10 Best National Parks for 1-Day Visits 

Great list. I’d also add my personal favorite: Crater Lake. Also worth one-day visits: Acadia, Saguaro, and Wind Cave, and Carlsbad Caverns

National parks mentioned in the order they are presented. 1. Bryce Canyon 0:37 2. Arches National Park 1:51 3. Yellowstone 3:50 4. Grand Teton 5:40 5. Theodore Roosevelt 7:18 6. Badlands 8:48 7. Redwood 10:21 8. Sequoia 12:08 9. Mammoth Cave 13:35 10. Congaree 15:10

Thank you for mentioning Theodore Roosevelt National Park. So wildly beautiful and incredibly unique, there really isn't any other place like it. Theodore Roosevelt spent time on his ranch here in the south unit for respite after the deaths of his wife and mother. History buffs will enjoy this tremendously, and as you mentioned, there are rarely crowds. I've been to the North Unit several times and the bison always outnumber the people. I didn't think I could love your channel any more, but you've done it.

Just got back from visiting family in Redding, Ca. and took a day trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park! Excellent one day adventure!

Glad you made this. I’m recently disabled and road trips to national parks are my new goal. Road trips everywhere, actually. Definitely gonna be a challenge with a wheelchair, but I’m all for being a victim of circumstance. Great video, cheers ✌️

Other national parks that are "doable" in one day: (1) Guadalupe Mountains, Culberson County. TX; (2) Carlsbad Caverns, Eddy County, NM; (3) Everglades, southern Florida. I highly recommend Guadalupe and Carlsbad. Guadalupe will wear you out if you hike to El Capitan, the highest point in Texas, but you will not forget the scenery once you get there. Carlsbad is an easy and worthwhile walk through the massive caverns, which have been tied in with a much larger karst system in southeastern New Mexico. You can drive through the Big Bend National Park (Brewster Country, TX) in a day, but you can't begin to appreciate the complex geology and cultural history of the park and surrounding area without spending a least a week or more there.

Arriving early and going mid-week is absolutely key to almost any NP. I visited Joshua Tree and North Rim of Grand Canyon recently with zero crowds and literally drove right in to both with no wait at all. Both are absolutely stunning and easily enjoyed in a day.

Congaree is awesome! I live in the Columbia area and visit Congaree often... FYI, there's no fee to access the Park!

It was a busy day, but In ONE DAY at yellowstone I saw: Four Waterfalls. 2 of which being S tier (Yellowstone Falls and Union Falls) A bison A coyote. Old Faithful Grand Prismatic spring And climbed a mountain. I ended the day feeling like I'd seen a year of beauty in a day. STRONG recommend of Yellowstone for literally ANY amount of days.

My husband and I did Yellowstone and Grand Teton and spent a week. Just fyi, dogs aren't allowed on the hiking trails in either park. We knew this prior to the trip, so we kenneled our labrador.

The synchronizing lightning bugs at Congaree National Park are amazing. This occurs a couple of weeks a year.

I only left my home state (Florida) for the first time ever after 20 years about a year ago, was blown away when I visited California. Absolutely beautiful state! I'm so hooked on wanting to travel anywhere, I just wish I had the opportunity to do so more. Also, I was shocked when i felt a cold breeze stepping out of the airport. It was only 74F or something in the summer! I left a 117F Indexed 100% Humidity airport that was normal for late August there lol. Death Valley didn't feel as hot as home (although it was fairly close!)

Another great video. I thought for sure that Capitol Reef National Park in Utah would have been on this list though I believe it is considered Utah's fifth and forgotten national park.

Love your videos, so informative. Please make more.

Thanks for your opinions on National parks. My wife was pregnant when we visited Bryce and we loved it so much we named our daughter Bryce. One park that is always overlooked is by people not in the Northeast is Acadia. It's the only national park in the East and definitely worth a visit. It has small mountains that are right on the ocean, so the scenery is beautiful. It also has miles of carriage trails that were designed by John Rockefeller to allow horse carriages to access the best views. They are great for biking as cars can not use them. It's a great place for outdoor activities or just driving the park road that runs through its interior.

Personally, I thought Carlsbad Caverns were better than the Mammoth Caves. Both are amazing, but Carlsbad just had a lot of amazing, varied formations in a tight-knit area. Redwoods and Congaree, I totally agree are perfect one day parks. For the longest time I was so against having a man-made structure being a National Park. That is, until we went to Dry Tortugas. This is an amazing park! It's so small, that you've really seen it all in a couple hours. You can camp there, but this park is basically a mandatory half day park with the boat schedule. Dry Tortugas is one of my favorite parks. Granted, it may be the most "out of the way" park in the lower 48 and you have to book the boat ride in advance, which is kinda spendy. But it's worth it!

