Favorite NP...besides IR

Got some trip suggestions at another National Park, or know of a great place in the middle of no where? Share them here, plan your trips, and hook up with other individuals on the forum.

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sgerbs
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Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by sgerbs »

What is your favorite NP besides IR and why?
2009: MC, WC, HL, SLD, WC
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by sgerbs »

My favorite so far is Grand Canyon NP. I was able to spend a summer there a few years ago and I absolutely loved it. Because I lived there I was able to hike a lot of miles in a short period of time and see some sites that most people do not get a chance to see. The high desert summer was perfect with days in the low 80's and nights in the 50's. We would do night hikes along the trails with the moon being our guidelight. I slept out under the stars without any worries of bugs because there were no bugs. The one down side is that besides the Colorado River there was no water. Coming from Michigan this got to me, and by the end of the summer when I came back to Michigan I was ready because I missed the big lake.

If you've never had the opportunity to hike GCNP, I highly recomend it and would be willing to offer information where I can.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by Don_P »

Wow - tough question. I suspect responses will be heavily biased to parks in the geographic region where people live. For example, I've not had the privilege of visiting some of the western parks or those in Alaska and Hawaii. That said, aside from Isle Royale, my favorite park is Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Parts of the park are insufferably busy at times (e.g. Cades Cove, Clingman's Dome) but pick your visit time wisely and it's a magical place. Mid-spring when the wildflowers are coming up or the rhododendrons and azaleas are in bloom is a great time to visit and crowds aren't too bad, especially when you get away from the trailhead. The park is also beautiful in the fall when leaves are changing color, but it's much busier then so plan accordingly.

My favorite visit was late fall a few years ago when the Leonid meteor shower was in full display. We hiked up the Rich Mountain Trail and around midnight the meteor shower was spectacular.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by johnhens »

Toss up between The Tetons and Yellowstone. The scenery is spectacular and you can't find wildlife anywhere like oyu can in Yellowstone.
I haven't been to Denali or the Virgin Islands NP.
I need to get to Glacier too.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by Backpacker534 »

I was at the Great Smoky Mountains a couple years ago and really enjoyed that park as well, although, it was very crowded while we were there. We were in Tennessee with some neighbors on a vacation and just did a half-day drive-thru trip of the park. Even though it was crowded we still had a good time and actually walked a couple short trails out to some waterfalls and some historic cabins. Probably my best memory of that visit was when everyone started walking quickly off one of the trails and back to their vehicles. It only took a few more seconds of wondering to figure out what was going on. A black bear was walking down the trail towards the parking lot where we had just exited our vehicle. Our wives ushered the kids back into the van but I didn't heed her advice. I just had to get a good photo of the bear up close. I stood about 15 feet away from where the trail crossed the road and got a couple great photos as the bear walked past me and climbed a tree on the opposite side of the road to munch on some leaves. It appeared to be completely oblivious to all the other people standing around.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by spmoore »

Glacier. Driving the Going to the Sun road was amazing and scrary. The water in the river was the brightest blue I've ever seen. I loved showing my kids the mountions.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by k2one »

Denali National Park is a special place, spent 3 days at Wonder Lake, saw Grizzly bear,Dall sheep,Caribou,Moose,Golden Eagles but no Wolves.The mountain was also out in all it's glory!Also had a great time traveling around the interior and the Kenai peninsula!
Last edited by k2one on Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by johnhens »

k2one wrote:Denali National Park is a special place, spent 3 days at Wonder Lake, saw Grizzly bear,Dall sheep,Caribou,Moose,Golden Eagles but no Wolves.The mountain was also out in all it's glory!Also had a great time traveling around the interior and the Kenai peninsula!
Any pics you would care to share with us!!!!
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by Moose »

Favorite?! That's a tough one...

GSMNP for a quick long weekend. Even though the weather can be rough I seem to get there most years around march just in time for some rain/snow/ice

Rocky Mountain NP is fantastic, if you have not been there you must add it to your list. I like it for solo trips because the trails are well marked.

Glacier NP because...well its Glacier. Solitude. I have gone for a week without seeing anyone else.

Zion NP because the desert is amazing. The flora and fauna is much different that when i encounter in the mountain states or the midwest.

