Assateague Island National Seashore was created 22 years after neighboring Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge was established to protect migratory birds, like the greater snow goose. In combination with Assateague State Park, they protect a 37-mile stretch of undeveloped barrier island that crosses the border of Maryland and Virginia (and is very close to Delaware). The National Park Service (NPS) manages the National Seashore and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the National Wildlife Refuge, each with their own visitor center.
Highlights
Museum, film, wild ponies, camping, kayaking, swimming, beachcombing, Life of the Dunes Trail, Life of the Forest Trail, Life of the Marsh Trail
Must-Do Activity
Stop by the Assateague Island Visitor Center before driving over the Verrazano Bridge onto the barrier island. The beach is the big draw here, and there also are nice hiking trails and kayak rentals are available. The over-sand vehicle (OSV) zone requires a permit for four-wheel drive vehicles to drive on the beach and camp. Keep an eye out for wild ponies, the subject of the classic children’s book Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry (which made our Top 10 NPS Novels list).
Best Trail
Life of the Dunes Trail is a three-quarter-mile loop just inland from the beach, while half-mile Life of the Forest Trail and Life of the Marsh Trail offer boardwalks on the bayside of the barrier island. The best hike may be simply walking down the beach.
Instagram-worthy Photo
Assateague Island’s most renowned residents are its wild ponies, purported to have swum ashore from a wrecked Spanish galleon.
The access roads are paved, but with a permit you can drive 13 miles of beach on the Maryland side and five miles on the Virginia side. It takes about 1.2 hours to drive the highways between the north and south bridges to Assateague Island.
Camping
On the Maryland side, the NPS operates two campgrounds with cold showers, but the one in Assateague State Park offers hot showers. Two oceanside backpacking camps and four bayside kayak-in camps are also available by permit.
Los Padres National Forest stretches more than 200 miles from Monterrey south beyond Santa Barbara. It contains most of Big Sur, a name that conjures images of craggy cliffs dropping precipitously into white-capped ocean waves. This sparsely inhabited stretch of coastline is known as much for its historic bohemians as its coast redwood trees. It is home to multiple rare tree species with limited native ranges, especially those that can tolerate serpentine soils. As the only National Forest in California that touches the Pacific Ocean, a road trip down scenic Highway 1 should be on everyone’s bucket list, including stops at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Bixby Creek Bridge, Hearst Castle State Park, and the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas. We have hiked many trails here since Scott taught for three years at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo.
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Highlights
Big Sur, Sykes Hot Springs, Salmon Creek Falls, Jade Cove, Cuesta Ridge Botanical Area, Figueroa Mountain, Mt. Pinos, Knapp’s Castle, Seven Falls, Sespe Hot Springs
Must-Do Activity
Los Padres National Forest is 48% designated Wilderness, so the recommended activity is to hike into those natural areas. The Matilija Wilderness is in the Santa Ynez Mountains that loom above the coastal city of Santa Barbara, home to a university, art museum, and historic Presidio built in 1782. If you go to hike to the ruins of Knapp’s Castle in the National Forest, also make a quick stop at Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park, which contains colorful pictographs dating back to the 1600s. Another popular U.S. Forest Service trailhead located closer to town goes either to Inspiration Point or Seven Falls, the latter a better choice on foggy days, which are common on the coast.
Best Trail
There are 323 miles of incredible hiking trails throughout Los Padres National Forest, including a few that access hot springs. Our favorite trails are in the Santa Lucia Mountains that tower above Big Sur. One pinnacle accessible by trail is Cone Peak at 5,155 feet in elevation. The access road is typically closed in the winter, but when it is open the trail is only 2.3 miles to the summit with a vertical gain of 1,400 feet. Do not expect any shade since multiple fires have burned most of the mountain, although there are still a few surviving examples of the rare Santa Lucia fir tree. Although some areas are no longer vegetated, the plentiful sunshine above the fog belt means there are often incredible displays of wildflowers along the trail early in summer, including lupine, sticky monkeyflower, and yucca.
Watchable Wildlife
There is a wide range of wildlife found here from sea level up to 8,847 feet in elevation, and the most famous is the reintroduced California condor that nests in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Other birds include barn owls, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, California quail, and California scrub jays. Coyotes, black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, black-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, and raccoons are common large mammals. Species of concern include the foothill yellow-legged frog and California mountain kingsnake. Look for California newts and banana slugs in the moist understory of coast redwood forests.
