America the Beautiful for Summer 2015 – Getting to Our National Parks

KennyBSAT

Moderator
Staff member

The other day on Twitter I saw a few tweets that read ‘If I win a trip to Vegas, the first thing I’ll do when I arrive is (insert Vegas activity or something about some Hyatt or MGM property)’. Of course most of the people who fly to Las Vegas do just that – arrive, enjoy the Vegas activities and atmosphere and leave. Which is all fine and good, but in Las Vegas you’re in a sea of nice fake stuff built just for show, and just a couple hours drive from some of the most spectacular natural beauty in the United States. After awesome trips to national parks in Alaska and Wyoming this year, I wanted to put together a resource on getting to these treasures using miles and points. I’ve assumed that 2 hours from the airport to the park is an easy drive and about 4 hours is about as far as most people would be willing to drive after flying in. Oh yeah, and my tweet that didn’t win:


If I win a trip to Vegas, the first thing I’ll do is drive to Zion National Park! #NoHyatt

But maybe it will still win as the promotion might not be over yet.

Most Americans have one or more national parks within an easy road trip’s distance. But not all. From San Antonio our nearest national parks are 7+ hours away. And if you have miles, why not get out and see more of them even if you don’t have time or patience to drive 20 hours each way?


Arches National Park, Utah. I wish these were my pictures…


Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado


Crater Lake National Park, Oregon


Everglades National Park, Florida


Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland


Katmai National Park, Alaska


What I haven’t done is differentiate between National Parks. After all, if you live in Arizona the Everglades National Park might be the perfect place to go. And from Northern California you have access to National Parks within a day trip distance. Variety is good, I’m trying to find ways to see the parts of America the Beautiful that are beyond the scope of a practical road trip for your family. I have sorted the destinations based on my highly non-scientific assessment of how difficult it is to get a family to the airport in summer 2015 on miles and points.

It would be nice if there was a nice concise way to put all the info here on flying to get to U.S. (and a few Canadian) National Parks, but it’s kind of a challenge since what actually works for you will depend so much on your origin as well as your preferences for driving and other factors. I couldn’t decide on a table or a series of maps so you get both. Click on any of the park names to go directly to the park webpage for info.

STATE PARK NEARBY AIRPORTS OTHER AIRPORTS AIRLINES
Alaska Denali FAI ANC AA, AS, DL, F9, UA
Alaska Gates of the Arctic (no road access) BRW, FAI AS, DL, F9, UA
Alaska Glacier Bay GST, JNU AS, DL
Alaska Katmai AKN AS
Alaska Kenai Fjords ANC AA, AS, DL, F9, UA
Alaska Wrangell-St. Elias ANC AA, AS, DL, F9. UA
Alberta Banff (Canada) YYC AA, AC, DL, US, UA
Arizona Grand Canyon FLG PHX, LAS All airlines
Arizona Petrified Forest FLG ABQ, PHX All airlines
Arkansas Hot Springs LIT All airlines
California Channel Islands BUR, LAX, LGB, SNA All airlines
California Death Valley LAS All airlines
California Joshua Tree ONT BUR, LAX, PHX, SNA All airlines
California Lassen Volcanic RDD RNO, SMF All airlines
California Pinnacles SJC SFO, OAK All airlines
California Redwood CEC MFR, RDD AS, UA
California Yosemite FAT SMF, RNO All airlines
Colorado Black Canyon of the Gunnison GUC, GJT ASE DL, UA
Colorado Mesa Verde DRO ABQ, GJT All airlines
Colorado Rocky Mountain DEN All airlines
Florida Biscayne FLL, MIA, PBI All airlines
Florida Dry Tortugas EYW AA, DL, UA, US
Florida Everglades FLL, MIA, RSW All airlines
Hawaii Haleakala OGG AA, AS, HA, UA
Hawaii Hawii Volcanoes ITO, KOA AA, AS, HA, UA
Kentucky Mammoth Cave SDF, BNA CVG All airlines
Maine Acadia BHB PWM All airlines
Minnesota Voyageurs INL MSP All airlines
Montana Glacier FCA AS
New Mexico Carlsbad Caverns ELP All airlines
Newfoundland Gros Morne (Canada) YDF AC
North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt MOT DL, F9, UA
Oregon Crater Lake MFR PDX AS, DL, UA
South Dakota Badlands RAP AA, DL, UA
Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains TYS ATL, BNA, CLT All airlines
Texas Guadalupe Mountains ELP All airlines
Texas Big Bend ELP, MAF All airlines
Utah Arches CNY, DRO, GJT SLC All airlines
Utah Bryce Canyon SGU LAS, GJT, SLC All airlines
Utah Canyonlands CNY, DRO, GJT SLC All airlines
Utah Capitol Reef GJT, SLC All airlines
Utah Zion LAS, SGU All airlines
Washington Mount Ranier SEA PDX, YKM All airlines
Washington North Cascades SEA, BLI All airlines
Washington Olympic SEA All airlines
West Virginia Shenandoah BWI, CHO, DCA, IAD All airlines
Wyoming Grand Teton Mountains JAC COD, WYS AA, DL, F9, UA
Wyoming Yellowstone BZN, COD, WYS JAC AA, DL, F9, UA

