Which national parks have you been to?

[Aikenrooster]

Which national parks have you been to and/or cool state/provincial parks that are remarkable? Which would you suggest visiting and which would you not suggest? I've always wanted to go to a national park, so please share your experiences.

[tx_rush]

Ive been to a ton of good parks. Been to Glacier, Yosemite, Yellowstone and a few other more famous ones. Some of the not as famous National parks that I think are especially awesome are Crater Lake and Big Bend. Crater lake is incredible, you can actually take a ferry out to Wizard Island. Nobody knows it but there are actually huge trout, tough to catch because the water is so unbelievable clear. Dont have time this morning but ill pop in later and add some more

[Aikenrooster]

Please share some pics. I want to go so bad. I don't have to have a lodge, or rv, either. I am content to stay in my Appalachian trail pup tent in the backcountry somewhere. It's just that I live so far away from the parks.

 

What sucks even more, is that I've been very close to a lot of them, in my truck, but no dice. I tried to take the truck, one time, to Lehman Caves National Park, and I found out quickly that that wast going to work, so I put a damper on me ever trying again.

 

Yeah, I heard crater lake was awesome.

[Fridge]

Cairngorms, Peak District,Lake District, Exmoor, South Downs, Assynt, Dartmoor, etc.

[BigBob]

I live in Virginia, so Shenandoah National Park is one I frequent a lot. The skyline drive is perfect, if all you want to do is drive and take pictures. There are some really good hikes and waterfalls. Also Mount Rogers National Recreation Area is a beautiful gem in Virginia. Other Parks I've been to are Cuyahoga Valley (OH) and Zion (UT). All 4 of these places are deserving of a vaction.

[Aikenrooster]

Cairngorms, Peak District,Lake District, Exmoor, South Downs, Assynt, Dartmoor, etc.

That place looks like it's literally in the middle of nowhere.

[Lost In Xanadu]

I want to go to some. We were planning on taking an touring trip this summer. Still may do it... hit Mt Rushmore, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and lots of stuff in between.

[Fridge]

Cairngorms, Peak District,Lake District, Exmoor, South Downs, Assynt, Dartmoor, etc.

That place looks like it's literally in the middle of nowhere.

 

It is indeed, but well worth it.

[RushCanuck]

Banff National Park in Alberta is amazing.

[OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan]

National Parks:

 

Badlands

Crater Lake

Death Valley (skirted it anyway)

Grand Canyon

Great Smoky Mountains

Mammoth Cave

Mesa Verde

Petrified Forest

Redwood

Rocky Mountain

Yellowstone

Yosemite

 

National Monuments:

 

Aztec Ruins (Chaco Canyon)

Canyon de Chelly

Devils Tower

Dinosaur

Fort McHenry

George Washington Birthplace

Governors Island

Little Bighorn Battlefield

Mount St. Helens

Petroglyph

Russell Cave

Statue Of Liberty

Edited April 2, 2014 by OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan

[Aikenrooster]

Banff National Park in Alberta is amazing.

Dang, I'm glad you mentioned that. I forgot that I have been to 2 National Parks, both in Canada. Yeah, I took golf carts to Banff. I parked near the train station and walked through the village. The elk walk right up to you and you can feed them. The golf course there was one of the most spectacular pieces of scenery that I have ever witnessed in my life, probably the most spectacular. The Canadian Rockies are like granite, snow covered, towers. The course was between the mountains and the falls of the Bow River, which runs through Calgary. I went into the Fairmont hotel and, just to be funny, asked them how much a room was. It was $650, per night. Apparently, this was a destination on the train ride across Canada.

 

The other National Park was in Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton, and I went over Old Smoky, which gave me a towering view of the Atlanic ocean. I'd never seen anything like it. The name of the park was Ingonish Ferry, or something of that nature. The golf course was pristine, and I missed seeing a moose, which they said had just walked across the course. I still haven't seen a moose, yet, although I got to eat a moose burger with Canadian Customs on that trip, when my paperwork hadn't cleared(see the difference in Canada and the US - in the US, I would have been detained and treated like a goddamned criminal for this offense; in Canada, I got to eat moose burgers with the customs officer, who was aboriginal and was celebrating the summer solstice). Nova Scotia kicks ass.

