Ultimate Road Trip to Visit National Parks

Summer is approaching and it’s the perfect weather and time of the year for a roadtrip. What makes for a better roadtrip than visiting all 47 National Parks in the continental United States? Round up your friends, grab a map and start driving. If you have two months to spare, then take this ultimate roadtrip at just under 14,500 miles. The Optimal U.S. National Parks Centennial Road Trip map was designed to commemorate the 100th birthday of the National Park Service a few years ago.

The map, created by a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, Randal Olson, calculates the shortest route to take to visit the most cities before ending up where you started. So if you’re looking for an adventure this summer and are interested in crossing some items off your bucket list, then we have the shortest and fastest way to do so.

Here is a list of the national parks in order to visit:

1. Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.
2. Petrified Forest National Park, Ariz.
3. Saguaro National Park, Ariz.
4. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
5. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, N.M.
6. Big Bend National Park, Texas
7. Hot Springs National Park, Ark.
8. Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky.
9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tenn.
10. Everglades National Park, Fla.
11. Dry Tortugas National Park, Fla.
12. Biscayne National Park, Fla.
13. Congaree National Park, S.C.
14. Shenandoah National Park, Va.
15. Acadia National Park, Maine
16. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
17. Isle Royale National Park, Mich.
18. Voyageurs National Park, Minn.
19. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, N. Dak.
20. Badlands National Park, S.D.
21. Wind Cave National Park, S.D.
22. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo.
23. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colo.
24. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colo.
25. Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.
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, Nev.
32. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
33. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
34. Glacier National Park, Mont.
35. North Cascades National Park, Wash.
36. Mount Rainier National Park, Wash.
37. Olympic National Park, Wash.
38. Crater Lake National Park, Ore.
39. Redwood National and State Parks, Calif.
40. Lassen Volcanic National Park, Calif.
41. Yosemite National Park, Calif.
42. Kings Canyon National Park, Calif.
43. Sequoia National Park, Calif.
44. Pinnacles National Park, Calif.
45. Channel Islands National Park, Calif.
46. Joshua Tree National Park, Calif.
47. Death Valley National Park, Calif.
48. Set your sights on the open road and safe travels!