This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sarah Silbiger, a 30-year-old freelance video and photojournalist based in Philadelphia. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2023, my now fiancé and I sold all our belongings, took a sabbatical, and kicked off a yearlong road trip around the US in an RV.
I grew up in Philadelphia, so I was not accustomed to seeing the American Southwest. It’s a starkly different landscape.
After traveling to all corners of the US, it’s remarkable that all these diverse landscapes are found within one country. When I was in the van, it literally felt like a film strip was going past my window. It was so inspiring for my photography work.
Our national parks are incredible, but some of my favorite places were actually national monuments. They’re in similar places to the national parks, and they’re almost equally beautiful, with no crowds.
Living in a van was great for immersing in new places. It’s not like going to the zoo, seeing something, and saying, “That’s amazing,” then going home. Instead, you’re waking up with your cup of coffee, walking two minutes down a path, and seeing the most magical landscapes.
These were some of my favorite places — and two that I would skip next time.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
With its diverse landscape, you could basically spend an entire year just traveling around Arizona over and over again.
The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in the Sonoran Desert is full of wildlife, including the organ pipe cactus. It’s the only place in the US you can see them grow in the wild.
Pismo Beach, California
It’s no secret that California is ridiculously beautiful — Pismo Beach included.
However, what I didn’t see online before staying there is that the smell of all the trees is eucalyptus. So when the wind passes through the trees, the air smells like eucalyptus. In that moment, I felt that nothing could be better than this.
I then found out that monarch butterflies migrate and sit in the eucalyptus trees.
So I walked down next to the campground, and there was this huge grove of eucalyptus trees full of monarch butterflies.
Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona
As per my love for Jimothy the raccoon, the Chiricahua National Monument is home to coatis. They look a bit like raccoons, and they travel in huge packs around the park.
It was just absolutely magical to be running around this place with all these coatis.
Goblin Valley State Park, Utah
Goblin Valley State Park is absolutely magical. As it’s a state park and more remote, it has fewer crowds than nearby national parks.
You can find hoodoos here, which are giant rock formations that look like mushrooms.
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
On the Crystal Forest Trail, there are these gigantic crystals that look exactly like logs.
Petrified wood is an amazing geological phenomenon I didn’t know about until I visited this national park. It was a great surprise.
Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
Bryce Canyon is a gorgeous and very popular national park. The big issue is that it gets absolutely mobbed, and I believe nature should be experienced quietly and peacefully.
A really great little hack we found is that right down the street, there is a place called the Cedar Breaks National Monument. It’s got a similar landscape — but without the crowds.
Petoskey State Park, Michigan
Petoskey State Park not only has beautiful sandy shores, but it is also home to Petoskey stones.
You can collect these fossilized corals along the lake shore. It’s absolutely magical.
And for those I’d skip: Yosemite National Park, California
Yosemite is not that girl anymore. It needs to be funded and properly cared for. While it’s really beautiful, it can be challenging to access with the traffic and is unbelievably crowded.
Obviously, if you can go there when it’s not busy, you should go. But if you want an incredible nature experience, there are other national monuments and state parks I’d visit over it.
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Like Yosemite, Bryce Canyon can get very crowded. I found the trails were also super stinky from the horses.
As I mentioned before, the Cedar Breaks National Monument is a great, less-mobbed alternative.
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