Many others but these top my list.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by Backpacker534 »

Hi Moose, welcome to the forum. I've always wanted to hike at Glacier NP. Maybe I'll get there someday. Did you see any grizzlies when you were there?
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by Mandolynn »

Well, my "home" park is Shenandoah NP (Skyline Drive.) It is 4.5 hours drive from my house and I go there two or three times a year for two or three night at a time.

I just got back from a short three-night stay in Big Meadows campground. Big Meadows is just what the name says... a huge meadow on the top of a mountain. No one knows why it was cleared originally, but because deer like to congregate there, native Americans and pioneers in their turn kept it burned off so the forest didn't reclaim it. Today the NPS does the same. Big Meadows and Tobin Harbor have the same effect on me. They are places where time is meaningless. You don't know what day it is. It doesn't matter what day it is. There's just you and animals and peace. Tobin Harbor has the promise of moose. Big Meadows has deer and the possibility of bear. It could be 1939 or 2009. You don't know and you don't care. Later you will, when you're hungry or sleepy, but that's hours from now. Right now, it's time to just be and let be and enjoy being alive.

I almost hesitate to post about bears since I once shared what I thought was a great story about observing a bear high in the crown of an oak tree on another website and started a huge uproar about how stupid I was to be happy to have had the chance to watch a bear. I see bears all the time in Shenandoah and have never had a bad encounter. They go about their business and I go about mine. Because I hike alone and don't blab my way through the woods, I hardly ever go to the park without seeing a bear on the trail. As a day hiker, I also don't carry any food with me as backpacker would have to, so there's less chance of attracting them to me personally. I just come across them while they're looking for natural food. I don't approach them. I don't run from them. If I think I'm too close when I first notice them, I announce my presence in a gentle voice and back slowly away, maintaining eye contact. They either ignore me or hurry off into the woods. Yes, I know black bears are unpredictable and they can be dangerous. But I'm not going to stay out of the woods so I just try to be respectful and use common sense when I run across them.

Now, as for camping, THAT is a different story. I can look at bears all day long in the daytime, but I don't want them coming round for a sleepover! I've tried to sleep in a tent at Big Meadows, but having seen bears strolling among the tentsites in the dawning, I just can't get past the suspicion that every noise I hear in the dark is a bear. And even though I bring no food with me (there is a cafe at the campstore and formal dining at the lodge so I just go to one of those places for meals; I can't cook edible food on an electric range, let alone over a campfire) I just can't sleep at night in a tent knowing bears occasionally wander through. So I bought a van and I take out the second row seats, fold the third row seats into the floor, and sleep in the vehicle. Some camping, I know. But it's the hiking I'm there for; I never claimed to be Becky Boone. I just love observing animals and walking in the forest.

This past week I saw four bears, three from the car and one on the trail. The first bear I saw before I even paid my admission! A yearling came stumbling out the woods and crossed the drive just as I approached the gate. That was a first. The next two were a mother and cub. One morning I got up about 7:30 and drove south on Skyline Drive to South River picnic ground. I came across a mother and cub foraging along the road. They immediately dove into the bushes so I went on, made my loop, and came back. I met them again along the road, the mother on one side and the cub on the other. I put on my hazards and tried to wait for them to get off the road on their own. But the mother was wandering down the middle of my lane and the cub was happy where he was. I hated to try and drive between them for fear the cub would dart to mama just as I started to pass them. But you can only sit in the middle of Skyline Drive for so long, so finally I had to. I inched my way between them and neither seemed overly concerned. Later I noticed a car behind me and it turned out to be a ranger on her way to work. We happened to stop at the same place and so I asked her if the bears were still on the road when she came through. To my relief, she said that when she passed that spot, the bears were gone.

The bear I saw on the trail was down in a deep creek. I heard a noise that sounded almost metallic, a kind of clanging noise. It turned out to be a medium size bear who was down in the gully, turning over rocks and looking for food underneath. He (she?) would pick up a huge rock, inspect the loose soil and debris beneath it, then drop the rock with no concern for the noise it made falling back in place, and methodically pick up the next one. The bear noticed me, but ignored me and went back to work. I went a little farther down the trail and watched it with my binoculars for a while.

That only scratches the surface of what I like about Shenandoah, but as this post is very long, I will hush now.
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Re: Favorite NP...besides IR

Post by DonNewcomb »

It's actually not a park but still administered by NPS: Grand Canyon National Monument. It's been many years.
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