Airports in Blue have generally good award availability on at least one program, Red are more difficult, and Black often require more miles or multiple awards.


What makes an airport easy to get to? It’s a hub, or has service on several major airlines or Southwest. For instance, Denver is about as easy as it gets for airport access. At less than 2 hours drive from Denver to Rocky Mountain National park, from the Central time zone you can make that a leave-home-after-5-and-be-home-the-next-night trip. We did just that in June 2013 and it was great! If a quick search for summer 2015 travel as of September 2014 finds little or no coach saver availability and Southwest doesn’t serve the airport, it’s not likely to be an ‘easy’ airport to get to using miles.

Easy airport, easy drive:


Some of the airports with good access and within 2 hours drive of National Parks.


Burbank BUR or other Los Angeles area airports – Channel Islands National Park

Denver DEN – Rocky Mountain National Park

Durango DRO – Mesa Verde National Park

El Paso ELP – Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Cavern National Parks

Fresno FAT – Yosemite National Park

Las Vegas LAS – Death Valley National Park (This might be better during a season other than summer. Or not.)

Little Rock LIT – Hot Springs National Park

Louisville SDF or Nashville BNA – Mammoth Cave National Park

Miami MIA or Ft Lauderdale FLL or Ft Myers RSW – Biscayne and Everglades National Parks

Minot MOT – Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Ontario ONT – Joshua Tree National Park (the other L.A. area airports are all more than 2 hours away but also possibilities)

San Jose SJC – Pinnacles National Park

Seattle SEA – Mt Ranier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks

Washington BWI or IAD or DCA – Shenandoah National Park

Easy airport, longer drive:


The drive is worth it! All maps courtesy of Great Circle Mapper.


Atlanta ATL or Charlotte CLT or Nashville BNA – Great Smoky Mountains National Park

El Paso ELP – Big Bend National Park

Las Vegas LAS – Zion or Grand Canyon National Parks

Minneapolis MSP – Voyageurs National Park

Phoenix PHX – Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree and Petrified Forest National Parks

Portland, ME PWM – Acadia National Park

Sacramento SMF or Reno RNO – Lassen Volcanic National Park

Salt Lake City SLC – Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef National Parks

More difficult airport access:


These airports may not be as easy to get to, but worth the extra work or miles.


Anchorage ANC – Kenai Fjords and Wrangell-St. Elias National Parks Best access on Frontier and Alaska.

Calgary YYC – Banff National Park (Canada) Some access on UA and AA, good access on US business class.

Deer Lake YDF – Gros Morne National Park (Canada) Air Canada only using partner miles, via United or AC to Toronto.

Fairbanks FAI – Denali National Park Best access on Frontier and Alaska.

Gunnison GUC – Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Some access on UA.

Gustavus GST or Juneau JNU – Glacier Bay National Park (no road access, take a boat from Juneau) Access from Seattle on Alaska Airlines.

Kahului (Maui) OGG – Haleakala National Park Good access, may require multiple awards and use of West Coast Sweet Spot, Hawaii rates.

Kalispell FCA – Glacier National Park Good access but only from Seattle on Alaska Airlines.

Key West EYW – Dry Tortugas National Park Some access on AA, DL, UA and US.

King Salmon AKN – Katmai National Park Good access from ANC on Alaska Airlines.

