National parks offer an affordable way to experience otherworldly places without leaving the country. With thousands of trails to hike, rivers to kayak and lakes to swim, they allow you to enjoy a rewarding vacation experience that is all outdoors. In the last several years, I’ve pivoted my travel away from international flights and indoor museums to the deep waters of Biscayne in Southern Florida, the snowy peaks of the Tetons of Wyoming and the remote precipices of Acadia in Maine.
In 2022, I added 14 more national parks to my list during a road trip out West — and all of them on a tight budget. Even now as prices rise with inflation, the parks offer an appealing, budget-friendly way of seeing the country. To date, the National Park System maintains 63 official national parks, but the federal agency also oversees national battlefields, national monuments, national reserves and more.
The full number of sites is 429. One of the best parts of traveling to our national parks is how budget-friendly this kind of trip can be (your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen). And amid canceled and delayed flights and ongoing inflation, traveling on a shoestring budget to a national park might be one of the most affordable ways for many of us to get out of our own homes.
Because there are so many National Park Service sites, you might be able to plan a trip without getting on a plane — a definite cost savings for a family and likely less stressful than other options. Just make .