I Hiked All of California’s National Parks in One Year and Here’s What I Learned
The project began with a Christmas-induced panic. The holidays were approaching, and I was striking out on gift ideas for my husband.
I began thinking up gifts I would want (not a bad place to start, right?) and hit upon the idea of camping trips. My husband and I both love camping, hiking and backpacking, but applying for the permits and reserving campsites can be time-consuming and tedious — basically, the perfect gift to give someone else.
I pulled up a map of California and started scrolling around. We had been backpacking in Yosemite many times, and more recently to Desolation Wilderness. But due south along the Sierras were Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. And Lassen Volcanic National Park in the northeastern part of the state. And Redwoods… and Pinnacles… and…
An idea was born.
California is home to dozens of national monuments and other National Park Service areas, but just nine national parks — a very doable number if you want to visit them all in a year.
So that’s what we did. I dubbed it the Wonderment Tour, and started researching how, when and where to visit each park.
This is what I learned.
Preparation
Want to try this challenge over the next year? First, purchase the 2017 America the Beautiful — The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass. At just $80, the pass — which will get you into all of the country’s national parks for free — is a complete steal. Additionally, current military, U.S. 4th graders and those with permanent disabilities qualify for a free pass, and seniors pay just $10 for a lifetime pass.
Next, invest a solid set of clothing layers. Stay away from cotton and go for wool or synthetics. No matter where you are — in a coastal fog layer to cold desert nights to June snow in the high Sierras, nothing will serve you better than a good base layer.
Regarding trip length: I wanted to go on other vacations during the year, so wherever possible, I kept the trips to one or two nights — a weekend or long weekend getaway. Of course, you can avail yourself of much longer and more difficult trips at any of these parks, but the point here is to see all that California has to offer in one year, and then immediately make plans for the next visit to your favorite destinations.
March — DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
Winter is the best time to visit California’s deserts, and Death Valley is the most desert-ish of deserts (it is officially the hottest and driest place in North America). But in the mild months of winter, daytime temperatures can average in the sixties to the eighties — downright pleasant!
Every few years a combination of well-spaced rain and low winds can bring the famed “super bloom” of desert wildflowers. But even in a normal year, wildflowers abound during the early months of the year, especially at the lower elevations.
Fall Canyon is a lovely half day hike in Death Valley, just over six miles long, with dry falls and lizards and a hope of bighorn sheep. In the northern end of the park, the Ubehebe Crater is a tempting descent into a weird and ashen world — but be prepared for a much longer, hotter ascent out.
Logistics Tips: Death Valley has nine campgrounds, seven of which are open during the winter. In 2016, we stayed at Mesquite Springs Campground. Giant hares frequent the campground, and the hillside above the campground makes a good afternoon jaunt, though we’d have preferred a spot at the tent-only campground had we arrived early enough.
If you’re coming from the Bay Area, leave more time the day you leave Death Valley, and drive up Highway 395 to get home. It will cost you more than a couple of hours, but this highway is California’s most beautiful. You’ll be treated to a view of Mount Whitney, and as you drive north, you won’t know where to look — to the left, at the stunning Eastern Sierras, dubbed the range of light by John Muir — or to the right, at the high desert of eastern California and Nevada.
Favorite animal sighting: Tied — Jackrabbit and Chuckwalla
April — PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK
Just two hours south of the SF Bay Area is Pinnacles National Park, California’s baby of a national park. Pinnacles, most recently a National Monument, got its national park wings in 2013, thanks to President Obama. Pinnacles is also a baby in size — at 26,000 acres, it is only 3.5% of the size of Yosemite. But it is still a popular park because of its proximity to the Bay Area, and because of its unique charismatic megafauna — the California condor.
The California condor is North America’s largest land bird. These massive animals have a wingspan of about three meters and can live to be 60 years old. They officially went extinct in the wild, but an aggressive breeding and reintroduction program has allowed them to come back in places like the Pinnacles.
Bring a pair of binoculars so that you can spot the tag number on the birds’ undersides and report your sighting at the visitor’s center. Several day hikes also include passage through caves, so bring a headlamp.
Beyond the giant birds, Pinnacles is home to an astounding diversity of animal life. In the 48 hours we were there, we were able to identify over 35 animal species, including the horned lizard.
Pinnacles has only one campground, on the eastern side of the park, and if you go in the hot summer months, there’s even a pool by the visitor’s center. But I recommend making this a spring destination, when the wildflowers are in bloom and the wildlife is putting on a springtime show.
Favorite animal sighting: So hard to say, but the California condor is probably the winner
June — YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (4)
I have met many people who live in the Bay Area who sheepishly confess to never having visited Yosemite.
