Let's talk about National Parks

[mcblogerson]

While not nearly as impressive in scale as the parks out west, Sleeping Bear Dunes in northern Michigan is fantastic.
Yosemite is my personal favorite of the one's I've seen.

 

[oldman]

When I was in the Navy, some buddies and I went to Pinnacles, right outside of Soledad, CA. Not sure if a national or state park, but it was big, and beautiful. Very prehistoric looking, especially with the vultures (california condors??) floating around. Lots of good hiking and rock climbing. I have a great pic, but can't seem to get it copied. Also spent about a month (after I got discharged) in the Kings Canyon area, backpacking. Finished it off with a day hike to the top of Mt Whitney.

 

[NenoFone]

I've been to most of the NPs, my favorites:
For beauty - Yosemite
Most awesome - Grand Canyon
Most interesting - Yellowstone

I was at Zion on New Years Eve one year, there were only 5 cars in the parking lot, basically empty. Unfortunately a lot of the trails were closed for winter.

 

[oldman]

While in college, we spent some spring breaks in the Rocky Mountain Natl Park out of Estes Park, CO. and some summers in the Wind Rivers out of Pinedale WY. Lots of fun with the right company.

One time we spent about 10 days in the Wind Rivers (Titcomb basin for those familiar) and when we hiked out, headed straight to Jackson Hole. Walked into the laundromat, and met up with a couple old friends that had dropped out of ISU a couple years before, to rock climb in Washington state. Small world.

 

[aauummm]

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Been to bunches of national parks. The latest being Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park near Montrose, CO last summer.

 

[aauummm]

Mesa Verde National Park

Near Durango, CO. Spent four days here trying to see all that there was to see. Lots of guided tours and hikes. Great Visitor's Center, Museum and facilities.

 

[ThatllDoCy]

While not nearly as impressive in scale as the parks out west, Sleeping Bear Dunes in northern Michigan is fantastic.
Yosemite is my personal favorite of the one's I've seen.

I will check out those Dunes. I am in Chicago.

 

[aauummm]

Arches National Park, UT

Giving the granddaughter a treat. A drive through Arches NP with the top down. We also hiked the trails.

 

[Bobber]

Heading to Yellowstone this summer for the first time. Will hit Badlands, Black Hills, Devils Tower, on the way. Anybody have time recommendation for the Jackson Hole area?

 

[aauummm]

The back side of Grand Teton NP

Most visitors to Grand Teton NP only see the Tetons from the front side from Highway 89/26 in Wyoming. I went around to the backside, took Mesa Falls Scenic Byway and got this picture. The picture is taken from Idaho looking east into Wyoming. We stayed overnight at Flagg Ranch Campground before heading on to Yellowstone.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I'm for em

 

[besserheimerphat]

When I lived in Iowa our family took a summer vacation to Yellowstone that was a lot of fun. My wife spent two weeks in southern California going to Joshua Tree National Forest and Yosemite for a Master's field study.

Now that we live in western Washington, we've been to Mt Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest and North Cascades National Park. We've also been to a couple of state parks in the San Juan Islands - Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan Island last year, and Moran State Park on Orcas Island just last weekend. Mt Constitution in Moran SP has a firewatch tower at the peak with views of Mt Baker, the Canadian Coastal Range (Vancouver BC) and the Olympic Range.

I rode through Mt Hood National Forest in a semi for a work trip, but didn't get to see anything off of Highway 26. We've got plans to go camping down near Rainier later this summer with some friends who's grandfather owns some property down there. We'd like to hit some of the parks in Idaho and Utah over the next couple of years, along with the sequoias.

 

[mkadl]

What about Glacier? Nobody here has been there? Maybe I skipped a post or two. Its just freakin awesome.

 

[Dopey]

What about Glacier? Nobody here has been there? Maybe I skipped a post or two. Its just freakin awesome.

I have. It was beautiful. Saw a grizzly push over a tree stump with a single swipe of the paw.

Also been to Zion. Some pretty incredible hikes.

Tetons, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon too.

There's always National Parks that I've never heard of. Can't wait to take the family camping at some of these when they get a bit older.

 

[aute19]

In no particular order:

Acadia - Smaller, but absolutely gorgeous, with a lot of neat history, too. Touristy in the summer.

Yellowstone - Interesting and pretty, but very touristy.

Grand Canyon - Beautiful. South Rim is very crowded. North Rim is more remote and thus less crowded.

Arches / Canyonlands - Incredible.

Everglades - Meh. Definitely cool to see if you're in South Florida, but, for me, I won't be killing myself to get back. I like mountains.

Tetons - Stunningly beautful.

Big Bend - Hot. Very pretty, but also very remote.

Carlsbad Caverns - Interesting, but a small park that's "do-able" in a day, unlike some of the others. Kids would love it.

Shenandoah - Very scenic. Close to other cool destinations (DC, Charlottesville)


Parks I haven't been to, but hope to shortly - Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountains, North Cascades, Mount Rainier, Yosemite, Zion, Voyageurs, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Cuyahoga Valley (because it's near my sister's house).

My family loves national parks. Pro-tip: if you're 62 or older, you can get a $10, lifetime pass to all of them. This includes admission for up to three others in your vehicle. Also can give discounts to other amenities, like campsites, etc.

 

[Wesley]

Arches
Bryce Canyon
Capitol Reef
Canyonlands
Zion

Utah is pretty awesome.

Exactly like the recent commercial. A lot of park in one state. A lot of scenery.rches is my favorite.

Is not this the free entry to nat parks week?

Badlands is great also.

