Ken Burns’ new series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” is inspiring couch potatoes nationwide to plan their vacations to Acadia, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and more. If the six-part, 12-hour documentary film has your head swimming with the possibilities, perhaps Bing Travel’s latest photo gallery may help. "The Best National Parks For ..." offers a few suggestions to narrow down the choices based on your preferred activities.
Want to enjoy great hiking? Hit the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. Biking? Try Acadia in Maine. Caving? Visit Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave.
Foolishness and misadventure? Well, you can enjoy that anywhere. Might I recommend Mount Rainier National Park?
Last summer I decided to explore the newly renovated Paradise Inn at Mount Rainier, only two and a half hours from my suburban townhouse. I parked my car at Longmire (elevation 2,700 feet) and jumped on the convenient shuttle bus up to Paradise (elevation 5,400 feet).
After three blissful days of hiking in alpine fields burgeoning with purple lupine and red paintbrush, and catching sight of blacktailed deer, marmots and even a red fox, I prepared to return home. I asked the Paradise Inn desk clerk a simple question. “When can I catch the shuttle back to Longmire?”
“There is no shuttle on Mondays,” was the surprising response.
So I walked. That’s right, I slung my green rucksack over my shoulders and walked 5.8 miles downhill from Paradise to Longmire, an elevation drop of 2,700 feet. The desk clerk told me it would take 2 1/2 hours, but it actually took me four.
But what a sublime four hours. I passed the massive Narada falls and two other smaller waterfalls. During a quiet moment in the forest, a blacktailed doe and her fawn nonchalantly crossed the trail in front of me. As I approached Longmire, I forded the wildly rushing Nisqually River on an impossibly narrow log bridge. It was gorgeous. I lingered. (Thus, the four hours.)
I didn’t know I had it in me to walk from Paradise to Longmire. Now I know it’s a piece of cake. Thank goodness for national parks, and thank goodness for happy accidents.
What activities do you pursue in your favorite national parks? Share your suggestions (and your tales of foolishness) in the comments section.
My midwestern friends came for a northwestern visit and I took them to Paradise to see the mountain. Mt. Rainier was hidden by clouds - as usual - but I hoped by the time we got up close and personal, it would lift. It didn't. After a long lunch at the lodge we stood in the parking lot, disappointed and ready to leave. I kept pointing at the grey clouds, saying, "Right there, is the biggest mountain you've ever seen. Right there!" They just shrugged. Then, a little piece of cover parted and they gasped, "Was that it? Was that it?" We stood in a huddled group in the parking lot for the next hour and a half and watched the mountain reveal itself a bit at a time. At the end, the sun shone on us, gaping at just HOW emmense this beautiful mountain of ours really is.
Most fond National Parks memory: Hiking the alpine meadows of Mount Rainier with my favorite hiking buddy belting out every song we could think of- from Edelweiss to Eleanor Rigby. Indeed the hills were alive with the sound of music that day!
Most serendipitous National Parks experience: While on a road trip happened to approach the Petrified Forest. It was almost closing time, off season, and bitterly cold in a bone chilling wind. The Petrified Forest is one of the most fascinating of the National Parks I've visited.
Thanks for the reminder that Mt. Rainier is a wonderful place to visit. As someone who was fortunate enough to see the mountain in the 1940s and then again around 2000, I can say the magic of the mountain remains constant. Cars have changed, fashions have changed, and yes, the mountain has changed a bit, but the magic remins. All who are able to visit, should do so. And see the other national parks, as well.
I too have fond memories of the area! I have had the pleasure of hiking about w/ the author of the delightful piece and watched as she thought about poking a marmot in the snout. Fortunately for both parties, this didn't come to fruition, but I have some stunning photos and a strong desire to return. It is every as wonderful and then some, though I also strongly recommend the overlooked Adirondacks and the under rated by many Appalachians, especially in spring for the ephemeral flora and traveling birds and amphibians.
For anyone who hasn't seen Mt. Lassen Natl. Park, it is a must do. Spectacular scenary, hiking and overall beauty.
I live in Arizona and visited The Grand Canyon twice this summer; once with my son and his wife and again to hike along the south rim. My favorite is Yellowstone which I tried to see May 1974 but couldn't due to fresh snow. I've since been twice, Aug of 2006 and Aug of 2008. The combination of wildlife and geologic features makes for never ending entertainment. I've seen all critters except the larger cats. Seeing grizzley bears run toward a bison carcass is breathtaking. Aug 2010 is my next trip.
