Our Top 5 Tips for Visiting National Parks

Top 5 Tips for Visiting National Parks | He and She Eat Clean

We've had a lot of experience visiting our National Parks and we often receive questions regarding tips on hiking trails and where to stay. You can read a lot of our hiking recaps here (I'm really behind on these...like years behind!) but we also wanted to share some of our tips about making the most of your trip.

National Parks are there for us to enjoy but it's also up to us to keep them clean. Have fun on your trip but please educate yourself (and those traveling with you!) on the Leave No Trace Principles!

Our Top 5 Tips for Visiting National Parks

1. Arrive early.

All year, but especially during the busy season, the lines at the entrance station can back up for miles. If you would rather spend your vacation in the park instead of sitting in traffic at an entrance station, we recommend getting there early. Early as in by 9 AM at the latest. If you want to sleep in and leisurely eat breakfast or go out to eat for breakfast be prepared to spend a lot of time in traffic. Not only does traffic back up at the entrance stations but the parking lots also fill up and the trails become crowded.

2. Travel in the off-season.

While this may not be possible for some people, it won't hurt to take your child out of school for a few days or a week. Perfect attendance in school isn't that big of a deal and I bet they will learn a lot while in the park! Now I may have made a lot of people mad, but that's the truth. If your child's school seems to have the same schedule as all the other schools consider taking them out of school for a National Park trip. If you absolutely can't do that, travel at the very beginning or very end of the summer break when some schools may not be out yet or may have started school again. If you don't have children, look up the busiest times at the park you are interested in and do everything you can to avoid those.

3. Pack your own lunch and/or snacks.

We've shared many of our money saving tips before and this is always at the top of the list. Not only will this save you a ton of money but it will also save you a ton of time. Eat breakfast in your room before you leave and pack your lunch to eat on your hike or just at a scenic spot. That way you can spend more time in the park enjoying nature instead of waiting for a table. Use dinner or an off-day to explore the restaurants around.

4. Plan your visit before you arrive but be willing to change plans.

Since many of us plan these trips months (and sometimes years!) in advance it's best to have a general idea of where you want to go and what you want to see. However, there are many unpredictable things that come up like weather, road closures, etc. Be flexible with your schedule! One day while we were in Yosemite National Park we planned on climbing Mount Dana to warm up for Mount Whitney (you can read about Mount Whitney here) but there was a bike race on the highway and traffic was barely moving. We decided to not go into the park that day. At first we were really upset and mad but when we got back to the condo I started looking at books they had there and found a local hike near Mammoth for us to do. It ended up being one of our absolute favorites and it wasn't even in the park!

5. Stay close to the park and take advantage of websites like Airbnb.

I use the word "close" loosely here. We've stayed about an hour away from many National Parks and just drive in each day. A lot of the parks we visit are very remote so there's not much around. If you want to stay inside the park you have to book pretty far in advance and it's really expensive. I've only stayed inside one park, Grand Canyon National Park, when I went with my sister and cousin before I really started hiking. Typically, we book through AirBNB or a similar website.

What additional tips would you add to this list?

Our Top 5 Tips for Visiting National Parks

Ways to Save Money When Traveling - At The Airport

Maybe you've heard that we are pretty frugal. ;-) We do spend money but we spend it on experiences, not things. We travel quite a bit but save a lot of money when doing so. Saving money starts before you even get to the airport (RELATED: Ways to Save Money on Flights) but resisting the urge to spend money at the airport will help keep your wallet a little fatter until you arrive at your destination.

If you are trying to save money in order to book a flight try one of our money saving challenges!

Ways to Save Money When Traveling - At The Airport

• Take Your Own Food - Not only will you save calories but you will save a ton of money! We haven't had any problems getting food through security as long as it's not liquid. I did have them toss peanut butter and Greek yogurt once but that's it! I pack up all of the remaining prepped food we have such as boiled eggs and chicken. We either eat it at the gate or on the plane. We've also stopped at Whole Foods and Chipotle before going to the airport to get food to take with us. It's about half the price and much better for you!
   
• Take an Empty Water Bottle - Have you seen the prices of water, juice, and soda at the airport lately? They range from $4-$8! We usually have a Blender Bottle with us to mix protein shakes on our trips but they also work as water bottles. There are usually places in the airport where you can fill up your water bottle.
   
