Use Your Supercharger Votes To Help National Parks! – CleanTechnica

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Recently, Tesla opened up Supercharging to a lot more vehicles by adding support for GM vehicles. This means that a lot more EV drivers can now participate in Supercharger Voting! When Tesla does this, they give each user 5 votes to use on a map of potential future locations. While areas along major interstate highways and in major metro areas are getting a lot of votes, some of the more rural stations don’t seem to be getting a lot of love.

In this article, I’m going to suggest some ways readers can vote for Superchargers that would benefit travel by EV to national parks, including the five locations I’ve chosen. I’ll also suggest some places to ask Tesla to include in the next round of voting!

National Parks With A Nearby Location You Can Vote For

One of the first hints I did was look for markers on Tesla’s map that are near or on the way to national parks. It wasn’t that hard to find them!

First, I voted for Gardiner, Montana and Cody, Wyoming. These stations are both near Yellowstone National Park, and would put Superchargers on three sides of the park. There’s already one in West Yellowstone, Montana, but sadly it’s not a V3, so non-Tesla vehicles can’t use it. Opening up two more routes into the park and helping Cody, Wyoming have something more than a dealer charger would be all-around fantastic.

Another place that could use some charging love is Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park. I know this would be a taxing place to get a charge (it gets to almost 130 degrees during some summers), but getting a short charge to climb out of the deep below sea level basin would be very useful. Nobody wants to get stuck in Death Valley without air conditioning, right? I just hope that Tesla puts a solar shade and maybe some misters or big outdoor fans there! An indoor charging station with AC could also be good for the vehicles.

For my fourth vote, I picked Munising, Michigan. While not called a national park, the nearby Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is just another kind of national park, and is run by the National Park Service. Having nearby charging would greatly help travelers both to there and to Isle Royale. You’ll still have to go to Isle Royale by boat, though.

For my last vote, I chose Hot Springs, Arkansas. When I traveled to Hot Springs National Park earlier this year, I relied on Franklin’s Charging, which was great. But, they only have two stalls. During the busy season, more stalls in the area will be needed, so it makes sense to vote for that one. If Tesla does go for this, I’d definitely recommend using Franklin’s first, as it’s a great local small business and it has native NACS ports!

With my votes exhausted, there were a couple of runners up that I might recommend people consider if you don’t like any of the above. A Supercharger in Ruidoso or Roswell, New Mexico would help drivers get to White Sands National Park. Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona (near Show Low) would be another great place to get more stalls, as that would aid with access to several NPS properties in the region. Taos, New Mexico would also be a great spot, aiding access to the Rio Grande Gorge (part of a national monument run by the Bureau of Land Management) and Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.

Do you have some locations that you think would be better for EV drivers headed to national parks? Be sure to let us know about them in the comments or on social media.

My Suggestions For The Next Round

On top of being able to vote, Tesla also provides a link to a suggestion box you can use to suggest locations for future voting rounds or simply for Tesla to choose without voting (it’s not really a democracy).

My biggest charging disappointment for national parks is that it’s still tough to get to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in an EV. Many unloaded EVs can make it in and out of there via a ChargePoint station in Kanab, Utah, but EVs with less range and EVs towing campers and other trailers would still struggle, especially if coming from the east or from Flagstaff! So, I suggested that Tesla consider Jacob Lake, Arizona for a Supercharger station.

Nearby, a station is also needed at Cameron, Arizona. This is good for not only getting to the North Rim from the South Rim or Flagstaff, but also for people trying to go between the Grand Canyon and other parks like Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. Tesla has a station at Kayenta, but adding one in Cameron or Tuba City and adding one at Jacob Lake would pretty much complete things for the region.

Another place that could use some love is the route into Yellowstone National Park from the south. Jackson, Wyoming would be a great place to start, as this would also serve Grand Teton National Park. Afton, Wyoming would also be great, as this would enable people to get to Jackson from Bear Lake, Utah.

Another national park that could use an electric boost is Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado. Cortez, Colorado is in the middle of a big charging dead zone. With people using electric vehicles (especially trucks) to tow and to power campsites, it would make a lot of sense to have a Supercharger there. So, I suggested that one, too.

Finally, the Blue Ridge Parkway could use a lot of love. It’s hard to suggest exact locations, but we have to keep in mind that the terrain the road goes on means extra power consumption, especially if towing. When people struggle to get from attraction to attraction and campsite to campsite, it makes it a more stressful experience than it should be. Also, being able to bring power along to the no-hookups campsites along the Parkway is great, too!

Whether you agree with all of my suggestions for voting and for suggesting more places, be sure to spread the word that voting is going on! Getting input from EV drivers can help Tesla get it right for all of us.

Featured image: a screenshot from Tesla’s Supercharger Voting website.