National Parks are always a great itinerary addition when planning a group vacation, these free natural sites full of stunning scenery, educational opportunities, and fun outdoor recreation. You can please every member of your group with a national park trip, you just have to decide which national park out of North America's 419 you want to visit! Here's a little help...
- While many of your travel tour buddies have experienced rock climbing whether indoor or out, the sports available in Yoho National Park up across the Northern border offer a more extreme approach to the same old adventures you’re used to! Climbs in the park are associated with ominous names and outrageous grades like the WaterIce Grade 5 M7 “Asylum”. Check the avalanche bulletins before you head out to conquer the thousand frozen waterfalls of the Canadian Rockies during the five-month-long ice season because climbing the vertical peaks and ridges of iced-over water deposits leaves little room for escape should the sleeping giant awake!
Takakkaw Falls Yoho National Park Canada (1)
- If being confined bylines and height requirements doesn’t sound like the adrenaline rush your group is looking for, this next national recreation park offers uninhibited excitement! If Hells Canyon doesn’t sound extreme, nothing will! Tucked away in Idaho is a wild stretch of land home to America’s deepest river gorge, endless trout fishing, pioneer cabins, petroglyph etched rocks, dangerous wildlife, and most importantly, class IV Snake River. The whitewater rafting here is two notches down from being the most suicidal and unnavigable available on the planet, choose an experienced guide for almost guaranteed survival.
Hells Canyon Pixabay Public Domain
- Erupting from the top of Washington is Mount Rainier, America’s most dangerous volcano. Also accompanied by 25 glaciers eroding the mountain, Mount Rainier poses a constant threat to communities below that would be in the path of volcanic activity in 30-60 minutes. Located right on top of old mudflows, community evacuation drills are imperative as the hollow mountain could potentially collapse under the weight of its enormous shell at any given time. Guided summit climbs are offered for those adventurous travel groups willing to ascend the ominous monster.
Mount Rainier Pixabay Public Domain
- For a national park expedition that many don’t even know exists, your team must sail 70 miles to the end of the Florida Keys to Dry Tortugas where the abandoned prison of Fort Jefferson is located. Reminiscent of Atlantis, much of this park is actually underwater and half the fun is getting there! Discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513, the island has since been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks, so snorkeling could quickly turn to treasure hunting amongst live coral, sea turtles, rays, and sharks. During your stay, you will discover that the isolated park has become a tropical bird resting point in the midst of nothing but sea and sky, a breathtaking occasion. Camping is available for groups, though not recommended during Florida’s hurricane season!
Dry Tortugas National Park Pixabay Public Domain
- For the largest national park in Utah, Canyonlands is an otherworldly escape to the sunset tones of the backcountry. While miles of supreme hiking are available throughout the four districts, see the view from the top on a balloon ride escapade! Rise with the sun and cruise silently among mountain lions, eagles, bighorn sheep, rock arches, rivers, sandstone, the La Sal mountain range, and the ancient mysteries of a landscape carved by time and primitive folklore. Maneuvered by the wind alone, your aerial joyride may take you to sights unknown, so remember to bring those cameras!
Canyonlands National Park Pixabay Public Domain
Start planning your group's national park adventure today!