There is a reason 4.1 million people visit Yosemite each year: it is one of the most spectacular places on earth. Each and every time I visit the park, I go weak-kneed at the beauty and sublimity. It is a place that is not done in by Instagram overexposure.
So, if you haven’t yet been, I’m going to give you some tough love here — there is really no excuse. You have to go to Yosemite.
Don’t worry about trying to do everything in one trip. Once you go, you’ll make sure you get there again.
Here are two super simple trip options: You could head to Yosemite on a Friday afternoon, camp out in a car campground and then backpack out to Young Lakes from Tuolumne Meadows. You’ll spend a night by a magnificent alpine lake where you can pull fish out of the lake like it’s a job.
Or, you can camp just outside the park on Friday night, and then head up to Tuolumne Meadows for a day hike up to Cloud’s Rest. Both efforts will clock in around 12–14 miles total and neither require taking a full day off work. You’ll need permits for the Young Lakes backpacking trip (book early), but Cloud’s Rest requires no permits. For both hikes you’ll want to call ahead for snow and weather conditions.
On the way to Young Lakes you’ll pass through a song-inducing mountain meadow (as in, the hills are alive), complete with babbling brooks and Sierra mountain peaks in every direction. This view is only dwarfed by the peak of Cloud’s Rest, where you will have the most uncompromising view of all of Yosemite National Park. It’s the closest thing you can feel to flying with two feet on the ground.
Logistics tip: If you do decide to head to Yosemite in June, be aware that snow is a definite possibility. In mid-June of 2016, we still had patches of snow near our campground, though other hikers were fewer and farther between than if we’d gone later in the season. Another option — book your permit for the weekend directly before or after a long weekend (say, the weekend after July 4). And always call ahead to find out where the snow line is.
Favorite animal sighting: Belcher Ground Squirrel
July — SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK
So the question you have to ask yourself for July is, do I want to cheat?
You’ve got six more national parks to see. If you’re feeling luxurious, definitely come back for a second spin through the Sierra range.
But if you’re feeling pressed for time, you can bag these two parks with one trip. The National Parks Service even considers this to be a combined park.
So if you want to see Parks #5 and #6 in one weekend, make a destination of Twin Lakes in Sequoia National Park. Twin Lakes is a decently long overnight to another well-stocked fishing spot. Craggy rockfall borders one edge of the lake, so it can feel a bit cramped finding a spot amongst the trees and many other campers.
From there, you can hike up to the edge of Sequoia and look down into Kings Canyon, or even descend into a nearby Kings Canyon lake and swim in two parks in one (long) day.
Logistics tip: Remember to scope out the pit toilet before dark — finding it for the first time at night is nearly impossible.
Favorite animal sighting: Marmot in Sequoia and brook trout in Kings Canyon
August — LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK
Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the more surreal destinations in the state. The park offers stellar geothermal formations, with names like Bumpass Hell and Cold Boiling Lake. You can also slog up (and run down) the side of a fully formed volcanic cone (leave your packs at the bottom, of course).
The weather is formidable at Lassen. Of all the parks, backpacking season is the shortest at Lassen, with snow sometimes making the main road impassable into July.
But August is a good bet that the snow will be gone, and the lakes will be swimmable. And you can hit eight of Lassen’s lakes in a 20-mile overnight backpacking trip starting at Summit Lake Campground.
Start early at Summit Lake so that you can comfortably walk the 12 miles to Horseshoe Lake. Popular routes list Snag Lake as the first night’s destination, but if you can put in the three additional (flat) miles to Horseshoe, you’ll probably have the lake to yourself.
And it’s way prettier than Snag.
The limiting factor here is going to be the Summit Lake Campground, which has some reservable sites and some first-come, first-served sites. If you aren’t lucky enough to get a site on Friday night, you can always walk in ½ mile in on a trail and camp there.
Logistics tip: Backpacking permits are no big deal to get (you can email an application or get one in-person) but you’ll want to think ahead on the reservation for Summit Lake Campground. Reservations open six months in advance of your date of arrival.
Favorite animal sighting: Bald eagle
September — CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK
September arrives. Having booked your round trip ferry ride to the Channel Islands two or three months ago (you did that, right?), you’re ready to head out to the strange and exposed ecosystem of the California Channel Islands.
But first, stop by the visitor’s center to hear a superlative-filled video narrated by Kevin Costner about the history of the islands.
The Channel Islands are a chain of five islands off the coast of Ventura, CA, and you can camp on all of them. Only on Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa island can you do backcountry camping, and we chose Santa Cruz.
Each island has a slightly different history and current situation. Santa Cruz, for instance, was eaten nearly to the ground by sheep in the 1800s and 1900s, but has fought its way back over the last 75 years. Now much of the island is managed (and restricted) by the Nature Conservancy. The Navy also runs a facility on a high ridge above the Del Norte backcountry campground.
