El Yunque National Forest is Puerto Rico's premier hiking destination, a short, 45-minute drive from San Juan. The forest spans nearly 30,000 acres on the northeastern side of the island.
El Yunque receives around 200 inches of rain each year, on average. That precipitation feeds waterfalls throughout the forest, which is home to more than 1,000 plant species and animals like the coqui tree frog, Puerto Rican parrot, Puerto Rican boa, and Puerto Rican giant green lizard.
I enjoyed hiking to Mount Britton Tower and the El Yunque summit, plus the Angelito and Los Picachos Trails.
As of April 2023, El Yunque was limiting access to 300 vehicles per day to prevent overcrowding. And so, you had to make a reservation in advance on Recreation.gov. The cost was $2 per car, and it was non-refundable.
One way around the daily limit is to book with an authorized tour operator that uses special permits. Recreation.gov also releases a set number of tickets at 8 a.m. each morning, for the next day, to help people who did not plan ahead.
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Filmed in April 2023 with a Sony FX3 + GoPro HERO11 + DJI Mavic Air 2 + RØDE Wireless GO II
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👋🏼 About me...
Hey there! I'm Kevin Lewis, a former TV news reporter at ABC7 in Washington, D.C., and WNDU in South Bend, Indiana.
After working in television news for 15+ years, I straight up quit my job in February 2023 to have the freedom and flexibility to explore North, Central, and South America, capturing remarkable stories along the way, and sharing them with you right here on KZread.
Maybe you want to learn more about what's out there. Maybe you want inspiration on where to travel next. Maybe you just want to unwind after a long day at work or school... Whatever your reason, please know that whenever you watch a 'Kevin Across America' video, you should feel less stressed, more optimistic about the world we live in, and I sincerely hope, more motivated to get out there and explore. After all, there's such a lot of world to see!
Do you have a travel suggestion for one of my upcoming videos? Leave a comment in a recent video or email me.
Happy Trails!
Kevin Across America-