National Park vacations have become more and more popular. This is evidenced by how much busier the parks have become since we started our goal in 2015 of visiting as many National Parks as possible before our kids graduate high school. When traveling to a National Park adventure there are some key items to pack whether you plan to rough it and camp at the park or whether you plan to relax at a nice home rental or hotel at the end of a long day of hiking. We as a family have visited 50 National Parks so far so we have a good idea of what we consider to be essentials for packing no matter the park we are visiting. We have compiled our essential National Park packing list for ANY National Park vacation.
This post contains affiliate links, all opinions are our own.
Our Top 10 Essential National Park Packing List, in no particular order are as follows:
1. Clothing for all conditions
I am consistently surprised by how often people are unprepared for the environment they are going to be visiting. Whether it is the unexpected cold temperatures at the top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park or Crater Lake or along the ocean in Redwoods or the temperature swings at Death Valley, the right clothing can make or break a visit to any park.
We highly suggest packing versatile, quick drying clothing and layers as the weather can often start out pretty cold in the morning (especially at higher elevations) and can get much warmer as the day progresses.
Kim and I have both come to really like the products by KÜHL. Kim loves their TREKR shorts and pants which both come in a variety of lengths for the perfect fit (great for us petite women). I wear their KANVUS Jeans for work, traveling, and of course, in the parks! The versatility and comfort won me over and they are dressy enough to wear to a typical day at the office. When paired with the AIRSPEED shirt that is comfortable and quick drying I am set for nearly any park.
2. Hiking Shoes
Proper footwear is essential for any National Park trip. We always recommend a good pair of hiking shoes/boots and, depending on the season or location, a good pari of sandals as well. I (Kim) have 3 types of shoes I would recommend, waterproof hiking boots for cooler wet (or snowy) weather, quick dry or waterproof hiking shoes, and a good hiking sandal. We personally prefer barefoot/minimalist brands such as Vivobarefoot, LEMS (some are not barefoot friendly), and Xero. For sandals, look into Unshoes, EarthRunners, Shamma, and Bedrock Cairns. I don’t recommend the Xero sandals unless they change them or add a new style, they are currently not great for hiking as your foot slides around too much since there is no toe strap. There are a lot of other good brands as well and the barefoot movement seems to be gaining popularity so I am sure more brands will become available in the US in the near future. I had issues with my knees when using regular hiking shoes but have not had any issues since switching to barefoot hiking boots because they allow my foot to curve around rocks and branches and work as intended.
3. Backpack
For years we carried backpacks by Timbuk2 and they have been durable, comfortable, and able to haul whatever we threw at them. Lately, however, I have switched to a Peak Design pack and am enamored with it. The pack is fantastic if you have camera gear and since I’m often carrying 2 camera bodies, 3 lenses, and all the accessories, I love the internal padded dividers, chest strap, durable exterior. This pack has been on many trips including some rough hikes in the Boundary Waters and numerous flights and has kept all my gear safe. I carry a 20L as it is perfect for my setup but a 30L would be fine as well. My one wish is for a rain cover as it is ok in the rain but not waterproof. Capture clips are a must for any pack if you carry a camera – trust me your neck will thank you! Kim still faithfully uses her original Timbuk2 backpack and it is still going strong with no issues.
4. Camera
We don’t go on any National Park trips without our camera, but most can get away with the camera on your phone. Though it is nice to have the option to print large format photos from your trips to hang on your walls. For many years now we have been using Olympus (now OM-System) cameras and currently use two primary bodies – our trusty E-M1 Mark I and newer E-M1 Mark III. While we could use just one for all circumstances, having 2 gives me some backup and means I don’t have to switch lenses nearly as often. We use three lenses with all delivering at f2.8, a 7-14mm, 12-40mm, and 40-150mm. Since these are Micro Four Thirds systems, these are equivalent to 14-28mm, 24-80mm, and 80-300mm. Add a teleconverter to pick up 1.5x and I can reach really far without the bulk and most of the performance of a full frame camera. One word of advice – if you don’t want to spend the money to get a good system you are better off with a good iPhone or similar phone. The kits you may get on sale simply don’t have the glass to perform and a subscription to Lightroom can really help clean up the image.
5. National Park Passport Book
While not necessarily essential, this book is a fun way to keep track of the parks you have been to and when you were there. We use ours so much we are running out of room in some regions but being able to reflect back on different trips and see when we were there is fun! We use the traditional Classic Edition as it is compact and we are still doing ok on space as we close in on 200 park sites. We do carry a Junior Ranger edition as well but I would not do that over again as it does not have a good space to stamp like the full version and the kids would probably want to carry a Classic Edition with them as adults as they would visit additional parks.
6. Sunblock, Bug Spray, and First Aid Kit
We try not to use sunblock very often but there are times when you need it. To help cut down on the amount of sunblock needed, I love this sun shirt and like to wear a baseball cap to block the sun from my eyes. When we do wear sunblock we love Badger Mineral Sunscreen (and it’s reef safe so you can use it anywhere). For bug spray we often use Cedarcide because it is safe for our dog as well. You won’t need bug spray at every National Park but for many of them you will be happy you have it. We consider a First Aid Kit essential when hiking in National Parks because you are often far from any ranger station and we have found ourselves needing a bandaid and sanitizing wipe on a hike on several occasions.
7. Water Bottle and Water Jug
Having seen so many people hiking in flip flops I should not be surprised how many set out on hard, long, and hot hikes without anything to drink. We were recently in a slot canyon in Utah and encountered many people who were starting too late in the day and didn’t bring any water! I often carried a 1L bottle to drink from and then a second 1.5L bottle to replenish the family’s bottles from. Yes, it is heavy, but worth it so we stay hydrated. We have also been bringing our Dometic Go Hydration Jug and faucet on trips for the past few years and have found them to be easy to find spots to refill at grocery stores across the country. These are also great to leave in the car while we hike and have the ability replenish our bottles throughout the day.
8. Raincoat
Raincoats are essential in many parks as the weather can change quickly. We don’t have any specific recommendations for a rain coat, just suggest you bring one.
9. Guide Book
I’m often asked how we plan our trips and the answer is, I do a fair amount of research and have learned roughly how many things we would want to do in a day. We do not plan out every hour and like to have a healthy amount of downtime but have primary things we want to ensure we get to in any park. A good guidebook helps with this as well! My favorite books are the Fodor’s The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West, Your Guide to the National Parks, and National Geographic Guide to National Parks of the United States. They don’t always come with us on a trip but instead each has a page or two that I take pictures of and often use them to help select hikes and our must see destinations. I also leverage AllTrails for current hiking conditions and timelines and it is incredibly helpful for downloading maps before we go so we always know where we are!
10. Cooler and Hot Plate
A cooler may seem obvious but we absolutely love our plug in cooler that uses no ice. There are reasonably priced ones at Costco sometimes and you can also spend a lot on a Dometic one that will last forever. We have an old Coleman one we have been using for nearly 20 years that has served us well. We also use a backpack cooler that is not super comfortable to hike with but can be handy to be able to eat a meal other than pb&j or granola bars at the destination of our hikes. We have also been using a Hot Logic to reheat leftovers or frozen (defrosted) burritos on many trips and break up the dreaded doom loop of cold sandwiches on a trip. It is a treat to have a hot meal in the middle of the day in a National Park!
That’s it! Hope you find this list helpful on your next National Park vacation. Let us know in the comments what you consider essential on your National Park trips.
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