Best National Parks on the West Coast
Joshua Tree, one of the best West Coast National Parks!
You shouldn’t plan a trip to California, Oregon, or Washington without including a visit to a few of the best national parks on the West Coast!
From towering redwood trees to otherworldly rock formations to glistening waves at the ocean, the West Coast’s natural offerings are awe-inspiring.
I grew up on the East Coast, and I remember the first time that I visited the West Coast—everything seemed bigger and more impressive!
We picked the following spots for their unique settings, biodiversity in flora and fauna, and overall natural beauty that’s like nowhere else on earth.
(Note: those national parks that didn’t make the list are absolutely worth still visiting!)
Pack up the camper or book your rental car, and let’s head into the wilds of the West Coast for a visit to the best national parks there.
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Best National Parks on the West Coast
Below, you’ll find our picks for the can’t miss West Coast national parks, in no particular order.
Whether you’re planning to road trip between all of them, or spend your entire vacation exploring just one, we’ve compiled essential overviews of each.
You’ll find can’t miss activities and highlights of each park, as well as recommended visiting times, campgrounds, and nearby hotels.
Joshua Tree National Park
Location: southern California between LA and the Mexico-US border
Established as a national park: 1994
Best Time to Visit: early spring and late fall. The heat can be intense during the summer months, and July to September sees a lot of rain.
What’s Special about Joshua Tree National Park
The location of Joshua Tree National Park can’t be beat as it’s a 3 hour drive from Los Angeles and less than an hour from Palm Springs.
This makes Joshua Tree an easy add-on to your SoCal road trip.
Once you’re there, though, the glamorous, palm tree-laden cities will feel a world away as you’re surrounded by Joshua Tree’s ubiquitous rocky landscape.
Named after a plant in the Yucca family that just looks like a tree, the national park is a wonderful place to explore the unique desert ecosystem of this corner of the United States.
Must Do Activities in Joshua Tree National Park
Geology Tour Road is a great place to get the lay of the land, as this 2-hour loop carries visitors across the seemingly barren landscape of the park.
In actuality, it’s teeming with life, including foxes, lizards, rattlesnakes, and bighorn sheep.
For hiking families, beginning hikers, or hikers unused to the hot, arid desert environment, I’d suggest doing one of the shorter loop hikes.
Barker Dam (1.1 miles), Bajada Trail (0.25 miles), Arch Rock Trail (1.4 miles) and Cap Rock (0.4 miles) are all great introductions to the hiking at Joshua Tree National Park.
Remember to pack plenty of water and sunscreen anytime you head out on the trail!
Dive more deeply into what you’re seeing and doing in the park with the Joshua Tree National Park tour on the GuideAlong App.
This app is our go-to when visiting national parks as the guide plays automatically based on your GPS location and doesn’t require a cell signal once the tour is downloaded to your phone.
You’ll get information on the park’s history, geology, wildlife, and more.
Since we can start and stop the tour as much as we’d like, it’s great for traveling with kids.
It’s like having a tour guide in your car with you—but at an extremely reasonable price.
More Activities in and near Joshua Tree National Park:
Where to Camp at Joshua Tree National Park
Fellow campers at Black Rock campground in Joshua Tree National Park
Where to camp near Joshua Tree National Park largely depends on how many creature comforts you’d like during your stay.
Campgrounds inside the Park
There are a mixture of reservation-based campgrounds and first come, first served campgrounds within Joshua Tree National Park.
If you’re a planner or if you’re visiting during the high season of fall, winter, and spring, you can stay at the following campgrounds:
Black Rock ($25/night),
Cottonwood ($25/night),
Indian Cove ($20/night),
Jumbo Rocks ($20/night), and
Ryan ($20/night).
None of the reservable campgrounds have electric or sewer hookups, but Black Rock and Cottonwood campgrounds have water and flushing toilets available.
The 3 first come, first served campgrounds—Belle, Hidden Valley, and White Tanks—have no hook-ups, pit toilets, and no potable water.
Where to Camp Outside of Joshua Tree National Park
If you'd prefer to stay in a campground with full hook-ups, you’ll need to head back to Palm Springs, which is about 45 minutes from the park’s main entrance.
The Joshua Tree/Palm Springs KOA is our recommendation for family visits to Joshua Tree National Park.
The sites are wide and flat, and there are SO many things for your family to do from an on-site train ride to splashing in the pool.
Plus, you’re minutes away from everything that Palm Springs has to offer.
Where to Stay near Joshua Tree National Park
The park doesn’t have any hotels or accommodations outside of its campgrounds (above), so you’ll need to book an off-property stay.
