# National parks or similar you can get to without a car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729 "2019-02-17T18:43:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/1 "2019-02-17T18:43:09Z")
I have been wanting to explore more of the national parks/monuments/historic sites. I drive a ridiculous amount in my everyday life and seriously prefer to not drive when on vacation. Which parks can be reached by bus/plane/train/boat? ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/2 "2019-02-17T18:54:32Z")
You can take Amtrak to Whitefish, Mt. and then take a bus into Glacier National Park. The bus service only runs for a few months during the summer but it’s certainly doable. [https://m.amtrak.com/h5/r/www.amtrak.com/stations/wfh](https://m.amtrak.com/h5/r/www.amtrak.com/stations/wfh) [https://explorewhitefish.com/entries/glacier-express-shuttle/3e46f0c6-940a-45d2-8c37-51bd34a50835](https://explorewhitefish.com/entries/glacier-express-shuttle/3e46f0c6-940a-45d2-8c37-51bd34a50835) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/3 "2019-02-17T18:54:33Z")
Anything in urban areas. The areas of Washington D.C. controlled by the National Park Service. The Philadelphia historic district. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/4 "2019-02-17T18:59:23Z")
[Fort Sumter. The beginning of the civil war.](https://www.nps.gov/fosu/index.htm) [The Dry Tortugas, off of Key west](https://keywestseaplanecharters.com/?utm_source=YahooBing&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=DryTortugasTravel&msclkid=3661cad9e4891735977696b0490e713f&utm_source=YahooBing&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=DryTortugasTravel&msclkid=3661cad9e4891735977696b0490e713f) Do the float plane. A good trip my wife and I had. Got there before the boat of 200 people and left right when they arrived. Eight of us had it to ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/5 "2019-02-17T19:00:08Z")
Look at Amtrak Vacations. For example here are their National Parks packages: > **[National Parks | Amtrak Vacations®](https://www.amtrakvacations.com/vacation-types/national-parks)** > > These national parks make up the wildest, most beautiful landscapes in North America. You could spend a lifetime exploring these treasured sites and always discover something awe-inspiring. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/6 "2019-02-17T19:02:13Z")
The [St. George Shuttle will take you to Zion National Park](https://www.stgshuttle.com/connections/zion_connection). You can catch one of their shuttles from either SLC or Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/7 "2019-02-17T19:03:24Z")
For Yosemite, you can take a [YARTS](https://yarts.com/) bus from several cities. And of course there’s always the [Grand Canyon Railway](https://www.thetrain.com/) out of Williams. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/8 "2019-02-17T19:32:07Z")
Part of the [Golden Gate National Recreation Area](https://www.nps.gov/goga/index.htm) is in the city of San Francisco. It includes Alcatraz, which you can get to by ferry, and Crissy Field, which you can walk to. It also includes Muir Woods in Marin County, which you can visit by tour bus. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/9 "2019-02-17T19:51:44Z")
The only addition I can think of is Salt Lake City, whose buses will take you to the foothills of the mountains, which are littered with trails. I’ve been there 3 times and have not exhausted the hiking possibilities yet. It abuts the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest although I do not know if the trails I was on were formally part of it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/10 "2019-02-17T21:33:52Z")
OP, could you clarify what you plan to do when you get there? I could offer some ideas on how to get to backpacking trailheads without a car, but I’m not sure that’s your objective. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/11 "2019-02-17T22:18:34Z")
There are tour buses that go the the Grand Canyon, and you can even take a [train](https://www.thetrain.com) from Williams. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/12 "2019-02-17T22:41:45Z")
You can take Amtrak or Greyhound to Visalia, CA, and from there they have a shuttle to Sequoia National Park. I imagine most National Parks have some kind of arrangement for tourists who don’t drive–it’s just going to take a lot longer to get there. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/13 "2019-02-17T22:48:15Z")
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has at least one airport within it. The airport at Ocracoke borders the most popular beach on that island. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/14 "2019-02-17T23:42:47Z")
