Category Ranking
Best National Parks for Backpacking in Summer
Top parks for backpacking during summer, ranked by a composite of activity quality and seasonal conditions.
Updated
Isle Royale National Park
Remote Lake Superior island where wolves, moose, and backpackers share 165 miles of trail. No roads, no cell service, just forest camps.
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Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve
Six million acres where caribou migrations follow ancient routes and the Brooks Range rises through valleys most will never reach.
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Haleakalā National Park
A dormant volcano where you stand above the clouds at 10,000 feet, then descend through alpine desert to rainforest in a single morning.
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Glacier National Park
Twenty-six glaciers remain from the 150 that once filled these valleys. Going-to-the-Sun Road climbs past Logan Pass to the evidence.
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Channel Islands National Park
California's Galápagos lies 12 miles offshore with 145 endemic species. Sea lions, island foxes, and rare seabirds inhabit five islands.
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North Cascades National Park
Three hundred glaciers carve through jagged peaks three hours north of Seattle, the most glaciated terrain in the Lower 48.
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Denali National Park & Preserve
North America's tallest peak anchors six million acres where one road separates you from wilderness and grizzlies outnumber summit-spotters.
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Olympic National Park
Olympic holds temperate rainforest, 73 miles of wild coast, and glacier-capped peaks: three ecosystems most parks never combine.
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Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
The giant sequoias here include General Sherman, the largest tree on Earth by volume, anchoring a forest where trunks exceed 30 feet wide.
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Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Two active volcanoes shape terrain from tide pools to alpine desert. Walk across recent lava flows and through rainforests on ancient rock.
Explore Hawaiʻi Volcanoes →Deciding between two parks? Compare any two side by side →