13 national parks to explore on your next American summer vacation
Skip pricey trips abroad and explore beaches, deserts and historic sites across the National Park System.
Eve Chen- National parks offer affordable and memorable vacation options for families.
- Destinations range from beaches and historical sites to nature preserves and city landmarks.
- While many parks are free to enter, some have vehicle fees or charges for specific attractions.
It can be hard finding a vacation destination that pleases everyone in your family, especially on a budget.
But with 433 sites across the National Park System – all informally referred to as parks – there really is something for everybody.
Each park was set aside for a specific natural or cultural purpose, and each one is worth visiting. Some travelers even make it a mission to experience them all.
To help narrow down the choices for your family, here are 13 parks for every kind of traveler, from nature lovers to history buffs.
For the beach babies
▶ Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Location: North Carolina
Picturesque beaches and charming lighthouses welcome visitors along with what this park calls the best surfing in the eastern U.S. While you’re in the area, stop by the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
Fees: Entry is free, but there may be parking fees. There are also fees to climb the lighthouses. Climbing Bodie Island Lighthouse costs $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and kids under age 12, with a minimum height of 42 inches. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is closed for restoration this year.
▶ Cumberland Island National Seashore
Location: Georgia
Enjoy 17 miles of pristine beach, wander through maritime forests or take a ranger-led tour through the ruins of an industrial-era mansion on this island “where nature and history meet,” according to the Park Service. You may even spot some wild horses.
Fees: Entry costs $15 per person. Third-party ferry service to the island starts at $30 for kids over age 5 and $40 for passengers over age 15, with discounts for seniors.
Location: Washington
This park’s dramatic coastline is as mesmerizing as its fairytale-like rainforests and mountains.
Fees: $30 per private vehicle
For the history buffs
▶ Gettysburg National Military Park
Location: Pennsylvania
Upwards of 50,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing in the Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle in the Civil War and one of the most pivotal, according to the National Park Service and American Battlefield Trust. This is also where President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famed Gettysburg Address.
Fees: The battlefield and visitor center are free to enter, but there is a fee for the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War, the Cyclorama painting and the film “A New Birth of Freedom," which are operated by the Gettysburg Foundation. Tickets to all three cost $20.75 for adults, with discounts for veterans, seniors and kids over age 5. Kids age 5 and under may enter for free.
Location: Colorado
There are more than 600 Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in this park, which visitors can appreciate from a distance or up close through a ranger-led tour beginning in May.
Fees: $30 per private vehicle from May through late October. $20 per vehicle during the off season. Tour fees start at $8 for visitors over age 2 on Recreation.gov.
▶ San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Location: Texas
San Antonio is famous for the Alamo, which is owned by the state of Texas and managed by a third party. However, there are four other Spanish colonial missions that helped shape the region. Together, these four cultural landmarks make up San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
Fees: Entry is free
For the nature lovers
Location: North Carolina, Virginia
The Blue Ridge Parkway winds through scenic mountains, offering sweeping views for nearly 470 miles with hiking, camping and other recreation along the way.
Fees: Entry is free
Location: Utah
Driving or riding the park shuttle in at the canyon floor, you’ll be surrounded by jaw-dropping Navajo sandstone cliffs waiting to be explored.
Fees: $35 per private vehicle. Non-U.S. residents must also pay a $100 per person fee, unless they have an America the Beautiful public lands pass. Visitors who want to hike Angels Landing must join a ticket lottery with a $6 non-refundable application fee and $3 per person permit fee.
For the sightseers
▶ Boston National Historical Park
Location: Massachusetts
Explore Revolutionary sites like Faneuil Hall and Bunker Hill. While you’re there, don’t miss Boston African American National Historic Site and Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.
Fees: The park doesn’t charge entry fees, but partner sites like the Paul Revere House and the Old State House charge admission.
▶ Independence National Historical Park
Location: Pennsylvania
See where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed, the Liberty Bell and much more. Note that Congress Hall, where Congress met for a decade while Philadelphia was the nation’s capital, is closed through late April.
Fees: Most sites are free to enter, but tickets may be needed for Independence Hall. They are free but have a $1 processing fee. There’s also a $2-5 interpretative fee for the Benjamin Franklin Museum, for visitors over age 4. The third-party National Constitution Center charges for admission.
▶ National Mall and Memorial Parks
Location: District of Columbia
Some of the nation’s most iconic sights sit along and just off the National Mall, including the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The Mall is also home to various Smithsonian museums, which are not part of the Park Service but well worth visiting.
Fees: There are no admission fees for open-air sites (or Smithsonian museums), but timed entry tickets are required for the Washington Monument. Same-day tickets are available in person for free or advanced tickets may be booked online with a $1 per ticket fee. There's also a $5 advance reservation fee for self-guided tours of Ford’s Theatre.
For the kids (at heart)
Location: Colorado, Utah
Your kids and inner child will be wowed by the Jurassic-era fossils here. There are over 1,500 bones in the park's Dinosaur Quarry Exhibit Hall alone.
Fees: $25 per private vehicle
▶ Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Location: California
From sandy beaches to towering redwood trees to infamous Alcatraz Island, there’s tons to see in this park spanning dozens of sites around San Francisco.
Fees: There is a $15 entrance fee for Muir Woods National Monument, per person over age 15. There’s no entry fee for Alcatraz, but third-party ferry rates vary. Parking fees at the Presidio start at $3 per hour or $10 per day.
To find the nearest park to you, visit the National Park Service's website.
(This story was updated with new information.)
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