I was hoping to see Acadia NP in Maine on this list but these parks still seem awesome

Nice summary of 10 national parks to visit in one day. I agree with a couple of the other comments about Yellowstone. We typically spend 5 to 6 days when we visit Yellowstone which I don't think is even enough time to appreciate the wonder of that park.

Wow! All of these parks sound like an amazing trip! Thanks for the info!!!

I love the info and also the way you present it. It’s a great way to relax while learning about places to visit.

Thank you for your in depth travel knowledge.

Carlsbad is amazingly beautiful, and it's pretty much a single-day park unless you get reservations for several of the restricted tours. Black Canyon of the Gunnison is amazing and doesn't get much traffic. If you're planning to hike to the bottom of the canyon, you'll need a full day for that, but it's extremely strenuous, probably beyond the capability of the average road tripper. The rim road with hikes out to the rim is perfect for a single day. Mesa Verde is excellent for a single day visit as well. And the trip from the Black Canyon to Mesa Verde goes most naturally through Ouray, Silverton, and Durango, which makes for an amazing drive as well. (The Million Dollar Highway is definitely worth a drive.)

Kings Canyon is awesome!! Definitely underrated and as much as I love Yosemite the crowds are a beating. I love the blooper at the end!

It looks like you took most of your own photos for this video. If that's the case I'm pretty impressed with your ability to get such high quality photos when you're just in a park and moving through it and can't really control the fact that you're not there just for sunrise or sunset but have to take pictures even in the middle of the day and still get good images. So my hats off to you and your photographic abilities.

As somebody who has been to 51 parks including 1 day in Congaree, I loved hearing your thoughts and love the park. You are clearly very well-read when it comes to national parks. I think Congaree is great for solitudes, hikes, and wildlife. Great video!

My wife and I did Yellowstone in two days a few years ago. We started in the south and followed the east side main loop, stayed overnight in Gardner, MT and then did the western half of the loop the next day, it was a great trip.

Nice to see you again!

Good list and I would add several more ... Acadia, Shenandoah, Wind Cave, Carlsbad Caverns, Great Sand Dunes, Petrified Forest and Saguaro (also adding the newly created White Sands National Park- formerly National Monument).

I must admit the title got my interest as we almost always go for multiple days...well I think you have done a good job of explaining how if folks only have limited time they can still see/experience some great things. We have yet to visit Congaree, but love all the other list. And to be honest we did only do one day at TR. All, but a couple of these are on our list for hoped for returns.

Another great, informative video packed with interesting tips. I've enjoyed your channel a lot. My dad and I enjoyed hiking through Sequia / King's Canyon late last summer, and hope to repeat (or even top) our experience with Redwood National Park this year. Time in nature is always time well spent.

Amazing places! Appreciate you spend time making these value video ❤

Cool, Geo King. Good video. You've reminded me to get my park pass before summer!

Great video - thank you!!

Binging on your videos. Such an underrated channel. Please do more videos about Washington and Colorado

I would definitely add crater lake to this list. it's beyond breathtaking

Great video. I've shared some "useful" tips of my own here. The best way to visit Yosemite or Grand Canyon is to wait for a big bad storm, then go immediately after the storm before the tourist buses show up. With Yosemite, sometimes a really bad rain will take out most of the bridges, and that's when you can luck out and find the park nearly empty. Seriously, I've done this multiple times, but of course it only works if you live close enough to be able to drive to one of these parks with only a day's notice. Once when I took my family to Yellowstone they were doing a major road construction project, and had torn up all of the paved roads on the eastern side. This severely limited park access, to the point that there would be less than 50 people in the crowd when Old Faithful would erupt. That was the first time we visited Yellowstone and it kind of spoiled me, we stayed for several days but the next time we visited about ten years later I was shocked by the massive crowds and traffic jams. So if you want to visit Yellowstone without crowds, try and go when they are doing major road construction, which makes it awful to drive around but pretty nice to visit.

Good list! Though now that I think about it, a lot of parks are designed so that the highlights can be seen in a single day. Mt. Rainier is super easy to do in an afternoon, if you're just planning a car trip around the volcano. (I live in Tacoma so I've done that loop quite often). Petrified Forest is another easily done visit with many cool sights off the road. Crater Lake is a nice loop, easily done in less than a day. Lassen is also great, and the trail to Bumpass Hell is probably easier than Delicate Arch. Can't wait for the pandemic to finally be in the rearview mirror so I can resume my national park trips. I was planning on White Sands, Guadalupe Mountain and Big Bend for 2020, but instead, I've spent most of it watching youtube videos and long, extended discussions with my cats.

