I’ve been well and truly bitten by the travel bug. I want to go everywhere. *-* I have a lot of places that are in my mental travel bucket list, but I’ve never actually written it down, so I figured…now’s as good a time as any!
Travel Bucket List
Since there was no way I could take off from work for 2 months to explore all the national parks in the country (nor do I want to travel at breakneck speed for this), I decided I’d start off with a list of places that I want to go to, and soon someday, maybe I’ll manage to finish em’ all off!
After I finished residency, I took a food/national park/cross-country road trip back home to California.
National
- Arizona
- Havasu Falls in Arizona
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- California
- Glass Beach, Fort Bragg
- Yosemite National Park
- Mount Whitney
- Death Valley National Park
- Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Lost Coast Trail
- Colorado
- Maroon Bells, Aspen
- Paint Mines Interpretive Mine
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Hawai’i
- Black Sand Beach
- Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
- Koko Crater Trail, Oahu
- Manoa Falls, Oahu
- Maunawili Falls, Oahu
- Kailauea Iki, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Papakolea Beach
- Polou Valley
- Pali Puka, Oahu
- Secret/Uluwehi Falls, Kauai
- ‘Iao Valley State Park, Maui
- Polipoli State Recreational Area + Forest Reserve, Kula, Maui
- Waihee Ridge Trail, Wailuku, Maui
- Twin Falls, Maui
- Makahiku Falls-Oheo Gulch, Kipahulu, Maui
- Mauna Loa
- Waimanu Valley
- Mauna Kea
- Kiholo Bay to Keawaiki
- Napau Trail
- Nevada
- Valley of Fire State Park
- Maine
- Acadia National Park
- Precipice Trail
- Beehive Trail
- Acadia National Park
- Michigan
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- Montana
- Glacier National Park
- New Mexico
- Carlsbad Caverns
- Oregon
- Mysterious Hallway
- Japanese Gardens, Portland
- Tillamook Creamery
- Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
- Utah
- Arches National Park
- Zion National Park
- Lower Antelope Canyon
- Dinosaur National Monument
- False Kiva in Canyonlands
- Washington
- North Cascades National Park
- Leavenworth / Enchantments Trail
- Mount Rainier National Park
- Naches Peak Loop Trail
- Skyline Trail
- Olympic National Park
- Wisconsin
- Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
- Wyoming
- Grand Teton National Park
- Yellowstone National Park (with pit stop to Yellowstone Lodge)
Hiking
- Appalachian Trail
- Pacific Crest Trail
- Hiked part of it with the Rae Lakes Loop Trail
- NorCal Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Mount Umunhum
- Mount Saint Helena
- Mount Tamalpais
- Mount Diablo
- Mount Sizer
- Rose Peak
- SoCal Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Mount Baden-Powell
- Ontario Peak
- Sitton Peak
- Sawmill Mountain
- Strawberry Peak
- Santiago Peak
- Cucamonga Peak
- Mount San Antonio
- Mount San Jacinto
- Mount Wilson
- San Gorgonio
- Colorado Rockies Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Bergen Peak
- Rocky Mountain
- Mount Yale
- Mount Elbert
- Mount Sherman
- Grays Peak
- Central Oregon Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Sutton Mountain
- Black Butte
- Black Crater
- Mount Bachelor
- Maiden Peak
- South Sister
- PNW Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Mailbox Peak
- Mount Pilchuk
- Mount Ellinor
- Granite Mountain
- Camp Muir
- Mount Saint Helens
- San Diego Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Volcan Mountain
- Cuyamaca Peak
- Corte Madera
- Hot Springs Mountain
- High Point (Palomar)
- El Cajon Mountain
- Las Vegas Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Turtlehead Peak (4.6mi, +/- 1988ft)
- Mount Wilson (10mi, +/-3418ft) – via First Creek Trail
- Bonanza Peak (9.2 mi, +/- 2825ft) – out + back
- Griffith Peak (9.8mi, +/-3390ft) – via South Loop
- Mummy Mountain (8.8mi, +/-3143ft) – via Trail Canyon
- Mount Charleston (16.6 mi, +/-5075ft) – North to South via Trail Canyon
- New England Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Mount Monadnock
- Mount Greylock
- Mount Mansfield
- Camel’s Hump
- Mount Lincoln
- Mount Washington
- Arizona Summer Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Bear Mountain
