Travel has come to a halt as most of us self-quarantine and practice social distancing; however, that doesn’t mean we have to stop exploring our national parks. No, it’s not quite the same as hitting the trail, but we can channel our national park wanderlust from the comfort of our couches. Films and series featuring our national parks can be streamed on a variety of different TV services. Some short films and TV series can even be accessed via the internet.
There are many from which to choose. We’ve compiled a list of films and shows that we think best capture our national parks and will motivate you to hit the road when we are able travel once again!
Rock the Park (2014- )
This Daytime Emmy Award winning TV series is sure to inspire viewers to hit the road to seek adventure in America’s national parks. Hosts Jack Steward and Colton Smith are on mission to explore every national park, plus other beautiful natural spaces throughout the country. Rock the Park, which first aired in 2014, is still going strong today! Tune in on weekend mornings to Litton’s Weekend Adventure on ABC or binge watch old episodes (as we have done!) through Amazon Prime/Curiosity Stream or YouTube TV.
If you’d like to learn a bit more, you can watch this teaser vides from Jack and Colton!
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (2009)
In this six-episode PBS series (2009), Ken Burns tells the story of our national parks in his series on The National Parks: America’s Best Idea—the initial ideas that led to the establishment of the world’s first national parks, the expansion of the system over 150 years and the people who helped to create them.
Here is an extended preview of this great show.
(Streaming services: Amazon Prime and Vudu)
IMAX: National Parks Adventure (2016)
This documentary, narrated by Robert Redford, celebrates the stunning landscapes and untamed wilderness of some of our most iconic national parks. The film follows world-class mountaineer Conrad Anker, artist Rachel Pohl and adventure photographer Max Lowe as they explore some of America’s most majestic national parks—including Glacier, Yellowstone, Arches, Yosemite and many more.
(Streaming services: Netflix)
More Than Just Parks (2014- ) and More Than Just Forests (2018- )
To encourage the conservation of America’s public lands, Filmmaker brothers Will and Jim Pattiz founded the More Than Just Parks organization and film project. These short films use a combination of time-lapse photography and more traditional videography to take the viewer on a visually stunning journey of our amazing national parks and public lands.
For more information or to view the web series, see More Than Just Parks and More Than Just Forests.
Free Solo (2018)
(Streaming services: Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Hulu, Vudu)
Bears (2014)
The Disneynature documentary follows a family of brown bears living in the coastal mountain ranges of Alaska. It was filmed at Katmai National Park and Preserve.
(Streaming services: Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Hulu, Vudu)
Other Notable Mentions:
- America’s National Parks: National Geographic Docuseries (2015)
- Into the Grand Canyon: National Geographic Documentary (2019)
- Great Yellowstone Thaw: PBS Documentary (2017)
- Into the Canyon: National Geographic Documentary (2019)
- Valley Uprising: Adventure Documentary (2014)
- Mile…Mile & A Half: The Muir Project Documentary (2013)
- The Dawn Wall: Adventure Documentary (2017)
- Find Me: Indie Adventure Film (2018)
NOTE: National Geographic documentaries are available on Disney Plus.
Of course, if you are happy just reading, you can always check out our extensive National Park Blog Posts-we’ve got over 100 articles to keep you engaged for hours!
