Insider Travel Information

Flying Around Alaska

For the Alaskan parks one might consider opening an Alaska Airlines credit card account. When purchasing a flight with the card your first checked bag is free. With all the segments one has to fly in the state to reach the various park areas, the savings adds up. Granted, the card does have a $75 annual fee. But, if you spend $2000 in the first 90 days after activating the card, you get 40,000 points to use in reserving all those flight segments. You might get all your flying between cities which have long asphalt runways next to nothing in cash outlay. The card will not provide rewards for all those bush-plane and float-plane journeys. After your adventure, you can always cancel the card.

Alaska Airlines will open reservation windows around 11 months in advance. To make my June 1 flight I had to wait until July 5 to secure a reservation.

Please note that Wednesdays and Thursdays are the lower cost days of the week for Alaska Air. A ticket from Anchorage to King Salmon on a Sunday or Monday can cost $350. But on Wednesday/Thursday it can be $175. Same goes for their points system. Instead of using 12,500 points for a Monday flight to Dry Bay (Glacier Bay National Preserve), I picked a Thursday for 5,000 points.

Flying Around Other Regions

Do you consider yourself to be adventurous? Consider the “Island Hopper” flight from Honolulu to Guam. You will land on five islands before arriving in Guam, including the current active military base on Kwajalein Atoll, the site of the atomic bomb testing 60 years ago. The Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia await you. Stow your fear in the overhead bins, then disembark on two of the islands to get stamps in your passport, before taking off on the next flight segment. Not too many people with passport stamps from those countries.

Accessing American Samoa requires patience. Currently one must stay on the islands for at least three days, due to Hawaiian Airlines’ schedule. But take advantage of the time by snorkeling, diving, and flying to Ofu and Ta’u.

Renting Cars in Alaska

A couple of the parks in Alaska have roads to which car rental agencies do not appreciate you introducing their property. Verbiage is spelled out in the rental contracts. Plan accordingly. There are a few local agencies (not the large nationwide chains) that will allow you to drive between Chitina and McCarthy in Wrangell-St.Elias NP, as an example. But only a few.

Another key factor to consider is that practically all of the big names do not allow one-way drop-off. Avis does, but it is high. A one-way from Anchorage to Fairbanks, included a $450 drop-off fee. The group I was with decided to just drive a round-trip… might as well take in as much scenery as you can in Alaska (and did not have to adhere to Alaska Air flight schedules).

If you go to Alaska in June, July, and August, get your reservations early. National/Enterprise were already fully booked, 10 months ahead.

Renting Cars in Other Regions

Americans will never understand why the English drive on the “wrong side of the road”. But if you plan to visit the Virgin Islands, be ready to experience that flip-side. There are a few rental car agencies on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Rates seem a bit higher than on the mainland. Just stay on the left-side of the road, and watch out for your right-hand turns.

Puerto Rico, though, is just like Florida. Signage is in Spanish and English, so you can figure out where you are headed. I personally prefer to take a taxi from the San Juan International Airport to San Juan National Historic Site, and back; lower cost and carefree experience, allowing me to view the sights. San Juan has an official certified taxi fleet, with the queuing line outside the Arrivals area, as well as locations in the vicinity of the park unit.

Make Lodging Reservations Early

All of the heavily visited National Park units with on-site lodging (think Yosemite, Grand Canyon, etc.) will fill up very early.

The Chisos Lodge in Big Bend NP begins taking reservations up to 13 months in advance.

The properties in Glacier NP will take reservations on the first day of a month for that entire same month in the subsequent year.

Brooks Lodge in Katmai NP runs a lottery in January for the following year (you must submit your application in the previous December) in order to stay in their cabins.

Yellowstone has recently changed their reservation policy. On the 5th of each month, they will accept reservations for the entire same month of the following year. An example would be on May 5, 2022, one can make a lodging reservation for all dates/properties between May 1 and May 31, 2023.

Yosemite NP is 366 days prior to your target date.

Grand Teton NP is also 366 days prior to your target date (one year rolling calendar).

Denali Bluffs Hotel, outside the entrance to Denali NP, begins taking reservations on October 15 in the prior year of your trip.

Glacier Bay Lodge in Glacier Bay NP & NPres takes reservations on December 1 of year X-1 for all dates in year X.