Carlsbad Caverns in NM makes for a great 1 day trip, the walking tour of the cave can be done in a couple hours, and if you arrive late in the day in summer you can watch the bats fly out of the cave at sunset.

Geo King you rock. Your videos are all fantastic!!

Bryce has nice camping too. If you have time, go to Cedar Breaks Monument for a few minutes. Delicate arch is best at sunset, but very crowded then.

I've been to 85 National Parks and Monuments, each was a one day trip, all totally worth it.

Great video! I would add Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP in Colorado. Beautiful canyon, lightly visited 👍

I have only been to three of the parks on this list, Theodore Roosevelt National park, Badlands and Manmoth cave. Seeing the pictures brought back memories. I loved the pictures on this video and I hoping to make it to all the National parks someday.

Pinnacles is a small park, and was a bit crowded on a Saturday. We did see a California Condor, but it was sitting on a distant rock. We zoomed in with our cameras to over 40x, but we saw one!

As an expert in doing Yellowstone in one day (it used to be between me and my grandparents) I do suggest picking two areas to see in one day and spending a few hours at each. And seeing the grand canyon of the Yellowstone is absolutely worth it. If you do want to get away, the Northeast corner has fewer geothermal features and fewer people but very striking scenery and it leads to some of the most scenic drives in the US.

Grand Teton has always been our family favorite!

My home state utah definitely has a lot good parks. But one thing with arches is you definitely only need one day, but I'll just day there is more in the park than people realize and a lot of amazing arches not seen from the road that takes long hikes and such. I usually camp and spend 3 days exploring

There are plenty more "1 day" National Parks. Maybe you could do 10 more? Acadia, Lassen, Crater Lake, Shenandoah, Capitol Reef, etc

I've seen Carlsbad Caverns in a few comments. Been there a couple times. It's about an hour from Roswell where my dad lived for a few years. I'm not sure if it's a "national park", but quite amazing. The hike down is relatively easy, unless you are elderly. The slope is a bit steeper at times, but an elavator is there to come back up. Plus a snack bar in the caverns to grab a hot dog or burger. Just don't touch the stalagtites, or stalagmites! (Hope spelling was correct!)

Did Arches National Park a couple years ago during the middle of a snowstorm. We were the only people there, and being Canadians the snow didn't bother us at all. Beautiful park to visit

We spent a week driving from San Francisco down to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, over the Los Padres mountains with a stop to visit a friend in Hanford (a day at Sequoia) and then on to Yosemite. Sequoia was a pleasant surprise as were all the farms and wonderful "hole in the walls" Mexican restaurants. Wish we hadn't wasted a day in San Francisco but at least I can say I've been there. Other than San Francisco I can say I met some of the nicest, most down to earth people in America. We visited in May and while the valley (Hanford) was nice and warm we got to have a snowball fight in Sequoia. That was a treat for people from South Carolina who rarely experience snow and certainly not in May! Your suggestions are spot on terrific. I've been to some and others I hope to see. Thank you. ~Sherrie in South Carolina

Thanks for the content. Do you have any recommendations for road trips and national parks with young children. My wife and are want to get out and see parts of the country we have never been too but also want it to be an enjoyable experience with 4 younger children. Obviously that prevents us from long difficult hikes but you seem to be full of ideas so I figured I’d see what you recommend. Thank you

I love your show bud !! G.K. is the only way I like to spend my free time pretty much every day. Do you have any shows on north American River systems ?

Red Wood is perfect for a cross-country road trip that's going north south on the west coast. Start in Seattle end in Los Angeles/San Diego

Great list. Some other great NPs I've been to that could be done in a day: Guadalupe Mountains, Acadia, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns & Everglades. I did Rocky Mountains in half a day too but most of the northern part of the park was closed due to snow and only did Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake hike (~4 miles roundtrip) so not sure if the whole NP can be done in a day. Big Bend is huge and really beautiful so would need at least 2 days to explore and appreciate the beauty. I personally wouldn't visit Yellowstone just for a day even with time constraints. Would need at least like 3 days to be able to fully enjoy and explore the vastness and beauty of it.

Garden of the gods, in Colorado nice one day visit too....👍

My good friend Jim Hall is a park Ranger at Bryce Canyon. Great place!