• Take Your Own Books and/or Magazines - Quickly scan your home before you leave and grab the latest magazine or book that you already have or take one that you haven't read in awhile. Although the airport might not be much more expensive to buy things like magazines or books, there's no reason to spend the extra money when you probably have plenty laying around that you haven't even opened yet!
   
• Don't Forget Your "Luxuries" - Always have a master packing list that includes things like a travel pillow and earbuds. Buying these items at the airport can cost you double what you would pay outside of the airport.
   
• Skip the Souvenirs - Your entire family doesn't need knick-knacks or t-shirts from your travels and neither do you, honestly. ;-) I'm sure you took many pictures. Those pictures and your memories are plenty. Maybe this is the minimalist in me coming out but just because you are bored in the airport doesn't mean that you need to go shopping and buy things you don't need! Our consumerist society is out of control and airports are no exception. They have basically become shopping malls, enticing bored travelers.

Enjoy your trip and save your money to actually spend once you arrive at your destination!

5 Tips to Get Back on Track After Vacation

WANT A FREE HIIT EBOOK?

Join our newsletter and get the instant download. We never spam you - we only bring you the best workouts and recipes each week! Click here to join now.

Note: We're on Snapchat now! You can find us under hesheeatclean. We're also on Instagram and Facebook!

---

If you follow us on Snapchat (hesheeatclean) or our other social media accounts Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, you probably know already that we just got back from a vacation in San Diego. Scott had to go to LA for work for a few days so I tagged along and met up with some of my friends and business partners in San Diego.

Related: Read about our travels here.

Workout wise we didn't lift weights (we usually take our vacations as lifting breaks) but we did a lot of hiking while we were there, although we couldn't do everything we wanted because of the weather.

Nutrition wise we try to keep our meals healthy while on vacation. In order to save money we rent an Airbnb property (email us at thegang@heandsheeatclean.com for more information on Airbnb) or a hotel room with a kitchenette. While it may seem more expensive each night, it definitely pays off being able to eat a few meals in the room. We enjoyed the food in San Diego eating tacos multiple times, donuts from the Donut Bar, and cookie ice cream sandwiches from the Baked Bear (yes, it was all just as good as it sounds). On the other hand, many of our meals consisted of the Whole Foods salad bar and eggs and toast or oats for breakfast and turkey sandwiches for lunch (made in our condo). Even though we only ate out once a day at the most, my body was definitely feeling the oils and sodium that it isn't used to.

Related: Tips to Eat Healthy and Save Money While Traveling

This is what we call vacation balance:

As I "reset" my body this past week I decided that I would share this information since many of you will probably be taking vacations soon too. These tips don't apply to just vacations though, these are tips to get back on track at anytime!

5 Tips to Get Back on Track After Vacation

1. Don't Beat Yourself Up - You don't need to get back from vacation and "work off" what you ate. You don't need to do two hour cardio sessions. You don't need to mentally abuse yourself with negative thoughts about how you should have done things differently. There is absolutely nothing positive that will come of this behavior. 
2. Don't Weigh Yourself - If you feel sluggish and/or bloated, you know it. The scale is only going to tell you the same thing but will more than likely put you in a bad mood and maybe even make your behavior spiral out of control and send you into a binge. You know how you feel and how your pants fit, weighing yourself only to find out you've "gained" five pounds on vacation will do no good. Speaking of, most of the "weight" you gain will be in the form of water weight. Related: Stories from my scale and why you need to ditch yours for good.
3. Increase Water Consumption and Avoid Alcohol - Increase your water consumption when you return from your trip. Try making the Jillian Michaels' Detox Water, Refreshing Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Drink, or one of our many other flavored waters for a little different twist on just plain water. Try to only drink water or unsweetened tea - no juice or soda. Also, try to avoid alcohol.
4. Start/Continue Your Workout Plan - Now is a great time to start a new workout plan or pick up where you left off on your previous plan. Going into the gym (or your home workout space) with a clear direction will help you get back into the habit and reach your goals much faster. We have 4, 6, and 12 week workout plans to choose from! Related: 5 Reasons why you need a fitness plan.
5. Do A Short Detox/Eat Real, Whole Unprocessed Foods - You might be thinking, why are they talking about a detox. Well, we don't believe in juice cleanses or crazy restrictive detoxes. But we do like to do a detox once a quarter or every 6 months. This is basically just a push for us to jump back into eating real, whole foods as quickly as possible. Although prepping food might be the last thing you want to do, your body will thank you! You can learn about our preferred detox here and also request more information on our 21-Day Challenge here.