When you’re standing in the ethereal rainforest of Olympic National Park or in the shadow of the staggeringly tall mountain in Denali National Park, it’s easy to wish that you could just retreat from the world and spend forever in nature. Even if you would be happy to never return to civilization, there are generally two-week limits on how long visitors can spend at national parks, though that may change between parks. Some truly committed people love their time in a particular park so much that they find a way to stay longer, either by finding a job that allows them to live there for a time or by taking on a volunteer role.
People visiting national parks for the first time often ask if their proposed trip length, whether it’s one day or one week, is long enough to see everything their chosen park has to offer. The truth is, there’s no wrong answer. It’s always worth visiting a park, even if you only have a few hours to see the landscape. However, more reveals itself the longer you explore. It’s no surprise that some people choose to change their entire lives to spend more time in national parks. Only you can decide if you need longer than the typical maximum number of days you can explore as a visitor.
There are limits on how long you can stay in a national park
If you really wanted to, you could visit a national park every day as long as you went home at night (in which case you should definitely get yourself an America the Beautiful National Park Pass to cut down on entrance fees). If you want to stay in a national park overnight, you’ll need to book into a park lodge, chalet, or camp. In general, national park campgrounds have strict rules for how long you’re allowed to stay, with the standard being no more than two weeks straight. Even if you’re leaving and coming back again, in general, you’re only allowed to spend a total of 28 nights a year in the campground. Not only are you not allowed to stay all the time, but you can’t even spend every weekend in a national park.
While it might be easy to lose track of time while backcountry camping, it’s important to keep to the 14 consecutive nights and only 30 nights per year limit. The rules for booking lodges, cabins, and chalets vary from park to park. Considering how expensive they are and how hard it can be to get a reservation, you’re unlikely to be able to snag very many nights in a row even if it was allowed.
Some national parks jobs and volunteer positions let you stay for longer