Photographic Opportunity
Even if you are not spending the night at Kirk Creek Campground, you can park and walk down the trail to the south that goes past redwood trees to the beach where there is a sea arch and tidepools.
Peak Season
Fall and winter
Fees
$5 per vehicle Adventure Pass (or America the Beautiful pass) required at most trailheads
Road Conditions
There are some steep unpaved roads in Los Padres National Forest, which can be impassable in wet or snowy conditions. Portions of the unpaved Tassajara Road to Chews Ridge are narrow and steep, requiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle to reach Tassajara Hot Springs.
Camping
A night spent listening to the ocean waves breaking far below the U.S. Forest Service’s clifftop Kirk Creek Campground is enchanting, which is why it made it on our list of Top 10 Campgrounds in National Forests. There are 11 campgrounds in total, and a free campfire permit is required if you use a camp stove (which can be obtained online). Sespe Hot Springs is a popular ten-mile one-way backpacking destination.
Scott’s mother and aunt in the redwood forestTiff hiking to Sespe Hot SpringsSespe Hot SpringsSticky monkeyflowerScott backpacking to Sespe Hot SpringsHighway 1Scott with a Santa Lucia firScott with a coast redwood treeBanana slugCalifornia newtMt. PinosKirk Creek Campground in Big Sur
coast live oak, California black oak, tanoak, western redbud, Pacific madrone, manzanita
Explore More – What is the name of the nomadic group that lived in Big Sur dating back 5,500 years ago?
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Last year we published our guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America, so we decided to start a new type of blog post where we create a travel itinerary for all 50 states, in addition to our usual National Forest and National Park entries. After starting by jumping around to Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai’i, and Arizona, we headed back to the south for Louisiana. Just in time for Mardi Gras, we made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in New Orleans, with plenty of options to extend the trip.
Eating beignets is a great way to start your trip to Louisiana, and this is the most touristy place to get them, located on the Riverwalk in New Orleans.
It is easy to spend an entire day here (fee) because of all the interactive exhibits and informational touchscreen kiosks. You do not even have to leave for lunch, since the Soda Shop and American Sector Restaurant & Bar are on site. We recommend you purchase a ticket including the 4-D film Beyond All Boundaries and the submarine experience based on the final mission of the USS Tang. This is our vote for #1 museum in the entire U.S.
French Quarter
Every American needs to visit the French Quarter at least once in their life (although whether that’s during the wildness of Mardi Gras is up to you), and it is walkable from the National WWII Museum. Consider stopping by iconic Lafayette Square, Old Ursuline Convent Museum, or the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum.
Ghost Tour
We have heard rave reviews about the ghost tours offered in New Orleans, and hope to attend one someday to compare it to the others we have done.
We camped here and it felt like we were off in the wild while still within the city’s suburbs.
Day 2
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
The New Orleans Jazz Museum (fee) is located in the old U.S. mint building right in the heart of the historic French Quarter. Check the online schedule for musical performances put on by the National Park Service (NPS) and enter the free visitor center shared with Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.
Go out to lunch in New Orleans
Louisiana is famous for its Cajun food, including gumbo, étouffée, jambalaya, po’boys, and red beans and rice.
Make sure you visit the 24,000-acre Barataria Preserve to experience the bayous of Louisiana, whether you hike or take a boat tour (fee). South of downtown New Orleans off Highway 45, keep your feet dry by hiking the boardwalks on the Bayou Coquille Trail. In addition, this park includes three Acadian Cultural Centers spread throughout southwestern Louisiana.
Optional stop at Chalmette Battlefield
Another part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve encompasses the land where Andrew Jackson led the defeat of the British to retain New Orleans for the U.S. after the end of the War of 1812.
Day 3
Baton Rouge
Check out the art-deco capitol building where you might see white pelicans floating on the lake next door. We read that the pelican on the state flag is supposed to be a brown pelican (the official state bird) even though the artist made it white so it stood out against the blue background. Also consider visiting the Old State Capitol, Old Governor’s Mansion, or USS Kidd destroyer ship.
Optional drive along the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway
Not the most direct route between New Orleans and the capital city, this 23.8-mile causeway is considered the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. It is free to drive northbound, but don’t attempt it when it’s smoky or foggy, as it becomes very dangerous to drive.
Optional stop at LSU Tigers game
Louisiana State University is located in Baton Rouge and they are famous for their tailgating scene and raucous fans who support their perennially excellent football, women’s basketball, and gymnastics teams.
