Planning Your 2024 National Parks Visits

A lot of people love to visit National Parks when they travel, and I know some people who specifically travel for National Parks. If you're one or both of these types of people, then I've got free admission days, the best parks for winter, and more.

I'll readily admit that I'm not an outdoorsy person. I don't like hiking or enjoy wandering around in the woods, even for a cool view from the top. I like outdoors when I'm in the city and sightseeing and can pop into a coffee shop or café and use an indoor bathroom. I appreciate that others are different, so I've pulled together some things for you:

Free* National Parks Days for 2024:

• 
  
• January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• April 20: First day of National Park Week
• June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day
• August 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• September 23: National Public Lands Day
• November 11: Veterans Day

*Fee-free days include entrance, commercial tour, and transportation entrance fees. Reservations, camping, tours, concessions and fees collected by third parties are not included.

Not sure what National Park you should go to? Matador has curated a list for you based on what kind of traveler you are. For instance, as an animal lover, I should head to the Everglades. Unfortunately, I'm not traveling to Florida until they become more friendly for all travelers, but I have seen some great wildlife while I have visited in the past.

Looking to get away soon? There are parks that are at their best during the winter, so visiting one of those can give you a magical cold weather escape. Pack warm layers and a fully charged camera for the stunning views. 

Do you love hiking? If so and you're hoping to get in some good trails this year, then you'll want to check out these 3 trails that have been newly added to the National Park system. They have been added to the scenic trails already on the list that cover thousands of miles. So, if you're just a person who likes to see the scenery from the car as you're driving through, or you like hiking long distances, or a combination of both, check out the Ice Age, New England, and North Country Trails.

National Parks aren't all hiking and paddle boarding and rock climbing. Some have really unusual activities, like a roller rink. These are things I would travel to National Parks for. If you would, too, here are 10 unusual things to do/see in parks.

I travel for food, and if you do, too, Food Network has pulled together some of the best restaurants in/near National Parks that you must eat at. If you don't want to spend your whole trip eating food you brought in a cooler from home, this is a must-read list. 

There are a lot of parks that are just always super popular. While you may still want to visit them at some point, this year maybe you'd rather visit ones that are a little under the radar. Here are 11 alternative parks to check out instead.

If you have a lot of time on your hands and want to spend 25 days traveling, Amtrak has a train journey that takes you on 4 different trains and 12 National Parks. It includes tours and free time, so you can explore each park as much as you'd like. A shorter journey will take you on a 14-day trip to 5 different parks. 

As much as I love the train, I'm not sure I'd want to spend weeks on one. If you agree, then maybe try one of these National Parks train rides instead, where you'll only go tens of miles instead of hundreds and range from 2 hours to 2 days. 

Also, did you know a train could be a National Park? Through the Trails & Rails program with the National Park Service and Amtrak, those scenic rail journeys are actually putting you on a moving National Park with a park ranger who will give you a guided tour of your trip. Pretty cool, right?

Some National Parks have "attractions" that are so popular, you can't just get in to see them. You have to enter a lottery to win the chance to see them in person. Know before you go with this list of these places that require a special tour.

Traveling with your pup? Lots of National Parks are dog-friendly. Here are the top 10:

1. Arcadia National Park (Maine)

2. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)

3. Yosemite National Park (California)

4. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

5. Zion National Park (Utah)

6. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

7. Olympic National Park (Washington)

8. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

9. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)

10. Mojave National Preserve (California)

The United States isn't the only place that has National Parks. They can be found worldwide. If you're taking a trip outside the country, here are the top 20 National Parks and the best time of year to visit each one.

If you will be traveling to the parks, then make sure you are a conscientious traveler who enjoys and respects the land you're visiting. Here are 5 things not to do in the parks, which seem like common sense, but people still do them, so clearly not. Here are also 10 rules you must follow if you're there to view the wildlife.

I hope this helps you get outside and do all the outdoorsy stuff you love to do. Let me know in the comments what your favorite National Park so far has been or which you hope to get to at some point...

Happy Holidays!

I know it's only the 23rd, but I'm taking some time for myself and family over the holidays. I hope you all have your gifts taken care of, or you had a great Hanukkah, or you just have a wonderful weekend if you don't celebrate. 

I'll be back after Christmas to bring you more travel tips, but for now, here are some quick, last-minute tips for traveling at this time:

• Wear a mask on the plane and probably in the airport. It's crowded out there and half the people I know are sick with something. Being sick while traveling is the absolute worst. Wash your hands frequently and bring hand sanitizer, too.
• Get to the airport early: 3 hours early, if you can. You don't want to get bumped because you got stuck in traffic or the security line is 3 miles long or any number of other things.
• Pack snacks! 
• If you're checking a bag (which I do not recommend, especially during this time of year), make sure any meds you need are in your carry-on.
• Don't wrap your gifts if they're in your carry-on.
• Pack your patience! This is the busiest time to fly and it's not going to be pretty. There will be delays. There will be cancellations and rebookings. They might be your flights. Be prepared. Everyone's doing their best and it's not the flight crew or the desk attendant's fault. Please don't take it out on them.
• Did your mom make enough food for 3 households and is now trying to make you bring leftovers home? Here's how you can take them on the plane.

