Anyone here have any experiences with different national parks in the US and Canada?? Which ones are so exquisitely breathtaking that they're worth traveling across the country for? Which ones are just kind of mediocre? The only one I've been to is Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and it doesn't really seem like much compared to the photos of the other national parks I've seen.
I've been to Jasper, Banff, Icefields Parkway, and Yoho in Canada. All very beautiful, although Jasper was my favourite.
>>1114537
Hrm, might need to change your question as to what about it that constitutes a national park appeals to you, because they all had a purpose at the time of their creation...whether some kind of set aside wilderness to protect some natural wonders and species, soaring peaks vs mediocre hills, huge waterfalls....it quite varies. After all, Biscayne national park is to protect a reef and some mangroves, and you need a boat to visit. and the Everglades have a few access points and pretty amazing or pretty boring, depends how you look at it. USVI has an underwater snorkel trail a waterfall, sugar mill ruins and a real rain forest feel. Acadia would always make top ten lists, but I prefer the White Mountains, and I think it's pretty all the way through New England right up into Cape Breton Is in the Maritimes. Volcanoes Natl Park (and Iceland too) is ridiculously stark and awe-inspiring in that volcanic landscape, but so are the huge humbling giant trees in Sequoia. All of the parks are spectacular. I see what you mean about Shenandoah, but if you only did Skyline drive, never took a trail ride, or left on a hike more than 15 minutes, you'd find it mostly a historical thing, and not that great. Of course when sundown happens and you see the deer and bear cubs in the Spring right on the side of the damn road, it rivals Yellowstone's appeal to some.
Denali was kind of boring in lack of trees and and that artic tree line thing, imho, and it was work to ride 8 hours to get into the Kantishna Experience, but it was still pretty awesome and seemed to have special wildlife. The icebergs in Kenai Fjords snapping off and hitting the water and bumping the boat is also cool. I think Yosemite is my #1, overall, however.
>>1114537
I was surprised at how worth it the Grand Canyon was. I completely expected to be disappointed.
>yosemite
>kings canyon
>sequoia
>joshua tree
>lassen volcano
>pinnacles
>death valley
>crater lake
>olympic
>carlsbad caverns
>grand canyon
>petrified forest
>rocky mountain
>hawaii volcanoes
all pretty stunning. i am always amused when people from eastern states post pics of their n.p.s to show how great their /out/ is and the stuff they share wouldn't even make it as a state park out west
>>1114549
Thanks for the input. I'm more interested in the landscape than the wild life or history aspect of it. Just really scenic stuff for photography. I think a major part of it is the sort of exotic appeal of some of the natural structures. I live in the suburbs in Maryland all my life so I rarely get to see scenes like pic related. Even Death Valley that probably just seems like boring sand to most people looks really exotic and foreign to me and I love it.
>>1114555
Yeah living in the east coast is suffering. I think the most popular park in the area is Acadia. It seems relatively nice, but it just doesn't aesthetically compare to Zion or Arches or all those other parks in the west.
I'm considering a road trip next week from the midwest to the West to look at national parks. Anyone have anytips? Any places going to be too busy not worth the hassle?
We were thinking for sure hitting Utah but other than that are open. Will there be hotel/motel space? Is it expensive?
>>1115595
you're too late for staying in any parks-it'll all already be reserved for next week. probably been booked for a couple months already. and you're quickly approaching peak season, so the limited number of hotels/motels near any parks are already jacking their prices up. and anything within an hour of any park is probably already booked up anyways.
assuming you're keyed in on a national park, best bets out west, in order of likeliness, are probably great basin (nv), black canyon of the gunnison (co), or maaaaybe canyonlands (ut) in that order. north cascades (wa) is a pretty good bet, too, but a hell of a drive from the midwest. probably fucked on anything else. and be sure to check the weather forecasts. may can get surprisingly hot.
Best I've been to:
1) Denali
2) Glacier
3) Bryce Canyon
4) Smokies
Never been to Yellowstone or Yosemite.
>>1115617
Add Crater Lake there at 5 and the Redwoods (shasta) at 6
How can I visit/have fun in national parks if:
1) my car has zero off-road capability
2) zero friends willing to travel or hike
3) not tremendously /out/ experienced so no backpacking for weeks at a time
I'm sorry if this sounds retarded but do you just drive in, park, hike around for the day, then leave? Or is camping mandatory to get a good experience?
>>1115621
most n.p.s have paved roads to the "main" sights (and you're not allowed to drive offroad in n.p.s anyways). lots of people do them as day trips. just don't expect a lot of solitude that way.
it's cool to wake up there, but by no means mandatory.
>>1115621
the main thing to remember is to reserve your camping spot EARLY
You can get to most camping spots via paved roads in any vehicle
Some parks let you do primitive or backcountry camping (where you hike your shit in). No friends? Can't really help you there. Maybe rent an RV if they don't like camping?
>>1115633
the problem with motels (at least at parks near me) is you'll be an hour or so away, so you have to add travel time to and from each day.
but fwiw an entrance fee to a park buys you 7 days admittance, so at least you don't have to pay every time you go in or out. or if you're visiting multiple parks in a year buy an "america the beautiful" pass for $80.
>>1115633
>>1115633
>Is it common to not camp and to motel it? Is that difficult to do or really expensive.
I've never entertained the thought because I grew up camping and have camped my whole life so I'm probably not a very good resource on that. Will it be more expensive? Certainly, the price isn't artificially controlled by the federal govt. I'm sure there are places to stay but sometimes it can take a good 30min drive just to get from the park entrance to the camping spots so tack that onto however far away the motel is and you've lost a lot of time