Our recommended hotel nearest to the main entrance is the Fairfield by Marriott Inn and Suites Coachella Valley.
This hotel is also at the end of Palm Springs, which means you’ll be able to combine city exploration with your days in the national park.
Explore more of the US with the best national parks on the East Coast!
Channel Islands National Park
Location: off the coast of Santa Barbara, California
Established as a national park: 1980
Best Time to Visit: I’d recommend summer and fall as these are the times least likely to have intense fog and/or wind. The Channel Islands have a mild climate year-round.
What’s special about Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park is only 1 of a handful of national parks situated completely on islands.
(Others include the incredible Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys and the isolated Isle Royale National Park in Michigan.)
Unlike all of the other national parks on this list, Channel Islands is largely accessible only by boat.
This makes the Channel Island National Park feel overwhelming to many people, and it sadly remains one of the least visited parks in California.
Don’t let that stop you from having the most incredible day trip you’ve ever had!
Must Do Activities in Channel Islands National Park
Here comes the ferry to Santa Cruz in the Channel Island National Park!
Start your adventure in the visitors center in Ventura—the only aspect of this national park accessible by car—then, board a ferry at one of 2 departure points (Venture and Oxnard ports).
Depending on which island you plan to visit, you then have a 1-3 hour boat ride into the Pacific Ocean.
Each island has its own unique features and natural offerings.
If you love sea lions, head to San Miguel.
If you want to see the famed Arch Rock or iconic Channel Islands lighthouse, go to Anacapa.
Santa Cruz, the largest, has hiking and kayaking, plus an incredibly diverse array of animals.
Santa Rosa has everything from towering forests to canyons that look as if they should be somewhere in Arizona.
If you crave solitude, head to the tiny island of Santa Barbara, which is the least visited. It only gets about 750 visitors a year!
I’d plan to stay at least one full day, taking the earliest ferry available and leaving on the last available.
More than perhaps any other national park on the West Coast, visitors need to plan ahead for their visit to Channel Islands.
There aren’t any hotels, facilities, or restaurants on the islands, but that’s part of the appeal.
This will be a national parks adventure like none other for your family!
More activities in and near Channel Island National Park:
Where to Camp in Channel Islands National Park
Primitive camping at Scorpion Canyon Campground on Santa Cruz | source
You can camp on all 5 islands, but you’ll have to bring in all water, food, and supplies via the ferry.
It goes without saying, but there’s no RV camping in the park!
RV campers should park their rigs back in Ventura, with our favorite pick being the Emma Wood State Beach campground.
This campground doesn’t have any hookups, but it’s RIGHT on the beach and only 15 minutes from the Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center.
For full hookups, we recommend Faria Beach Park Campground.
Faria Beach is a bit further from the Visitors Center—about 20 minutes—but it offers water, electric, and sewer.
Where to Stay Near Channel Islands National Park
As there are no permanent accommodations on the islands, you’ll need to book a hotel back in Ventura.
The Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Ventura Harbor is an excellent choice as it is less than 1.5 miles from the visitors center.
The Holiday Inn has oceanfront views and is located on the other side of the marina from the visitors center.
Yosemite National Park
Location: in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, inland from San Francisco
Established as a national park: 1890
Best Time to Visit: the summer months offer the most opportunity for hiking, but the winter months bring glistening snow and the famed glow on Horsehead Falls.
What’s Special about Yosemite National Park
PIN ME!
If the soaring cliff faces of mountains like El Capitan aren’t enough to convince you, then the park’s incredible history, dramatic vistas, and numerous waterfalls will make you fall in love with Yosemite National Park.
On a personal note, Yosemite was the first national park I ever visited!
I was 5, and in awe of the huge trees (and the yummy pancake we had for breakfast at the Ahwahnee Lodge!).
Your family will be equally mystified as you camp, hike, and tour around the park.
Must Do Activities in Yosemite National Park
Don’t miss the free Wee Wild Ones presentations by park rangers daily at the Curry Ampitheatre.
The park also offers a series of outdoor adventures, including guide-led family overnight camping trips.
Walk in the footsteps of President Theodore Roosevelt, who visited the park in 1903 with naturalist John Muir.
It was this trip that inspired Roosevelt to begin conservation on a federal level!
Grab the highly recommended Yosemite National Park tour in the GuideAlong app.
This self-guided tour is our go-to when visiting national parks!
Where to Camp in Yosemite National Park
If you’d like to camp, there are 13 campgrounds in the park to choose from.
All 13 campgrounds are suitable for car and tent camping, but only 10 can accommodate RVs.
