Hi! We’re so glad you found us.

We are a Midwest (USA) based family with a thing for travel, hiking and a large amount of laughter. We are known for planning entire vacations around a trail or viewpoint we wish to experience first-hand.

To date, we have traveled to 22 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. For our first trip abroad together, we planned a road trip across Costa Rica. Instead, we had to delay our Costa Rica travel plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We ended up exploring the Western Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia) for two weeks a few years later. We honeymooned in Zanzibar, Tanzania and our babymoon was in spent in Lisbon and the Azores – both beautiful places in Portugal.

Our travels take us all over, but our niche is uncovering the best parks, cultural gems and outdoor experiences throughout the Midwest region of the United States.

When we aren’t globetrotting, you’ll find us outside, exploring wild places. We are avid, amateur day hikers and on a mission to hike 1,000-miles of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin. You can follow along as we hike this world-class trail via our Ice Age Trail Logbook. We’re also crazy about National and State Parks, camping, and helping others learn more about magical Milwaukee.

There’s never a dull moment on our journeys. We’re always looking for the inside scoop when we visit a place be it secret waterfalls, karaoke bars or the best eateries to check out. If we come home with at least one epic story, then we deem the trip successful!

A bit more about us, just for fun:

• We became a family of 3 in 2024 and have loved experiencing travel in a whole new way. We are both the biggest fans of our oh-so-magical daughter.
• We’re both suckers for cheeseboards – you should have seen the cheeseboard at our wedding!
• We must travel with multiple portable chargers wherever we go because at least one of our phones always dies while we are out exploring.
• On our longest road trip to date, we visited 10 U.S. States in 11 days.
• An A-Frame cabin in a cozy location close to lots of outdoor activities is on our wish list.
• Alyssa likes to give books as gifts and nerd out on history.
• Justin crushes Wordle each morning, without fail.
• We love a good travel tchotchke (the tackier the better).

Thanks again for visiting parksandplanes.com. We hope our blog will serve as a searchlight for your next novel experience or epic day hike!

~ Alyssa + Justin