While you're waiting at the airport for 17 hours, get a jump start on your next big trip and learn a new language with Babbel. It's easy and fun and you can buy a lifetime subscription, so you can be fluent in all the languages you want for all the trips you plan to take. Take 60% off now until January 15th.

If you're driving, please be safe. With over 115 million people expected to travel, and almost 90% by car, it's going to be crazy out there. For more driving tips, AAA has you covered.

I hope the end of this year is a welcome sight to those of you who had a hard year, and I hope 2024 is much more gentle on everyone. (If you must spend this time with problematic or unkind family, here are some ways to help you power through.) If you want to see more of my last-minute holiday activities, you can follow me on Instagram. 

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase through them, I may be financially compensated. This is free to you and helps me continue to run this blog, so thanks in advance.

My Magical December

December is my birth month and we've been doing a lot of magical things during that time. As you know by now, I'm a huge Potterhead. I follow the many Harry Potter events that travel. Years ago we went up to Seattle to see the Harry Potter Exhibition, because that was a close as it was coming to us in Portland. Last year, Yule Ball fell on my birthday. This year, I was lucky enough to have a birthday where I didn't have to work an event.

Yule Ball Butterbeers!

Here's how magical my last month has been:

Harry Potter: Magic At Play

When I saw the Magic At Play coming to Seattle, I told Eric that's what I wanted for my birthday and he got us in the second day of the exhibit. For those of you not in the know, Magic At Play brings all the cool parts of Harry Potter to life through interactive sets and games. You enter through Privet Drive, which has a structure much like they have at a fast food play area. It's probably meant specifically for children, but that didn't stop us. We crawled in through the Dursley's fireplace, zig zagged up and across and down a fun slide. It's probably the most fun anyone ever had at Number 4. 

Inside, you visit Platform 9 3/4, "ride" the boat across the Black Lake to Hogwarts, enter the Great Hall, get sorted, learn spells, do potions, become a moving portrait, play Quidditch, ride a broom, cast a Patronus, visit The Burrow, walk through the Forbidden Forest, and enter the Triwizard maze. There are a lot of photo ops and it's pretty quick, since it's geared toward little people (yet there were a ton of adults there). We spent a little less than 2 hours walking through and then browsing their gift shop and then we went to get lunch and drove the 3 hours home. It was a great day.

Sweet Honeydukes Birthday

Since I come up with a new theme for every Harry Potter birthday party in July, and it takes me a good chunk of time to decorate the house, I transition it all through Halloween and Christmas. My birthday falls inside that time, so I give it a magical twist. This year we did a Honeydukes party, where I asked people to dress as something sweet. One came as a Pepper Imp, one a Chocolate Frog, another was Dots. It was a fun theme and we did a candy bracket, where I picked 16 of the best-selling candies in America and had people fill out a bracket to decide who they picked for #1, then I had people vote until we had a final winner. Spoiler: Reeses peanut butter cups are never going to lose. The person who had the most correct on their own bracket won a prize.

And what's a party without food and treats? Because it was a Honeydukes theme, I had to serve sweets, but I also did mini chicken and leek pies, veggie pies, toad in a hole, and onion tarts. Desserts consisted of Chocolate Frogs, Ice Mice, gingerbread cakes with peppermint icing, cranberry chocolate Christmas cakes, and mince pies, plus an assortment of other goodies, like candy canes, Hershey kisses, marshmallow gummies, shortbread stars, blue raspberry gumballs. As always, we had people guess how many Bertie Botts jelly beans were in a container, and the winner of that got to choose a mystery prize or the container. 

I dressed the tree in "gingerbread" holly leaves, cookies, macarons, peppermints, and topped it with a giant Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean box with cascading beans coming out of it, which I made myself with foam clay, then painted, and attached to wire lights, so they would look like they were coming out of the open box. Lockhart's "office" had cotton candy garland, and I also did a garland with Honeydukes candy boxes, and another with generic candy twists. 

Yule Ball

December isn't over until Yule Ball has popped off. This is the biggest fundraiser of PDXpelliarmus (the Portland chapter of Fandom Forward) and is always a ton of fun and a ton of work. We raise money for charity through ticket sales and raffle sales. This year, we completely ran out of tickets, because people were spending $40-80 to have a chance to win some amazing prizes, but also help our chosen charity, Friendly House, which helps support the elderly LGBTQ+ community in Portland. 

I helped set up in the morning, then went home, changed and then we both went back to run the raffle table while the feast was happening, dance a lot, made some new friends, took a lot of pictures, hung around to help tear everything down and pack it up, and then we hung out and had wine and cheese to decompress and talk about our feelings, which were almost entirely positive. So glad it's over, but also can't wait for next year.

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Bonus: Sippin' On Sixth with Santa

Not Harry Potter magical, but Christmas magical. On my actual birthday, we had brunch at a Christmas pop-up called Sippin' Santa. It's a tiki pop-up restaurant that happens across the country where you can indulge in holiday-themed tiki drinks and even meet Santa. The food was fine, the drinks were great, the vibe was perfect, and we got our picture taken with tiki Santa and Mrs. Claus. I also went home with the most perfect Santa tiki mug. If you're looking to indulge in some tiki vibes during the coldest and rainiest/snowiest, part of the year, check out if there's one near you next year. They have special events throughout the month, like Ugly Sweater Party. I loved it.

I hope your December is also magical. What magical things have you been filling your life with right now?