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The RV Advisor Guide to US National Parks

National Park Service

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service. Today, the National Park Service protects 62 National Parks, and more than 400 areas, which spans more than 84 million acres, in all 50 states. The national parks welcome hundreds of millions of visitors a year, including you and your family in your RV!

These posts, from your friends here at RV Advisor, will shine the spotlight on the United States’ crown jewel.

The National Park System (NPS) includes every property managed by the National Park Service. Most of these national treasures are not parks but memorials and monuments. The largest is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. At 13,200,00 acres, it is more than 16% of the entire NPS! The Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania is the smallest at .02 acres.

RV Advisor continues to spotlight national parks, all within the same region of the US, so your RV travels can be easily coordinated. This post focuses on Western parks, one of which is a true NPS rockstar!

Big Bend National Park, TX

Big Bend National Park is 801,000 acres of undeveloped desert, mountains and spectacular river canyons located in southwest Texas. It is the only national park to include an entire mountain range – The Chisos Mountains.

It’s often referred to as a geologist’s paradise. The sparse vegetation allows the area’s complex geologic history to be easily studied and analyzed. A stroll through Big Bend reveals some remarkable visual treats, etched by the compression, volcanism, erosion and tension of earth’s geological evolution.

Big Bend Location

The park is located in the Northern part of the Chihuahuan desert, the bulk of which is in Mexico. The desert portion is ecologically diverse, with animals such as javelinas, roadrunners, jackrabbits, millipedes and mule deer. The plants in the desert are cactus, mesquite sotol and more.

Big Bend National Park is also a politically important location. For more than 1,000 miles, the Rio Grande River is a boundary between Mexico and the United States and the park makes up 118 miles of that border. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 designates that the park extends to the center of the deepest river channel, as it was in 1848.

Badlalnds National Park, SD

In the Southwest portion of South Dakota, you’ll find the remarkable otherworldly 243,000 acre landscape of Badlands National Park. For 11,000 years this rugged land was used by Native Americans as a hunting ground. The Badlands Wall is a massive mountainous ridge, extending over hundreds of miles.

Technically. Badlands is not a desert but an “arid terrain characterized by severe erosion.” The Lakota Indians called the area the Badlands, because of how difficult the park was to traverse.

Badlands Activities

Most of the popular activities in Badlands are scenic drives. A drive on Badland’s Loop Road, South Unit, Sage Cree Crim Road all offer exceptional views and attractions. Spotting wildlife is another fun activity that the whole family can enjoy. Of course, visitors have a better chance of spotting specific animals in certain sections of the park. Bison can be spotted along Sage Creek Rim Road. Bighorn Sheep can often be seen from Pinnacles Overlook. Deer, coyotes or snakes are sprinkled throughout the entire park.

Becoming an official Junior Ranger at Badlands National Park will surely be the highlight of the vacation for any child. By simply completing an activity book, and pledging to explore and protect the parks, any child can become the next Badland’s Junior Ranger!

Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park is located in Eastern Utah and covers about 77,000 acres. The park features 2,000 sandstone arches, the largest concentration in the world. Arches became a national monument in 1929, and a national park in 1971.

The park is in a high desert area, which means the weather can fluctuate wildly. Within a single day, temperatures can vary more than 40 degrees! Likewise, seasonal temperatures will vary. Summer high temperatures can approach 100 degrees and winter lows are approach 20 degrees.

The Arches

Delicate Arch is the main attraction of the park. This 52 foot free standing arch is featured on Utah license plates as well as a postage stamp commemorating the state’s centennial anniversary of admission to the United States. The Olympic Torch Relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City traveled through Delicate Arch.

Balanced Rock is one of Arches’ most famous attractions. Most people will recognize this geological spectacle. This 128 foot stone structure has an enormous boulder on the top balancing on a tiny pedestal. As a result of erosion, eventually the boulder at the top will plummet to the ground. Make sure to see it before it does!

The Windows and Turret Arch is a trail in the park that has three spectacular arches on display.

Double Arch is the tallest arch in the park. The arch is 104 feet high and 148 feet wide.

Upper Delicate Arch viewpoint provides an excellent view of Delicate Arches but without going on a grueling hike. The hike is a little more than half of a mile.

Other Arches Attractions

Fiery Furnace hike is physically demanding. In fact, the hike is so challenging, one must be accompanied by a guide or have a hiking permit. Fiery Furnace will require hikers to climb broken sandstone, leap across gaps and squeeze through narrow openings.

Devils Garden is a hiking trail and a campground. Visitors to Devils Garden can behold some spectacular views of the park, stargaze and hike.

At a glance, Arches National Park seems desolate. However, Arches is home to many different species of wildlife. For starters, most desert animals are nocturnal. An effective way of dealing with the scorching heat of the Arches is to lay low during the day and become active at night, when the temperature is markedly cooler. Nocturnal animals in the Arches range from small rodents, like kangaroo rats and woodrats. to much larger animals like mountain lions, foxes, bats, owls and skunks.

What to do next

  1. Read more posts about RV Parks and wonderful places to visit.
  2. Visit thervadvisor.com often for updates on the latest RV news and information, as well as information on how to become more involved with your fellow RV pioneers.
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The RV Advisor Guide to US National Parks

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