Photographer: Erin Trieb/Bloomberg
National Parks Are America’s Final EV Frontier
Yellowstone and Yosemite are finally on the map for electric cars, but many of the largest parks don’t have chargers and aren’t likely to soon.
The 142-mile Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone National Park is a nearly perfect place for an electric vehicle. The speed limit hovers around 45 miles per hour and the sweeping vistas — the Spaghetti Western meadows of Hayden Valley and the Technicolor pools of the Midway Geyser Basin — encourage rubbernecking, which tops up the battery. Every time a bison stops traffic (which is often), it’s a boon for the EV adventurer.
“There’s just something magical about having your windows down,” says Clint Goudie-Nice, a software engineer who visits Yellowstone every year. “There’s very minimal road sound, just the peaceful serenity of the park.”