I'm a huge fan of National Parks, and am looking forward to Ken's new documentary about the NP System, which comes out in a few weeks called The National Parks: America's Best Idea. Just wondered what National Parks everyone has been to, and what their favorites are. I'll be going to Grand Teton & Yellowstone for a week in September in case anyone's been there and has some suggestions. I'll start with a list of the major parks I've been to...in somewhat ranked order. 1.) Acadia, Maine - Love how you get the best of both worlds with Rocky Shores and Mountains. 2.) Yosemite, CA - This park looks like a fantasy land more than any other park I've been to. 3.) Rocky Mountain National Park, CO - Drove up through the clouds to get there. 4.) Denali National Park, Alaska - Great wildlife...only problem it's not near as accessible as other parks for hiking. Have to take a bus to get into it, and the drive is long and slow. 5.) Kenai Fjords, Alaska - beautiful, gigantic glaciers and lots of ocean wildlife. 6.) Great Smoky Mountain National Park, TN/NC - Beautiful Parks with a lot of great hikes. The only problem is the traffic can be pretty bad. 7.) Shenandoah - Local to me, so I've been there several times and never gets old. 8.) Everglades, FL - The wildlife was incredible, but it's not the most scenic of the parks because it's so flat, and not much hiking can be done there. Parks I really need to go see: Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, Big Bend, Olympic, Sequoia, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Badlands, Glacier, Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, Carlsbad Caverns
I've been to about 8 NPs, including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc. My Cousin and I did a Road Trip back in Summer of 2006 and we hit up most of the big ones in the Western US. But for our money, Zion is the most incredible place. And If you stay there, its a 2 hour drive to Bryce Canyon, and I think maybe 4 to Grand Canyon. We camped there 2 nights. Spectacular scenery, and the Hiking is just one of the most memorable things I have ever done in my life. Zion. Spoiler Bryce. Spoiler
Yeah, I've heard similar thins about Zion before. Maybe that should be at the the top of my list. Some pics from my visits. Acadia Spoiler Great Smoky Mountain Spoiler Denali Spoiler Kenai Spoiler
Nice pics, I wish I had a better Camera when I was in Zion, and that pic I posted of Bryce doesn't really do it justice since Bryce is known for its interesting orangish rock formations.
Some of the ones that I really enjoyed over the last couple of years: Arches - Utah Yellowstone - Wyoming Mount Rainier - Washington Mount St. Helens - Washington Craters of the Moon - Idaho Grand Canyon - Arizona Now, while the Grand Canyon was incredible, it's also way too crowded in the summer with all the foreign tourists and excess traffic. Yellostone is pretty large so at least the crowds are somewhat dispersed. Mount Rainier is gorgeous, but got hit pretty bad with some flooding a year ago, which took down a bunch of trees and re-routed lots of streams. St. Helens is absolutely incredible. They have a visitors center that recreats the eruption step by step, as well as the ensuing aftermath. Craters of the Moon in Idaho is kind of a pass through space, but the rock volcanic there is really cool. And yall mentioned Bryce Canyon, but Arches is pretty damn cool too. There's a gorgeous hike up to the top of the famous Delicate Arch.
A few parks that I have been to: Smoky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park Glacier National Park and it's Canadian partner the Wharton National Park
Bryce Spoiler Rocky Mnt National Park Spoiler Spoiler Yellowstone Spoiler Spoiler Zion Spoiler Spoiler
Zion is awesome. Be careful during the winter months, though. It's only a couple or so hour drive from Vegas, which is a nice plus. I know it's not a national park, but the entire island of Kauai is incredibly beautiful. Maui a close second. The Big Island a close third.
