Best National Parks on the East Coast, and the Road Trip That Links Them
Acadia is the best of them for hiking on granite above the ocean. Great Smoky Mountains is the busiest park in the country and the best for old growth forest and waterfalls. Shenandoah is the easiest to reach from a city, 75 miles from Washington. New River Gorge is the newest and the one for whitewater. Congaree has the tallest hardwood canopy in North America. The Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas are all better by boat than on foot. Driving the whole line is 2,300 miles and 14 days, and the seasons split the trip in half: October up north, midwinter in Florida.
The eight parks, and what each is for
- Acadia, Maine. Granite ridges that drop straight into the Atlantic, 45 miles of carriage roads with no cars on them, and the Precipice, an iron rung climb that is closed most summers for nesting falcons. Three days is right. See the Acadia 3 day itinerary.
- Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee and North Carolina. Over 12 million visits a year, no entrance fee, and 850 miles of trail. Come for Clingmans Dome, the Alum Cave route to LeConte, and the waterfalls on the Deep Creek side. Our Great Smoky Mountains itinerary covers the split between the Tennessee and Carolina halves.
- Shenandoah, Virginia. One hundred and five miles of Skyline Drive with 75 overlooks, and Old Rag, the best rock scramble on the Eastern Seaboard. The Shenandoah itinerary is built around the drive plus two hiking days.
- New River Gorge, West Virginia. A national park only since 2020. Class III to V whitewater, the Endless Wall Trail along the rim, and a bridge you can walk under on a catwalk.
- Congaree, South Carolina. An old growth floodplain forest with the tallest hardwood canopy on the continent. A boardwalk loop for an easy day, and the Cedar Creek canoe trail for a better one. See our Congaree itinerary.
- Everglades, Florida. Not a hiking park. Paddle the Nine Mile Pond loop or the Wilderness Waterway, walk Anhinga Trail at dawn, and go in the dry season. Our Everglades kayaking weekend is the paddling version.
- Biscayne, Florida. Ninety five percent water. Snorkelling and boat tours out of Homestead, and almost nothing to do from the parking lot.
- Dry Tortugas, Florida. Seventy miles west of Key West by ferry or seaplane, with a 19th century brick fort and the best snorkelling in the park system. See the Dry Tortugas trip guide for how the ferry booking works.
If you only pick one
For hiking, Acadia. It has more genuine mountain terrain per mile than anything else on the coast, and the summit views are over open water. For a first national park with children, Shenandoah, because the drive does the sightseeing and the hikes are short. For scale and forest, the Smokies. For a trip that feels nothing like the others, Dry Tortugas.
The 14 day East Coast national parks road trip
North to south, following the season down the map. Roughly 2,300 miles.
- Days 1 to 3, Acadia. Fly into Bangor or drive up from Boston, five hours to Bar Harbor. Ocean Path, Cadillac Mountain at sunrise with a vehicle reservation, and a carriage road ride.
- Day 4, transfer. Bar Harbor to the Hudson Valley or Pennsylvania, about eight hours. This is the honest cost of the route.
- Days 5 and 6, Shenandoah. Skyline Drive end to end, Old Rag or Hawksbill, and Dark Hollow Falls.
- Day 7, the Blue Ridge Parkway. Shenandoah to Asheville along the parkway is 470 miles at 45mph, so treat it as the destination rather than a transfer. Details in the Blue Ridge Parkway itinerary.
- Days 8 to 10, Great Smoky Mountains. Cades Cove early, Alum Cave to LeConte for the big day, Deep Creek waterfalls on the Carolina side.
- Day 11, Congaree. Five hours from Gatlinburg. The boardwalk in the morning, Cedar Creek by canoe in the afternoon.
- Day 12, transfer south. Columbia to Homestead is 10 hours. Split it in Savannah or St. Augustine if you can spare the night.
- Days 13 and 14, the Florida parks. Everglades at dawn, Biscayne by boat, and the Dry Tortugas ferry from Key West if you can add a third day.
New River Gorge does not fit that line cleanly. Add it as a two day detour between Shenandoah and the Smokies, which costs about four hours of extra driving.
The 7 day version
Pick two adjacent parks and drive less.
- Shenandoah and the Smokies via the Blue Ridge Parkway, from Washington. Seven days, 900 miles, and the best week of the year for it is the second or third week of October.
- Acadia and the Maine coast from Boston. Seven days, 700 miles. Our Maine outdoor circuit extends it.
- The Florida three from Miami. Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas in seven days with time for the Keys, best in February.
When to go
- Acadia: June to mid October. Cadillac Mountain sunrise needs a vehicle reservation in season, and the park is quiet after Columbus Day.
- Shenandoah and the Smokies: the second week of October through the end of the month for foliage, or May for waterfalls and wildflowers. Avoid the Smokies on a summer weekend.
- New River Gorge: April to June for high water rafting, October for the rim trails.
- Congaree: November to April. Summer brings mosquitoes that the park rates on a nine point scale at the visitor centre.
- Everglades, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas: December to April. The wet season is heat, storms and mosquitoes, and the Dry Tortugas ferry cancels on rough water.
Plan the East Coast route around your dates
Tell us which end you are starting from and how many days you have, and we will build the route with the reservations and the beds already found. Planning is free, and we earn only if you book through us.
Best National Parks on the East Coast, and the Road Trip That Links Them FAQs
Eight on the Atlantic side: Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah, New River Gorge, Congaree, Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas. Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky are often counted as eastern parks, though neither is near the coast.
Acadia, for hiking. Granite ridges rise straight out of the Atlantic, the trails are genuinely steep, and 45 miles of carriage roads are closed to cars. Great Smoky Mountains is the better choice for forest, waterfalls and a park you can visit without paying an entrance fee.
Fourteen days from Acadia to the Everglades, around 2,300 miles. Two of those days are pure transfers with nothing to see. Seven days is enough for any two adjacent parks.
Mid to late October if the northern parks matter most, since that covers foliage in Shenandoah and the Smokies. February if Florida matters most, because the Everglades and Dry Tortugas are only comfortable in the dry season.
Shenandoah. Skyline Drive does the sightseeing, the overlooks are every mile or two, and hikes like Dark Hollow Falls are under two miles. Acadia is a close second thanks to the carriage roads, which are flat, car free and rideable.
Acadia requires a vehicle reservation for Cadillac Mountain sunrise in season. Dry Tortugas needs a ferry or seaplane booking weeks ahead. The Smokies charge for parking rather than entry. Shenandoah, Congaree and New River Gorge need nothing.