Northwest of Baton Rouge, the largest of all baldcypress trees in the U.S. is found at the end of a flat, half-mile trail, where there is a new boardwalk built around the tree to protect its roots. This area is located down six miles of dirt road full of potholes (and is sometimes flooded).
Louisiana is home to 24 National Wildlife Refuges, many found in its southern half where bayous are full of alligators and mostly uninhabited by humans, like this one west of Baton Rouge.
In southwest Louisiana, this route traverses 180 miles of pavement around Calcasieu Lake and the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Much of the state’s oceanfront is inaccessible swamp, but in this corner of the state there are 26 miles of beautiful sandy beaches where ocean waves and seashells await. Consider spending the night in Holly Beach.
Further inland, there are 700,000 acres of wetlands that attract waterfowl to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, while the surrounding area is used by farmers to grow rice and raise crawfish.
There are eight parcels that constitute the sprawling 603,360-acre Kisatchie National Forest, which has over 40 developed recreation sites and 100 miles of trails. It encompasses lakes for boating and swimming, plus baldcypress-lined bayous for canoeing and fishing. Old-growth longleaf pine forests can be accessed by the paved Longleaf Trail Scenic Byway, just off Interstate 49. A 1.5-mile interpretive loop at Longleaf Vista is a good place to start.
Red Dirt National Wildlife Management Preserve
Camping is allowed in this area next to the 8,700-acre Kisatchie Hills Wilderness where you can backpack along trails. Kisatchie National Forest also offers several lakefront camping areas elsewhere. Lake Fausse Pointe, Lake Bistineau, and Chicot State Parks all have campgrounds with lake access, as well cabins available for rent.
The Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point is a self-guided audio tour and starts off Interstate 10 in Sulphur, where a museum has hands-on displays that introduce visitors to local wildlife and Cajun culture.
Settled 3,700 years ago by hunter-gatherers, this ancient city with a population estimated at 1,500 was situated along Bayou Macon in northeast Louisiana. The inhabitants constructed several mounds, the most impressive is 72-feet-tall in the shape of a bird, which required approximately 15-million basket-loads of soil to complete.
Oakland Plantation survived the Civil War intact, but in the wake of Reconstruction tenant farming created a new form of indentured servitude. Self-guided tours of the site take you through the mule barn, several cottages, and an old general store that still looks open for business along Highway 494. Slave/tenant quarters are also preserved at Magnolia Plantation downstream, but the main house is closed to the public.
Festivals dedicated to celebrating and eating frogs and crawfish; it does not get any more Louisiana than that! Also, consider arriving during one of the many music festivals dedicated to jazz, zydeco, or other regional musical styles.
An annual battle reenactment takes place at the site of a siege during the Civil War; further north, another Civil War reenactment is held at Pleasant Hill.
This forested Wildlife Management Area is located between Monroe and Alexandria in central Louisiana. It includes Rock Falls, which at 17 feet in height is the tallest waterfall in the state, accessible on a seven-mile trail.
The U.S. military constructed South-west Battery off Manhattan Island’s southern tip by the beginning of the War of 1812, although it never fired a shot in battle. It was renamed Castle Clinton in 1817 to honor former mayor (and future governor) DeWitt Clinton, then once again to Castle Garden only seven years later. After a roof was added in the 1840s, it hosted concerts, including the American debut of Swedish opera diva Jenny Lind in 1850 (tickets cost $225 or equivalent to $8,240 in 2023). The island was joined to the mainland with landfill in the early 1850s, creating Battery Park. From 1855 to 1890, Castle Garden processed approximately eight-million immigrants before the establishment of Ellis Island offshore. Six years after the closing of the immigration station, Castle Garden was converted into the New York City Aquarium, which closed in 1941.
Much of Castle Garden was destroyed during a tunnel construction project in the 1940s, but Castle Clinton remained and was restored three decades later. Today it serves as a National Park Service visitor center, gift shop, and ticket office for ferry trips to Statue of Liberty National Monument. There are also exhibits along the perimeter of the D-shaped fort, including a display with cannon. Ranger-guided tours of the site are offered daily.
Best Trail
There are sidewalks and a seaside promenade in ——-24-acre Battery Park. Be sure to check out the bronze sculpture “The Immigrants” outside the fort.
Photographic Opportunity
There once were “28 guns” facing New York Harbor from within Castle Clinton, and one display cannon remains.
Explore More – Today, what percentage of Americans can trace their roots to one of the nearly eight-million immigrants processed at Castle Garden from 1855 to 1890?
