Packing List: Southwest National Parks in July
Intro
Our National Park road trip through 7 national parks was a trip of a lifetime. Being able to camp and hike in all these national parks truly felt like a gift. From the desert to the mountains, we also experienced changes in climate and temperatures. Since we were camping on this trip and flying with all of our gear, we had to thoughtful with what we brought and how we packed it. We had to decide what was worth bringing and what we could buy once we got there. You can also refer to our Ultimate Car Camping Checklist in conjunction with this list to make sure you aren’t forgetting anything on your road trip camping adventure!
Are you going on a similar trip and need help figuring out what to pack? Keep reading!
Weather
We took our trip in July and as you can imagine, the southwestern part of the country can be very hot during the day (upper 80’s to upper 90’s), but the evenings cool down to the 70’s. As we moved further north, highs moved down to mid 70’s and evenings moved down the 50’s. For this reason, packing layers was very important.
Luggage
We each brought a carry-on sized duffel bag and a personal-sized backpack with a water reservoir (bladder) to wear when we hike. We also split the cost to check a very large duffel bag (my brother’s large army canvas duffel) where we put our camping equipment.
Packing List
Camping Gear and Campsite Necessities
What we packed in our large duffel bag:
Headlamp
Deck of cards
Dry bags
First aid kit
Camping mugs
Roasting skewers
Duct tape
What we bought once we got there:
Camping chairs
Cooler and ice
Foil
Ziplock bags
Paper towels
Firewood
Lighter
Wet wipes
Bear spray
Real Talk: At our last campsite in Yellowstone, we left the things we couldn’t or didn’t want to bring back with a park ranger (camping chairs, bear spray, etc.) and he said they would donate them to the Boy Scouts.
Outer Layers
Light jacket or pullover: This was important in the evenings when it was chilly and once we moved further north into cooler temperatures
Tops
T-shirts and tank tops: Most of mine were dri-fit (workout material) since we were doing a lot of hiking in hot temperatures. Cotton isn’t a great material for hiking.
Swimsuit
Sleep clothes
Bottoms
Athletic leggings or hiking pants
Athletic shorts: If you’re doing the Narrows at Zion, you will want to bring quick-drying shorts.
Casual pants or shorts: If you plan to go out to dinner in the evenings, you might want to dress up a little bit.
Feet
Waterproof sandals: You will want sandals to wear around the campsite, but you will also want them to be waterproof to wear in the shower.
Tennis shoes: Again, if you’re hiking the Narrows, I would bring an old pair of tennis shoes to wear and then throw away afterwards. I also brought another pair to wear when we were traveling or just walking around a town.
Personal Items
Reusable water bottle
Sunglasses
Medicine: Advil/Tylenol, Pepto Bismol
Quarters: For showers and laundry
Tide Pods
Toiletries
What we brought in personal sizes:
Toothbrush/Toothpaste
Deodorant
Make-up remover wipes
Chapstick with SPF
What we bought in big bottles to share once we got there:
Shampoo/Conditioner
Soap
Mosquito repellant
Sunscreen
Hand sanitizer
Technology
Phone charger and portable power bank
Headphones
Food
We would stop at a grocery store in the biggest city closest to our campsite to stock up on food and ice. For lunches, we would have sandwiches. For dinners, we made things like hot dogs, hamburgers, and quesadillas. Here are some of the things we bought:
Pretzels
Trail mix
Goldfish
Bananas
Apples
Graham Crackers
Marshmallows
Chocolate
Protein/Cereal Bars
Chips
Bread
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Lunch meat
Cheese
Instant Starbucks VIA coffee packets
That’s it!
I hope this is a helpful list for your National Park road trip! At the end of the day if we forgot something, we were always close to a grocery store to buy what we needed.
