WeSalute Reviews: Your Essential State Park Travel Guide 2025

Where do beauty, history, and scenic serenity come together? State parks, of course. They are all over the United States. Most states have several parks, yet many people do not take advantage of visiting these wonderful places. Whether you are a fan of hiking, skiing, camping, or getting a history lesson, there is a state park available for you to indulge in. Many state park systems, such as West Virginia State Parks, offer direct discounts for veterans and active-duty military. It's recommended to check directly with the state park or state park system website to see what they might offer.

Based on over 25 years of experience helping members find military discounts, this WeSalute Travel Guide offers affordable and excellent travel experiences for your entire family. If you are new to WeSalute, start by creating a free account to gain access to hundreds of offers and if you want even more benefits, including exclusive discounts you can’t find anywhere else, sign up for WeSalute+ today!

In the US Northeast, Connecticut has a state park unlike any other. Dinosaur State Park consists of 70 acres of preserved land for dinosaur tracks! Here, you can still see Jurassic fossil tracks in sandstone from around 200 million years ago, and then make plaster casts of dinosaur tracks yourself! The Exhibit Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. The cost of visiting the Exhibit Center is $6 for adults (ages 13+), $2 for youths (ages 6-12), and free for children 5 and under. The park grounds, picnic areas, and nature trails are open daily and are free to use.

New York has many beautiful places to visit, one of which is Saratoga Spa State Park. This national historical landmark continues to offer shady streamside hiking trails, an abundance of picnic areas, golf courses (Championship 18-hole and 9-hole executive open from March - late November, weather dependent), a water park (Peerless Pool Complex, with some areas closed for renovation in 2025), pools (Historic Victoria Pool and Peerless Pool, open from June 21st - September 1st, 2025), tennis courts, Geyser Creek known for fishing, theater (Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Spa Little Theater), museum (Saratoga Automobile Museum, The Children's Museum at Saratoga), and more. Saratoga Park is truly a place to go when looking for versatile recreational activities. Vehicle entrance fees apply during peak seasons, and pool admission fees are $8 for adults and $4 for children and seniors (weekdays only).

What Car Rental Deals are Available to the Military?

State parks are a great weekend getaway if you live within a car ride of getting there, and most are closer than you think! WeSalute+ Members enjoy significant benefits on rentals globally, including up to 35% OFF car, truck, and SUV rentals. Members also receive a complimentary annual upgrade to Avis Preferred Plus status, enhancing savings and the overall travel experience. This is just one of the many travel discounts and daily savings packed into your WeSalute+ Membership. Your membership also includes exclusive access to a Personal Benefits Specialist for dedicated support, to ensure you maximize all of these benefits and more as A Real Thank YouⓇ for your service!

Over on the western side of the United States, California’s great sunsets, free beaches, and professional baseball teams are sites to see; there are lots of things to do in California, like visit Huntington State Beach. Here, the rare and endangered California Least Tern still has a nesting sanctuary, as well as a sanctuary for the threatened Snowy Plover. Located right off the popular Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington State Beach is a must-see! Just a friendly reminder: To protect the local wildlife, please stay out of the Snowy Plover Reserve at the south end of the beach, and please keep dogs off the sand. These small steps help in preserving this special habitat!

There are quite a number of beaches to see in the south too. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida, remains a popular destination. This undersea adventure is a site to be seen. If you aren’t into snorkeling or scuba diving, you can rent a glass-bottom boat to observe these coral reefs. Fishing is permitted in designated areas, and visitors can enjoy walking on short trails, picnicking, or swimming at the beach. Cannon Beach, located in the park, still features remnants of an early Spanish shipwreck!

If you want to visit a waterless state park down south, Texas is the place to be. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is home to the second-largest canyon in the United States, as it is 120 miles long and as much as 20 miles wide, while having a depth of more than 800 feet. It was formed from water erosion, and the water continues to deepen the canyon as it moves sediment downstream. On-site horse rentals are available through Palo Duro Riding Stables if you would like to view the area on horseback, and they operate year-round, weather permitting, often by reservation.

Need to Book Your Flight Plans?

Is your next destination a bit too far for a road trip? Fly there instead and gain more time to enjoy the scenic views on your vacation! WeSalute offers exclusive savings with multiple airline partners to get you there for less.

You can save 5% on tickets with United Airlines, a discount WeSalute pioneered in 2004 as an industry-first for the military community. We are also proud to partner with JetBlue, which provides 5% OFF on all flights, including MINT fares, every day without blackout dates. In addition to the fare discount, JetBlue waives fees for two checked bags per person on flights, which alone can be the equivalent of saving $170 on a round trip! Plus, we're excited to welcome our newest airline partner,  Breeze Airways, where all WeSalute Members can receive 15% OFF! The popular travel website UpgradedPoints wrote, “this deal is a no-brainer.”

If you aren’t looking to go horseback riding, swimming, or going down a river by canoe, why not go “geocaching” in Minnesota’s Whitewater State Park? What is geocaching, you may ask? It is a treasure hunt of a different kind. By using a hand-held GPS, you follow the hiking trails to a cache container that a previous hiker has placed for you to find. Once you claim your treasure, you replace it with something you would like a future treasure hunter to find and keep! Minnesota continues to have an abundance of state parks and recreational areas, and geocaching is still offered in several state parks.

If geocaching isn’t something you would care to take part in, why not Trout Fishing in Missouri’s Montauk State Park? Close to St. Louis and stocked each night from an on-site hatchery, fishing trips here are very successful. Montauk State Park, along with Bennett Spring State Park and Roaring River State Park, is a premier location for trout fishing, with the catch-and-keep season typically running from March 1st to October 31st. They continue to offer lots of programs involving nature walks, live animal demonstrations, nature crafts, mill tours, and a hike around the Pigeon Creek Basin.

What Entertainment Discounts are Available to Military Members?

While planning your state park getaway, remember the adventure doesn't have to stop at the trailhead. Your WeSalute Membership unlocks exclusive entertainment discounts across the country. Enhance your vacation by catching a local sporting event, seeing a movie, or visiting a nearby theme park!

WeSalute is here to help you plan your next adventure! For those whose active lifestyles demand a full range of benefits, you can also check out the WeSalute Marketplace for many more military discounts ranging from airlines, car rental savings, hotels, Greyhound & Flixbus bus travel, to WeSalute Travel Protection insurance, which covers you anytime you travel more than 100 miles from home. Not a WeSalute+ Member yet? Now might be the time to ensure you get the deepest savings available to you!

Enjoy the outdoors!