Big news: The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore became the Indiana Dunes National Park last Friday. It is [Indiana’s first national park](https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2019/02/15/indiana-dunes-becomes-national-park-after-century-long-effort/2882357002/)! It is accessible via [The South Shore Line](https://www.mysouthshoreline.com/tickets/maps-stations/)railway (one of the few remaining [interurban railways](http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/648.html)) at the aptly named [Dune Park station](https://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/publictransportation.htm). Trains run from Chicago, Gary, South Bend, and many points in between. During peak season, park rangers meet the trains and escort visitors to the nearby visitor center. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/15 "2019-02-18T01:00:31Z")
Acadia National Park is pretty well served by transportation options. There is a small airport with scheduled flights to Boston year-round. Another option is to take a flight or inter-city bus to Bangor then a shuttle operated by Downeast Transportation from Bangor to Bar Harbor (about 50 miles). A local bus service called “Island Explorer” connects the Bar Harbor airport with downtown Bar Harbor and many points of interest inside the park. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/16 "2019-02-18T03:03:36Z")
All in Alaska: Katmai and Valley of 10,000 Smokes Glacier Bay Wrangel-St. Elias Lake Clark Gates of the Arctic Kobuk Valley Aniakchak National Monument (an extinct, collapsed caldera with a lake you land on) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/17 "2019-02-18T03:12:25Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Part of the [Golden Gate National Recreation Area](https://www.nps.gov/goga/index.htm) is in the city of San Francisco. It includes Alcatraz, which you can get to by ferry, and Crissy Field, which you can walk to. It also includes Muir Woods in Marin County, which you can visit by tour bus. Plus the Presidio of San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/18 "2019-02-18T16:12:39Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > You can take Amtrak to Whitefish, Mt. and then take a bus into Glacier National Park. The bus service only runs for a few months during the summer but it’s certainly doable. > > [https://m.amtrak.com/h5/r/www.amtrak.com/stations/wfh](https://m.amtrak.com/h5/r/www.amtrak.com/stations/wfh) > > [https://explorewhitefish.com/entries/glacier-express-shuttle/3e46f0c6-940a-45d2-8c37-51bd34a50835](https://explorewhitefish.com/entries/glacier-express-shuttle/3e46f0c6-940a-45d2-8c37-51bd34a50835) You can actually take the train to West Glacier, it is at the entrance to the park. From there you can catch a couple different tours of the park. My wife and I were at Glacier NP last September, a train stopped at the West Glacier station while we were there. The season is short at Glacier, many of the services at the entrance had already closed for the season. There is a hotel across the street from the station if you want to stay more than a day. There is a lot of things to do outside the part too, I couldn’t imagine visiting Glacier without a car. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/19 "2019-02-18T16:21:35Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > You can actually take the train to West Glacier, it is at the entrance to the park. From there you can catch a couple different tours of the park. My wife and I were at Glacier NP last September, a train stopped at the West Glacier station while we were there. The season is short at Glacier, many of the services at the entrance had already closed for the season. There is a hotel across the street from the station if you want to stay more than a day. There is a lot of things to do outside the part too, I couldn’t imagine visiting Glacier without a car. If you stayed at the hotel at West Glacier, then as long as you didn’t look too disreputable, and as long as the trailheads you planned to hike from were on Going-to-the-Sun Road (the east-west road through the center of the park), you could probably get around OK by hitchhiking, at least between mid-July and Labor Day. ( **racer72** is right about the short season.) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729/20 "2019-02-18T18:12:50Z")
Amtrak also stops at East Glavcier, but that is farther from the east entrance. There are free shuttle busses that run from each end of Going-to-the-Sun road to Logan Pass. (again, in season) I biked from St Mary’s to Logan pass (not that bad actually, but ther are restrictions) and took the shuttle buss part if the way back (the steep scary part) Brian [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-parks-or-similar-you-can-get-to-without-a-car/829729.md?page=2)