Ditch the summertime crowds in national parks and go in winter. If you’re craving solitude, winter is the time to go. From snowy landscapes to dreamy desert destinations, winter is my favorite time to explore national parks, including some of the most popular ones. Here are my picks for winter getaways to national parks.
Explore North America’s Tallest Sand Dunes
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is very popular in late spring and summer partly because Medano Creek is one of the few places in the world you can experience surge flow. People like to ride the waves when surge flow peaks in late May and early June. I’ve visited a couple of times in winter and love the solitude. On a solo visit, I only saw a handful of folks during an afternoon exploring the dunes. They are the tallest sand dunes in North America with a few over 700 feet. It’s an out-of-this-world landscape that is especially breathtaking with the backdrop of snow-covered mountains in winter. After exploring in the dunes, do the short hike to Zapata Falls. The iced over falls are beautiful in winter. Stay in Alamosa. The small town will likely surprise you. There’s also a few hot springs within an hour’s drive of the Great Sand Dunes including Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa.
Hike in Arches and Canyonlands
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are two of the most popular parks in the country. During summer and early fall, it’s so busy in Moab, Arches has to do timed entry permits with one-hour window for your reservation. While extending my stay in vacation rental Moab Digs in March 2018 as a winter storm rolled through, the owners told me February and November are the secret months to visit Moab for no crowds. While the nights and mornings are chilly the afternoons are typically cool and pleasant. During a January 2022 trip, I found Moab Springs Ranch to be a fabulous basecamp. On that trip I spent two days enjoying Arches and Canyonlands with zero crowds. Some of the highlights from that trip were getting Delicate Arch with less than 20 people, getting a permit day of to hike Fiery Furnace (it’s a permit only area in Arches), and catching sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands without the hundreds of people there on any given summer morning. If you’re hiking in either park in winter, make sure to carry traction devices like Kahtoola EXOSpikes, for icy slickrock, especially in the last stretch hiking to Delicate Arch.
Backpacking in Big Bend
Winter and early spring are excellent for visiting one of my favorite places on the planet. There’s something magnetic and mystical about the West Texas desert. My friend Carroll first introduced to Terlingua and Big Bend National Park in June 2017. She had been going to West Texas for years and shared her favorite spots during a big road trip. I fell in love with the area and have since returned multiple times including a backpacking adventure with Stillhouse in early March 2023. Late February through early March is primetime for a backpacking trip in Big Bend. We went on a guided trip with Big Bend Boating and Hiking Company. Our guide Andrew was great! Before this trip, I had hiked multiple trails in Big Bend including Lost Mine and Santa Elena Canyon, but this was my first overnight backpacking trip and I loved getting to spend more time marveling at the stunning landscape of the Chisos Mountains surrounded by stark, desolate, and vast desert. Big Bend is the only national park with a mountain range entirely within its borders. I didn’t get to do it on this trip, but I also enjoy crossing the Rio Grande for a long lunch in Boquillas, Mexico. There is a U.S. Crossing Point of Entry and you do need your passport to do this. Take cash to pay for the row boat ride across the river and either burro or truck ride for the half mile into town. I have done this several times and felt safe on every trip. For two nights on either side of our backpacking trip, we stayed at Terlingua Nights Cabins. It’s a wonderful basecamp for your time in Terlingua.
Snowmobile in Yellowstone
Winter in Yellowstone National Park is the season of snow, steam, and solitude. Most park roads are closed in winter and only accessible by snowcoach or snowmobile. I went on a snowmobile adventure with Gary Fales Outfitting out of Cody, Wyoming. During my 2 day snowmobile tour with an overnight at Old Faithful Snow Lodge, I found it easier to spot wildlife and loved having many of Yellowstone’s famous geothermal features with very few, if any, people. My guide Dean and I went miles on our snowmobiles, or snow sleds as some call them, without seeing anyone. Bison truly outnumber people in Yellowstone in winter. We also saw a fox sunning on a hill and a coyote hunting for dinner. It was a wild and wonderful bucket list type of experience. I combined the snowmobile trip with a stay at the Chamberlin Inn and adventures ranging from snowshoeing and ice climbing during a couple of days in Cody.
Saguaro is Spectacular
The landscape of the giant cacti of the Sonoran Desert and symbol of the American Southwest will wow you. Saguaro National Park is actually an urban nationa park. There are two units on the outskirts of Tucson. Both offer stunning scenery with hiking trails and scenic drives. My favorite drive is the Cactus Forest Drive. It’s a one way loop in the Rincon Mountain District (East Unit). A ranger recommended Mika View Trail to me for a wonderful late afternoon 1.7-mile loop hike. There’s even a rare cristate saguaro near the trailhead. It’s crested cactus that looks like a giant broccoli stalk. In the Tucson Mountain District (West Unit), Signal Hill is a short hike of half mile round trip. But it has a big payoff. Rocks on the top of the hill are covered with petroglyphs. The rock art is fascinating. King Canyon is great if you want to log more miles. Don’t miss the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum next to the west unit of the national park. The drive through Tucson Mountain Park to and from the west unit of the national park and Desert Museum is stunning. There are lots of hiking trails there too. Tucson is home to Dark Sky International and is one of the best places in the world to stargaze. Saguaro National Park was recently named world’s 9th Urban Night Sky Place and is only the second NPS unit to have that designation.
Boating in Biscayne
If you’d rather spend some time on the water, head to Biscayne National Park. This national park is headquartered in Homestead, about 20 miles south of Miami, and 95% of it is underwater. It’s huge with almost 173,000 acres protecting coral reef, mangrove forests, Biscayne Bay, Florida Keys, and 10,000 years of human history. Go on a boat Tour with Biscayne National Park Institute for an educational co-Adventure. On my tour we went to Elliott Key and enjoyed snorkeling, paddleboarding, and a little beach time before sailing back Convoy Point. I combined a day in Biscayne on a road trip to the other NPS units in South Florida and did day trips in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park before my boat excursion in Biscayne. For that portion of my road trip, I did one night in Everglades City. Afterwards I headed south and drove to Key West and did a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park via seaplane. In the Keys, I highly recommend staying at Casa Morada on Islamorada and the iconic Ocean Key Resort and Spa at 0 Duval Street in Key West.
Author Jennifer Broome has traveled extending across America including over 200 National Park Service sites. Check out the Explore the Parks section for more national parks fun.