- Wilson Mountain
- Bill Williams Mountain
- Mount Elden
- Kendrick Peak
- Humphreys Peak
- Arizona Winter Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Piestewa Peak
- Picacho Peak
- Fremont Saddle
- Wasson Peak
- Quartz Peak
- Flatiron
- Utah Six Pack of Peaks Challenge
- Squaw Peak (7.3mi, +/0 2775ft)
- Grandeur Peak (6mi, +/0 2627ft) – Grandeur Peak East Trail from Church Fork
- Gobbler’s Knob (4.4mi, +/- 3106ft) – via Alexander Basin/Gobbler’s Knob
- Mount Olympus (7.3mi, +/- 4100ft)
- Mount Timpanogos (14.5mi, +/0 4668ft)
- Lone Peak (11.1mi, +/- 5603ft) – via Jacob’s Ladder Trail
International
- Scotland
- Fairy Pools in the Isle of Skye (went in April 2016! Post to follow at some point in 2022, hopefully…)
- Iceland
- Natural Glacial Caves
- Black Sand Beach
- Blue Lagoon
- Skaftafell National Park
- Northern Lights
- Turquoise River, Brúárfoss
- Soca, Slovenia
- Northern Lake Baikal, Russia
- China
- Thousand Islands Lake
- Guilin
- Yunnan (revisit)
- Pink Sand Beach, Bahamas
- Bioluminescent Beach, Maldives
- Cebu, Philippines
- Tunnel of Love (Klevan, Ukraine)
- Victoria Falls, Africa
- Japan
- Mt Fuji
- Kyoto
- Tokyo
- South Korea
- Seoul
- Jeju
- Mt Hallasan
- New Zealand
- Tongariro Alpine Crossing
- Glow Worm Caves, Waitamo
- Hot Water Beach
- Mount Cook
- Tasman Lake
- Milford Sound
- Lake Ohau
- Roys Peak
- Rocky Peak
- Viewpoint
- Wharariki Beach Cave Stream Scenic Reserve
- Lake Tekapo/Lake Pukaki
- Catlins Forest Park
- Canada
- Banff National Park
- Jasper National Park
- Grassi Lakes Trail, Alberta
- Panorama Ridge Hike, Squamish, British Columbia
- Australia
- Great Barrier Reef
- Peru
- French Polynesia
- Bali
- Ireland
Repeat
- Switzerland
- Niagara Falls (Bruce Trail, Friendship Trail, Greater Niagara Circle Route, Niagara River Parkway Recreation Trail)
- Hawai’i
- Hong Kong (Food, Hiking, More Food)
- Thailand
- Ko Phi Phi Don
I’m sure I’m forgetting some places, but as with many of my posts, I’ll be adding to this as time goes on, so all good! :]
I put a U.S. travel map together so you can check out my adventures by state! I haven’t been to/written about all of them yet, but I hope to someday! For now, you can check out more in California, Hawai’i, Arizona, West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Utah!
- What’s on your travel bucket list?
- Where would you want to go first?
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I still only have one place in my heart: https://g.co/kgs/FCyQTa
That looks like an awesome place to visit! I hope you get to go there sometime!
Farrah recently posted…Truffle Pesto Poached Egg Toast
Girl, get to list checking! hahahaha!
I am crossing off a bucket list item this December – AFRICA. Well, I am going to Kenya/Tanzania… And I want to go on a SAFARI – and that is EXACTLY what we are doing!!!!!
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haha, someday after residency! I can’t travel much right now since I’m working so much.
I hope you guys have fun! That definitely sounds like it’ll be an adventure!
Farrah recently posted…Truffle Pesto Poached Egg Toast
I would LOVE to see more of the national parks around the country one day…it’s just extra difficult since those are all a world away! America is my favorite place for vacation, although I seem to prefer living and working abroad. :P
I definitely want to go back and spend more time in China in the future–ShangHai, ChengDu, and Xi’an are on my list. Angel wants to go to the Three Gorges Dam. I’d love to go back and explore other islands of Hawaii. More realistically we tend to stay withing SE Asia for local travel–I’d like to explore more of East Malaysia (the part on the island of Borneo) because I was only there once as a teen and I was so sick that I couldn’t enjoy it.
Rachel G recently posted…Stories from Life: Fruit Bats, Couches, and Going to Bed Early
That definitely does make it harder, but I hope you do get to visit em’ sometime! <3!
There are lots of places in China (and of course Hawai'i) I'd love to visit as well! So many places to explore! :O I'm going to be heading off to ZhangJiaJie in a couple months! :] Still gotta write up almost 20 posts on my Europe trip but hopefully I'll catch up one day, hahaha.