The Kennicott Glacier Lodge in Wrangell-St.Elias NP & NPres takes reservations one year prior to your target date.

The Bryce Canyon Lodge at Bryce Canyon NP begins taking reservations on April 1 of year X-1 for all dates in year X. An excellent option for Bryce Canyon NP is Ruby’s Inn, at the entrance to the park. Reservations can start 11 months prior to your target date. There are plenty of local accommodations on Route 12, to the east in Tropic and surrounding area.

Be careful when looking for websites to make lodging reservations. When I went to look for Yosemite options, a third party site with the name Yosemite was the first “hit” by the search engine. It looked like the official site for Yosemite, but in fact it was not the Aramark site, the concessionaire for Yosemite. Take your time to insure you are hooking up with the proper company.

Accessing High-Demand Parks

Glacier NP in 2022 will start a timed-entry process for the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Yosemite NP instituted a timed-date system for the Valley a few years ago.

You can imagine Mount Rushmore is one of the more desired summer vacation destinations for the National Parks. The number of cars needing parking spots steadily passed the available land, such that a parking garage was constructed. Last time I visited the cost was $10 to access the garage. The monument is free, but like downtown NYC, parking is not.

Arches NP has also initiated an entry system for April through October.

Rocky Mountain NP’s entry system runs June through October. One entry pass is for the Bear Lake region, while a second pass covers the rest of the park.

Acadia NP has a pass system for the always popular Cadillac Mountain car road. May through October requires a ticket. The rest of the park is unrestricted, but be prepared for slow travels on the park roads during the summer months.

Haleakala NP requires a special entry pass for between 3 AM and 7 AM, to drive to the summit to watch a morning sunrise.

Great Smokey Mountains NP has initiated a “parking fee”. The pass must be obtained on-line or at the VCs. It allows one to park their vehicle while visiting. With route US 422 crossing the park, it is not fair to institute an entrance fee, so the parking option was started.

Kennesaw Mountain NBP has had a parking fee for some time. Machines are positioned on poles and people just have to take the steps outlined on the screen to obtain a pass. I noticed rangers walking up and down lines of cars in a few of the parking lots, writing tickets.

Park Entrance Fees

The NPS charges entrance fees at 107 of the park units, as of mid-2022. With a bit of math addition, I came up with $2,164 for the Quest. That is a chunk of money. But there is a way to save 96.3% of that total. The NPS offers an annual entrance “ticket”, titled America the Beautiful Pass. A one-time charge of $80 gives you and your family entrance to all the parks for between 12 and 13 months (depends on when in a month you buy the pass… it is good until the end of the month, when you buy it, in the subsequent year). Most of the larger, well known parks, such as Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone, have an entrance fee of $35. Just traveling to three of these parks in one year will recoup the price of the annual pass.

Below are the “A” and “B” parks (see NPS website for all 107 parks). Each park offers its own Annual Pass, good only for that park. The Per Person option is for those parks which either do not have a vehicle-entry fee (which covers all passengers in the vehicle) or an individual who visits without the use of a vehicle. Motorcycles are a unique class of vehicle, having their own fee rates. A quick calculation shows the value of the America the Beautiful Pass.

Park Park Annual Pass Per Vehicle Per Person Per Motorcycle

Acadia National Park $55 $30 $15 $25

Adams National Historical Park $45 $15

Antietam National Battlefield $35 $20 $10 $15

Arches National Park $55 $30 $15 $25

Assateague Island National Seashore $45 $25 $15 $20

Badlands National Park $55 $30 $15 $25

Bandelier National Monument $45 $25 $15 $20

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site $35 $20 $10 $15

Big Bend National Park $55 $30 $15 $25

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park $55 $30 $15 $25

Bryce Canyon National Park $40 $35 $20 $30

Please note that some parks have entry fees which the America the Beautiful pass cannot fully cover. An example is the Jamestowne portion of Colonial NHP. The unit is run by a nonprofit organization, with an entrance fee of $30. But the annual pass will cut the fee in half.

