At More Than Just Parks we are best known for our films, an award-winning series that tries to capture the feeling of standing in each national park and forest, usually in three to five minutes built from time-lapses and footage shot on the ground.
About Our National Park Films
We have been making films in the national parks for more than a decade, from the Hawaiian islands to Bar Harbor, Maine, and a long list of places in between. These are the films we are proudest of, ranked roughly by how often we go back to them, with a short note on each to help plan your own trip.
1. Grand Teton National Park
We spent four weeks in Grand Teton National Park in the summer of 2014, and it exceeded high expectations. Of every park we have filmed, Grand Teton may take the prize for grandeur and wildlife. On that one trip we saw foxes, moose, bison, pronghorn, elk, beavers, black bears, a grizzly, and two wolves. It was also far quieter than Yellowstone just up the road. GRAND TETON 8K is the result, filmed across the Jackson Hole valley and the Teton Range.
2. Voyageurs National Park
We shot this one in the fall for the foliage, but the park’s signature feature only shows after dark: Voyageurs is one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights. It is also almost entirely accessible by water, with no traditional campgrounds, only individual sites placed so no one is visible from another. This film was made possible by the Voyageurs Conservancy.
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3. Redwood National Park
Redwood National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to the tallest trees on Earth (not to be confused with the largest, in Sequoia). We only ended up here by accident: a wildfire scrapped our original plan to film Mount Rainier, and we drove down the coast instead. The film captures summer in the park, with its mild temperatures, secluded groves, and one of the largest herds of Roosevelt elk anywhere.
4. Zion National Park
Zion packs an enormous amount into a relatively small footprint, and the millions who visit each year prove the point. We filmed it in autumn for the park’s little-known fall color and the thinner shoulder-season crowds. ZION 8K covers Zion Canyon, Kolob Canyon, Kolob Terrace, the Narrows, Angels Landing, the Great White Throne, and more, all carved by the Virgin River over millions of years.
5. Death Valley National Park
We spent weeks in Death Valley, mostly in February and March when the heat is survivable, hiking hundreds of miles to reach the corners most people never see: Eureka Dunes, the Racetrack Playa, Mesquite Dunes, Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, Darwin Falls. At over three million acres, it is the largest national park in the lower 48, and the hottest place on the planet hides a surprising amount of life.
6. Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain was the first film we shot across all four seasons, drawn by the dramatic change through the year. Our focus was fall, for the colors and the elk rut, which is something to witness. ROCKY MOUNTAIN 8K spans more than 400 square miles of the Front Range, high in the wild heart of the Continental Divide.
7. Badlands National Park
We filmed Badlands National Park in May, ahead of the heat and the crowds, and learned the hard way how hard the spring wind blows across the plains (we lost a few tripods). The landscape looks foreboding but teems with bison, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, coyotes, prairie dogs, and burrowing owls. While you are in the area, the Black Hills National Forest is worth the detour.
8. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Hawai’i Volcanoes is home to Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world and almost perpetually in a state of eruption. We shot this film before much of the recent explosive activity, so it captures some locations that have since changed dramatically. Beyond the lava, the park holds dense rainforest and rugged coastline. It is one of two national parks in Hawaii, alongside Haleakala on Maui.
9. Haleakala National Park
For this film we hiked every trail in the park across multiple seasons on Maui. Haleakala blends ancient volcanic features in its vast summit crater with a rugged tropical coastline. Two standouts: the sunrise from the crater rim, one of the most famous in the park system, and the Pipiwai Trail to Waimoku Falls. HALEAKALA 8K is our journey to the house of the sun.
10. Olympic National Park
OLYMPIC was our very first national park film and the beginning of More Than Just Parks, so it holds a special place for us. We shot it in July and August at peak accessibility, drawn by the park’s extraordinary range of geography. Olympic offers glacial peaks, old-growth rainforest, and over seventy miles of wilderness coast, all within a day’s drive.
11. Acadia National Park
Acadia sits on Mount Desert Island and the Schoodic Peninsula of Maine, and we filmed it in autumn for its reputation as one of the best places on Earth to see fall foliage. It did not disappoint. We captured Jordan Pond, Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Otter Cliffs, and Cadillac Mountain, the first place in the country the sun touches each morning. The film is dedicated to George Dorr, the father of Acadia.
12. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Many people call Great Smoky Mountains National Park the best fall foliage in the world. We spent weeks there at peak color to see for ourselves, and we were not disappointed. Straddling Tennessee and North Carolina, it is the most visited national park in the country, and the autumn elk rut is a bonus. This was our second film.
