Life's a garden, dig it! One traveler and outdoor writer has visited every national park in America. That's right, all 63 of them in the United States. And she's decided her favorite.
Emily Pennington writes for Outside Online, and she recently penned a thoroughly entertaining column on her travels. Check it out over there, but I will boil down the gist of her experience. Out of all the places that she has been, she considers this national park in Texas to be the best. That's right we're talking about Big Bend.
Favorite National Park
That national park has entertained visitors for decades with its beautiful views, stretching from mountain tops to river canyons. Here's what Pennington had to say about the experience.
"I grew up in the suburbs of Houston—in a region I best remember as flat and swampy—and then moved to Los Angeles for college. Because my family wasn't very outdoorsy, I had no idea that an extraordinary expanse of conifer-topped peaks and narrow river canyons was a day's drive away. In L.A., I could easily go for a day hike in the Hollywood Hills or spend the weekend exploring San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The topography, and its proximity to it, started to change me.
Fast-forward 15 years and picture me rolling into Big Bend National Park, delighted and surprised. The pine-freckled Chisos Mountains towered before me. I spent four days roaming the park, canoeing the Rio Grande, soaking in natural hot springs, and trekking ridgelines that afforded panoramic views of the Chihuahuan Desert.
Although Big Bend happened less than two months into my transition to full-time vanlife, the impression it had on me lasted the duration of my trip. Unlike the most popular parks like Rocky Mountain, Big Bend's natural attractions were unexpected. It was so off the beaten path. But there were many other reasons I fell in love with this West Texas gem. Here are a handful."
In addition to being a great place for rafting and camping, the travel writer was impressed with the national park's remoteness. The lack of light pollution made it a great place to see the stars. As far as her runner up, that would be Gates of the Arctic National Park.
She wrote, "Boasting nearly 8.5 million acres, Gates of the Arctic is the second-largest national park in the country. That's really hard to fathom. It's larger than ten Yosemites or eight Glaciers. Mountains and rivers seem to spill out forever here, and I felt like I had a gigantic playground all to myself."
