Last Updated: July 2, 2026
Ohio was our first stop after enjoying some of Michigan’s natural beauty. We found an RV park near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is located between Cleveland and Akron Ohio.
Ohio & New York on our way to Vermont
National Parks
Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota: Pontoon Boating, Ellsworth Rock Gardens & Kettle Falls
Last Updated: June 22, 2026
Voyageurs National Park sits in the far north of Minnesota, right at the Canadian border — a sprawling water wilderness named for the French-Canadian fur traders who paddled these lakes and portages in birchbark canoes centuries before there was a park here at all. Unlike almost every other unit in the National Park system, Voyageurs is primarily a water park. There are no grand scenic drives, no paved trails to the overlooks. To see it properly, you need a boat. We were happy to oblige.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota: Bison, Wild Horses & Badlands
Last Updated: June 22, 2026
Theodore Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota Badlands in 1883 as a young man, drawn by the promise of bison hunting and the wide open West. What he found instead — or perhaps in addition — was a landscape that would shape him profoundly. After losing both his mother and his wife on the same day in 1884, he returned to these rugged badlands to grieve and heal. The land, he later wrote, made him the man he became. It’s impossible to stand in this park and not feel some of that pull yourself.
Northern California Redwood Coast: Humboldt, Avenue of the Giants, Fern Canyon & Crescent City
Last Updated: June 18, 2026
The Coast Redwoods are the tallest living trees and among the oldest living things on Earth. The tallest known Coast Redwood stands 379.1 feet — about 37 stories high. Both Coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) and Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) belong to the cypress family, and the giant sequoias, which we saw at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, are the biggest trees in the world by overall volume.
Death Valley National Park: Badwater Basin, Sand Dunes & Nevada Desert Wonders
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.
Yosemite National Park in Winter: Snow, Ice & Waterfalls
Last Updated: June 18, 2026
Yosemite National Park is breathtaking in any season, but winter transforms it into something almost otherworldly. We visited in February, coming north from Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and encountered back-to-back winter storms that closed most of the park roads. We were fortunate to get one hour of blue skies during our entire stay — but that hour was spectacular. El Capitan gleaming in the sun, Bridalveil Falls thundering over ice-crusted rocks, and the Yosemite Valley floor blanketed in fresh snow. If you ever get the chance to see Yosemite in winter, take it.
