The Cheapest Way To Visit All 47 U.S. National Parks

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Haven’t been on vacation for a while? Want to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Looking for an epic road trip? If so, you’re in luck. You don’t have to break the bank to do it either.

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Fewer miles = Less money

Randy Olson, a postdoctoral researcher at University of Pennsylvania, has made himself a hobby of optimizing road trips around the United States. He’s computed the optimal route to drive through all 48 continental states, another to stop in all popular U.S. cities, and a third to hit all the major landmarks in the U.S. Because August 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, Olson decided to put his optimization skills to the test once again to figure out the cheapest and most effective way to visit all 47 National Parks in the continental United States.

The main goal of this road trip is to minimize the time spent driving and maximize the time spent enjoying the scenic beauty of each park. Olson designed this route to form a loop around the U.S. so travelers can begin at any point along the way and choose which direction they want to proceed. It spans for 14,489 miles (23,333 km) and Olson believes this trip will take approximately two months to complete (and enjoy), depending on how quickly travelers move from one park to the next.

 

Here is a list of the National Parks included on the trip:

1. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
2. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
3. Saguaro National Park, Arizona
4. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
5. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
6. Big Bend National Park, Texas
7. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
8. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
10. Everglades National Park, Florida
11. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
12. Biscayne National Park, Florida
13. Congaree National Park, South Carolina
14. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
15. Acadia National Park, Maine
16. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
17. Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
18. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
19. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
20. Badlands National Park, South Dakota
21. Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
22. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
23. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado
24. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
25. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
26. Canyonlands National Park, Utah
27. Arches National Park, Utah
28. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
29. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
30. Zion National Park, Utah
31. Great Basin National Park, Nevada
32. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
33. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
34. Glacier National Park, Montana
35. North Cascades National Park, Washington
36. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
37. Olympic National Park, Washington
38. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
39. Redwood National and State Parks, California
40. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
41. Yosemite National Park, California
42. Kings Canyon National Park, California
43. Sequoia National Park, California
44. Pinnacles National Park, California
45. Channel Islands National Park, California
46. Joshua Tree National Park, California
47. Death Valley National Park, California