The America the Beautiful Pass Is the Best Deal in Travel
For $80, the America the Beautiful Annual Pass grants you unlimited entry to all 400+ US national parks, monuments, and recreation areas for a full year. If you visit more than two parks in a year, it pays for itself immediately — most parks charge $20–$35 per vehicle for a single visit. Buy it at the first park you visit, or order it online at store.usgs.gov before your trip. It’s one of the best purchases any American traveler can make.
With that pass in hand, here are the national parks that deliver the most spectacular experiences for the least money beyond entry — parks where camping is affordable, crowds are manageable, and the scenery justifies every mile of the drive.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — thanks for supporting TravelCheapUS!
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee & North Carolina)
Entry fee: Free (no pass needed) | Camping: $17–$25/night
The most visited national park in the US is also one of the cheapest to enjoy. Great Smoky Mountains is one of the only major national parks that charges no entry fee at all — no pass required. The park spans 522,000 acres of ancient Appalachian forest, with over 800 miles of hiking trails ranging from easy valley walks to challenging summit climbs.
Clingmans Dome, at 6,643 feet, is the highest point in the Appalachians and offers panoramic views on clear days. The park’s famous synchronous fireflies display in June draws crowds, but the rest of the year the park is surprisingly accessible. Stay at Elkmont Campground ($25/night) inside the park, or find free dispersed camping in the surrounding Cherokee and Pisgah National Forests.
Budget tip: The gateway towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are overpriced tourist traps. Stay in Bryson City, NC on the quieter North Carolina side of the park for better prices and a more authentic experience.
2. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
Entry fee: $35/vehicle (covered by America the Beautiful Pass) | Camping: $20–$30/night
Shenandoah is one of the most accessible national parks in the East — it’s a 90-minute drive from Washington, DC — and one of the most rewarding for budget travelers. Skyline Drive runs 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains with 75 overlooks, hundreds of miles of hiking trails, and some of the best fall foliage in the country.
Big Meadows Campground ($30/night) sits at 3,500 feet elevation and is central to the park’s best hiking. The Appalachian Trail runs directly through Shenandoah — section hikers can do memorable multi-day stretches from the park’s backcountry campsites, which are free with a permit.
Budget tip: Visit mid-week in May or early October for the best weather, fewer crowds, and lower accommodation prices in nearby Luray and Front Royal.
3. Arches National Park (Utah)
Entry fee: $35/vehicle (covered by pass) | Camping: $25/night at Devils Garden
Over 2,000 natural sandstone arches in one park — Arches is one of the most visually spectacular places in the country, and its relative compactness (compared to, say, Grand Canyon) makes it very doable on a budget trip. Delicate Arch, the park’s most iconic formation, requires a 3-mile round-trip hike with 480 feet of elevation gain — a hard but very achievable day hike for most people.
Devils Garden Campground ($25/night) is inside the park and books up months in advance for spring and fall — reserve early on Recreation.gov. BLM land surrounding Moab has extensive free camping options for those who can’t get a park site.
Budget tip: Combine Arches with nearby Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park for a multi-day Utah canyon country trip. All three are within 45 minutes of Moab and America the Beautiful covers Arches and Canyonlands entry.
4. Olympic National Park (Washington)
Entry fee: $35/vehicle (covered by pass) | Camping: $20–$35/night
Olympic is one of the most ecologically diverse parks in the country — it contains a temperate rainforest, a rugged Pacific coastline, and glaciated mountain peaks, all within one park boundary. The Hoh Rain Forest, with its massive old-growth trees draped in moss, is unlike anywhere else in the lower 48. Ruby Beach and Rialto Beach on the coast are wild, dramatic, and free to walk.
The park’s size and remote location (on the Olympic Peninsula, a ferry ride from Seattle) keeps crowds lower than more famous parks. Kalaloch Campground sits directly on the beach and costs $35/night — worth every penny for the location. Free primitive camping is available in the backcountry with a permit.
5. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
Entry fee: $15/vehicle (covered by pass) | Camping: $8–$15/night
One of the most underrated and least-visited national parks in the country, Guadalupe Mountains sits in far west Texas near the New Mexico border and contains the highest peak in Texas (Guadalupe Peak, 8,749 feet). The park has no entrance station on the main highway, minimal crowds even in peak season, and some of the darkest night skies in the lower 48 — it’s a certified International Dark Sky Park. Pack a headlamp and you’ll be rewarded with unforgettable stargazing.
Pine Springs Campground costs just $8–$15/night, making it one of the most affordable national park camping options in the country. Combine it with Carlsbad Caverns National Park, just 35 miles away, for a two-park Texas road trip weekend.
Tips for Visiting Any National Park on a Budget
Book campsites 6 months in advance. Recreation.gov releases reservations 6 months before availability for most popular park campgrounds. Set a reminder and book the moment reservations open — Yosemite Valley, Arches, and Glacier fill up within minutes of release.
Look for free camping just outside park boundaries. National forests and BLM land bordering most national parks allow free dispersed camping. You get the same scenery and proximity with no camping fee. Use iOverlander or FreeCampsites.net to find spots.
Bring all your food. Restaurants and general stores inside national parks charge significant premiums. Stock up at a grocery store in the nearest town before entering and cook your own meals at the campsite — a portable camp stove makes hot meals easy and costs under $20.
Go in shoulder season. Late April, May, September, and early October offer near-peak conditions at most parks with significantly lower crowds and easier campsite availability.
Photo credit: Tracy Zhang on Unsplash