National/State Parks Worth Seeing (2 Viewers)

[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.

 

[GroveDiesel]

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.

I feel like to get the most out of Canyonlands and Capitol Reef, you need a 4WD vehicle with high ground clearance to get to the cool stuff. Those parks are way bigger than most people realize and majority of them are off the beaten path.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Trying to hit 5 parks next summer spread across 2 trips.

Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortuga on one trip and Sequoia and Kings Canyon on the other.

Dry Tortuga looks really cool, but have to admit I’m hesitating just a touch because it’s 2.5 hours on a boat each way for <5 hours on the island and it’s $200/person. $600 for less than 5 hours when neither my daughter nor wife are likely to snorkel much there is a pretty good chunk of money. Especially when combined with having to do a night in Key West to do it as Key West is quite pricey.

 

[MTskibum]

Trying to hit 5 parks next summer spread across 2 trips.

Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortuga on one trip and Sequoia and Kings Canyon on the other.

Dry Tortuga looks really cool, but have to admit I’m hesitating just a touch because it’s 2.5 hours on a boat each way for <5 hours on the island and it’s $200/person. $600 for less than 5 hours when neither my daughter nor wife are likely to snorkel much there is a pretty good chunk of money. Especially when combined with having to do a night in Key West to do it as Key West is quite pricey.

I thought everglades was underwhelming when I went. I appreciate it for what it is, vast acres of pristine wetlands. However, much of that wetlands is only accessible via boat and not accessible through normal means.

Maybe other people have a different perspective.

 

[MTskibum]

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.

We did a family vacation there a few years ago, beautiful area.

We had kids and went in the summer time, so we did stuff like rent a double decker pontoon boat on lake Ouachita. We visited some waterfalls for my wife's parents, Little rock has a large flower garden that we went to and walked around.

Sorry, I have no real help, but would highly recommend as an off the beaten path national forest.

 

[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.

We did a family vacation there a few years ago, beautiful area.

We had kids and went in the summer time, so we did stuff like rent a double decker pontoon boat on lake Ouachita. We visited some waterfalls for my wife's parents, Little rock has a large flower garden that we went to and walked around.

Sorry, I have no real help, but would highly recommend as an off the beaten path national forest.

Thanks, MT! You're echoing everything I've read so far as pertains to the beauty of the forest. One thing we're gonna do is visit the Japanese interment camp museum as that looks interesting. And some breweries which are always on our list.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Trying to hit 5 parks next summer spread across 2 trips.

Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortuga on one trip and Sequoia and Kings Canyon on the other.

Dry Tortuga looks really cool, but have to admit I’m hesitating just a touch because it’s 2.5 hours on a boat each way for <5 hours on the island and it’s $200/person. $600 for less than 5 hours when neither my daughter nor wife are likely to snorkel much there is a pretty good chunk of money. Especially when combined with having to do a night in Key West to do it as Key West is quite pricey.

We loved our visit to Dry Tortugas.

The boat ride was part of the fun but I do get your concern about it eating up time.
Touring Fort Jefferson and then snorkeling around the circumference were so awesome. I believe our charter gave us 6 hours on the island which we felt was plenty of time.

If you're the only one in the family that's going to snorkel, it may not be worth it, though. That was the highlight for us.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

Follow up in a few days when I get back.

Made an 'attempt' at Dinosar but someone messed up on the GPS so we bagged that and went straight to Canyonlands. Upheaval Dome, Mesa Arch, but Grand View Point Overlook was closed due to repairs, but still caught some great views and noticed something in the distance that we'd get to later.
Camped there that night. Woke extremely early then made it to Arches before sunrise.
One of the highlights of the trip.
Made it to Delicate Arch trail in the dark, used flashlights to find our way and hit Delicate Arch just before sunrise. It was AWESOME! So many international travelers, dialects, really cool experience, magical, spiritual.
After that we spent the rest of the day hiking Fiery Furnace, Landscape Arch, Double Arch then hit the road to the spot we saw from Canyonlands...
Took a bit of time to get to the next place but it was worth it. I saw photos on line and had to see this place. Goblin State Park in Utah. Used to be an ancient lakebed and that is why the formations look so odd. You'll recognize it if you've seen the movie Galaxy Quest. Highly under rated. You could easily spend the entire day there just running around. We saw a sign warning of quicksand, something I've never encountered and still haven't.
Didn't realize... I'm running out of time, need to run. Will finish in a day or two when I can`.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

Finishing off the trip.
After Goblin State Park we headed to Capital Reef NP, a place I had heard about a long time ago and it was pretty cool. Very eclectic, unlike ANY other NP in that it was like driving down a street where ALL of the houses had distinctly different architecture. Rock Domes Striking the incredible Cassidy Arch Petroglyphs and Awesome Rock Formations
Capital Reef has a super interesting geologic backstory. I can highly recommend a trip if you were thinking about it.
14 Amazing Things to Do in Capitol Reef National Park

What Makes Capitol Reef Unique?​

Capitol Reef National Park preserves the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long wrinkle in the Earth’s crust. This wrinkle, also called a monocline, was formed between 50 and 70 million years ago, when movement along a fault line caused upward shifting of the west side relative to the east side. The layers on the west side of the fault were lifted up 7,000 feet higher than the layers on the east.

Since this upheaval, water has been slowly eroding away the sedimentary rock layers, forming “waterpockets.” This erosion is revealing fossils, massive domes, canyons, arches, and monoliths.
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After Capital Reef we hit Bryce and I LOVED IT. We got there late and did a quick car ride through the park as a fantastic storm was brewing in the distance, got some cool pics and camped out. As noted above, we hit Navaho Loop to Queen's Garden right at sunrise. Incredible hike, tons and tons of pictures.
One of my top five favorite NP hikes. We also went to the waterfall but it was a bit of disappointment after the hike and the worst part is we got lost and hiked for hours till we found our way back.
After Bryce, Zion. Anyone who has been to Zion knows how beautiful Zion is. We made it to the base of Angel's Landing but lacked the permit to summit. Still an awesome and grueling hike that we hit once again before sunrise. Then the start of the Narrows but lacked proper footwear to go much further. We spent two days, one hiking around the main road and the last Angel's, the Narrows and Weeping Rock was opened for the first time in two years after a rockfall.
After Zion, the Grand Canyon. If you find an overlook it is impossible to find a bad view of the Grand Canyon. We spent two days camping and hiking around the rim.
After that, Canyon De Chelly to catch some scenery and cliff dwellings that I had hiked to back in the 80s but it was a long hike and we were tired and on our way to our next stop, so we only viewed from a distance.
We did hike to cliff dwellings in our next stop, Mesa Verde. The plan was to camp there that night, but a huge thunderstorm hit that night, so we bagged that idea. We wound up doing a lot more hiking than I expected and it was great. I didn't remember doing that much hiking my first couple of times at Mesa Verde and had no idea that there were petroglyphs. It was great.
After that a side trip to Telluride. Unfortunately, the weather was still bad, cold and rainy. Still a great mountain town to stroll around.
We finished off with a visit to Black Canyon of the Gunnison before visiting old friends. Black Canyon is worth it if you're in Colorado. Highly under rated.