Camping is easily one of the best ways to connect with nature. However, for some people finding the right park to go camping in is very difficult to do. That is when you should know about what we consider to be hte best national parks in America for camping in the summer months. Face it, some of the campgrounds and for that matter National Parks are very difficult to access in winter, which is why it is so important for you to consider these parks for camping in the summer months.
How Did We Narrow Down Our List
Well, the way that I really looked at the list here is the number of campgrounds in the park. However, I also took into account the weather. What fun is camping in Florida in the middle of July when the temperatures are tipping the scale at a hundred degrees, when you could be camping in Maine when the temps barely reach 90 degrees? Those were the main considerations, but after that I decided to look at the amenities the park itself had in the park, but also in the area around the national park. So please keep that in mind as you read our list here about the best national parks in America for summer camping.
Acadia National Park
I have to admit Maine is one part of the country that holds a lot of natural beauty. However, after seeing the harsh winters that Maine can be subjected to it is very easy to see why the region is not more developed. At Acadia National Park, winter camping is kind of iffy and in some cases not even allowed. However, the climate in Maine during the summer months makes it very easy for you to see why Acadian National Park made our list.
When you go camping at Acadia National Park you may find some private campgrounds in the region, but also the public campgrounds as well. Online reservations are required, just like at any national park lately. You may find some of the campsites, though, to have overlooks of the ocean, but these are extremely popular campsites and tend to book really quickly, if not years in advance.
At Acadia National Park the park does provide plenty of trails for you to hike on. It is very easy to get lost on some of these trails if you are out too late, so please be mindful of the time. All that you have to do, though, is make sure you have a good program to use and know the trails and you should be fine. You may notice that Acadia National Park does have bears, which are a wild animal so please use caution and keep your distance if you do see a bear. Once you venture here it is easy to see why this is one of the best national parks in America for summer camping.
Denali National Park
Traveling all the way up to Alaska may not seem like it would be a lot of fun. However, Alaska is one place that is like no other that you have ever traveled to. The land is one that is remote and this remoteness has made it easier for the beauty of the region to be preserved.
Camping in Denali National Park is definitely possible and the national park has plenty of campgrounds for you to select from, but it is also a park that fills up quickly. You would think that is not possible with the remoteness of Denali National Park, but it is definitely possible and is something that can keep you on your toes. At Denali National Park it has plenty of different camping types available, but if you are planning on using an RV or a pull behind then you need to make sure you get into the spots marked for vehicles.
Nature is a plenty in Denali National Park. When you travel to this park you may notice that it has plenty of birds, moose, and other animals for you to see. The national park does provide plenty of trails as well for you to enjoy and being in Alaska, even if you do have to take a long detour, you may want to find some of the natural hot springs.
Glacier National Park
Montana is known for the cold weather and that definitely can hold true in the middle of winter. However, Glacier National Park in the middle of summer is definitely a place to check out. Granted, it is not surrounded by larger cities like you may expect to find in some parks, but it does have the big sky that you are sure to love.
With Glacier National Park it does have plenty of campgrounds for you to pick from. Once you have picked out your campground, which you need to do individual research on the campgrounds to find out more about the campgrounds you have a chance to pick out your site. Just imagine, being able to get a site with the quiet that you want to have and the chance of being able to listen to nature like never before.
What can really be interesting for a lot of people is the type of animals that are in Glacier National Park. The park has plenty of birds, but also has bears as well. These are wild animals so please use caution, but also you ca ton find the hiking trails in Glacier National Park have made it easier for you to walk around the park and get away from the hustle and bustle that can happen in the campgrounds during the summer months.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Camping in the mountains is always fun, but because it is mountains it means you have to time your trip right. The campgrounds in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are located throughout the park, but access tends to be over the mountain roads and I can tell you from personal experience that does mean that even in May you could run into snow. The mountain roads once the snow does hit tend to become hard to pass through and at times are closed.
With the snow potential the campgrounds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park tend to be open during the winter months, but it is harder to get in and out of and can close. That is why this park, located in the South made it to my list here. However, once you are up in the mountains versus the town of Gatlinburg near by, you can notice a tremendous change in temperature which makes it a lot more comfortable to go camping in the middle of summer here.
In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park it is easy to find something to do with miles of trails to hike, but also part of the Appalachian Trail running through the park it is easy to hike. Now, if you do not mind taking a little bit of a drive you do have the tourist town of Gatlinburg close by, but also have historical homes to check out and can even go and visit the Cherokee Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale is located on Lake Superior, yes the same lake that took the Edmund Fitzgerald, which means during the winter months it will get choppy and rough. The winter months up on Superior will definitely make it very difficult if not impossible for you to camp at Isle Royale. You may already be asking why it would be impossible to camp here during the winter months when the lake is choppy and well, that comes from the fact that the campgrounds are accessible only by boat or foot.
With the campgrounds only being accessible by foot or boat it definitely leads to you having a better chance to get to the spots and not have to worry about a lot of people. At the same time, though, it does give you a lot of the seclusion you may want to enjoy nature even more than what you already did before.
For Isle Royale you may notice that it does have plenty of water activities to partake in like fishing, boating, among other water activities. However, you will find that Isle Royale does have plenty of trails for you to hike and with the seclusion on Lake Superior here it is rather easy for you to enjoy the nature that is not as spoiled as you find at the more accessible national parks in America. It is important to read the notes on the national parks website for Isle Royale as restrictions are in place for the camping!
Camping in the beautiful national parks across America is always a good thing to do. However, what you may notice is that camping in America is one way to see the country for the natural beauty the country holds. Just imagine waking up one morning and seeing a landscape that you never saw before, but also hearing birds and wildlife that you never heard before. If you can imagine that, then the 5 best national parks in America for Summer camping.
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