 

Damn, I'm glad you mentioned that place.

[Aikenrooster]

National Parks:

 

Badlands

Crater Lake

Death Valley (skirted it anyway)

Grand Canyon

Great Smoky Mountains

Mammoth Cave

Mesa Verde

Petrified Forest

Redwood

Rocky Mountain

Yellowstone

Yosemite

 

National Monuments:

 

Aztec Ruins (Chaco Canyon)

Canyon de Chelly

Devils Tower

Dinosaur

Fort McHenry

George Washington Birthplace

Governors Island

Little Bighorn Battlefield

Mount St. Helens

Petroglyph

Russell Cave

Statue Of Liberty

You've actually been to all of those places? You're a lucky man.

[manders]

U.S. (parks/monuments):

Great Sand Dunes

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Rocky Mountain

Glacier

Grand Canyon

Mesa Verde

Petrified Forest

Carlsbad Caverns

Guadalupe Mountains

Badlands

Wind Cave

Pipestone

Grand Portage

El Malpais

Florissant Fossil Beds

Mt. Rushmore

Fort Laramie

Minute Man NHS

 

Canada:

Jasper

Banff

Kootenay

 

I have plans to rack up some more park time this summer. I want to drag my husband over to Utah and see Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches...

[Narps]

Damn I suck again in this category..... :(

[Dread Pirate Robert]

Sadly, I have been to only three "National Parks" in the US: Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina/Tennessee, Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, and Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

 

All three are fantabulous, if you like the outdoors at all.

 

I have also been to the equivalent of "National Parks" in England and Wales, if those count. Those were awesome as well. I especially like the Park area around Snowdonia in Wales -- really rugged mountainous terrain.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Dread Pirate Robert

[Dread Pirate Robert]

Please share some pics. I want to go so bad. I don't have to have a lodge, or rv, either. I am content to stay in my Appalachian trail pup tent in the backcountry somewhere. It's just that I live so far away from the parks.

 

What sucks even more, is that I've been very close to a lot of them, in my truck, but no dice. I tried to take the truck, one time, to Lehman Caves National Park, and I found out quickly that that wast going to work, so I put a damper on me ever trying again.

 

Yeah, I heard crater lake was awesome.

 

Congaree National Park south east of Columbia is not that far from you.

 

Go there, if you want to see a National Park that is conveniently close to you.

 

This one is Old Growth forest in river bottom floodplain to the point to where it is sometimes inaccurately called a "swamp" .

 

It does indeed have "swampy" like terrain in much of it, and is great for canoe trips as well as hiking on the trails. The Old Growth Forest, laced with Spanish moss everywhere, is so ancient and dismal and "gloomy" in a old growth swampy kind of way that the Barred and Great Horned Owls hoot and hunt all day long as well as at night.

 

The place is a veritable chorus of Owls.

 

Camping there, I have had a pair of them fly up and sit above me in a tree, while I am lying in the early morning on top of my sleeping bag, not quite ready to get up and start the day, and stare down at me at hoot fiercely.

 

It is like the Owls think they own the place. And, actually, I guess in a way they do.

 

There are lots of other wildlife there, of course, including lots of wild boar.

 

In warmer months, that wildlife includes water moccasins, always a creature to be wary of. There are some really big ones there, which I can attest to, having seen firsthand myself.