Located on South Carolina’s coast between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, Francis Marion National Forest was devastated by the 130-mile-per-hour winds of Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Young and damaged trees have grown back in the subtropical coniferous and maritime forests, although some attractions like the Sewee Shell Ring Boardwalk have never been rebuilt. Other historic sites in the National Forest include the 1768 St. James Church, Battery Warren from the Civil War, and Watahan Historical Area, which has colonial plantations and the site of a 1782 Revolutionary War battle. On the Santee River, Guilliard Lake Scenic Area has three trails that visit an old-growth baldcypress forest, but the National Forest’s four Wildernesses are mostly inaccessible wetlands.
Highlights
Sewee Visitor and Environmental Education Center, Buck Hall Recreation Area, Battery Warren Historic Site, Huger Recreation Area, Honey Hill Recreation Area, I’on Swamp Interpretive Trail, Shell Ring Trail, Palmetto Trail
Must-Do Activity
Sewee Visitor and Environmental Education Center is a good place to start a visit, and includes an exhibit on reintroducing red wolves. Not far away, Sewee Shell Ring Boardwalk was never rebuilt after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, but the trail to the boardwalk remains open (despite what you might read online). A one-mile loop trail takes visitors to a 4,000-year-old ceremonial ring made of oyster shells and a 600-year-old shell midden, but no longer out into the salt marsh. Another historic walk is the I’on Swamp Interpretive Trail where signs explain the embankments and ditches built by slaves to create rice paddies.
Best Trail
A free permit is required to backpack the Palmetto Trail on its 47-mile stretch through Francis Marion National Forest. The easternmost seven miles of this statewide trail was opened in 2003 running from the Swamp Fox Trailhead to Buck Hall Recreation Area (fee) on the Intracoastal Waterway bordering Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Both trailheads are easily accessible from Highway 17. This sandy section of the Palmetto Trail is known as the Awendaw Passage because it follows Awendaw Creek for most of its length. There are bridges and boardwalks built over the wettest areas, but very few good places to set up a campsite due to the density of the forest understory.
Watchable Wildlife
We saw a variety of wildlife in Francis Marion National Forest, including coastal species you do not find in any other National Forest, like crabs and mussels. The salt marshes provide habitat for large birds like Mississippi kites, ospreys, little blue herons, and great egrets. We spotted red-headed woodpeckers and pileated woodpeckers, and there are also endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. While backpack camping, we saw fireflies, bats, fox squirrels, and a seldom-seen whippoorwill, a bird known for its distinctive, repetitive calls at night. In Awendaw Creek, we saw a muskrat and four-foot-long rat snake, but did not find any alligators or river otters.
Instagram-worthy Photo
Battery Warren was built by slaves during the Civil War so soldiers could defend the railroad bridge across the Santee River. The earth embankments are still visible at the end of a short trail maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.
Peak Season
Spring
Fees
There is a fee to park and launch a boat at Buck Hall Recreation Area. A free permit (available online) is required to backpack camp on the Palmetto Trail in Francis Marion National Forest.
Road Conditions
The main roads cutting through the National Forest are paved, and even the unpaved roads we drove were flat, packed sand.
Camping
Buck Hall Campground is located at a boat launch on the Intracoastal Waterway, while scenic Edmund Campground has Spanish moss-draped trees near the northern end of Wambaw Creek Wilderness. Huger Campground and Halfway Campground are located along the Palmetto Trail. Extensive wetlands and thick woodlands make dispersed camping and backpacking difficult in Francis Marion National Forest.
Wilderness Areas
Hell Hole Bay Wilderness
Little Wambaw Swamp Wilderness
Wambaw Creek Wilderness
Wambaw Swamp Wilderness
Related Sites
Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park (South Carolina)
Palmetto TrailScott on the Shell Ring TrailShell middenRemains of boardwalk on the Shell Ring TrailGreat egretPalmetto leafWhippoorwillKitin’ about the forest
tulip-poplar, sweetgum, American holly, yaupon holly, live oak, overcup oak, water oak, cherrybark oak, willow oak, southern red oak, white oak, American beech, green ash, red bay, red buckeye, swamp cottonwood, water tupelo, water locust, water hickory, bitternut hickory, sweet bay magnolia, Carolina willow, titi, southern bayberry
Explore More – What was Francis Marion’s nickname earned by employing guerilla tactics against the British during the American Revolutionary War?
Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods
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