Park Tour Reservations

And learn reservation schedules for park tours. Some parks are “first-come, first-serve” for tour tickets. Tours are normally scheduled throughout the day, but depending on the specific park and associated demand, times in the afternoon can become full by mid-morning. Be ready to arrive at the park’s Visitor Center when it opens to secure the tour time you want. Parks such as Minuteman Missile NHS allow you to reserve on-line, for the date/time you desire. Again, check the NPS website to determine the earliest when you can reserve. Most parks in today’s environment funnel you through www.recreation.gov to make the reservations. Some require a $1 ordering fee. But that $1 is well worth its fabric, to save the pain of arriving on-site and finding all tickets for the day are taken.

Port Chicago NMem requires you to call or submit an e-mail to provide information (check the park’s website). Reservations must be made at least two weeks prior to your targeted tour date. You will be required to present a valid form of identification at the entrance to the military base (yes, the memorial is on an active military installation). The base may decide to cancel access at any time due to operations. When calling to make your reservation, discuss with the park staff what dates might provide access.

Eugene O’Neill NHS asks visitors to email or call their office to secure a spot, even for the days when self-guided tours are allowed… one still needs to board the free NPS shuttlebus in Danville since no personal cars are allowed on the park grounds.

Washington Monument tickets, to take the elevator to the top, can be reserved starting at 10 AM the day prior to your targeted date. If you want to go to the top on October 5, get on the www.recreation.gov website at 10 AM on October 4.

Ford’s Theatre NHS tickets are reserved through the Ford’s Theater Society website, starting the Friday before the following week’s openings.

Carlsbad Caverns NP allows one to reserve a tour ticket for the cave up to 30 days in advance.

Vanderbilt Mansion NHS, to tour the luxurious home, is also one month ahead, via www.recreation.gov.

Sagamore Hill NHS, to tour the Roosevelt house, is 1.5 months ahead, via www.recreation.gov.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island require 90 days advance action. WWW.StatueCruises.com is the website.

Right across the harbor, Governor’s Island is a one month window for its ferry system.

Mesa Verde NP is a 14-day rolling window, at 8 AM MST. Be at the ready on your computer or cell phone.

Minuteman Missile NHS is 90 days.

Wind Cave NP is 120 days, while its “sister” park right up US385 and US16 highways, Jewel Cave NMon, is 60 days.

The White House in D.C. requires one to go through their Congressional representatives to obtain a tour ticket. This can be done no earlier than 90 days from your target date.

Tampanogos Cave NMon is 30 days ahead of your target date.

In 2022, Oregon Caves NMon was releasing one week’s worth of ticket reservations starting each Monday.

Lehman Cave in Great Basin NP is one month prior to your desired tour date.

Though Muir Woods NMon does not require a ticket to walk among it behemoths, finding a parking spot has increasingly become a nightmare, therefore now requiring a pass. A pass can be reserved 90 days ahead of your target date.

Food

Be sure you have plenty of snack bars and finger food in your possession as you travel the open roads and hike through parks. Most parks are in close proximity to civilization and associated gas stations, restaurants, and shopping stores. But if you make it to the Colorado River on a hike down the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon NP, you are looking at a roughly 18-mile trek over many hours, since you have to climb back up to the canyon rim. There are no convenience joints along the path.

Water Sports

For any underwater activity such as snorkeling or scuba diving and you wish to wear sun screen, please obtain reef-safe, eco-friendly sunscreen. In a few National Parks, such as Virgin Islands and Buck Reef National Monument, this protectant is mandatory. Though none of the Hawaiian parks are “in the water”, that state requires special sun screen if one intends to get wet.

Swimming in Crater Lake is legally allowed. Many might not realize this opportunity. But only one location is authorized. Take the Cleetwood Clove Trail (opens around June) for its one-mile length, and 700-foot descent, to the entry point. Be prepared for the water’s cool surface temperature, a nerve tingling 55 deg F (below 300 feet the temperature is a balmy 38 deg F).

Staying Fit

Many of the most wonderous experiences in the larger parks require bodily stamina. Hiking long trails, kayaking in open water, biking along rivers, climbing mountain paths, and snorkeling around islands will be more rewarding if you are prepared to tackle the physical demands. It is never too early to begin a regime of aerobics, calisthenics, and strength training for rigorous adventures you have planned for a National Park. For my purposes, I have a great organization and gym right down the street. What options do you have to improve and maintain a healthy body and lifestyle?