 

Really, a special place, at least to a nature lover like me.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Dread Pirate Robert

[OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan]

National Parks:

 

Badlands

Crater Lake

Death Valley (skirted it anyway)

Grand Canyon

Great Smoky Mountains

Mammoth Cave

Mesa Verde

Petrified Forest

Redwood

Rocky Mountain

Yellowstone

Yosemite

 

National Monuments:

 

Aztec Ruins (Chaco Canyon)

Canyon de Chelly

Devils Tower

Dinosaur

Fort McHenry

George Washington Birthplace

Governors Island

Little Bighorn Battlefield

Mount St. Helens

Petroglyph

Russell Cave

Statue Of Liberty

You've actually been to all of those places? You're a lucky man.

 

Yes. Back in '97 my wife and I took a couple of months off and drove across America. We hit Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia staying in campgrounds in a Coleman pop up camper. Most of the places on my lists were visited then as well as a few other places, Mt Rushmore, the Black Hills and a bunch of National Forests. It was a really great trip but the amount of time driving didn't allow us to stay at most of the places for more than a day or two. The rest of the places I visited at other times in my geezerdly life.

Edited April 4, 2014 by OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan

[Ancient Ways]

Mojave, Death Valley, Joshua tree, Everglades, smokey mountains, and canaveral national seashore off the top of my head. All beautiful but very different. You have to do Everglades on an airboat to really get it.

[Rhyta]

Well we have a bunch of them in Utah and I have managed to see them all: Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef. Also been to Carlsbad Caverns, NM; Grand Canyon Az; Crater Lake OR; Glacier MT; Grand Tetons WY; Mesa Verde CO; Yellowstone MT. Oh and Devils Tower WY which was the first Park designated a National one.

 

My favorite is Bryce, love the formations and took a vacation there and hiked the trails, fantastic. Would love to see in winter too.

http://www.utah.com/...thorshammer.jpg

Another great memory is watching the sunrise at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, breathtaking :drool:

http://www.utah.com/...RimImperial.jpg

Edited April 4, 2014 by Rhyta

[priest_of_syrinx]

The only one I remember visiting extensively (and recently) is Theodore Roosevelt.

 

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/021/cache/82750754-theodore-roosevelt_2131_600x450.jpg

[Aikenrooster]

Please share some pics. I want to go so bad. I don't have to have a lodge, or rv, either. I am content to stay in my Appalachian trail pup tent in the backcountry somewhere. It's just that I live so far away from the parks.

 

What sucks even more, is that I've been very close to a lot of them, in my truck, but no dice. I tried to take the truck, one time, to Lehman Caves National Park, and I found out quickly that that wast going to work, so I put a damper on me ever trying again.

 

Yeah, I heard crater lake was awesome.

 

Congaree National Park south east of Columbia is not that far from you.

 

Go there, if you want to see a National Park that is conveniently close to you.

 

This one is Old Growth forest in river bottom floodplain to the point to where it is sometimes inaccurately called a "swamp" .

 

It does indeed have "swampy" like terrain in much of it, and is great for canoe trips as well as hiking on the trails. The Old Growth Forest, laced with Spanish moss everywhere, is so ancient and dismal and "gloomy" in a old growth swampy kind of way that the Barred and Great Horned Owls hoot and hunt all day long as well as at night.

 

The place is a veritable chorus of Owls.

 

Camping there, I have had a pair of them fly up and sit above me in a tree, while I am lying in the early morning on top of my sleeping bag, not quite ready to get up and start the day, and stare down at me at hoot fiercely.

 

It is like the Owls think they own the place. And, actually, I guess in a way they do.

 

There are lots of other wildlife there, of course, including lots of wild boar.

 

In warmer months, that wildlife includes water moccasins, always a creature to be wary of. There are some really big ones there, which I can attest to, having seen firsthand myself.

 

Really, a special place, at least to a nature lover like me.

I have been there twice I forgot that they changed it to a NP. Last time I was there it sucked. The board walk was underwater, the trail was ankle deep mud, trees were down everywhere, I had to ford 4 or 5 flooded areas and the skeeters tore my ass up.

 

I am glad it's protected, because, as you said, it's the only old growth forest left, unfortunately. They say it was all like that when the settlers arrived.

 

If the skeeters ain't biting it's the most peaceful place around.