Farrah recently posted…Truffle Pesto Poached Egg Toast
What an amazing list! I love that you included National Parks instead of just cities- I like the way you think! So happy to also see Switzerland on your repeat list!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt recently posted…10 Recipes You Must Make Before the End of Summer
haha, I’m more interested in the parks than the cities, for the most part! ;P
Your Switzerland posts definitely helped to encourage that! :]
Farrah recently posted…Truffle Pesto Poached Egg Toast
Oh wow, so many fun places you visit and see! I’m starting to get more into traveling – there are many places I’d love to check out like Ireland and France.
-lauren
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I hope you get to go to both those places sometime! I’d love to check out Ireland sometime too! It looks gorgeous from the photos! *-*
Farrah recently posted…Truffle Pesto Poached Egg Toast
I try to keep myself from going down the internet rabbit hole because I know I could make SUCH a long travel list! As it is I have over a dozen places that are an easy weekend trip from home that I still need to visit.
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haha, it’s hardddd not to go down the rabbit hole–so many pretty places out there to visit/explore!
Farrah recently posted…Truffle Pesto Poached Egg Toast
You and me both girl! I love to travel so much and pretty much want to go anywhere that I haven’t been yet. It’s tough though while going through our long medical training. I’m glad that you are able to get out though! I think that is an excellent idea to travel through the national parks. I recently went to Zion and it was amazing! The Narrows was closed, but I would highly suggest the Subway and Angels Landing be on that list for Zion. Havasu is also amazing. I’ve been through parts of China, Guilin included, but honestly would not recommend it. Instead, close by is Yangshuo which I loved! It was awesome for adventure and a really cool little town. I took a river trip down the Li from Guilin to Yangshuo and in retrospect would have much rather spent more of my time in the latter and not any in the prior. Regardless, I hope you have fun in Hong Kong! I really liked that place as well and I hope you are able to continue crossing things off your bucket list. Next up for me I think is Brazil. I had wanted to do the Inca trail, but I couldn’t get a pass for this year :( so maybe next year! Fingers crossed.
AZ@…And A Dash of Cinnamon recently posted…Chococherry Almond & Apricot Protein Breakfast Cookies [Clean, GF, Vegan] and Solar Retinopathy
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haha, so very much agreed! I’m glad you got to go to Zion! That sounds like so much fun–I’ve heard a ton of awesome things about that park! <3 I heard Guilin is super pretty but that it got kinda overly touristy (sigh)--my parents and I were between that and Zhangjiajie this year, so we're going with the latter. I've never been to Yangshuo but the photos are super pretty! :]!
I hope we both get to continue crossing places off our lists! South America has been on my bucket list for a while--I wanna go to Brazil someday too!
Awww, I see Ukraine on your list! :’) Let me know when you come visit and I can help you with travel tips or getting around! If you have a few extra days, you can take a bus to Lviv (a very cute city with cafe culture) and Yaremche (nature village in the Carpathian mountains).
Luda recently posted…15 Easy Ways To Save Money in Iceland: How to Travel to Iceland on a Budget (And Save More Than $300!)
I’ll definitely let you know! Hopefully we can get back to traveling again once this all calms down (fingers crossed)! I’m definitely gonna have to keep both of those places in mind–they sound right up my alley! :]!
The Pink Sand Beaches in the Bahamas are on my bucket list too!! I hope we can travel again soon so we can start ticking places off. I have hope it’s soon!
I really hope so too! Fingers crossed!
I see you have New Zealand on your list. One of the best hikes I ever did was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand. I even did the crossing twice… Definitely one of my finest things on my bucket list :) I can recommend.
Ooo, thank you for the recommendation! I’ll add that on there. New Zealand has so many beautiful places! *-*
This is a nice list. I’m trying to flesh out my bucket list somemore while I’m stuck home so thanks for the inspo.
I hope it helps! Nice to dream of things/plan while we wait til it’s okay again!
I love your list! You’ve been to the faerie pools on the Isle of Skye, then? Such a magical place – Scotland. I’m currently looking forward to a trip to Glacier National Park and Banff National Park.
I did back in 2016! I’ve just been majorly slacking and still haven’t had a chance to write about it yet (in due time, haha ._.). Those are both currently at the top of my mental list! *-*
I have done the glow worm caves in New Zealand they were awesome!! NZ is amazing! Also the Rockies in Canada is a must!
As an Aussie, you should definitely add Australia to the list!!
Ooo, good to know! :] + good call–I do need to add Australia!!