NOTE: the RV campgrounds have strict limits on trailer length due to the trees and terrain in each. Double check the campground requirements in Yosemite here before you book.
After all, Yosemite camping is incredibly popular and quickly books up, so if you get there to find that your rig won’t fit, you’ll have to leave the park to camp elsewhere. (And no one wants that.)
None of the campgrounds have hookups, and 3 have dump stations (Upper Pines, Wawona, and Tuolume Meadows).
Where to Stay Near Yosemite National Park
Curry Village cabins at Yosemite National Park
If you don’t want to leave Yosemite, you have 3 hotel choices: The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge, and Wawona Hotel.
If you’d rather go glamping, you can choose from the tents at Curry Village, White Wolf Lodge, Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, and the High Sierra Camps.
Only The Ahwahnee and Yosemite Valley Lodge are open year round.
The accommodations inside the park are pricier—and book more quickly—than those outside of the park.
Outside of the park, we recommend Rush Creek Lodge, which is just outside of the West entrance to Yosemite.
The interior of the hotel is fresh and modern, and your kids will love the pool and hot tub onsite.
It’s location to the national park makes for easy trips each day of your vacation.
Make sure your favorite wild child has everything for a perfect camping trip at these national parks! Check out the best camping gifts for kids here.
Death Valley National Park
Location: halfway between Fresno, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada
Established as a national park: 1994
Best Time to Visit: late fall to early spring. The temperatures in the park are more manageable at this time of the year. Visiting in the late spring to the early fall means that you’ll need to carefully regulate your exposure to the extreme heat and dryness of this area.
What’s Special about Death Valley National Park
Despite the name, Death Valley National Park is teeming with incredible plants and animals.
It’s also home to some seriously intense temperatures in the summer months with highs consistently in the 90s and 100s.
Must Do Activities in Death Valley National Park
Explore incredible (and oddly named) natural formations like the Devil’s Golf Course, where salt crystals were placed haphazardly across the bottom of a now-long-gone lake.
Head over to Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation in the United States, to marvel at the vast salt flats on an easy, flat 1-mile hike.
Impress your kids with the massive sand dunes inside the park.
They can hike up one on the Mesquite Flats trail, which comes in at around 1 mile if you go all the way to the top and back.
At night, plan to stay up late and enjoy the incredible view of the stars.
Death Valley National Park is a designated Dark Sky space, which affords visitors breathtaking night skies.
Best Guided Tours to Death Valley National Park:
Where to Camp in Death Valley National Park
The night sky is amazing at Furnace Creek Campground in Death Valley National Park!
If you’re planning on staying more than one day—and you should!—you’ve got lots of options.
Tent, car, and RV campers who prefer campground amenities should look for a spot at
Furnace Creek,
Texas Springs ,
Stovepipe Wells,
Emigrant,
Wild Rose, and
Mesquite Spring campgrounds.
Of the developed, federally-owned campgrounds in the park, Furnace Creek is the only one you can reserve ahead of time—and that’s only in the high season of fall, winter, and early spring.
If Furnace Creek is filled, and you don’t want to chance finding a spot elsewhere on the property, you can check one of the privately owned, on-property RV parks:
Stovepipe Wells RV Park
The Ranch at Death Valley, and
Panamint Springs Resort.
Where to Stay Near Death Valley National Park
Stovepipe Wells, Panamint Springs Resort and the Ranch at Death Valley also offer on-site hotel rooms, along with the Inn at Death Valley.
Because Death Valley National Park is so large and so remote, we recommend staying on-site if at all possible.
Olympic National Park
Location: west of Seattle, Washington
Established as a national park: 1938
Best Time to Visit: year-round! The park offers different experiences for guests depending on the season.
What’s Special about Olympic National Park
Did you know that the contiguous United States has not 1, but 2 rainforests?!
One is a subtropical rainforest in El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, while the other is a temperate rainforest inside of Olympic National Park.
The extreme amount of rain that Olympic National Park receives each year (12 feet of it!) means that everything stays incredibly green.
Inside the park, you’ll find everything from snow-covered mountains to gently rushing streams to a sandy beach.
Must Do Activities in Olympic National Park
When visiting with kids, make time to slowly walk along a few of the trails and visit one of the visitors’ centers.
On a nice day, investigate the tide pools that pop up on the park’s beaches to see anemones, small fish, mussels and more.
SIDE NOTE: If you’re looking for a great book about Olympic National Park and its surroundings, I can’t recommend The Cold Vanish by Jon Billman enough!
Grab the highly recommended Olympic National Park tour in the GuideAlong app.
This self-guided tour is our go-to when visiting national parks!
