Ever since the pandemic, people have complained that national parks are too crowded. There are complicated reservation systems, lotteries for entry and the cost to get in can be high.
Understandably, going to a national park may be less appealing than it once was. No one wants to go into nature just to be surrounded by a crowd! More than 325.5 million people visited the national parks last year. Getting a campsite or hotel room can be next to impossible and getting a view to yourself just ain’t gonna happen at popular spots.
State parks, on the other hand, are quieter. They don’t require reservations, they are free or cost less enter and you can bring your dog on most trails — unlike national parks.
There are 10,336 state parks. They offer gorgeous views and plenty of outdoor activities. If you want to go to the Grand Canyon, go to Dead Horse Point in Utah instead. It was used as a stand-in for the location in “Thelma & Loise” and it’s just as beautiful! If you wanted to head to the Great Smokey Mountains, Fall Creek Fall instead. It’s a few hours away, just as stunning and far less busy!
Not every state has a national park. But they all have state parks! And state parks are worth your time. There are gorgeous places to visit nationwide that are much closer to home. You can save time and gas money by staying closer to home and seeing the wonders nearer to you!
Depending on where you live in the country, your best state park will vary. The U.S. is a country with wildly varying landscapes. We have beaches, mountains, lakes and plains. It makes visiting public lands exciting and different. That’s how it works out when your country spans an entire continent!
State parks are often “treated as an afterthought.” Folks discount them as being not as good as a national park. But they have so much to offer!
“It’s true, state parks get less attention,” says Rachel Norton, executive director of the California State Park Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to enhancing California’s extensive state park system. “What you don’t realize is that there are all of these wonderful state parks around the country protecting similar landscapes, and you might not even be aware of them.”
Look up the parks in your area or near the national park you want to visit. Research what you should expect to find there. They aren’t as standardized as national parks, so the services, like campgrounds and restaurants, vary greatly from park to park. With some preparation, you can have the vacation of a lifetime without the stress of visiting a national park!