National Parks you say? Favorites are marked with an * Those marked with a # are ones where I've spent some job time...either fire or something fire-related. East of the 100th meridian: (I had to look up some of these to remember... particularly the DC/VA area park units.) Hyde Park (FDR) Teddy's Birthplace Statue of Liberty Delaware Water Gap Assateague Island Antietam* Catoctin Mountain C&O Canal Fort McHenry Fort Washington George Washington Memorial Parkway Baltimore-Washington Parkway Monocacy Battlefield Harpers Ferry New River Gorge Arlington National Cemetery* Fort Circle Constitution Gardens Ford's Theater Fort Dupont FDR Memorial Frederick Douglas National Historic Site Kenilworth Park Korean War Vietnam War* WWII Lincoln Memorial* National Mall Old Post Office Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site President's Park (White House) Rock Creek Park Jefferson Memorial* Washington Monument Mt. Vernon Appomattox Manassas Shenandoah* Blue Ridge Parkway Jamestowne Yorktown Colonial Parkway Cape Henry Great Smoky Wright Brothers Cape Hatteras* Cape Lookout Fort Raleigh Fort Sumter Chickamauga and Chattanooga Kennesaw Mountain* Chattahoochee River MLK Andersonville* Jimmy Carter Cumberland Island Trail of Tears Canaveral Big Cypress Everglades* Natchez Trace Natchez Shiloh Selma to Montgomery Trail Vicksburg* Cane River Jean Lafitte New Orleans Jazz Cane River Creole Poverty Point Gateway Arch Big Thicket West of the 100th Meridian: Chikasaw # Wa****a # San Antonio Missions* LBJ Guadalupe Mountains # Lake Meredith # Alibates Flint Quarry # White Sands Gila Cliff Dwellings # Bandelier*# Pecos*# Fort Union# Capulin# Aztec Ruins# El Morro# El Malpais# Petroglyph# Dinosaur Rocky Mountain# Mesa Verde*# Hovenweep# Black Canyon of the Gunnison Curecanti Colorado National Monument* Great Sand Dunes Yellowstone*# Grand Teton# Glacier*# Craters of the Moon# Arches* Canyonlands Glen Canyon Natural Bridges Capital Reef Bryce Zion# Grand Canyon*# Lake Mead# Navajo Wupatki Canyon De Chelly* Hubbell Trading Post Petrified Forest Walnut Canyon Saguaro*# Chiricahua# Fort Bowie Coronado# Death Valley Joshua Tree Mojave Sequoia and Kings Canyon*# Yosemite*# Pinnacles Point Reyes Muir Woods Presidio San Francisco Maritime Fort Point Lassen Volcanic*# Whiskeytown# Redwood* Oregon Caves# Crater Lake*# Wrangell-St. Elias Haleakala Hawaii Volcanoes* Kalaupapa* USS Arizona
Recently got back from a week long camping trip at Glacier National Park in northern Montana. Probably the most scenic NP I've been too so far. Just wish I could have seen it when the glaciers were still going strong. I'll try to post a pic or two when I get around to it. We hiked about fifty five miles over the course of the week. Hiking is pretty much required if you really want to see a good portion of the park. So, does anyone else have any National Park trips planned this summer? Next year thinking about going to some parks in Utah or if we're feeling really ambitious then possibly going to Hawaii. Any tips on Volcanoes NP or Haleakala? Things to look for, hikes to take, where to stay, etc.? Is camping do-able in those Hawaii parks?
I've been to a ton of them. I'd have to get out a map to remember them all. Favorite by far was Glacier in Montana, closely followed by the Sequoia Grove in CA or any park on the west coast with trees so big around you can hide buses behind them. I've always wanted to visit Yellowstone in the winter. I think seeing it in the mind-numbing cold sans the tidal wave of ignorant humanity would really make the landscape all the more jaw-dropping.
if/when you head to Big Bend. Be sure to plan a stay at the Gage Hotel in Marathon to recoup and relax
I've been to almost all the NPs listed previously. Denali would be favorite in the US. That being said, Canadian National Parks are sadly much more well-kept and preserved than US parks imo. Banff was just amazing.
I've only been to Glacier Bay, Hot Springs, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon. Hot Springs is kinda funny because it's really small and the only one actually in a town. I've spent a lot of time there because I knew a lot of people from college that grew up in Hot Springs.
ive been to big bend 7 or 8 times. for awhile i was going once or twice a year, but i havent been since 2003. my all-time favorite camping experience is spending 3 days or so doing the south rim trail. (not my photo, but a nice one of the view from the south rim) southern utah - bryce canyon, arches, canyonlands, zion - all amazing places, but bryce is my favorite. canyonlands is really trippy too. zion is beautiful and the views are great, but its so massive and crowded. i enjoyed hiking around/exploring bryce and canyonlands much more. there are also some really cool state parks in southern utah - deadhorse canyon (named after the band!) and gobblin valley, which is a valley w/ thousands of spooky, gobblin-like rock formations.
