My favorite National Parks to date, and where to next

When my husband and I first started dating, we both expressed an interest in having a goal of visiting all of our National Parks. Since then, we've aimed for at least one new Park per year -- although so far, most year's it's been multiples! We've done vacations where the sole purpose was for NPS (Utah's Mighty 5), to random stops on our way elsewhere (Cuyahoga Valley, Congaree), to road trips that are a mix of both. We're lucky enough to live within driving distance of Shenandoah National Park, my most favorite place to go in the fall for Skyline Drive. I've been to 18 Parks to date (15 with my husband) and while I truly do think each of them are amazing in their own way, there are a few that rise to the top. Every time we go to a National Park, I do lots of research to find the best hikes, lodging, close by restaurants, and towns to explore.

1. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah: Without a doubt, this is my most favorite park to date -- although I do love all of Utah's National Parks! I was in complete awe of the hoodoos and how beautiful this park is. You pull up the lodge and think you're just in a forest, but then as soon as you turn the corner to the formations, it's mesmerizing. We did both sunset and sunrise, saw a double rainbow, and hiked the Queens Garden + Navajo Loop and I'm dying to go back.

2. Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska: Our most recent National Park, we were lucky enough to go on an Alaskan Cruise that went through the Park and got up close to several of the most famous glaciers (Margerie Lamplugh, and Reid). Park rangers came on our ship and truly was the highlight of our vacation -- it was the main reason I chose this specific cruise! I never expected the glaciers to be such bright blue and it was just incredible to see up-close.

3. Saguaro National Park, Arizona: This one might puzzle some, but I tagged along on my husband's work trip to Tucson one fall and we went to Saguaro. There was something about driving through the park at sunset, surrounded by magnificent cacti, that left an impression on me. We did several early AM hikes through the park and I was just completely shocked at how HUGE the cacti are. The majority are several feet taller than me! I wouldn't choose to visit in the summertime, but in the fall, it was the perfect trip.

4. Arches National Park, Utah: One of my most favorite hikes to date was the Delicate Arch hike. It was only slightly scary at times when the path got narrow, but to be up top, sitting on the rocks and just taking in the scenery is something I'll always remember. I also loved the town of Moab. There are lots of breweries and restaurants, as well as a street full of shops that we enjoyed walking through after a day in the parks.

5. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington: I visited on a solo trip to Seattle in winter, and booked a tour group to go to Mount Rainier. I've never seen so much snow in my life, snow banks went all the way up to tops of buildings. We drove through the park, saw lots of wildlife, and my favorite part - we got to go snow shoeing. I 100% need to go back and properly explore the whole park, preferably when it is warmer, but it still was an incredible experience!

Honorable mentions: Zion National Park and Acadia National Park -- it was so hard to pick just five!

Do you have a favorite National Park? What's on your list to visit next? Top of my list right now are Glacier, Yellowstone + New River Gorge, but I would visit any of park in a heartbeat!