13. Virgin Islands National Park
To make this film we spent weeks on St. John, hiking every trail in Virgin Islands National Park and swimming every bay for good measure. We visited after Hurricane Irma and Maria in 2017 and were genuinely surprised by the recovery: much of the footage online does not reflect what the park looks like today. All of ours shows the park in its current, post-hurricane state, where you can swim with sea turtles and explore jungle ruins.
14. Joshua Tree National Park
We filmed Joshua Tree in winter to avoid the brutal summer heat, and leaned into the park’s famously dark skies by featuring the stars heavily. Locations include Skull Rock, Arch Rock, Keys View, the Cholla Cactus Garden, and Jumbo Rocks. Its boulder piles, cactus fields, and one-of-a-kind trees make a setting like nowhere else.
15. Saguaro National Park
SAGUARO is the result of weeks filming in the Sonoran Desert, one of the most varied deserts in the world. Across more than 90,000 acres, Saguaro National Park protects vast forests of its namesake cactus, rare wildlife, and the kind of desert sunsets that make the heat worth it.
16. Theodore Roosevelt National Park
To make this one we spent weeks in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in October, our favorite season. Across more than 70,000 acres of North Dakota badlands, snaking rivers, and colorful canyons, the park is home to our national mammal, the bison, and the kind of overlooks that made a young Roosevelt fall for the place.
More Public Lands Films
The parks are only part of the story. We have also made films across the national forests, the larger and often overlooked public lands that surround and connect them.
17. Deschutes National Forest
A land shaped by ancient volcanoes, where blue rivers cut through old forest, mountains give way to lakes and valleys, and vast lava caves run beneath the surface. This is the Deschutes National Forest, made in part with Visit Bend.
18. Black Hills National Forest
A journey through one of the most distinctive regions in the country, where spires of granite rise above the evergreens. This is the Black Hills, made in part with the South Dakota Department of Tourism.
19. Flathead National Forest
In the northwestern corner of Montana, the Flathead National Forest spans 2.4 million acres, including more than a million acres of pristine wilderness at its heart. A journey through iconic mountains, emerald lakes, and forests of deep green and gold. This is the Flathead.
20. Bridger-Teton National Forest
A visual journey through one of the wildest regions in the country: towering peaks, rugged wilderness, clear alpine lakes, abundant wildlife, and endless places to explore. This is Bridger-Teton, filmed primarily in 8K.
21. Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest
A visual journey through one of Utah’s most varied regions: mountains, valleys, forests, canyons, and meadows that hold some of North America’s most treasured wildlife and landscapes. This is the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.
22. Dixie National Forest
In the rugged southwestern corner of Utah, Dixie National Forest spans nearly two million acres of wide-open scenery, from alpine lakes and aspen forests to red deserts and sculpted sandstone. This is Dixie, filmed primarily in 8K.
23. Manti-La Sal National Forest
Larger than all of Utah’s national parks combined, the Manti-La Sal National Forest is woven with snow-capped peaks, kaleidoscopic fall color, the sacred Bears Ears, red rock formations, lakes, valleys, and rivers. It is also a reminder of why protecting Utah’s wild places matters. Made with Visit Utah.
24. Fishlake National Forest
The Fishlake National Forest holds clear lakes, vast stands of quaking aspen (including Pando, among the largest living organisms on Earth), carved canyons, and high peaks. Another reminder of why Utah’s wild places are worth protecting. Made with Visit Utah.
25. Ocala National Forest
In the wild heart of Florida lies an old forest full of rare birds, alligators, manatees, and crystalline natural springs. A look at the beautiful and underrated Ocala National Forest, made with the Ocala and Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau.
26. Ashley National Forest
A visual journey through Utah’s Ashley National Forest, from sunrise to sunset across gorges, valleys, forests, red deserts, and meadows in one of the most remote corners of the state. Made with Visit Utah.
27. Green Mountain National Forest
In the heart of Vermont, the Green Mountain National Forest is a vast land of glacier-carved hardwood forest with some of the best fall foliage on the planet. This one breaks from our usual three-to-five-minute format: we released it at over ten minutes so you can take the colors in slowly.
The Full Film List
- Grand Teton National Park
- Voyageurs National Park
- Redwood National Park
- Zion National Park
- Death Valley National Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Badlands National Park
- Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
- Haleakala National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Acadia National Park
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Virgin Islands National Park
- Joshua Tree National Park
- Saguaro National Park
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Deschutes National Forest
- Black Hills National Forest
- Flathead National Forest
- Bridger-Teton National Forest
- Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest
- Dixie National Forest
- Manti-La Sal National Forest
- Fishlake National Forest
- Ocala National Forest
- Ashley National Forest
- Green Mountain National Forest
