The Best of Death Valley National Park

With names of iconic locations like Badwater, Funeral Mountain, the Devil’s Golf Course, and Death right in the name of the parkland, it’s clear that this landscape on the California/Nevada state ...

To The Top! (of Texas): Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Have you heard of the term “highpointing”? That is the name given to the quest of outdoorsman seeking to climb the highest peaks in each of the 50 states in ...

Art by Earth: Carlsbad Caverns National Park

As our adventures march on this year, they are, as a collection, becoming more and more surreal. One day we’re standing on the rooftop of Texas, and the very next we ...

★ Where to Travel ★

Wild Days and Dark Nights: Big Bend National Park

Texas may be the Lone Star State, but there are 2,000 more ...

A Snowy Winter Adventure in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

First published on The Greatest American Road Trip Ohio is notoriously freezing, ...

Seeing an Old Friend in a New Light: Shenandoah National Park

Guest post by Jonathan Irish, for The Greatest Road Trip. When we ...

Knee-Deep in Nature: Congaree National Park

On photography, Jon once gave me a tip I’ll never forget: “sit, ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The Joy’s of Off-Season Traveling

It’s easy to see why the Great Smoky Mountains are the most visited ...

Mammoth Cave National Park: Journey to the Center of Kentucky

When you take your first step into Mammoth Cave National Park, you ...

★ Stories ★

Prayer flags in the Himalayas lead the way to Mt. Everest in Nepal (Image: Jonathan Irish | http://www.jonathanirish.com)

Great Quotations About Hiking, Walking, Mountaineering

❤ “Climbing is as close as we can come to flying.” — Margaret Young ❤ “If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.  Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.” — Raymond Inmon “Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains.” — Jeffrey Rasley “It’s always further than it looks. […]

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What to Read While on the Road: The Best Books About Travel and Adventure

What to Read While on the Road: Great Books About Travel and Adventure

Last updated: May 12, 2015 . Into The Wild (John Krakauer) – Love the book? The movie is awesome too. Into Thin Air (John Krakauer) – The book is better than the movie. Miracle in the Andes (Nando Parrado) Rum Diaries (Hunter S. Thompson) – Don’t see the movie, just read the book. On The […]

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76 Movies About Travel and Adventure

(Last updated May 12, 2015 – sign up to receive updates by email) There are a lot of “Best Travel Movie” lists out there on the web. And there are a lot of epic travel movies to love. The intention of this list is to dive farther than the most popular and deeper than the most […]

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Hot Springs National Park: The American Spa

Wellness – noun – The state or condition of being in good physical and mental health. In Hot Springs Arkansas, stop #5 on our epic road trip, wellness is part of the DNA—as it can be reversely be said that Hot Springs formed the DNA of American wellness. This tiny town is where achieving greater health […]

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Virgin Islands National Park Multi-Sport

About 60% of the island of St. John where Virgin Islands National Park is located is protected parkland, and that excludes the 5,650 acres of parkland area that is submerged beneath the water surrounding its shores. St. John is the least developed and smallest of the three best-known United States Virgin Islands, and with just a […]

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The Conservasionist President

We were walking through the forest yesterday thinking of how lucky we are that there are still wild places in this crazy built upon world. In that spirit, we are dedicating this President’s Day to the conservationist president, Theodore Roosevelt, to whom six national park sites in part or whole, are dedicated. Without him, we’d be […]

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Primitive Camping at the Dry Tortugas

Ideally, the route along The Greatest American Road Trip should coincide with park seasonality. While we would love to be able to visit the national parks when they are at their best in terms of weather, there are simply too many to visit during the span of one year to make this possible. Even places in sunny […]

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Bootlegging and Pirating in Florida’s Protective Waters: Historic Stiltsville in Biscayne National Park

The last time you were in southeastern Florida, did you know that you were exploring either in, or near to, one of the National Parks System’s most precious gems? Biscayne National Park is located in the waters that stretch from the Florida Keys up to South Beach—Miami’s most flashy locale. South Beach is not exactly […]

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Volunteer for a Day, Biscayne National Park

Living 95% under water, Biscayne National Park is certainly one of the most unique and unusual parks in the system. You don’t enter through a gated entrance as you do at so many other parks, but by sea. If you are not paying attention, you might miss the moment when you first dip your toe […]

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Backcountry Camping: Everglades National Park

Islands covered in mangrove trees, with their wrangling and tyrannical roots, are not made for walking on or pitching a tent if you get lost among them. They are also very difficult to navigate—even with a nautical map, compass, GPS, and coordinates to guide you. We decided our GPS didn’t work crossing mile 8 on […]

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I’m Going to Every U.S. National Park During 2016…

59 parks in 52 weeks  –  that’s fewer than one per week  —  and it’s all happening by road, save a few plane rides to reach island destinations. Everybody I’ve told seems genuinely excited for me. I am excited for me. And I am excited for Jon, my sig-O and better half, with whom I’ve […]

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What To Do With A Few Days In Santiago, Chile

I didn’t do a whole lot of research of what to do in Santiago before I got on a plane to go there because I didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend—just 2-and-a-half days and 2 nights. I showed up with a multitude of devices loaded with apps that I rely heavily upon when I travel (e.g. TripAdvisor); […]

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