Kona KOA or Hilo ITO – Hawaii Volcano National Park Good access, may require multiple awards and use of West Coast Sweet Spot, Hawaii rates.

Jackson Hole JAC – Grand Teton Mountains National Park Access on AA, UA and Frontier.

Medford MFR – Crater Lake and Redwood National Parks Good access on Alaska Airlines.

Rapid City RAP – Badlands National Park Some access on UA.

West Yellowstone WYS or Bozemon BZN – Yellowstone National Park Best access is on Frontier. Some access to BZN on UA.

Good Luck NOT – Gates of the Arctic National Park Actually you can theoretically get there from Fairbanks or Barrow, long drives to get there and no roads within the park. Buy Rent a plane. Or a dogsled. Probably not a doable family trip for most of us.


A few Frontier routes worth looking at.


I wrote about the possibility of using Frontier Airlines to get to Alaska, but they may also be the best option for travel to these other Western National park areas via Denver. If you can get there on another program, great. If not, check out Frontier. Before Frontier began their push to serve the East coast, there were a lot more routes out here.

Since 2012 we have visited Big Bend, Grand Teton Mountains, Kenai Fjords, Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Parks. By all means take full advantage of the opportunities miles and points give you to travel around the world, but don’t forget the awesome sights that aren’t so far away. Is there a park or area that belongs on here or that I overlooked? Please let me know!

– Kenny

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knick1959

Level 2 Member
Great article; a blast from the past! I found it searching for "Gates of the Arctic"as I seek out any real experience with this park or any of the 5 other national parks in Alaska that are still needing a check-mark on my list (there are 8 total). The 2 toughest (and thus trending as "most expensive") are that park and Kobuk Valley because, as you mentioned, "no road access". You have to get to these on puddle jumper plane and lodging in and around these parks is scarce and expensive.

Anyone here have experience with these parks in Alaska? I'm more looking for possible angles on, for example. alternatives to staying at the most obvious place in Bettles that will break the bank. My wife is NOT a tent camper (although she did overnight with me under canvas in Chobe National Park, Botswana!) so the lodge in Bettles is currently our penciled-in option.

I had a trip to the 2 Arctic Circle parks mentioned above by name (plus a park with road access) scheduled for July of 2019. However, we have 2 lengthy and potentially expensive trips planned for the beginning of 2019, so I've pushed this back to the next year (in 7/2019 we'll instead try to hit the 3 NPs around Seattle). Plenty of time to plan, but I thought I'd ask now. Next stop is TripAdvisor. I know there is at least one guy there who completed a similar goal as ours but I already know he did the Bettles lodge thing. Other non-camping options? We're looking to fly in and out of each Arctic Circle park either on different days or, if need be, same day allocating as much time in each as possible. I know, short visit, but logistics are tough and expensive!

We're inching closer to a completed checklist, but Alaska is still lacking many completions.
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
Anyone here have experience with these parks in Alaska? I'm more looking for possible angles on, for example. alternatives to staying at the most obvious place in Bettles that will break the bank. My wife is NOT a tent camper (although she did overnight with me under canvas in Chobe National Park, Botswana!) so the lodge in Bettles is currently our penciled-in option.
So, I was able to read a bit on TA about this area. Unfortunately there were more than a fair share of posts warning question-posters about how rugged and unforgiving Alaska is and little on real answers. But there were some. And some company references. Between those and my own googling, followed by email-based inquiries, here is a summary of the options currently in front of me. This is not an exhaustive or necessarily thorough list. Just to document the expense of visiting a) Alaska and on top of that b) these 2 remote parks. Directly from my Evernote note:

Quick notes from emails exchanged 7/20/2018-ish. Prices per person.

2 nights in Bettles lodge + 7 hour private plane taxi - $2500*
3 nights in Bettles lodge + (2) 7 hour plane taxis - $4000*
4 night guided camping - both parks are visited - $5800
~10(?) day camping, hiking, rafting - $5800

* includes flight from Fairbanks -> Bettles and back

I still have to re-find the last trip's web page. It certainly is the most cost-effective per day however it's a rather significant commitment in time and large dollars (and I'd have to get my wife to agree to camp again). These prices are for arranged/guided trips. I still have to piece it together myself and price it out. I'm sure there is plenty of overhead added by the tour operator. Times 2 people.
 
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