 

[00clone]

Heading to Yellowstone this summer for the first time. Will hit Badlands, Black Hills, Devils Tower, on the way. Anybody have time recommendation for the Jackson Hole area?

If you're looking for lodging, we enjoyed Flagg Ranch (now called Headwaters lodge and cabins at Flagg Ranch). It's in between Yellowstone and Grand Teton, so you can easily get to either. When we were there (6-7 years ago) the rustic cabins had bathrooms/showers, but no TV. Our cabin was like 500 feet from the snake river.

http://www.gtlc.com/headwaters-lodge.aspx

The only thing bad about it, is although it's centrally located between the two parks, there isn't much else between there, that's it. There's a convenience store and a restaurant in the lodge, but other than that, you have to drive thru one of the two parks to get anywhere. We ate in the Tetons a few times, and went to Jackson, as well, but it's like a 40 minute drive to really get anywhere else, if that's your thing. We were fine, although it would have been nice to have more right there.

 

[vmbplayer]

This is a great off season topic.

Went on vacation with my now fiance this last summer and hit Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National. She had never been to a national park before the trip and wasn't too sold on the trip ahead of time. She's much more of a beach type. Trip sold her on the idea of national parks in the vacation rotation.

Parks hit so far:
Glacier
Badlands
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Mount Ranier
Olympic
Yosemite
Redwood
Grand Canyon
Mesa Verde
Carlsbad Caverns
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Arches
Rocky Mountain National

Favorite Park: Glacier. Love the Mountain parks. Can't get enough of the pine, waterfalls, and snow caps. Glacier has the best I've seen. Really want to get to Denali some day.
Most Interesting: Yellowstone. Been there several times. Something different about it every time. Would love to spend a whole summer there just to see the different features as they are becoming active. The color of the blue in the hot springs is nuts.
Awe Inspiring: I'm probably going to be in the minority here and not pick Grand Canyon. Oddly enough to me it was too big to even feel real. It just seemed distant looking at it. My most awe inspiring is actually Redwood. Standing next to something that is that massive, that old, and alive was just mind boggling to me.
Best Easy Hike: Didn't do a lot of them with the family growing up, but have done a few. Boat ride across Jenny Lake and hike to Hidden Falls at Grand Teton (again love mountain waterfalls). Pretty easy hike, we went up to inspiration point and further up the mountain as well. It continues to back country.
Best Intermediate Hike: Actually saw some people with strollers doing this so Intermediate may be an oversell, but the hike down to the brink of Lower Falls in Yellowstone is pretty awesome. The climb back up is pretty vertical but worth it. Again, people with strollers knocked it out so intermediate is a bit generous
Coolest Structure: Yellowstone Lodge.
Outside the Park: Stayed at a place called Yellowstone Under Canvas this year. We were flying home so not like we could pack a tent, but this was a cool compromise. Basically they set up a hotel room (sans electricity) in a tent in terms of bed King Size Bed, Wood Burning Stove. Very cool if you're looking for something a little different to do. Wish we would have been there for more than just 1 night.

Annnd I'm just gonna stop there before it's even farther beyond the TLDR.

 

[aauummm]

In no particular order:

Acadia - Smaller, but absolutely gorgeous, with a lot of neat history, too. Touristy in the summer.

Yellowstone - Interesting and pretty, but very touristy.

Grand Canyon - Beautiful. South Rim is very crowded. North Rim is more remote and thus less crowded.

Arches / Canyonlands - Incredible.

Everglades - Meh. Definitely cool to see if you're in South Florida, but, for me, I won't be killing myself to get back. I like mountains.

Tetons - Stunningly beautful.

Big Bend - Hot. Very pretty, but also very remote.

Carlsbad Caverns - Interesting, but a small park that's "do-able" in a day, unlike some of the others. Kids would love it.

Shenandoah - Very scenic. Close to other cool destinations (DC, Charlottesville)


Parks I haven't been to, but hope to shortly - Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountains, North Cascades, Mount Rainier, Yosemite, Zion, Voyageurs, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Cuyahoga Valley (because it's near my sister's house).

My family loves national parks. Pro-tip: if you're 62 or older, you can get a $10, lifetime pass to all of them. This includes admission for up to three others in your vehicle. Also can give discounts to other amenities, like campsites, etc.

I use my senior pass extensively. Free park admission and 1/2 off on camping fees-can't beat it. The pass is also good for all other Federal facilities like national monuments, Corps campgrounds, national forest facilities, etc.

 

[aforstate]

When I lived in Iowa our family took a summer vacation to Yellowstone that was a lot of fun. My wife spent two weeks in southern California going to Joshua Tree National Forest and Yosemite for a Master's field study.

Now that we live in western Washington, we've been to Mt Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest and North Cascades National Park. We've also been to a couple of state parks in the San Juan Islands - Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan Island last year, and Moran State Park on Orcas Island just last weekend. Mt Constitution in Moran SP has a firewatch tower at the peak with views of Mt Baker, the Canadian Coastal Range (Vancouver BC) and the Olympic Range.

I rode through Mt Hood National Forest in a semi for a work trip, but didn't get to see anything off of Highway 26. We've got plans to go camping down near Rainier later this summer with some friends who's grandfather owns some property down there. We'd like to hit some of the parks in Idaho and Utah over the next couple of years, along with the sequoias.

I'd also recommend Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches since you're in the area. I backpacked it 7 or 8 years ago and it was beautiful. You'll need an Olympic Wilderness Pass and a Makah Reservation Pass though if you decide to ever go. And from everything that I heard, it is suggested that you pay the people in the home near the trailhead for parking on the reservation, or you and your vehicle might regret it. That was the only real sketchy part.