References
I use TripAdvisor every time I plan a trip. Within the site you can create trips and save restaurants, places to stay or things to do based on the trip they correspond with. As with any reviews I look at how many there are and read each one with an open mind. What one person thought was the highlight of their trip might be what causes the other person to give it a bad rating. I encourage you to read the reviews, good and bad.
Since our family loves the National Parks and frequently incorporates them into our bigger trips, we browse this site constantly. On the site you can view all of the National Park lands by state. Each National Park site has its own page which provides info that helps you plan your visit. For example, I’m currently planning a trip to the southwest parks for next year. One of our stops will be to Mesa Verde in Colorado which is known for the cliff dwellings. I already know, from browsing their site, that the cliff dwelling tours aren’t offered when we’ll be there. It won’t deter us from visiting but allows us to plan our stay in that park accordingly.
New York State Campsite Photos:
My love for the Adirondacks started as a child when we would go camping at Nick’s Lake. That’s why it should be no surprise that the first camping trip we took as a family of five was to a campsite in the Adirondacks. For us, the most useful feature on this site is the ability to view photos of each campsite. This has made it easier for us to narrow down our options when booking our camping trips.
We use this website to make our camping reservations. They also have a mobile app.
I use this website for reserving campsites and tours in America’s parks, forests, monuments and other public lands. You can also use this website for reserving permits.
The National Park Travelers Club:
I first learned about this club from a friend at work that does way more traveling with her husband in one year that most of us do in a lifetime. Honestly she should be writing a travel blog. She introduced me to this website after hearing me talk about my quest for filling up my National Parks Passport. This organization is for anyone who enjoys visiting our National Parks and collecting cancellations in the Passport to Your National Parks Program. It’s free to create an account and browse general forums. To unlock the full benefits of the site you need to become a dues-paying member ($10 first year, $5/year thereafter).