Where to Camp in Olympic National Park
Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park
Tent campers can choose from Deer Park, Dosewallops, Graves Creek, North Fork, Queets, and any of the campgrounds below that accommodate RVs.
RV campers can book a site at Fairholme, Heart O’ the Hills, Hoh, Kalaloch, Log Cabin RV Resort, Mora, Ozette, Sol Duc Hot Springs, South Beach, and Staircase campgrounds.
Each of the on-property campgrounds has specific requirements for reservations, RV length, and open dates.
Check the Olympic National Park campground page for the most up-to-date information.
Where to Stay Near Olympic National Park
On-property guests can choose from cabins, lodges, and cottages.
Kalaloch Lodge, the only on-site property open year round, has beautiful views of the ocean across its main lodge, cottages, and more private Seacrest House.
Lake Crescent Lodge offers upscale lake-front living on the park’s northern edge.
While the Log Cabin Resort has a lodge, opt for the adorable, free-standing log cabins for a rustic, woodsy feel to your vacation.
Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort also has cabins with the extra perk of taking a dip in the on-site hot springs.
Sequoia National Park
Location: between Fresno, California, and Death Valley National Park
Established as a national park: 1890
Best Time to Visit: late spring to early fall. While the park is open year round, several of the campgrounds and attractions have limited or no hours during the late fall and winter.
What’s Special about Sequoia National Park
The massive, awe-inspired, simply too-big-to-be-real trees, for starters!
Sequoias (or redwoods) are the world’s largest trees, and nowhere else on earth can you see ones this big.
Both Sequoia National Park and Redwoods National Park, both in California, are centered around these gentle giants, but I think Sequoia National Park wins out because the trees there hold so many titles.
General Sherman is the largest tree on earth, coming in at a whopping 274 feet tall and 27 feet wide!
The park also boasts the tallest tree (Near Sherman) and the tree with the world’s largest branch (Arm).
Must Do Activities in Sequoia National Park
The champion trees are easily accessible by the entire family on short hikes in the forest. The paved Main Trail takes visitors to the base of the General Sherman, which is well marked.
General Grant Tree Trail is also paved and short (around 1/3 mile).
Once you’ve taken in the beautiful sequoia groves, there’s more to do: horseback riding, rock climbing, exploring a marble cave, and fishing are a few.
Best Guides to Sequoia National Park:
Where to Camp in Sequoia National Park
There are 8 campgrounds throughout Sequoia National Park:
Sunset, Azalea, and Crystal Springs are clustered together at the northern tip of the park.
Buck Eye Flats and Potishwa campgrounds are both on Generals Highway near the Middle Fork Kaweah River. These are the closest to the most famous trees in the park.
Lodgepole campground is inside Lodgepole Village and has direct access to the Sequoia shuttle.
Dorst Creek campground is closest to Kings Canyon National Park, which abuts Sequoia National Park.
Cold Springs and Atwell Mill campgrounds are both on Mineral King Road
South Fork is the furthest south in the park near Putman Canyon
Check the Sequoia National Park campground site for the most up-to-date information on seasonal openings, reservation requirements, and amenities.
Where to Stay in Sequoia National Park
Reserve a room at one of the on-site lodges!
Wuksachi Lodge and Grant Grove cabins are open year round.
Cedar Grove Lodge and John Muir Lodge are open during the spring, summer, and fall.
Crater Lake National Park
Location: southern Oregon near the OR/CA border
Established as a national park: 1902
Best Time to Visit: mid- to late-summer (July to early September)
What’s Special about Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park is Oregon’s only national park, and it boasts a gorgeous lake situated in the heart of a now-defunct volcano.
That lake is impressive: it’s the deepest lake in the United States!
Must Do Activities in Crater Lake National Park
Visitors can carefully make their way to the end of the lake to swim, but know that the water only heats up to around 50 degrees or so in the depths of summer.
If you only do one thing at the park, you’ll want to drive the Rim Trail, which circles Crater Lake in a 33-mile trip. It’s perfect for families traveling with very young kids who want the views without the logistics of hiking.
An alternative mode of transportation around the lake is the daily trolley tour, where visitors are led around the park by a ranger guide.
Kids will love biking on the designated trails or completing a Junior Ranger badge.
Where to Camp in Crater Lake National Park
If you’d like to bring your camper to Crater Lake, you can book a stay at Mazama Campground. You’ll find water and electric here, but no sewer hookups.
Where to Stay Near Crater Lake National Park
If you’d prefer a hotel, you can stay at one of the 2 lodges: one is in Rim Village (directly on the lake) and the other is in Mazama Village (just south of the lake).