Maine surely has a vast landscape for Mountain Biking. Not only are the biking trails a must to check out, but also the hiking. Maine has the 100 mile wilderness. It consists of a small corridor of protected wilderness surrounded by large tracts of public and private land controlled by paper companies. It has serenity that surpasses anything else in the US, untapped by corporate America.
There was no mention of the best National Park for horseback riding in this article...We live in the middle of the Hoosier National Forrest, and though it is no Yellowstone; it has a vast amount of miles of horse trails amongst several different parks. It is quite lovely!
I am so grateful for all the national parks, but especially Yosemite. I love camping, hiking to magnificent waterfalls, river rafting, and just exploring.
But my best memory (or worst) is meeting a bear and getting "scratched on the head" by a mama bear.
Never forget her taking my backpack, eating my mom's most delicious roast beef (before canisters for back-backers), and aggressively hunting for food. She and her cub, in November with snow on the ground, needed to eat for the long winter. Guess my food was just what she wanted. lucky me, met up with other hikers who shared their dinner. After washing up, treeing the rest of the food of theirs, we slept in a circle around the campfire to keep the bear away.
In the middle of the night I woke to clanging of our pots and pans and in a few minutes felt hot breath and sniffing and claws on my back of my head..(I slept facing down).Of course, I FROZE, pretended I was dead, and eventually she wandered away...don't think I ever want to be that close to a bear again. But I still love the bears - see one every time I go to Yosemite..still love Yosemite! But don't back pack in the snow anymore.
I live in the the Willamette Valley. Take your pick in Oregon. Awsome Mt. biking on the crosscountry trails on Mt. Bachelor, nationally known. Day or overnight backpacking on every mountain. Mt. Hood is incredible. Hells Canyon is a trip that EVERYONE who is into backpacking should take for several days. Tons of biking around any of the hundreds of lakes. Try going to Crater lake and hiking down the steep trail to the lake's edge, hop on a boat and have them drop you off at Wizard Island and spend the day there. Beauty at it's best.
If you are in the area don't miss the chance
to experience "Medicine Rocks State Park"
near Ekalaka, Montana.
www.montanapictures.net/medicine_rocks_state_park_pictures.htm
TEHACHAPI MOUNTAIN IS ONE OF THE BEST. THEY HAVE HUGE PINE TREES. YOU FEEL AS IF YOU ARE IN YOSEMITE, BUT YOU DONT HAVE TO DRIVE TOO FAR.ITS SORT OF BETTER THAN YOSEMITE FOR MOUNTAIN BIKING, BUT DOESNT HAVE A WATERFALL ALTHOUGH YOU CA DRIVE TO CUMMINGS VALLEY ROAD YOU WILL FIND A SMALL RIVER. THERE ARE SMALL WATERFALLS THROUGHOUT THE RIVER. YOU SHOULD COME YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH IT. AFG ALWAYS
i take it no one has been to isle royale, lake superior, michigan nat'l park
Some of my favorite memories and things to do at National Parks are:
Hiking with waders on through "The Narrows" or climbing up to Angel's Landing at Zion National Park in September
Hiking the Navajo Loop at Bryce National Park
Seeing Mt Mc Kinley at Denali National Park
Rappeling down slot canyons at Canyonlands National Park
Black bear cubs in the Spring at Sequoia National Park
Staring in awe at some of the most amazing rock formations and the most awesome view of the stars at night at Arches National Park
Hiking the trails during the snowmelt around May at Rocky Mountain National Park
Standing at the lowest point in America at Death Valley National Park
Helicopter ride into the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park
Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway near The Great Smoky Mountain National Park
The list goes on. America's National Parks are beautiful. Many of the people I run into at these parks are foreigners who fly across the planet to see what they have to offer. Not enough Americans take the time to enjoy the beauty our country has to offer and support the NPSystem It's really too bad.
Living in Southern Utah I am blessed with an abundance of amazing locations. There is so much to do in this area that even if I dedicated a lifetime I would still not see it all. I need the outdoors and the National Park to recharge my batteries. Recently I was able to do so in the Cathedral Valley section of Capitol Reef National Park. Many, in fact most readers of this blog have never heard of this place. Being so remote we only saw a handful of people. Having been numerous times to the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Great Basin, Arches and Canyonlands I have seen and been to magnificent places but none of those places rival the solitude that I felt looking out at the desert of Cathedral Valley. Im not sure if I can "promote" my own blog but to see my adventure at Capitol Reef and Cathedral Valley please go to mattsamazingsouthernutah.blogspot.com
