One of the things so many people love about summer is the long days, including late sunsets that you enjoy the outdoors well past dinnertime.
The farther north you go, the longer those days are, and in the polar regions, the sun doesn’t even set for months at a time.
If you love all that summer daylight and want to make the most of it, the following national parks are for you!
Note: All 8 national parks in Alaska have really, really long summer days, so we picked just 5 so Alaska wouldn’t dominate this list.
Gates of the Arctic, Alaska
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As one of the two U.S. national parks north of the Arctic Circle. This park doesn’t see the sun set during the summer. It’s also a pure wilderness experience; no roads lead to the park, and you can only get there by charter plane.
Kobuk Valley, Alaska
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Kobuk Valley is the other U.S. national park north of the Arctic Circle, and you can’t drive to it, either. One of its most noteworthy features there is its field of tall sand dunes, not normally something one thinks of when thinking about the Arctic.
Denali, Alaska
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Denali has arguably the best wildlife viewing in the country. It’s also the location of Mt. Denali, the highest peak in North America. Denali is also, from base to summit, the tallest mountain in the world, with about 16,000’ of vertical relief.
Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska
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This is the largest national park in the country, and since it borders a large Canadian national park in the Klondike Territory, this is one massive spread of wilderness. Mt. St. Elias, which sits on the border of the two nations, happens to be #2 in both of them when it comes to altitude.
Katmai, Alaska
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Katmai is beloved for its annual summer visitors– huge brown bears that flock here to feast on ocean salmon desperately fighting their way upriver to spawn and die. You can watch this amazing spectacle from the safety of viewing platforms, and the long summer days just give you more time for doing so.
Olympic, Washington
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Up in northwestern Washington near British Columbia, Olympic gets long daylight hours in the summer, which is great since summer is the driest and sunniest season here. Those sunny days will help you appreciate the snow- and ice-clad mountains here, and you can enjoy the coastal areas and rainforests no matter what the weather’s like.
North Cascades, Washington
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Adjacent to the Canadian border, the North Cascades are some of the most rugged and alpine peaks in the country. They’re also among the most challenging to explore because there are no easy ways into them. For a taste of them by car, drive WA 20 and the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway.
Glacier, Montana
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The sun doesn’t set until nearly 10:30 P.M. here around the solstice, and even by late summer, there’s plenty of light still after 9. Glacier has outstanding hiking trails that get you up close to its hidden wonders, and it has one of the most scenic drives in America: Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Yellowstone, Idaho-Montana-Washington
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Yellowstone is the southernmost national park in this article. However, it’s still far enough north to let you enjoy its sights well into the evening. Although there’s a great diversity of landscapes here, Yellowstone is best known for two things: geothermal activity and an abundance of large wildlife.
Theodore Roosevelt, North Dakota
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Not as far north as Glacier and the North Cascades but farther north than Yellowstone, Theodore Roosevelt has a lot to offer to people who come out on its long summer days: colorful badlands, herds of bison and wild horses, petrified wood, and more.
Voyageurs, Minnesota
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Voyageurs is another park adjacent to the Canadian border. It’s all about the water here; almost all of the park is lakes, rivers, and islands. Shuttle services are available to get you to and from those islands so that you can go on backcountry adventures in one of the least-visited national parks in the country.
Isle Royale, Michigan
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If Isle Royale were easy to get to, this incredible place would be heavily visited. It’s not easy to get to, though, as the only way to this island in Lake Superior is by ferry, charter boat, or seaplane. What this means is that even at its busiest, it’s not that busy.
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