National/State Parks Worth Seeing (1 Viewer)

[beer 30]

So a fire has closed the Grand Canyon North ridge for the season and destroyed the lodge?

That's sad.

Pretty sure it's the same fire that closed down Gunnison. I was going to try and squeeze that in during my trip later this month but can't get there.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Just got back from a week in Bar Harbor/Acadia. Had a pretty great time though my wife’s health issues did limit us a bit.

The Good:
-The shuttle system is pretty great overall. Best shuttle//bus system of any park I’ve been to so far. Loved that one of the routes even did a hotel loop and picked us up right at our hotel to drop us in town. With such limited parking throughout the park and in Bar Harbor, the shuttles were the way to go. Props to LL Bean for helping fund it.

-The classic rocky shoreline/cliffs were awesome

-As always, getting up super early or going mid/late evening is the best way to do parks. You can drive right in, find parking, and see all the popular stuff without the crowds. Sand Beach at 6am there was only 2 other cars there. Thunder Hole 45 minutes later just 3 other people there. Later in the day cars were continuously circling the lot looking for spots or parked really far down the street.

-Bar Harbor is a great town. Very walkable and the harbor area is great to just go sit and hang out at

-The sand bar that pops up during low tide allowing you to walk out to the island was pretty cool

-The trail around Jordan’s Pond was decent

-Old Soaker Blueberry Soda is fantastic

The Bad:

—Just overall super crowded. You could work around it, but unless you went off the beaten path and hiked tougher longer trails, there was no escaping the crowds

-Cadillac Mountain was ok. Got a permit to drive to the top for sunrise, but there were a ton of people packed all together. And it was fairly cloudy which was a significant problem since the peak is so high that it was above the clouds. Still had a decent sunrise with the light reflecting off some of the clouds, but had no view down below

-The food in the area was expensive and pretty mediocre IMO. Lobster everywhere of course but not at all cheap. The best meal we had there all week was only equivalent to one of a half dozen local restaurants I frequent at probably 2/3 the price.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

We did a Seattle -- Rialto Beach -- Olympic Rainforest -- Hurricane Ridge -- Seattle loop over three days in July. Everything was perfect. The weather and all three of the major stops lived up to the billing and then some. Would strongly recommend them to anyone.

We also stopped for lunch at Lake Crescent on the way to Forks, and did a quick hit at Ruby Beach too, and both of those were fine as side excursions. My kid swam in the lake after lunch while I hiked up to Marymere Falls. Great way to break the drive up.

As Grove said... we were able to drive straight to the front row at Olympic and Hurricane Ridge by getting there mid-afternoon. I think we were coming in around 2:00-2:30 in both places (Thursday and Friday afternoon) and didn't have to slow down or stop on the way in at all. Beats the peak arrival times for sure. Zero issues parking right at the main trailheads.

Rialto Beach is hard to beat. We went all the way thru the Hole in the Wall and saw some fantastic starfish and other wildlife. Did the full RT hike there.

My wife and I did the short loop hike in the Olympic Rainforest and then towards evening did a couple miles along the river trail until you got to the first place you could go out on the rocky beach right up to the river. Sat there for awhile as the sun started to get low in the sky, with almost no one else there. Pretty nice considering we weren't all that far from the crowds.

At Hurricane Ridge we did the four miler up Hurricane Hill (the trailhead is beyond the makeshift visitor center maybe a mile or two). The views to the Olympics and Mount Olympus on one side and the straight across to Victoria on the other are pretty amazing. Also saw an alpine marmot, but that was kind of underwhelming -- more or less a groundhog with good PR.

Pure dumb lucked our way into a pretty good Orca sighting on the ferry from Victoria back to Seattle too (separate overnight trip). A pod of at least three or four, hunting towards the ferry.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park worth a day trip from San Diego?

What would be the best parts to see?

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park worth a day trip from San Diego?

What would be the best parts to see?

My in-laws live in the desert an hour north of there. They rave about the park and have spent many days there. I'm not sure why my wife and I haven't seen it yet but will be remedying that the next time we visit her dad. It looks beautiful.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

Winding up a SW trek. Began with Canyonlands, then sunrise at Delicate Arch in Arches. Fun side trip to Goblin State Park. Capital Reef in underrated, so eclectic. The most awesome ones were Bryce and Zion.
Yeah, did Navaho Loop to Queen’s Garden hike and base of Angel’s Landing but didn’t get the permit to summit, still incredible. Only did the Narrows to the island. So many other lessor hikes between.
Had to see the Grand Canyon again and cool jaunt to Canyon De Chelly on our way to Mesa Verde.
Running into bad weather so plans have changed but great trip and great weather till now.
Follow up in a few days when I get back.

 

[beer 30]

Winding up a SW trek. Began with Canyonlands, then sunrise at Delicate Arch in Arches. Fun side trip to Goblin State Park. Capital Reef in underrated, so eclectic. The most awesome ones were Bryce and Zion.
Yeah, did Navaho Loop to Queen’s Garden hike and base of Angel’s Landing but didn’t get the permit to summit, still incredible. Only did the Narrows to the island. So many other lessor hikes between.
Had to see the Grand Canyon again and cool jaunt to Canyon De Chelly on our way to Mesa Verde.
Running into bad weather so plans have changed but great trip and great weather till now.
Follow up in a few days when I get back.

Sounds awesome! Wish I would have had a few more days to do the west side of Utah when I went. The sheer size of Canyonlands was pretty impressive to me. Just goes on forever.

 

[Joe Schmo]

Going to Ouachita National Forest outside Little Rock Arkansas in early October. Anyone ever been and any tips, tricks or sights to offer up? Flying into Memphis and staying there on Thursday and then driving to Little Rock area Friday. Will be in the park all day Saturday into Sunday.