Downward Angle Icon An icon in the shape of a downward angle. Matt and Karen Smith near Mount Rainier in Washington. Provided by Matt and Karen Smith Matt and Karen Smith have visited 63 national parks in the United States, some more than once. They set a goal for their youngest son to visit all the parks in 2010 after he went to college. Here, the Smiths have looked at the biggest mistakes tourists make in national parks over the years.
Matt and Karen Smith know a thing or two about how to get the most out of your national park visit.
After their youngest son went to college, the couple, who met in college in Kansas and are now based in Seattle, quit their jobs in 2010, feeling they finally had the freedom to travel.
“When I moved to Seattle, I met another couple named Bob and Sue,” Karen, 63, said. “They took the family to national parks, and it was all new to us. We weren’t interested in national parks, so they inspired us. ”
Matt, 63, said he was “lucky” to have enough savings to spend more than a year visiting every major national park in the United States. During their trip, they wrote emails to Bob and Sue, which they eventually compiled into a book titled “Dear Bob and Sue.”
Today, Matt and Karen regularly post about their national park experiences on Instagram, where they have over 246,000 followers, and discuss them on a podcast.
The Smiths recently spoke to Business Insider about the biggest mistakes they’ve made or seen people make when visiting national parks, and how to avoid them.
Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean conditions in mountainous national parks are ideal.
Glacier National Park in Montana.Ramesh Iyanswamy/Getty Images
According to Matt, one of the biggest mistakes people make when planning a visit to a national park is not fully considering how the weather in their destination will be different from where they are.
“This is not the season you are in. This is the season you are going to,” he said. For example, the Midwest gets much warmer by early June, so many think conditions are perfect in mountainous national parks like Glacier National Park, he said.
“Some mountains are still under snow,” he said, adding that visitors should plan “exactly” which mountains they want to visit and check whether it is safe.
Many people make the mistake of not getting their permit early.
A permit is required to hike Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park.Jordan Siemens/Getty Images
Matt and Karen say they have noticed an increase in the popularity of national park tourism since they began their journey to visit all the national parks in 2010.
They attribute this to the “rise of social media” and how easy it is now to share eye-catching photos. “People see how great these places are and think, ‘I want to go there,'” Karen said.
Because of its growing popularity, the couple say people underestimate how far in advance they should start getting the documents they need for their visit.
“Some of the permits you have to get have to be obtained almost a year in advance, so you have to plan well in advance,” Matt says.
Failure to check national park websites can lead to disappointment and unnecessary risks.
A flooded boardwalk in Congaree National Park, South Carolina.Mbel/Getty Images
Karen and Matt advise always paying attention to national park websites when planning your visit.
“We literally say check three months before you leave, check a week before you leave, check the day before you leave,” Matt said.
Although they weren’t in a national park, the couple encountered a “situation” several years ago while hiking in the wilderness that put them in danger of a “life-threatening flash flood” because they hadn’t checked the park conditions. he said. Website.
“We almost broke into it because we weren’t looking at the website,” Matt said. While this is an extreme scenario, the couple say it’s important to be proactive in any situation.
It’s common, but dangerous, to think of national parks as being like Disneyland.
National parks can be dangerous.Margaret W/Getty Images
Theme parks and national parks may have the same word, but they couldn’t be more different, according to the Smiths.
“People think of national parks as Disneyland, and I think people have a false sense of security and security because nothing bad can happen at Disneyland,” Karen said.
Encounters with wildlife and accidents while hiking may occur. The Smiths say it’s important to be aware of the real dangers.
“This is not Disney. A lot of bad things happen because people in the park are unaware of the dangers,” Karen added.
Hiking essentials can be a lifesaver and help keep national parks clean.
The Smiths say their 11th must-have item is a bag that you can put your waste in while hiking.Gia Soleil/Getty Images
One of the many reasons the Smith family loves visiting national parks is because they are avid hikers. As hikers, they are familiar with the “10 essentials” that the NPS advises visitors to bring when exploring national parks, such as navigation tools, sunscreen and first aid supplies.
Still, I’ve seen many tourists make the mistake of entering the park without the essentials. In Death Valley, for example, Karen said she can’t count “how many times” she encountered other visitors without water or sunscreen.
“I don’t think people realize how dangerous it is,” Matt added.
In addition to the “10 essentials,” Matt and Karen also learned that people can make the mistake of not bringing a WAG bag (a bag used to carry human waste in natural areas) and instead going outdoors. He also says that there are many.
“A lot of people feel like, ‘This is the wilderness, we’re just going to be secluded,'” Matt says. “But here’s the problem: In some places that are very popular, the amount of human waste is actually accumulating. That’s bad.”
Just because there are bears doesn’t necessarily mean you need bear spray.
The Smiths say bear spray is required if there are grizzly bears in the park.Joe McDonald/Getty Images
NPS recommends tourists carry bear spray, but only in certain parks, but Karen and Matt say not everyone is aware of that.
“There’s actually a very easy way to remember: If there’s a grizzly bear in your park, you need bear spray,” Karen says. “Bear spray is not required in parks with black bears.”
If bear spray is recommended, it’s important to have it readily available. “If you encounter a bear and the bear is zipping up your backpack, you don’t have time to take it off and unzip it,” Karen said.
“A lot of times we literally have it in our hands,” Matt added.
Doing too much in a national park can lead to “activity fatigue” and a terrible experience.
Arches National Park in Utah.Colin D. Young/Shutterstock
The United States is home to vast national parks like Wrangell-St. Paul. Elias, Alaska has 13.2 million acres and Yellowstone has more than 2 million acres.
It is impossible to see everything worth seeing in one visit. But that doesn’t stop people from trying, and the Smiths insist it’s not worth it.
“People get so excited about going to a national park that they overplan,” Matt says. “They’re like, ‘Okay, this is the only time we’re going to Yellowstone, we have to give it our all.’ But, you know, there’s activity fatigue, and it can be a terrible experience. .”
After all, visiting national parks often requires a lot of money and time off, so people feel a lot of “pressure” to make the most of it, Karen said. . But the best thing to do, she says, is to take a step back.
“It’s probably better to do a few things well than try to do everything on your list,” Matt added.
