Delicate Arch is probably the most iconic arch in the park. The arch is a symbol of Utah and more broadly the west, and it’s one of the most famous rock formations on Earth. When people picture a natural arch, there’s a good chance that they picture Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Viewing thousands of beautiful pictures of Delicate Arch can’t even compare to standing under the huge arch and experiencing it in person. Here’s our guide to hiking there in winter.
Read MoreArches National Park has over 2,000 natural sandstone arches with light openings taller than three feet. In fact the national park has the highest concentration of natural stone arches in the world. Besides the arches, there are balanced rocks, fins and towers of sandstone, and stone spires and obelisks sprinkled liberally throughout the arid desert landscape. Here’s our guide to our favorite spots in Arches.
Read MoreBryce Canyon is a unique and beautiful national park, and winter weather really adds to the park’s natural beauty. Bryce Canyon features a series of bowls and amphitheaters filled with otherworldly spires, towers, and turrets called hoodoos. In fact, Bryce Canyon has the highest concentration of hoodoos anywhere on Earth. Here our favorite places for a winter trip to Bryce Canyon.
Read MoreWe ended our Oregon Coast Highway 101 vanlife road trip on a high note on the southern border of Oregon. With rugged cliffs, natural arches offshore at Samuel Boardman Scenic Cooridor, 19th-century lighthouses at Cape Arago, and strange formal flower gardens that once belonged to a lumber baron at Shore Acres State Park, there are lots of great spots to discover in the southwestern corner of the state.
Read MoreWe love western Oregon and the Oregon Coast. Heceta Head Lighthouse and the Siltcoos Lake Trail in the Siuslaw National Forest are great destinations on the coast. There’s a lot to love inland too! Take the Umpqua River Highway inland to spot some elk in the Dean Creek Elk Viewing area. Then get your bike out for a ride on the Covered Bridges Scenic Bikeway.
Read MoreYaquina Head is a basalt peninsula that stretches a mile into the Pacific Ocean near Newport on the Central Oregon Coast. On the tip of the basalt headland stands the tallest lighthouse in Oregon. Below lies a black polished cobble beach and tidal pools teeming with sea creatures.
Read MoreWhile Tilamook might be most famous for its cheese, Cape Meares is also well worth a visit while in the area. Cape Meares like many Oregon Coast state parks has a beautifully preserved historic lighthouse, and just a short walk from the lighthouse is a very oddly shaped tree called the Octopus Tree. Before we left we even saw a pod of gray whales that were feeding and breaching fairly close to shore!
Read MorePortland might be known for hipsters, coffee, and bicycles, but just up the hill from downtown, there is a formal English rose garden that would surprise any visitor. The International Rose Test Garden is tucked into the sprawling Washington Park and has more than 10,000 rose bushes!
Read MoreIf you're planning a road trip through the Redwood Forest in Northern California, there are many stops and special trees along the way that you won't want to miss. Here are our favorite things to do in the Redwood National and State Parks. Plus find our recommendations for free campsites for vanlife near the Redwood Forest.
Read MoreIn October, we spent a day enjoying Snow Canyon State Park, near St. George, Utah. One of the neatest parts about Snow Canyon is that there is volcanic rock, lava tubes, and extinct cinder cones, alongside water-carved Navajo sandstone and sand dunes.
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