OT - Best National Park?

[buttonbashers]

Hey all...

In between all my handling of expensive gig equipment over the summer its meant I can actually explore the areas we are touring. Was wondering if anyone has any comments/thoughts on the national parks dotted around the country? Personal favourites for me so far are Arches and Zion, beautiful scenery and plenty to do!

[Bottom End]

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and Coronado National Park(s) in Arizona. The parks are spread across Southern AZ in at least two places, two very different parklands. Grasslands Nat'l in western Oklahoma is impressive if you want to see the mmeaning of Big Empty, and imagine what it was like to be a pioneering Sooner.

The National Parks in the Badlands of South Dakota, and the Little Big Horn in Wyoming are very sparse but scenic, like Joshua Tree in Cali.

On the East Coast, there is Shendoah Nat'l, and Blue Ridge and Skyline Drive in NC and VA respectively. Cape Cod Nat'l Seashore is excellent, and being that the beach start facing south but goes all the way from ocean to bay facing North, the duens and waves change a lot.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[midinut]

Grand Tetons were beautiful. Cascades in Washington State were breathtaking. Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park in Tennessee/North Carolina is home for me (or close enough now to enjoy anyway). Whatever the National Park is where Old Faithful is great. BE is correct about the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive (grew up near there ages ago) and Shenedoah as well. Outer Banks. I've heard the Grand Canyon is awesome and Big Sur, Moab (Utah) Sedona, AZ and pretty much any Nat'l Park in Hawaii (I was lucky enough to spend 4 glorious years stationed there!). Good luck and have a safe trip!

[wjwilcox]

Rocky Mountain in Colorado is spectacular, but busy. Go into the park after dinner and enjoy the sunsets. Mt. St. Helen's in Washington is spooky and surrealistic even 28 years after the fact...well worth the effort.

[Ed A.]

Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island in Maine is a favorite of mine. As much as I like Grand Canyon National Park, I like the New England/ocean feel of Acadia even more:

 

http://www.nps.gov/acad/

http://www.nps.gov/acad/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

http://www.nps.gov/acad/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm

[Song80s]

Yosemite

[delirium]

south park.

[Tim D]

Arches and Zion are beautiful -- but I'm especially fond of Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef. Both parks have their own unique character and, in my experience, are not nearly as crowded as some other parks.

 

Cheers,

Tim

[Dreamer]

http://andrearotolo.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Arch.jpg

[Dreamer]

http://andrearotolo.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/HalfDome.jpg

[Dreamer]

http://andrearotolo.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Canyon2.jpg

[SpaceNorman]

I've always been an avid hiker and camper - and can usually find something I like wherever I go. When it comes to parks - I find that really like the way that Canada runs their national and provincial parks. American parks seem to want to "develop" the park (paved roads in the campgrounds, pebbled camping "pads", parking lots, ashpalt trails, guard rails, etc.) whereas the Canadian parks leave things much more natural.

[Dave E]

I've just come back from vacation myself, hitting three national parks in the process: we tried to take the kids into the ruins at Mesa Verde, which is in the SW corner of Colorado. I was hoping to give my kids an experience similar to my own as a kid, but there were hundreds of people and we would have had to wait around all day to get on a tour, so we headed to Arches outside Moab, Utah and hiked up to see Delicate Arch - again, surrounded by loads of people.

 

THEN on we went to my favorite: Capital Reef National Park. There isn't much there in terms of trails or tourist services. Most of it you can't see except by back packing in, but it's amazingly beautiful, easily as beautiful as Utah's big three, and somehow has been overlooked by the hoards of Summer tourists. We hiked 7 miles one day, and only saw 5 people in those four hours. We like to stay in a small motel just outside Torrey, Utah. It's the last building before you enter the park. You wake up to an amazing view, and the stars at night are spectacular.

 

HIGHLY recommended, especially if you want your experience to be more of a return to nature and less like a trip to Disneyland.