USA

Prior to taking an out west road trip, my brother (who is trying to go to every national park in the country), told us to pick up the America the Beautiful Pass to save money as it is “the best deal in the USA”.

This card, clocking in at $80 per year, gets you entry into every paid national park in the country plus thousands of other sites managed by entities like the National Park Service (NPS) and others.

It took just one trip for this card to pay itself off, and after that we still had 12 months of free access to all of the amazing sites around the country.

I hate to say it, but my brother is right– it really is the best deal in the USA!

So in this one, we thought we’d share more about what all you can get with the pass, planning logistics to keep in mind, and other tips for planning your visit to a national park in the USA!

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Most trails at Arches National Park in Utah are, for lack of a better word, popular. They are so popular, in fact, that unless you get to the park before permitting hours, odds are good you’ll be on the trails with dozens upon dozens of fellow hikers.

But there are still a few trails within the park that most visitors do not attempt, and the trail to Tower Arch is one such hike. We wouldn’t be surprised if more than 20 people take the hike on any given day, and that is due to just how remote this particular trail is.

So in this one, let’s share a bit more about the Tower Arch hike- what you can see, hiking concerns, and how to get there to begin with!

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No one will argue that Arches National Park is not worthy of its name. This gorgeous national park in Utah is home to dozens upon dozens of uniquely formed arches and is truly one of the most spectacular places in the United States.

While most visitors will likely make haste to the park’s most famous arch, Delicate Arch, we decided to take a different approach with a 6 am entry and went to Double O Arch. There were many reasons for this including being able to see many of the trail’s seven arches with epic morning light but also to tackle some of the trickier hiking segments with minimal crowds.

This ended up being a great tactic that we would repeat again in future visits. In this one, we wanted to share more about what you can see on the Double O Arch Trail and give some hiking tips for those visiting as well. You’re going to see why you need to visit this one early here!

Note: The Double O Arch Trail can be either completed as an out-and-back hike or a much longer loop hike. The vast majority of visitors only take the out-and-back in an effort of time and we did the same. As such, commentary on the loop section of the trail after the Double O Arch is not included.

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park is one of just a few free national parks in the United States, is the only national park located in Ohio (just outside of Cleveland), and, at 32,000 acres, is also one of the smallest.

That being said, 32,000 acres is nothing to scoff at, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park gives us reason to return again and again when visiting family nearby.

On a recent trip, we decided to check out The Ledges Trail, one of the most popular trails in the park, and were not let down by what we saw. 

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