How to Choose a National Park for your Elopement

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National Park Elopement: How to Choose a National Park for your Elopement Day

HECK YES. If you clicked on this article you’ve most likely already decided that you wanted to elope. Now it’s time for one of the biggest decisions you’ll make about your day: where should you have your elopement?! 

If you’re thinking about eloping in a National Park, it can be SO HARD to choose just one (as they are all sooo stinkin’ beautiful), but don’t worry I GOT YOU. Plenty of couples who reach out to me have no idea where they want to elope, so I wanted to share my advice on how to narrow down your options for your National Park Elopement.

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Step 1. Envision your dream elopement day

The first step to choosing your National Park is to take some time to picture your dream elopement day. Inspiration can come from numerous things, past trips you’ve taken, photos of other elopements, or different travel inspiration you’ve seen online. Take some time to day dream and ask yourself some of these questions:

  • What type of scenery do you want to be surrounded by (Mountain views, high-alpine tundra "top of a mountain" feel, trees & forests, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, beaches, islands, high-alpine lakes, waterfalls, rocks, cliffs, fields)?

  • What ‘colors’ in nature do you gravitate to? (red rock cliffs & plateaus, green forests, blue skies with mountains, snow-capped mountains, neutral desert & cacti, bright colored lakes, red & orange fall foliage, bright green grassy meadows, purple & pink wildflowers, etc)

  • Do you prefer warmer climates or cooler climates?

  • What was your favorite trip/vacation/adventure you’ve been on? Why was it your favorite? What type of scenery were you around?

  • Do you like to hike? What do you picture yourself doing on your elopement day?

These questions will help give you a better picture of what your favorite type of natural scenery you like, where you like to travel, and really narrow down what type of National Park would be the best fit for you. 

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Step 2 Research:

Once you have a better idea of what you envision for your elopement day, try to find a National Park that has the different natural elements you are looking for. If you’ve already been to a bunch of national parks, this step will be much easier for you since you might already know which parks are your favorite and what type of scenery they have. If you want to elope at a place you’ve never been before, Google & Pinterest are my favorite resources to learn more about national parks. For example, start off with a simple Google search such as, ‘best mountainous national parks’ and once you have a list, search Pinterest for images and more information on things such as the best hikes/locations in each park. 

I’ve also thrown together a brief list here on the best National Parks based off of each scenery mentioned above, check it out and look into a few parks under the category that is the best fit for you!

Mountain Views

North Cascades National Park

Glacier National Park

Yosemite National Park

Grand Teton National Park 

Olympic National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Mt. Rainier National Park 

Red Rock

Bryce Canyon National Park

Arches National Park

Zion National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

Desert

Joshua Tree National Park

Death Valley National Park

Badlands National Park

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Forest

Sequoia National Park

Redwood National Park

Congaree National Park

North Cascades National Park

Waterfalls

Shenandoah National Park

Mount Rainier National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Yosemite National Park

Havasu Falls

Costal

Channel Islands National Park

Acadia National Park

Olympic National Park 

Virgin Islands National Park

Lake

Crater Lake National Park

Olympic National Park

Acadia National Park 

North Cascades National Park 

Mt. Rainier National Park

Grassy Meadows

Yosemite National Park

Mt. Rainier National Park

Glacier National Park

North Cascades National Park

 

Related: Interested in a Washington mountain elopement? Check out my Washington Elopement Guide here!

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Step 3. Think about time of year & crowds

WOOHOO. So you’ve probably at least started to narrow down your search for the perfect National Park. Now it’s time to start thinking a little more realistically about your elopement day. In a perfect world, your elopement day will have PERFECT weather at an empty park. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world, and it’s important to factor in crowds & weather to your elopement planning.

You might be thinking, ‘what do crowds & weather have to do with each other?’ WELL MY FRIEND, both crowds and weather are affected by the time of year you choose to visit a National Park. The tricky part about this, is each park has a different ‘peak season’ and peak weather conditions. 

What is a peak season?

Peak Season is the most popular time to visit a National Park. Weather is a direct factor in peak season, but also has to do with wildlife, seasonal activities, and road openings/closings.

It’s actually extremely important to do research on when the peak season is at your National Park. Peak seasons can bring in big tourist groups, crowded viewpoints and full parking lots. I am not saying that you should cancel your elopement if it is during peak season, it just might involve some extra planning and being prepared to be around other people on your day. I actually wrote an article all about dealing with crowds on your elopement day, read all about that here.

If your elopement date is flexible, I always recommend picking a date in the month before or after peak season months. For example, Mt. Rainier National Park’s peak season is from Late June to Late August. If I was talking with a couple who really valued a less crowded park, I would suggest that they should plan their date in May or September. This will still give them relatively optimal weather, but reduce the amount of crowds on their elopement day. 

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!

If you’ve made it this far, hopefully you have a better idea on where you want to have your National Park elopement. If you are looking for some more ideas or guidance on how to plan this epic wedding experience, let’s chat! As an adventure elopement photographer, it’s my job to help couples create & capture their dream elopement days.

interested in being the next couple who turns their wedding day into an epic adventure?

 

WHO AM I?

Hey There!! My name is Amanda Vaelynn and I am an elopement photographer & guide who works with couples all over the country to help them plan & capture their own unique wedding adventure. Interested in planning your own elopement or learn more about this type of wedding?
I’d love to help, let’s chat!

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