This 96-year-old Grandmother Is the Oldest Person to Visit Every National Park—and She Just Traveled to All 7 Continents

Key Points

• At age 96, Grandma Joy completed her goal of visiting all seven continents with her grandson Brad Ryan, reaching Australia in October 2026.

• Their adventures began in 2015 and included more than 100,000 miles of travel and visits to every U.S. national park, a milestone Joy reached in 2023.

• The pair credit their travels with strengthening their relationship and already have plans to visit Italy and Patagonia as Joy approaches her 97th birthday.

At first glance, Joy and Brad Ryan might seem an unlikely travel pair.

In 2015, 34-year-old Brad asked his grandmother, who was 85 at the time, if she was up for a road trip. She said yes, and they soon packed up their car and headed for Great Smoky Mountains National Park to go camping. Joy, who had never even seen the mountains before, scaled one during her visit—there’s been no stopping her since.

At 91, Joy got her first passport ever. In October 2026, she set foot in Australia—her seventh continent—at the age of 96. Brad was right by her side.

“He gave me a helping hand whenever I needed it, and I really appreciated that,” Joy tells Travel + Leisure. “I’ve seen some wonderful things I never dreamt were out there. You just need to take that first step.”

Pushing Boundaries and Making Connections

After visiting the Smoky Mountains for the first time, Joy felt inspired to keep exploring—and it turned out that the timing was perfect for her grandson, too. Brad was in his fourth year of veterinary school and grappling with stress and burnout. The opportunity to travel with his grandmother gave him a chance to reset and reconnect with her.

“We were estranged for 10 years prior to all this travel,” Brad says. “When you’re on the open road with somebody, and you’re just in that vehicle, and you have nothing but time, you can have conversations you might have otherwise avoided, and that can be a pathway to healing.”

They went at their own pace, and their multigenerational journey soon went viral, capturing the hearts of fellow travelers who watched as Joy whitewater rafted, hiked, and ziplined through her travels. It took them seven years and more than 100,000 miles, but in 2023, Joy became the oldest person to visit every U.S. national park. The nonagenarian completed her quest, with her grandson by her side, at the National Park of American Samoa in the South Pacific.

Afterwards, the duo set their sights on an even loftier goal: it was time to join the coveted seven-continent club.

Intentional International Journeys

Travel logistics at any age can be tough.

Jumps between time zones can be challenging, and long-haul flights can certainly take their toll—tour companies helped make their journeys seamless. First came a small-group safari in Kenya. Then, they traveled to South America with an organized tour of the Galapagos Islands. Antarctica and Europe soon followed, and the pair made it to Australia and Thailand just last month.

“We saw all these beautiful buildings, and they were trimmed in gold, and all these statues,” Joy says. “It was nothing like you ever see around here. Not even close.”

Road Scholar planned the itinerary so Joy and Brad could see their final two continents back to back. The nonprofit travel organization specializes in educational trips for seniors, and it turned out to be the perfect fit for Joy. “Everything is run so smoothly,” she said. “It gives you some confidence, you know. Once you go on one of those trips and you kind of get feeling ‘Well, I guess I can do things like this.'”

Joy says her extensive travels have taken her thousands of miles from her home in Duncan Falls, Ohio. She’s been caught in the middle of a penguin traffic jam in Antarctica and is likely the oldest person ever to travel the continent. She’s also viewed the northern lights in Iceland and witnessed the wildebeest migration in Africa.

And she says she’s still got more to see.

Inspiring Others

While her goal of reaching all seven continents is complete, Grandma Joy doesn’t intend to slow down anytime soon. She and Brad recently finished a cross-country book tour focused on Brad’s memoir that commemorates their travels. Afterwards, they went to South Africa for rhino conservation work—the duo already has plans for more international travel next year. An Italian itinerary is scheduled for May, and Patagonia is on the docket for November.

Joy will be 97 years old.

“We stick to this formula of committing to future adventures and having those adventures to count down to,” Brad said. “As far as I can tell, it’s been a key ingredient to the fountain of youth.”

His grandmother agrees. After all, if a ninety-something from the Midwest can get out there in a big, bold way, it stands to reason any of us can. Grandma Joy says it’s given her the gift of human connection, within her own family and across the globe.

“People come up to me and say ‘I want to be like you when I grow up,'” she chuckled. “So I just want people to say, ‘Oh, heck with it! I’m going to give it a try.”

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure