National Park Opinions

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

As someone who has traveled on holiday weekends before, expect traffic to be much worse than you thought.  Especially if you go out east.  If I were you, I would consider going the weekend after Labor Day.

Post of the year.

[wadesworld]

Crater Lake in Southern Oregon.  Nothing like it

Yosemite is the best overall.

Who the eff is "Milo?"

[naginiF]

Who the eff is "Milo?"

You must REALLY be bored as phook at work today!   Taking your own thread and tempting the rare 'double superbar thread lock'?  I put the early line at 'locked by midnight'. 

[wadesworld]

You must REALLY be bored as phook at work today!   Taking your own thread and tempting the rare 'double superbar thread lock'?  I put the early line at 'locked by midnight'.

I just honestly don't know.  Does Chicos aka JamesTV have a nickname?

[Pakuni]

I just honestly don't know.  Does Chicos aka JamesTV have a nickname?

A racist misogynist who was banned from Twitter for being racist and misogynistic.
Who is this brand new Sccop member that's supporting him? And why is he injecting into a post about national parks?

Speaking of which,  Shawnee in far downstate Illinois is underrated.

[jsglow]

A racist misogynist who was banned from Twitter for being racist and misogynistic.
Who is this brand new Sccop member that's supporting him? And why is he injecting into a post about national parks?

Speaking of which,  Shawnee in far downstate Illinois is underrated.

It's okay.  I'd avoid in the heat of summer.  And as a camping destination doesn't hold a candle to the Chequamegon-Nicolet.  I know I have a Wisconsin bias but the lakes of northern Wisconsin are superior in every way.

[naginiF]

Heading to Rocky Mountain NP tomorrow AM for 9 days.  Figure to get the kids and wife the 1st and 2nd 14'ers this year.  I've been training the 9 and 7yr olds here in KC where, hopefully, the 108 heat index will offset some of the altitude.......not so sure about Ms. naginiF.

Disclaimer: we're staying in a townhouse not camping.

[jsglow]

Heading to Rocky Mountain NP tomorrow AM for 9 days.  Figure to get the kids and wife the 1st and 2nd 14'ers this year.  I've been training the 9 and 7yr olds here in KC where, hopefully, the 108 heat index will offset some of the altitude.......not so sure about Ms. naginiF.

Disclaimer: we're staying in a townhouse not camping.

Awesome.  I hope to hit RMNP later this year.  Probably been 45 years since I was last there. I was up in Estes Park two years back but it was early November already and I couldn't drive over the top, especially in my little convertible.  Turned south and did the entirety of Peak to Peak Hwy, top down, heater on.

[jsglow]

I just got back last week from a 4,600 mile roadtrip to a bunch of national parks. We hit the Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier. We also went north into Canada to Banff National Park and Lake Louise. My thoughts...

Badlands. Interesting to see, but having seen them, I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again. They're called the Badlands for a reason. Not "pretty". Had dinner in Deadwood. Nice place to hangout for a couple of hours.

Mt Rushmore. Wanting to see this was what prompted the trip. Maybe that raised expectations, but while looking at it, I felt like if you've seen a picture of it you've seen Mt Rushmore. Also didn't like that although it's free to see, parking there (private company) is $11. There may be free options, but when you just pull in you find yourself at a cashier with cars behind you and no escape.

Yellowstone. Beautiful. Huge. Old Faithful. We saw lots of elk, antelope, big horn sheep and hundreds of bison. Also a few bears. Had dinner at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Pricey, but good. The air was kind of thin and humidity was super low, which made hiking a little difficult. Going down was ok, but coming back up...ugh.

Tetons. A short drive from Yellowstone and well worth it. Snow covered mountains, beautiful scenery.

Glacier. Spectacular! Take a ride up the Going To the Sun road. My favorite part of the whole trip. One breathtaking view after another. Glaciers, valleys, rugged snow covered peaks. I thought my camera was going to overheat. I'm already making plans to go back here.

Lake Louise. Breathtakingly beautiful area. Fantastic scenery. The ski lift is open during the summer to take you up the mountain for fabulous views. We saw 2 grizzlies on the way up. Tip: they charge $32 for the chairlift. For an extra $3 you can have a buffet breakfast, so go early. Saw several moose here. Had a big one one walk out of the brush and pass less than 10 feet from us. Debated whether to run, but he didn't seem fazed by the group of people with cameras.

En route, we also made made stops at Wall Drug and the Devils Tower (Close Encounters). Diversions to break up the long drive.

A tip for oldsters: if you're 62 or older you can get a National Parks pass for $10. It's good for life. The regular pass is $85/yr. It gets you into the parks for free (most were around $30 to get in) and also cuts your camping fee in half.

Maybe my favorite NP.  Great hiking, horseback riding and just plain incredible scenery.  We did it in very early June.  When we arrived Sun Road wasn't plowed quite all the way but one could get to the alpine visitor center from the east.

Reason we went in early Spring was to do a 3-day high water flow raft trip on the Flathead that forms the western border of the NP (national forest on other side so quite remote).  Anyway, we show up at the outfitters (happy to share name, PM me) and we're surprised to find that we're not part of a larger group.  It's simply the four of us (our kids were maybe 14 and 12 at the time) along with our two guides and two rafts (one for us and one for provisions and gear).  So for 3 full days and two incredible camping nights running excursion style we covered the same water you all saw in the movie The River Wild with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon.  Absolutely incredible in every way including fabulous meals each day expertly prepared for us along the way.  Truly a memorable experience.  I couldn't recommend it more highly.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I visited St. Louis before reunion and made the visit to the top of the Arch. Very cool!  The grounds around the Arch are a National Park and are a complete mess right now as they are being reconstructed, however the outline of the final layout is visible that will definitely make it more seamless to downtown and welcoming to walk around. 
I bought a "passport" book in Washington DC a few years ago where you get an ink stamp in the book at the Ranger Station/Gift Shop of any National Park. 

[warriorchick]

I visited St. Louis before reunion and made the visit to the top of the Arch. Very cool!  The grounds around the Arch are a National Park and are a complete mess right now as they are being reconstructed, however the outline of the final layout is visible that will definitely make it more seamless to downtown and welcoming to walk around. 
I bought a "passport" book in Washington DC a few years ago where you get an ink stamp in the book at the Ranger Station/Gift Shop of any National Park.

Love The Arch.  My dad's side of the family is from that area.  My aunt loves to tell the story of how she was there at the construction site when they put the final piece in at the top.  They had started on each end at the bottom. I found a home video of it on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41lMeWCVZ6I

[StillAWarrior]

I figure I should put in a vote for Mesa Verde near Durango, Colorado.  I'm partial to the Durango area, and MV is one of the best attractions in the area.  It has some incredible ancient cliff dwellings.  If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend adding this to your list of things to do.  And make sure it's near the top of the list.  You won't be sorry.  When I went "back home" with my wife and kids -- their first time there -- this was one of our first stops.

[jsglow]

I figure I should put in a vote for Mesa Verde near Durango, Colorado.  I'm partial to the Durango area, and MV is one of the best attractions in the area.  It has some incredible ancient cliff dwellings.  If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend adding this to your list of things to do.  And make sure it's near the top of the list.  You won't be sorry.  When I went "back home" with my wife and kids -- their first time there -- this was one of our first stops.

Yep,been there 2-3 times.  During my Spring trek this year I took the first tour of the year at Balcony House.  Timed my Vegas departure accordingly.  Note that Spruce Tree House remains inaccessible because of structural issues.  Mesa Verde is a wonderful one day stop. 

Here's a little hint on your trip there.  Next day head just a bit east and do the Durango narrow gauge train up to Silverton.  Great trip.

[StillAWarrior]

Yep,been there 2-3 times.  During my Spring trek this year I took the first tour of the year at Balcony House.  Timed my Vegas departure accordingly.  Note that Spruce Tree House remains inaccessible because of structural issues.  Mesa Verde is a wonderful one day stop. 

Here's a little hint on your trip there.  Next day head just a bit east and do the Durango narrow gauge train up to Silverton.  Great trip.

Yea, the train is fantastic. I grew up in Durango, so I know the train very well.  It used to be much more affordable, and we rode it whenever out of town friends came to visit - which was often.

As a kid, the train's whistle was part of the soundtrack of our summers.

[jsglow]

Yea, the train is fantastic. I grew up in Durango, so I know the train very well.  It used to be much more affordable, and we rode it whenever out of town friends came to visit - which was often.

As a kid, the train's whistle was part of the soundtrack of our summers.

Very cool.  This year coming back I traveled US-160 east hitting Great Sand Dunes on the way.  I hadn't traveled that route since 1968 during my parents first trip out west.  Road was clear but the snow was still several feet deep at Wolf Creek Pass.

