How Sunrise Tours Traveler Mark Lay Visited All 63 U.S. National Parks
August 18, 2026
For many travelers, visiting a national park is a memorable vacation. For Sunrise Tours traveler Mark Lay, it became something so much bigger.
After years of family camping trips, memorable journeys with Sunrise Tours, and a growing interest in seeing more of America’s protected landscapes, Mark recently accomplished an extraordinary goal: visiting all 63 U.S. national parks.
Surprisingly, though, completing all 63 was not always the plan.
An Idea That Started on a Sunrise Tour
Mark’s goal began to take shape in May 2021 on Sunrise Tours’ National Parks of the Southwest tour, shortly after travel began returning following the pandemic.
The Tour Director was Sunrise Tours Vice President Caleb Lawson, whom Mark had never met before the trip. Caleb’s enthusiasm for the national parks quickly made an impression.
“For so many people, including Mark and myself, the return to travel in 2021 meant getting outdoors and enjoying some of our nation’s greatest natural wonders,” Caleb said. “I felt so fortunate to help others experience national parks during that time.”
“He was so enthusiastic about the parks,” Mark recalled. “It just kind of snowballed from there.”
At some point during their travels, Mark asked Caleb how many national parks he had visited. At that time, Caleb’s answer was somewhere in the mid-40s.
That got Mark thinking.
“I sat down and just started looking at where I had already gone,” he said.
Soon, what had been years of individual trips and vacations became a goal: visit every U.S. national park.
A Journey That Really Began in Childhood
As Mark started looking back at the parks he had visited, he discovered that his connection to the national parks went back much further than he realized.
Mark spent part of his childhood in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with his parents and younger brother. His father received two weeks of vacation each year, and the family often spent that time camping and exploring the country.
“We would just go camping,” Mark said. “One year we would go north, one year south, and spend two weeks traveling.”
After his parents passed away, Mark and his younger sister began going through trays of old family slides. Among them, they found many photographs of Mark and his brother standing beside national park signs during their childhood travels.
The discovery brought those early adventures rushing back.
“It brought me back to my childhood,” Mark said. “I just started thinking, ‘This is neat.’”
From then on, taking a photograph beside the park sign became part of Mark’s journey. Decades after those childhood camping trips, he found himself recreating a tradition his parents had unknowingly started.
“It came full circle,” said Mark.
“Mark’s story about finding old photos of himself and his family at national parks is a constant inspiration for me and how I document my family’s trips,” added Caleb. “It’s proof that the impact of a meaningful travel experience can last a lifetime.”
Sunrise Tours Helps Check 25 Parks Off the List
Once Mark set his sights on all 63 parks, Sunrise Tours became a major part of the journey.
Between 2021 and 2023, Mark traveled on eight Sunrise Tours itineraries featuring U.S. national parks:
Grand Canyon & Red Rocks: 6 parks
National Parks of the Southwest: 4 parks
Yosemite & California’s National Parks: 4 parks
Appalachian Trail Express: 3 parks
Florida Keys & the Everglades: 3 parks
National Parks of Southern California: 2 parks
Dakotas Frontier: 2 parks
Glacier & Waterton’s National Parks: 1 U.S. park
Altogether, 25 of Mark’s 63 national parks were visited on Sunrise Tours journeys.
Several of those trips were led by Caleb, whose enthusiasm had helped inspire the goal in the first place.
“One of my favorite experiences on national parks tours is seeing excited travelers stamp their national parks passport and cross off another bucket list location from their list,” Caleb said. “Getting to do that with repeat travelers like Mark is one of the great joys of Tour Directing for Sunrise Tours.”
Although Mark had visited several of the parks during his childhood, returning as an adult allowed him to experience them in a completely different way.
“Because I was only a kid the first time, I went back to some of these parks and campgrounds,” he said. “As an adult, that’s when I crossed them off my list, and Sunrise really helped me with a lot of those.”
The Parks That Left the Biggest Impression
After visiting all 63, choosing a favorite is nearly impossible, but a few stand out to Mark.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park ranks among Mark’s top parks. Smaller and less famous than the Grand Canyon, its dramatic scenery surprised him.
“It’s like a small Grand Canyon, but just so beautiful,” he said. “I was very impressed by it.”
Dry Tortugas National Park also made a lasting impression, particularly because of its history. Located off the coast of Florida, the park includes historic Fort Jefferson, which dates to the 19th century.
For Mark, a self-described history buff, that combination of scenery and history is part of what makes the national parks so fascinating.
Then there is Petrified Forest National Park, which holds a more personal memory. Mark remembers visiting as a child and picking up a small piece of petrified wood, only for his mother to quickly tell him to put it back and “leave no trace.”
The memory has stayed with him all these years.
Alaska offered an entirely different national park experience. Visiting parks in such vast and remote landscapes, sometimes by small plane, gave Mark a perspective unlike anything he had experienced in the Lower 48.
“You get up to Alaska, and you fly into a park on a tiny plane,” he said. “To see something from that perspective, it’s just beautiful and unforgettable.”
Park Number 63
After several years of deliberately working toward his goal, Mark finally reached U.S. national park No. 63: Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
Finishing brought mixed emotions.
“There was relief on one hand, but a letdown on the other,” he said.
For three or four years, Mark had spent considerable time planning trips and working his way toward the final park. Suddenly, the checklist was complete.
“You can always go back to parks, but when it’s your very first time, it’s an accomplishment,” he said. “Then you think, ‘Where do I go next? Now what?’”
Fortunately, completing the list has not diminished his love for the parks. There are plenty he would happily visit again.
His Advice: Take Your Time
For anyone inspired to start their own national park journey, Mark’s advice is simple.
“Take your time and enjoy it. Moments go by fast.”
Seeing all 63 parks requires planning, time, and commitment, but Mark believes the experience is worth every bit of it.
“There are some beautiful places,” he said. “Our country has a lot to offer.”
For Mark, Sunrise Tours made it easier to reach many of the parks still on his list while simply enjoying the experience along the way.
Looking back on the childhood camping trips, the old family photographs, the Sunrise Tours adventures, and ultimately all 63 U.S. national parks, Mark has no regrets.
“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I would do it over again in a heartbeat.”
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Written by Sunrise Tours Marketing Manager Mary O'Leary. To view Sunrise Tours' Tour Calendar, including national parks tours, click here.