June is often peak planning season for upcoming summer trip Hopefully you already have some plans for your summer travels, but it’s not too late to plan the details of your National Park trip.
Here’s the truth: some of the best national parks in the country are perfect in June specifically because most travelers are looking the other direction.
Now is the time to add a National Park trip to your calendar for next June.
Olympic National Park, Washington. Three ecosystems in one park: rugged coastline, temperate rainforest, and alpine meadows, and June is when it all comes alive. The high-elevation areas like Hurricane Ridge may still have lingering snow in early June, which is honestly part of the appeal. Highs around 60°F, minimal humidity, and a fraction of the crowds you’d find in July.
North Cascades National Park, Washington. Only 2.5 hours from Seattle but feels like a different world. Nearly 700,000 acres of glacial lakes, fir-covered peaks, and waterfalls. This park is only really accessible May through September, so June puts you right at the start of the season before anyone else arrives.
Sequoia National Park, California. The roads are open, the trails are accessible, and you can walk up to the General Sherman Tree: the largest living tree on Earth by volume, without the August madness. Kings Canyon is included in your entrance fee, which makes this one of the best value parks in the system.
Great Basin National Park, Nevada. Hidden in Nevada’s high desert along Highway 50 (”the Loneliest Road in America”), this park has limestone caverns, ancient bristlecone pine forests, alpine lakes, and some of the darkest night skies in the continental US. Almost no one is here.
Acadia National Park, Maine. Epic sunrise from Cadillac Mountain. Cliffside trails with iron ladder rungs built into the rock. Jordan Pond House and their famous popovers. June gives you full trail access and still beats the peak July crowds that flood Bar Harbor.
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Planning a summer trip but not sure where to start? The hardest part of national parks travel isn’t the hiking, it’s figuring out the right order, the right campgrounds, and what to skip. My itineraries are pre-built trip plans with day-by-day schedules, driving routes, and accommodation notes.
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Everything You Need to Know to Start Planning a Trip to the U.S. National Parks
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