Santa Cruz Island does not have the feeling of pristine wild nature. Instead, it is an ecosystem where nature has returned, where the gullies and canyons have regrown their vegetation, and the encroaching plant life is slowly turning the jeep roads that crisscross the island into footpaths.
Once you make it to the backcountry campground, you’ll have the choice of only two day hikes — one to a rocky, but totally private, beach, and the other to Diablo Peak, the highest point on the island.
But you should also plan for plenty of time hanging out in the campground watching the four-pound Channel Island Fox inspect all your gear and campsite for any morsel of food you may have left. Only the ravens are smarter — they know how to unzip your tent.
Logistics tip: The hike into the campground is a punishing 3-mile hike straight up and straight down a series of canyons. You’ll also have to carry enough water for at least two days (you can always store water at the dock in the bear boxes and come back for a second round). It’s not fun, but at least it’s short. Stop for lunch halfway through to make it less painful.
Additionally, Del Norte Campground has only four sites, and they are all right next to each other, and with one exception, quite exposed. Choose the exception, if you have a choice at all.
Favorite wildlife sighting: The endemic stars of the island — Channel Island Scrub Jay and Channel Island Fox
October — JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
Having grown up in a coastal city, I find deserts very mysterious and transfixing. Joshua Tree National Park is no exception.
On one trail, after miles of sandy nothingness, mats of green, yellow and pink grasses suddenly coated the ground, silently displaying the presence of unseen water beneath the loamy soil.
At a picnic area, water that had condensed on the insides of our lunch’s tupperware summoned hordes of bees seemingly out of thin air.
At our campground, a pack of coyotes roamed the boulder-filled field behind our campsite, filling the night air with their plaintive tones.
The Boy Scout Trail is a moderate but brutally exposed trail. You can do an out-and-back, and turn around based on your water supply. Bring enough to make it out the Willow Hole side trail.
Logistics tip: Like Death Valley, you’ll want to plan your trip to Joshua Tree at the beginning or end of the year to escape the extreme desert heat. These will also be the busiest times of year at the park — luckily there are two campgrounds where you can reserve a site up to six months in advance.
Favorite wildlife sighting: Pack of coyotes
December — REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS
You’ll end this project getting up close and personal with our state’s biggest land-dwelling entities: the California Coastal Redwoods. These trees can be found throughout the northern California, but Redwood National and State Parks contain some of the tallest trees in the state. Located just south of the border with Oregon, the park hugs the coast to the west and moves east across the low, forested hills.
Winter weather in the redwoods can vary greatly. If you prefer fewer visitors, this is a great time to head North. On our trip, a steady rain fell for the entire time we were in the park, but the temperature never dropped below 50 degrees. You can visit this park in the summer — when you’re as likely to have fog as sunny skies — but if you’ve got good rain gear, I recommend a solitary winter visit.
Before we got there, I had doubted that I would be that entranced by this park. I was completely wrong. First off, the park was largely empty. We crossed path with four other hikers, but we had our campground to ourselves on a Saturday night (unheard of in California National Parks!).
And the trees. Oh the trees. They are just so tall. Awe-fillingly, breath-catchingly, jaw-droppingly tall. Redwood forests are nature’s cathedrals. Worship accordingly.
Logistics tip: In winter, your backpacking choices will be limited by creek flows — several of the main trails cross Redwood Creek, which often has too much flow to safely cross in the winter. Since you can’t reserve backcountry campsites ahead of time, you just have to show up and see what is available and, more likely, accessible.
Favorite wildlife sighting: Raven
Trip Planning Calendar:
March
- Book Yosemite National Park campsite and (if you’re backpacking) backpacking permit for June
- Book Death Valley National Park campsite for late March, if possible
- Book Lassen National Park campsite and backpacking permit for August
- Book Pinnacles National Park campsite for April
- Book Sequoia/Kings Canyon campsite and backpacking permit for June
- Book Channel Islands National Park backpacking permit for September
- Book Channel Islands National Park ferry reservations for September
- Death Valley National Park trip
April
- Book Joshua Tree National Park campsite for October
- Pinnacles National Park trip
June
- A few days before Yosemite National Park trip, call about weather conditions (209/372–0826)
- Yosemite National Park trip
July
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks trip
August
- Lassen Volcanic National Park trip
September
- Channel Islands National Park trip
October
- Joshua Tree National Park trip
December
- One week ahead of Redwoods National Park trip, call about weather conditions (707/465–7335)
- Redwoods National Park trip
Ariel Dekovic is a consultant and writer newly living in Germany. You can follow her adventures into the European wild lands on Instagram: @lovesongtoalamp. Her husband Christoph Scheper is a biologist and avid nature photographer. You can follow him on Instagram: @ctscheper.
