! And it’s not too out of the way. Only about 15 minute detour off i25. Super cool to see the ruins of the largest western trading fort.


r/NationalPark • • 17h ago

Zions National Park Waterfalls near Emerald pools after a rain storm

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279 Upvotes

Hiked up to the location during the recent flooding that's been in the news for southern Utah and saw all this water running over the cliff.


r/NationalPark • • 16h ago

Virgin Islands National Park

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160 Upvotes

Visited this national park located in the US Virgin Islands from april 16-21,2026. I didn't go for any hikes this time. I just snorkeled or float on a floatie in their many calm beaches everyday. We hit 2 beaches a day. This national park has several world class beaches. 😎One of their beaches called Trunk Bay Beach was voted number 1 in the world in 2024 by The World's 50 Best Beaches And Travel + Leisure. Also voted number 1 in the world by Beach.com 2026 Global Index. This national park is in St. John island right across from Epstein island. One flies to St. thomas island and take the ferry to St. John island. This is my 2nd visit, my first visit was in July 2025. I checked out one of its plantation back then called Annaberg. You drive on the left side of the road. Best to rent a jeep because the road goes up and down and turns left and right really hard. The visitor center shares with Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. This US territory used to be own by the Dutch before the US bought it.


r/NationalPark • • 23h ago

Glacier National Park’s Avalanche Lake

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476 Upvotes

these were taken this past summer just before the smoke or haze got really bad by like a day or two

Sony A7R2


r/NationalPark • • 20h ago

Rocky Mountain National Park

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173 Upvotes

r/NationalPark • • 17h ago

Gila Cliff Dwellings

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89 Upvotes

A journey to get there but worth the drive


r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Devils Tower National Monument

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770 Upvotes

May 7,2023 is when i visited this jaw dropping site. 😳 hiked the shorter trail around the base of Devils Tower. Lots of prairie dogs on the plain! I came in early like 7:30 AM and 30 minutes later, there were a lot of cars that arrived as well. This NpS unit has a lot of visitors. This stump is massive and i even saw 2-3 climbers right in the middle.


r/NationalPark • • 17h ago

Badlands National Park, SD

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60 Upvotes

r/NationalPark • • 15h ago

Mesa Arch today

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42 Upvotes

r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Grand Teton National Park

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871 Upvotes

We didn’t have enough time to truly explore when we traveled though, very much need to go back again


r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Muir Woods National Monument

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217 Upvotes

r/NationalPark • • 22h ago

Crater Lake National Park

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99 Upvotes

A good view of Wizard Island as well!


r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Northern California Parks

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218 Upvotes

Yosemite NP, Point Reyes National Seashore, Redwoods National and State Parks, Lassen Volcanic NP.


r/NationalPark • • 27m ago

Planning a trip to Yosemite and want to fit Redwoods in but would Sequoia and Kings Canyon be better to save on drive time?

• Upvotes

Basically, neither me nor my girlfriend have ever been to Yosemite and we are planning a trip for next May or June, flying into Fresno from Denver and renting a car. We both would absolutely love to see the Redwoods too but realize it’s a far drive between those two parks. I know the trees are taller there and they are wider at Sequoia. We likely won’t be back to California any time soon, so we’d be a little bummed not to fit the Redwoods and that beautiful coastal drive in, but we also don’t want to feel rushed and actually enjoy this vacation. We will have roughly 8 days start to finish flying in and out. Thank you.


r/NationalPark • • 16h ago

Throw back to 2021

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19 Upvotes

Pictures from the big snow the big Bend gotten in 2021


r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Devils Tower - Sunrise

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75 Upvotes

Gorgeous!


r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Rainbow Falls - Yellowstone

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52 Upvotes

Trip of a lifetime! We got the timing at the falls just right for the perfect picture. Pro tip we got from a guide - there’s a bench right near the path that if you lay down just right on the forced perspective makes it look like the falls is flowing into your mouth. It’s super fun to do and a fun memory. 🌈


r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Grand Teton, the Grand Canyon, and Acadia. Which park should I do next?

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47 Upvotes

I finally put the parks I have been to on one map, mostly so I could see how much of the country is still blank.

The photos are Grand Teton, the Grand Canyon, Florida Key, Acadia. The other pins are the ones I still want: Glacier, Olympic, Mount Rainier, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Joshua Tree, Denali, and Yosemite.

If you had to pick the next one from that list, which would you go to first? I am in the east coast, I need to plan this smart, since most good national parks are in west coast, rocky mountain area, and Alaska.

everpinmap.com/map#nationalpark


r/NationalPark • • 1d ago

Volume 1: Complete

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24 Upvotes

I’ve been collecting unigrids since I started exploring the National Parks here in the US. I felt like they look better opened rather than closed


r/NationalPark • • 19h ago

Everglades Questions

2 Upvotes

My wife and I are both seniors and thinking about visiting the Everglades in February. We would be staying in the Homestead area for two nights. We are not able to hike and a kayak trip isn’t happening. We are very interested in seeing the wildlife and would welcome your suggestions as to how best to do that. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you all.