Which National Park?

[goeduck]

Vote for the local Olympic National Park if you don’t like the heat. Mountain top to saltwater all in one National Park. Can’t get that in very many places.

Olympic National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[jerrybob]

Vote for the local Olympic National Park if you don’t like the heat. Mountain top to saltwater all in one National Park. Can’t get that in very many places.

Olympic National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Absolutely agree.........we are so lucky the Olympic Nat'l Park is a few hours away.........we go often!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[texasranger556]

Olympics and Western Washington are a good candidate too. Ruby beach, hot springs, etc. If you go that route make sure to take a ferry or two across the Puget Sound up into the San Juan islands. We were lucky enough to live in that area for 2.5 years and loved every minute of it. Then there's Mt Rainier, St Helens, Vancouver, Victoria island, etc. So many cool things to do, take a few memory cards for your camera!

 

[deserteagle71]

But, there are some criteria. 1.) I'm not fond of being a tourist in blistering hot weather and we would probably go in the spring. Yes, I have lived all my life in the hot steamy south but when I'm on vacation I prefer not to be in the heat. 2.) I'm not fond of simply being a tourist. I don't like crowds of tourists. I don't like being in tourist traffic on the roads. 3.) We don't mind going off the beaten path. When we went to Italy we hardly had an itinerary. We mostly just went wherever the mood took us and it was mostly to places where people didn't speak English and there were no English menus (which, by the way, is how you get the best Italian food!). 4.) We don't mind hiking, walking or driving out of the way to see good stuff that the tourists might miss. 5.) I am into photography and that would be an integral part of what I would enjoy on the trip.

So, with those things in mind I'd love to hear what you folks have to say. I know it isn't tractor related but I also know you guys will give me a wide range of good solid advice and opinion. You always have.

You do realize that that paragraph regarding hordes of tourists and tourist traffic on the roads pretty much eliminates most of the major National Parks during the summer? Living in the west, I've been to pretty much every National Park east of the Mississippi (some I've explored multiple times) except for Great Bend down in Texas - and that's on the agenda. Yellowstone, the south rim of the Grand Canyon, even Glacier are an absolute zoo June through August. Death Valley you don't want to visit except November through about March.

If you are going during the summer months but want to avoid the heat then the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is a possibility. I'm talking the area around the Grand Canyon Lodge, Bright Angel, and Cape Royal as that region is heavily forested and averages ~ 8,000 feet in elevation. Crowds usually aren't too bad because it is so remote. Yellowstone/Grand Tetons are also high elevation but awfully crowded during the summer as is Glacier. The Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle/Tacoma will be cool...but you can also be rained out.

If you are going in the springtime and don't mind driving dirt roads then I'd suggest the North Rim of the Grand Canyon again - but the Tuweep (Toroweap) and Whitmore Canyon areas south of Fredonia/Colorado City, Arizona. This area is lower in elevation, desert, and during the 1st or 2nd week of May the desert is in bloom and spectacular. At Toroweap you can stand directly on the edge of the canyon and look at miles of the river, something you cannot do from the South Rim. In Whitmore Canyon the road ends just above the Colorado River - it's just a short hike from road's end to the river itself. It would be a heck of a change from what you are used to on the East Coast and a photographer's paradise. Here's some links (hope they still work) from a trip I did to the area a few years ago.
Grand Canyon, Tuweep region | Ride Spaces & Places | XT225+250 Rider's Group

Side trip to Lava Falls trailhead | Ride Spaces & Places | XT225+250 Rider's Group

Mt. Logan, and Whitmore Valley | Ride Spaces & Places | XT225+250 Rider's Group

If this area interests you let me know and I can provide further information, including GPS tracks to follow. There is a primitive campground at Toroweap. If you are into camping you can camp anywhere outside of the National Park boundary freely. Don't let the fact that I rode my motorcycle deter you - it's the way I prefer to travel the back country - most people rent an SUV in southern Utah to see this area. I guarantee you, you won't be crowded!

 

[Wagtail]

If you want a variety of short to day walks, then Tasmania has you covered: http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/Index.aspx?base=1315

And, as Bunyip suggests, there are wonderful places in Victoria too. Our Autumn is coming up (end of March to end May) which is your Spring = low tourist season!

(I'd spruik other States, here in Aus... but no one else has piped up. )

 

[N80]

You're in SC. Have you been to the Smokies? We've been there probably 10 times. Lots of good day hikes in that park.

We go to the Appalachians and the SC coast pretty much every summer.

You ever been up to DC? I highly recommend it, if not. Stay in a town on the outskirts and ride the subway in daily to the national mall. The subways are clean, safe, and easy to use. I had my kids plan the subway route and take me to the mall to see if they could get around if they got lost. No problem for them at all.

We did that when our kids were young. Stayed in Chevy Chase in the Embassy Suites. Metro came right into the hotel. Great trip.

Gettysburg, PA is a must. Great park! You can drive, stop and walk all day long. 2 days if you read a lot.

I did that and Antietam, Bull Run and several others when I did a rotation in DC. I was by myself and really enjoyed those places but they are very sobering places. There are a few books out that locate where Matthew Brady was standing when he took his battlefield pictures along with the photograph he took. It is amazing to stand in those spots and then look at the corresponding photo from 150 years ago. My wife isn't into Civil War history but southern Penn. and that whole region is gorgeous.

 

[Redbug]

George...Don't forget the only National Park in SC. Congaree NP. It's just down the road, has the largest lowland forest left in the country and so close you can go any day on a whim. I am out that way a good bit.

 

[N80]

George...Don't forget the only National Park in SC. Congaree NP. It's just down the road, has the largest lowland forest left in the country and so close you can go any day on a whim. I am out that way a good bit.

Been there. It is pretty amazing being so close to downtown Columbia. When I was a child I used to hunt on the property right next to it.

 

[polo1665]

Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore and surrounding area.

+1 on this suggestion....probably not in the spring though, weather is unpredictable.

 

[Deere Dude]

Mesa Verde NP is a keeper.