National Park Movies

While we wait until we can go and visit a national park, check out a few movies here to enjoy some scenes from a variety of national parks.

  • Star Wars, A New Hope (1977) – Death Valley National in California – filmed some scenes on Tatooine here as well as some other scenes in the movie
  • Dances with Wolves (1990) – Badlands National Park in South Dakota- has a variety of scenes there including a pretty, mixed grass prairie landscape scene
  • The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) – Redwoods National and State Parks in California – filmed some scenes here
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) – Zion National Park in Utah – Robert Redford and Paul Newman filmed some scenes here
  • Star Trek V, The Final Frontier (1989) – Yosemite National ParkΒ  in California – Captain Kirk decides to climb El Capitan in this film
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) – Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming – featured the tower as the aliens landing site
  • The Shining (1980) – Glacier National Monument in Montana – filmed the Going-to-the-Sun Road and a few other scenes here and the Overlook Hotel lounge set in the film was modeled after the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park
  • Into the Wild (2007) – Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska – Sean Penn’s movie based on Jon Krakauer’s book set here
  • Rocky IV (1985) – Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming – filmed the Tetons as a stand in for scenes with his training in Siberia
  • Planet of the Apes (1968) – Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona and Utah – filmed the landing site for the astronaut crew there
  • Forrest Gump (1994) – National Mall in Washington DC – Forrest Gump described this scene as the happiest time of his life takes place here and Forrest also journeyed through Glacier National Park in his adventures
  • North by Northwest (1959) – Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota – Alfred Hitchcock movie with Cary Grant filmed some scenes here, but the final scene was filmed on a set which looked just like the memorial
  • E.T. (1982) – Redwoods National and State Parks in California – filmed some scenes here in the forest
  • Free Solo (2018) – Yosemite National Park in California – filmed the nonfiction movie here about a rock climber’s attempt to climb El Capitan

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Enjoy some movies while pretending to be in a national park!

 

Grand Prismatic Spring 🌈

In July, we visited the Yellowstone National Park. We had a few must-see items on our list and it included the Grand Prismatic Springs.

We had missed seeing it on previous trips to Yellowstone, but I had seen photos and could not wait to see it in person! I should disclose that I love rainbows, color, and volcanic activity, so could not wait!

We had warnings of the crowds, so we started our day early. We enjoyed a nice hike to the area and then hiked up to the overlook.

These springs look amazing! 🌈 You can really see the rainbow of colors! It’s not photoshopped or edited and looks just as beautiful as the photos (if not more so). Gotta love that bacteria giving us these colors!

This is the largest hot springs in the United States and the third largest in the world.

Hayden Expedition of 1871 leader Ferdinand Hayden said this about the Grand Prismatic, “Nothing ever conceived by human art could equal the peculiar vividness and delicacy of color of these remarkable prismatic springs. Life becomes a privilege and a blessing after one has seen and thoroughly felt these incomparable types of nature’s cunning skill.

Add this amazing and beautiful hot springs to your bucket list to see in person! 🌈😊

Throwback Thursday

National Park Week now brings us Throwback Thursday!

History and memories are made each day at the national parks.  Take a moment to reflect on one of your own favorite national park memories today!

Enjoy a photo of my own Throwback Thursday of the national parks of a pretty special day in my life:

Happy National Park Week!