[Benny B]

For those wanting a taste of our National Parks but lacking the time to venture far from home... John Muir, essential the father of the National Park system, emigrated from Scotland with his family to a farm in central Wisconsin between Montello and Portage, which, as luck would have it, just so happens to be Marquette County.

http://www.johnmuir.org/wisconsin/

http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/geography/wisconsin/fountain_lake_farm.aspx

[Sir Lawrence]

Wades, how was the Labor Day weekend trip?

[wadesworld]

Wades, how was the Labor Day weekend trip?

It was great, thanks for asking.  We left after work on Thursday, stopped in Sioux Falls, and then finished the drive to the Badlands by about 12:30 PM Mountain Time on Saturday.  We drove out to where there weren't any formal trails and hiked around on our own, climbed up a few of the mountains? mounds? whatever they're called.  Then we drove up to the Saddle Pass Trail and climbed up the mountain that that goes through and took the Medicine Root Trail until it met up with the Castle Trail and looped back around.  That part of the hike was about 5 miles.  Finished up there around 6:45 and grabbed some pizza at a bar in Interior.  Then we drove to Interior and got a hotel room (we were planning on camping that night but it was pretty windy).

Saturday we went to Custer State Park and drove through it up to Sylvan Lake.  We took Harney Peak Trail through Custer and the Black Hill forest up to the overlook, which (little did I know) is the highest point in North America east of the Rockies.  The drive to Sylvan is pretty awesome (especially right when you get in Custer and there are bison causing traffic jams).  And Sylvan Lake is awesome.  Hiked up there starting at about 12:15 PM (probably should've tried to get there earlier as it was hot and sunny and a lot of the forrest is being killed off by bark beetles so there isn't a ton of shade on the hike.  Walked around on the giant rocks up there, ate some lunch up there, and got back down around 3:45 PM.  Walked around Sylvan Lake, went to the lodge and had dinner (delicious buffalo tenderloin), drove over to Crazy Horse to see it was $33 to enter and turned around.  Went over to Mount Rushmore to say we did it ($11), saw it, started raining after 10 minutes, and decided to start our drive home.

Forecast had rain all Sunday and it had started raining as we finished with Mount Rushmore, so we drove until 1:30 AM and stopped near Sioux Falls again.  Went to Lake Okaboji, stopped in LaCrosse for dinner, and got home Sunday evening.

Not sure if I liked the Badlands or Custer better.  I had more fun climbing around the mountains/mounds at Badlands, but I think the views at Custer were better.  But you can't really go wrong with either.  Definitely worth the trip.

[forgetful]

It was great, thanks for asking.  We left after work on Thursday, stopped in Sioux Falls, and then finished the drive to the Badlands by about 12:30 PM Mountain Time on Saturday.  We drove out to where there weren't any formal trails and hiked around on our own, climbed up a few of the mountains? mounds? whatever they're called.  Then we drove up to the Saddle Pass Trail and climbed up the mountain that that goes through and took the Medicine Root Trail until it met up with the Castle Trail and looped back around.  That part of the hike was about 5 miles.  Finished up there around 6:45 and grabbed some pizza at a bar in Interior.  Then we drove to Interior and got a hotel room (we were planning on camping that night but it was pretty windy).

Saturday we went to Custer State Park and drove through it up to Sylvan Lake.  We took Harney Peak Trail through Custer and the Black Hill forest up to the overlook, which (little did I know) is the highest point in North America east of the Rockies.  The drive to Sylvan is pretty awesome (especially right when you get in Custer and there are bison causing traffic jams).  And Sylvan Lake is awesome.  Hiked up there starting at about 12:15 PM (probably should've tried to get there earlier as it was hot and sunny and a lot of the forrest is being killed off by bark beetles so there isn't a ton of shade on the hike.  Walked around on the giant rocks up there, ate some lunch up there, and got back down around 3:45 PM.  Walked around Sylvan Lake, went to the lodge and had dinner (delicious buffalo tenderloin), drove over to Crazy Horse to see it was $33 to enter and turned around.  Went over to Mount Rushmore to say we did it ($11), saw it, started raining after 10 minutes, and decided to start our drive home.

Forecast had rain all Sunday and it had started raining as we finished with Mount Rushmore, so we drove until 1:30 AM and stopped near Sioux Falls again.  Went to Lake Okaboji, stopped in LaCrosse for dinner, and got home Sunday evening.

Not sure if I liked the Badlands or Custer better.  I had more fun climbing around the mountains/mounds at Badlands, but I think the views at Custer were better.  But you can't really go wrong with either.  Definitely worth the trip.

Sounds like it was a blast.  Very envious.