Everglades is a wonderful park for a day trip. Kings Canyon and Sequoia not so much. Their backcountry is spectacular, but getting there will take more than a day.

Just a comment on Delicate Arch. It is not just one of the most recognized rocks in the US, it is one of the most recognized rocks in the world. I traveled quite a bit when I worked in the oil patch. I think every travel agency I ever saw, no matter where, had a poster with Delicate Arch in their window. And you are correct. Get to the trailhead early. Arches is quite crowded these days. Unlike how it was over 65 years ago when I first visited.

Devil's Garden is the best hike I've been on.

I'm fortunate to have visited all the parks mentioned and most for just 1 day. I spent 2 days at Yellowstone and I don't know if 1 day is reasonable. The park is huge so there would be tons of driving to see most the key sites. Also TR park, as was mentioned, has a north and south unit so I would recommend 1 day at each, which is what I did. I did a hike in the north unit and even in the middle of summer there were very few people there.

I love Theodore Roosevelt national park! It’s amazingly beautiful!

Crater Lake is also right up there for me for a quick visit. That’s one of the best views ever.

I've also done Acadia, Black Canyon of the Gunisson, Glacier, Zion and Grand Canyon (north Rim) in a day and they were all awesome

Fun video! Also to consider, is what it takes to get there. Bryce's closest major airports are over 250 miles away -- so you'd probably only day-trip this if you were exploring the area anyway, rather than making it a destination. Speaking of which, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is day-trippable too -- if you're already "in the neighborhood!" Love this series, thanks.

Where to begin? I've been to most of your ten and do agree that you can see quite a lot in a full day, and unless you are aa a very dedicated hiker or climber you can see enough in a day--or even half a day, if pushed--to make a short visit very satisfying. Thank you for your very sound advice. Here are some of my favorites, and I must say up front that I take an expansive view of "national park." Many units of the NPS have other designations, and national monuments in particular are parks in all but name. Some parks, of course, started as national monuments, thanks to various presidents, and then were "upgraded" by Congress to national parks. Also, many parks are designed so one can drive through and get a good idea of their attractions. in the East, I'd include Shenandoah, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great Smoky Mountains. Cape Cod National Seashore. Moving westward, I'm ashamed to say that I have rather neglected the Midwest and even the Plains but on one vacation did see Scotts Bluff (and Chimney Rock) and Devils Tower, all fairly easy to it in either side of the Badlands and Black Hills and en route to Yellowstone. Then Rocky Mountain NP, driving across it. Colorado N.Mon., very overlooked, but like a smaller Bryce and really worth seeing. if you stay in Moab, Utah, you can see Arches one day and a bit of Canyonlands another day. Capitol Reef is one of my most favorite parks! Cedar Breaks N.Mon. is spectacular--very short season, because its elevation is high. I visited North Cascades NP, on a tour, in one day from Seattle. Splendid scenery. I think San Juan Islands are partially an NPS protected area. Crater Lake. Lassen Volcanic NP--another good drive-through-for-the-highlights park. As soon as I hit "Comment," I'll no doubt think of more. I love some of the great (and smaller) archaeological sites, and do want to say just because something isn' a 'national park" 'doesn't mean it is not worth visiting. Chaco Canyon, or Bandelier, or Wupatki, or Tuzigoot--all places I've loved visiting. Ditto various lakeshores, seashores, wild rivers, historical sites. And there are many excellent state parks and museums and historical sites, as well as scenic highways, that are very worth adding to your trip!

Now is the perfect Time to visit!

Rocky Mountain National Park is great for one day trips. Plus you can stop at the Stanley hotel( the hotel from the shinning)

Out of that list, I've been to Bryce, Sequoya, and Badlands. All amazing but Bryce is just incredible. At badlands I discovered some ancient Oreodont (I think) bones and we reported it to the staff. I know it's hard to just pick 10 national parks, but I would have put on Grand Canyon, and Channel Islands. It just doesn't seem right not to include the Grand Canyon, and for the Channel Islands, they have a bit of everything. Great Hiking trails on Santa Cruz island, world class scuba diving on all of them, pretty beaches to just relax on, and more great stuff. Also, I live in LA so it's super convenient for me. That is one national park that I will keep going to for the rest of my life.

Another couple 1 day-ers : White Sands, NM (now a NP. maybe half day). Rent a sled and slide the dunes and take a hike or two (a couple easier hikes towards the beginning of the park). Drive the loop slowly. Dry Tortugas Fl. Hardest park to get to. The two ways are sea plane (30 amazing minutes) and a four hour ferry. The fort is very interesting and you can snorkel. Pretty much can only go for a day unless you camp. There are limited camping opportunities. Carlsbad cavern. If you are a spelunker, you could do a longer trip. Also Everglades. Instead of the noisy boat, take a private kayaking trip.

