USA — The best and worst national parks are hotly contested topics. However, there aren’t many who know the full extent of the system due to the remoteness of many of these parks.
In an episode of The Pursuit of Happiness, host Judy Woodruff interviews Jason Epperson. He’s a longtime RV traveler, as he explored the country via RV from 2016-2023. He’s also a podcaster who hosts Parkography. This is a podcast that dives into the people and stories of America’s national parks. He discusses his picks for most overrated and underrated national parks, best and worst parks for families, and one place that should be a national park, but isn’t.
If you’re interested in hearing more of their conversation, the full interview is below.
His Picks
Jason had some surprising picks for parks. His most underrated park goes to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Its remote location near the US/Mexico border makes it less visited than other major parks. He described it as looking like another world, and unlike anything he’d ever seen.
His most overrated goes to Shenandoah National Park. While the Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful, the most scenic drive is mostly tree-filled, with not a lot of mountain sightings. He’s clearly a tree hater.
He also discussed the best and worst parks to go with as families. The best pick is White Sands National Park in New Mexico due to the ability to play through the sand, including with surfboarding. His worst park was surprisingly Yellowstone. This is due to the interactions with wildlife, which can be a big hazard. As we know, people tend to make bad decisions when they get close to wildlife.
Finally, he was asked about one place that should have national park status. Custer State Park due to its scenic beauty. However, it doesn’t appear that South Dakota, which tends to be anti-federal government, wants to make this federal land.
Image/Video Credits: Durul Dalkanat, PBS Newshour
