If you’re looking for a new way to explore the beauty of the national parks in the United States, you may want to consider seeing the sights by bicycle. In the U.S., you can choose from dozens of bike-friendly national parks to visit. From scenic lake views along carriage roads in Acadia National Park in Maine to mountain peak backdrops along paved roads in California’s Yosemite National Park, you can often go places cars cannot go. And you’ll get plenty of exercise along the way.

As a beginner to biking in a national park, you’ll have plenty of easy trails and beginner bike routes to choose from.

And with all outdoor recreational activities, be sure you’re prepared before you hit the road. Taking time to familiarize yourself with each park’s rules and regulations along with the bike path routes will help set you up for success and make your time biking in the park even more enjoyable. You’ll be prepared for the terrain you’ll encounter, and you’ll know exactly how many miles you’ll be peddling.

If you don’t own a bike, no need to worry. You can search the local area around any national park you’ll be visiting to see if there are bike rentals or a shared bike program with bikes you can borrow for a couple of hours. And in some national parks, you can even join in on guided biking events, so you’re with a group.

To help you get started biking in national parks, here are five bike-friendly national parks recommendations that are ideal for beginners from the east to the west coast and a little in between:

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park sits along the rocky shores of Maine. In the park, you’ll see a variety of scenes like mountains, woodlands, lakes and shorelines. And the park terrain is ideal for first-time National Park bikers. Since the roads in the park are relatively flat with some small hills, even beginner bikers can feel comfortable biking around.

You’ll also experience biking on a network of carriage roads (made of old stone) that are perfect for cycling away from auto traffic. There are nearly 45 miles of historic stone roads that horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians and bicyclists can access.

Before you go, do your research on the biking trails in the park. You can find a lot of helpful information specific to biking in Acadia National Park on the Acadia page on the National Park Service website. You can see maps, details on biking routes, entrance information and other information like bicycling rules and safety.

---

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

In Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley National Park (also called CVNP) is cycling-friendly with bike routes ranging from easy to challenging. And since the terrain is mostly flat with a mix of packed gravel and paved bike paths, you’ll feel at ease if it’s your first time biking in a park.

You can find information on biking trails in CVNP on the CVNP page on the National Park Service website, and read about the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail where you can travel this historic route that mules once walked to tow canal boats loaded with passengers and goods. With a lot of wooded areas, CVNP is a good choice for beginner bikers.

---

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

From waterfalls to wildlife viewing, Great Smokey Mountain National Park along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee is an iconic park. And it’s no wonder why it’s America’s most-visited national park. Although there are no mountain biking trails in the park, you can bike on The Gatlinburg Trail, the Oconaluftee River Trail, the lower Deep Creek Trail and other areas.

Learn more about biking in the park on the Great Smoky Mountains page on the National Park Service website.

---

Shenandoah National Park

In Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, you can see fields of wildflowers, wildlife like deer, black bears and a variety of birds and cascading waterfalls. And the park is biker friendly. You can bike the epically beautiful and winding Skyline Drive and all of the paved areas in the park. There are flatter parts to bike as well as hillier sections, so make sure to look into the route you want to take before you get there.

You can also explore guided bike tours offered by local businesses, check out online maps of park roads and get more information on the Shenandoah National Park page on the National Park Service website.

---

Yosemite National Park

Known for it’s ancient giant sequoia trees and towering waterfalls, Yosemite National Park in California is also a good park to bike in. With more than 12 miles of paved bike paths, you can also ride on regular roads in the park. And they have a bike share program where you can borrow a bike for two hours to explore parts of the park.

The terrain in the park is hilly, but you can find several flatter routes ideal for beginners. You can find a map of the park, bike rental information and more on the Yosemite National Park page of the National Park Service website.

---

Suzanne Downing is an outdoor writer and photographer in Montana with an environmental science journalism background. Her work can be found in Outdoors Unlimited, Bugle Magazine, Missoulian, Byline Magazine, Communique, MTPR online, UM Native News, National Wildlife Federation campaigns and more.