I would’ve definitely recommended Hawaii Volcanoes National Park before 2018, but now there isn’t any active lava flows at all. Actually, HVNP could be just a morning visit if you want. You can use the rest of the day to explore the adjacent towns and beaches

My wife and I spent one day in Mt. Rainier National Park and it was one of the most memorable days of my life.

I would love to visit the Redwoods!

Great video...but there are many National Parks that can be appreciated in a day. A lot depends on WHICH day (time of year). If you go outside of the heavy tourist season(s), you are in for a much better experience. In truth, all could use multiple days. I'd definitely add Crater Lake and Rocky Mt. National Park to the list.

Possible one day excursions (parks and monuments): Shenandoah, Guadalupe Mountains, White Sands, Great Sand Dunes, New River Gorge, Smoky Mountains (but you’ll want more days there)

Kyle, I read some time ago on a video attached to a treadmill brand at my local YMCA that Bryce Canyon isn't a canyon at all, but a large, natural amphitheater. Also, one which didn't make it on your list, but is also easy to visit in 1 day, though requires advance reservations, is Dry Tortugas, which is accessible by floatplane, or ferry boat from Key West. Anyone who's going to be in the Florida Keys anyway, especially the Lower Keys, should do this one. I was just there a month ago or so, and very glad I took the trouble to visit.

We did Yellowstone in one day but I would have liked to do it in two.

Acadia is also doable in 1 -day. Better for a long weekend but if you are in Maine and only have a day its worth it!

I am from South Alabama. I love the Great Smokey Mountains National Park!

We spent one day at Gateway Arch National Park and Indiana Dunes National Park. That's really all they're worth in my opinion. Mammoth Cave is good for a day, but you could do more than that there

I know it is not exactly a National Park as used in this video, but one other one day visit park is Mt. St. Helens. The views are stunning and it's a great educational experience.

I live 2 hours away from mammoth cave Definally get some clothes to keep you warm in the cave it does get pretty cold.

Dry Tortugas in Florida is a bit difficulf to get to, because you have to go by boat or plane, but it's definitely worth a visit.

Thanks for sharing, I am curious on parking at these parks? If they are crowded I would assume parking is full and you can't find a spot?

we need a video ranking all the national parks!!

I lived in Key West for about 6 years. Dry Tortugas you can see in one day. It's remote and unlike any other park in the country.

Another good day trip national park is Black Canyon, even if you just go to one point of the park. If you get a chance to go down into the canyon, it's a fantastic trip, and it's gorgeous no matter what you see there

FYI, Grand Teton has become MUCH busier since COVID. You can still get away from crowds if you choose long strenuous hikes, but any of the shorter hikes will be packed with other people.

I would also add Cuyahoga Valley N.P., New River George N.P., Shenandoah N.P/Shenandoah Parkway.

Carlsbad, Shenandoah, Great Smoky, Jean Laffite, White Sands, Everglades

Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam is another really big, not as long but bigger in the area!!

I wouldn't even bother with Yellowstone for one day. 3 days minimum. Zion, even though not that big, is so incredible you'll want 2 days. Yosemite and Great Smoky Mountains deserve more than one day. Do the horseback ride into Bryce Canyon. Very scary, you'll never forget it. Kings Canyon is beautiful. Good list!

I actually lost my phone on Moro rock in Sequoia NP!! I dropped it, and slid down to a ledge at least 20 feet below the rail, and wasn't going to risk plummeting to my death. Luckily, I was already eligible for an upgrade as I had it over two years. The next morning, I headed over to a verizon dealer in Fresno for a new phone. Luckily I had backed up most of my pics to the cloud.

Ive been to all the parks mentioned except for the 2 in the East.

Lassen Volcanic NP and Great Basin NP could be on this list.

awesome list. but you can't do Yellowstone in one day. maybe two days, north loop one day and the south loop the other day. even then you'll only hit the highlights which are of course amazing.

Can you do a video on california state parks?

Hopefully one day soon the Mobile river delta aka “Americas Amazon” will become a National Park!

any suggestions on national park books that go over all 400 plus parks?

One to add to this list - Cuyahoga Valley Natl Park outside of Cleveland OH. The waterfalls are the main attractions there and the trails are super short, not to mention the park is literally in the suburbs of a major American city, so you aren't out in the middle of nowhere.