The Camping Trip That Created America's National Parks

In May 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote a letter to the naturalist John Muir. It said: "I do not want anyone with me but you, and I want to drop politics absolutely for four days and just be out in the open with you."

What happened next changed the world.

Roosevelt sent most of his official party back and disappeared into the Yosemite backcountry with Muir, two park rangers, and a cook. Over three nights they camped at the Mariposa Grove, near Sentinel Dome, and at Bridalveil Meadow. On the second night, five inches of snow fell. Roosevelt loved it.

When he returned to Washington, something had shifted. Between 1901 and 1909, Roosevelt protected approximately 230 million acres of public land. Five national parks. Eighteen national monuments. 150 national forests. He signed the Antiquities Act in 1906, which gave presidents the power to protect significant land by executive order. He used it immediately, declaring the Grand Canyon a national monument in 1908.

"Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness," he said of the canyon. "You cannot improve on it."

The National Park Service itself wasn't created until 1916, under President Woodrow Wilson. By then, Muir had been dead for two years — he died on Christmas Eve, 1914. But the system they had argued about around that Yosemite campfire was already real.

Roosevelt's conservation model spread. More than 100 countries followed the idea of setting aside public land, creating upwards of 1,200 national parks around the world. The places your family can hike in Canada, New Zealand, Kenya, and across Europe exist, in part, because two men went camping in 1903.

Places worth visiting with your family

The newsletter covered five parks connected to the Roosevelt-Muir story:

Yosemite National Park, California — where the camping trip happened. The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, including the Grizzly Giant estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old, is still there. The famous photograph of Roosevelt and Muir at Glacier Point was taken on that trip. The Junior Ranger program gives kids a mission to complete. Entry from $35. Check nps.gov/yose for current reservations.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona — Roosevelt declared it a national monument in 1908 after Congress refused to act. It became a national park in 1919. The South Rim is the most accessible for families, with short paved trails and one of the most extraordinary views on Earth. Timed entry permits required in spring and summer. Check nps.gov/grca.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota — the least visited and most underrated of the three. This is the landscape that shaped Roosevelt before he ever met Muir. Wild bison herds, prairie dog towns, and open Badlands as far as you can see. Wildlife is easy to spot from the road. Check nps.gov/thro.

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada — Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake have waters so blue they look digitally altered. The Icefields Parkway is one of the most spectacular drives in the world. Note: Moraine Lake requires a Parks Canada shuttle reservation in 2026. Check parks.canada.ca.

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand — the largest and most dramatic of New Zealand's 14 national parks. Milford Sound, 14 fiords, and some of the highest rainfall on Earth. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cruise boats take families through the fiord between walls of rock rising a thousand metres from the water. Check doc.govt.nz.

Find a national park near you

Not sure which park is closest? nps.gov/findapark covers every US park by state and zip code. For parks outside the US, national-parks.org organizes them by continent.

Read the full edition

This story ran in Issue 4 of The Weekend History Hunt, the free weekly newsletter from DuckAbroad for families who travel with curious kids. Every Thursday we send one story from history and the places where you can go live it.

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