Last Updated: June 18, 2026
Death Valley was a great opportunity to get out of the Central Valley California winter storms and enjoy some warmer weather and sunshine.
Death Valley National Park: Badwater Basin, Sand Dunes & Nevada Desert Wonders
National Park
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in Winter
Last Updated: June 18, 2026
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were a few hours’ drive from Paso Robles, California. We knew there would be limited access to both parks because it was February, but a few days of brilliant blue skies following a major winter storm gave us exactly what we were hoping for — snow-draped giant sequoias, frost-encrusted trees, and a winter solitude that summer visitors never see. The General Sherman Tree, the largest living tree on earth by volume, was magnificent even from a distance. This is Sequoia and Kings Canyon in winter: raw, cold, and extraordinary.
Great Basin, Nevada & Cedar Breaks, Utah
Last Updated: May 28, 2026
From Idaho we headed south through Nevada to visit Great Basin National Park — one of the most remote and least-visited national parks in the lower 48 — before swinging east to Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah and then south to Las Vegas for a week of rest and family.
Yoho National Park & Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada
Last Updated: May 2026
From Revelstoke we headed east to Golden, BC, positioned between Yoho National Park and the Columbia Mountains. The fires that had followed us since Kelowna persisted — we could see smoke rising from burning trees on the surrounding mountainsides. Yoho, Banff, Kootenay, and Jasper National Parks all share borders; the only highway closed by fire was the one through Kootenay, which we had already driven.
Mount Revelstoke & Glacier National Parks, British Columbia, Canada
Last Updated: May 2026
We left the vineyards of Kelowna and traveled northeast into the smoke-filled Columbia Mountains, bound for Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks in British Columbia. There were over 566 wildfires burning across the province — a state of emergency had been declared, most fires sparked by lightning. Even though the smoke took away from the rugged beauty of the Columbia Mountains and severely limited our activities, we still found outstanding trails and waterfalls worth exploring.
Jasper National Park, Alberta Canada
Last Updated: May 2026
From Banff we drove four hours north to Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada along the jaw-dropping Icefields Parkway. The parkway is an absolute must when visiting the Canadian Rockies — do not rush it.