Such a great list. Everytime I write down my bucket list, I always find 10 more places I want to visit. It’s an ever-growing list 😄 I highly recommend the Maui items you listed, it’s such a beautiful island!
Seriously, I’ve accepted that this list is pretty much gonna be never-ending, but better to get to some/most vs none!
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Yikes! You’ve just made me realise that I haven’t visited any national parks in the US! I’m hoping to do a bunch of them when I become a van lifer – one day.
I’m trying to hooopefully make it to all of em’ someday! :] Will keep my fingers crossed for you!
Glad that you included Japan, Korea, Philippines, and Peru on your list. You definitely won’t regret visiting these places!
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I’m really hoping I can go to at least one of em’ next year!
Nice bucket list! I went to Glacier National Park a few years ago and fell in love with it!
That’s awesome! I wanted to go there next year, but not sure how feasible it is at the moment! :(
Great bucket list there! Several of those places are on mine as well.
Thank you! :] There are so, so many places I want to go to!
Beautiful pictures! Great post.. Would love to visit soon!!
Thanks so much! :] I really would too–hopefully sometime next year? (Fingers crossed!)
I love a good bucket list, and this one has some great things on it. There are so many places in the US I want to visit (I’m in Canada) but also my own country. Can’t wait to start crossing some of these off
There are a ton of places I’d love to visit in Canada too! *-* Hope we’re both able to start crossing things off at some point (sooner rather than later :( )!
Aaaaaaw, this list just makes me itch to go travelling again!!! I share a lot of your destinations too, like Scotland, Iceland, Slovenia and Japan! Been lucky to have been to West Canada and New Zealand (twice!) already but wouldn’t mind going there again. Hope you’ll get to visit these places soon! x
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Yay!! That’s awesome that you’ve gotten to go to west Canada/New Zealand! :] I hope we get to go to our bucket list destinations soon! *-*
So many of these places are on my travel bucket list too! Particularly Havasu Falls and bioluminescence. I’ve ticked off a few already… the glacier caves in Iceland are incredible.
That’s awesome that you got to check out some of these already! I’d so love to go!!
What a great list! It feels all I’ve done while I’ve not been able to travel due to lockdown is to find more places to add to my bucket list! It’s never-ending! A return trip to Iceland is at the top of my list. We were supposed to visit in November as our honeymoon trip but unfortunately, our wedding has been postponed until next year due to the virus so it’s going to be a 2020 trip instead!
hahaha, my list is ever-growing as well! I’m sorry to hear that your planned trip for this year got canceled/your wedding got postponed, but I really hope you get to go next year! <3
I have an extensive bucket list like you. New Zealand is definitely on top also. Cannot wait to hear about your travels when you get there.
hehe, mine just keeps on growing! Looking forward to seeing where you go when you get there too! :]
I absolutely love bucket lists!! Scandinavia and Australia are very high on my bucket list. :)
I hope you get to go when it’s safer to travel again! :]
I LOVE a bucket list!! Mine personally keeps growing but I was super lucky to check off several items last year including Zion NP and hiking the Narrows- you’re going to love it!! It’s epic!!
haha, I’ve been adding so many places to mine too! I got to do Zion + the Narrow last year and it was a tonnn of fun! Posts on that coming later on this year! :P
This is such a great list! Saving it for inspiration for when we can start traveling again!
Yay! I hope we can soon! *-*
What an awesome list!!! We have a similar list! Most of ours are international! I love that yours includes all the states! Saving this for inspiration! : )
hehehe, nice! :D It’s probably just gonna keep on growing and growing! :P
Very nice list! I LOVE the US map you included.
hehe, thank you! I figured it’d help with my organization! :]
I see so many great spots on your list! I really want to go to Grassi Parks Trail in Canada. I was in Alberta recently and I could have gone, but plans changed and I ran out of time. Love how varied your list is!
Ooo, I’ve never heard of Grassi Parks Trail but just looked it up on Google and now I wanna go there too — it looks gorgeous! I hope you get to go sometime!
Farrah recently posted…Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree National Park
Your list covers so much. It is always fun to see other people’s lists and then add more to mine from the ideas. I’ve been to a few of the locations on your list and loved them all.
Yay! Glad to hear! :] I hope I get to go to em’ someday!!
Farrah recently posted…Mount Storm King in Olympic National Park
I would love to try some of these in the US. And completely agree with you on the iceland options
Love this list, I’m so pumped. I live in Italy and have solo traveled to at least 3 countries fully and my top bucket list goal now is to solo travel each American state next year, fingers crossed.