Early 1990's, living in Nome, Alaska, I was given the opportunity to fly out with a friend and his friend - a local small aircraft pilot - to Beringia - aka Bering Land Bridge National Preserve to soak for an afternoon in the Serpentine Hot Springs. It was an extraordinary afternoon - spent soaking - and exploring the large (100 ft) granite tors surrounding the springs. It was an unforgettable experience. In my 2.5 years living in Alaska, I never got to Denali Park but it didn't matter to me as I'd experienced Beringia.
I was also humbled to be in such a place of significance for humanity in general as well as specifically for the first peoples of Alaska.
7
It a great quest that I just started in 2014 and am now 235 out of 417. So many great places to see across the country, and what a great way to get to all 50 states and most of the territories by visiting America's Parks.
3
My favorite park is also my favorite place to be on this earth.
I’ll give you some hints...
It’s a small island; 70 miles from nowhere; a brick civil war-era fort; you get there only by boat or seaplane; last island of the Florida Keys; no inhabitants except the hardy park rangers; dry Tortugas national park.
14
My wife and I have been to many of the national parks, and love them. But we also enjoy state parks across the country - widely diverse, often uncrowded, educational, great hiking opportunities, ... Don't let a desire to see the big, beautiful national parks cause you to skip the state parks!
22
When I was seven or eight my family went to Crater Lake, OR.
The water was deep, deep, blue. If a color can be pure, I would select that exact shade of blue.
On a windless day, the whole lake is one giant mirror of the sky. At sunset it’s transcendent. Golds, oranges, pinks, and the bands of silver that run along the linings of clouds are reflected in an infinite horizon between sky and water.
It felt like I could have waded into the sky and swam right off into the sunset, to take wings and fly away into the another, better, universe.
14
"On a clear lake you can see forever, it's like the sky was born inside this caldera. Clouds are floating on a crystal blue sea, Crater Lake you make me feel so deep".
We seem to have a kindred love for that beautiful pure blue lake. Did you jump in?
1
Wilderness Areas are for many reasons as fascinating as National Parks. Some other areas, not formally protected, deserve to be before it is too late..Wyoming Red Desert may come first, the prairie north and south of Charles Russell National Wildlife Refuge a close second...Think of it: the last opportunity to roam free through the very Big Sky country.
In western Montana, the Bob Marshall Wilderness ( the "Bob") is still Jeremiah Johnson country.
5
We expected excitement! There’s always an adventure while traveling with Gordon and Linda. The ride to Long Pine Key campground in Everglades National Park was a thrill as we plunged further and further into the exotic scenery of south Florida, with its long leaf pines, palms, bougainvilleas and gumbo limbo trees. Our first day was filled with gators, anhingas, cormorants, herons, and egrets. We observed a barred owl clearly visible on a branch several feet over our heads hooting and hooting. When, right before our eyes, the owl swooped across to a neighboring tree, mated with his lady friend, and proceeded to snuggle and cuddle with her, we felt we’d reached Nirvana.
Ok, that was it; the excitement quotient had been met. Dusk settled, and we began the drive back to camp, happy with our day full of natural wonders. Suddenly, the car swerved to avoid hitting a huge garden hose lying inexplicably across the road. Gordon leapt from the car shouting, “I think it’s a Burmese python!” We tumbled out in amazement as he grabbed the huge snake by the tail, then behind the head, saying calmly, as it whipped furiously, “Can someone get me a bag?”
Because these snakes are an invasive species disrupting the Everglades ecology, we couldn’t release it. We deposited the 7 foot snake-in-a-bag with a very surprised ranger at the park’s entrance, and headed down the road.
7
Last summer my dad and I dipped our toes in the Pacific Ocean, got in a car, and 30 days later dipped our toes in the Atlantic. I had just finished my freshman year of college, and all I wanted to do was to slow down and spend time with my dad. We hit 16 national parks last summer, taking many hikes and tours and photos along the way. Bad reception, cheap motels, and days on end in a car with just your dad don't add up to be a trip most 18-year-olds are eager to do, but it was by far one of the best months of my life. We climbed mountains together, listened to The Daily together, belted "Piano Man" together, and got to partake in some of our country's most spectacular sights along the way. Sure, we saw a lot of confederate flags, encountered a lot of people with very different political beliefs, but re-ignited a love for our country that we might have lost somewhere along the way.
We're currently trying to plan a road trip to Glacier this summer.
25
Living on the road as a touring musician for over 20 years has given me the opportunity to visit almost every park in America. I was inspired to write songs for the parks and on one fateful day- August 24th, 2016 the day before the Parks Centennial celebration at the Grand Canyon, I was singing a song I wrote called "In The Grand" at the Bright Angel Lodge. The people in the bar that day were from Amtrak and NPS. They loved the song and invited me to sing on the Coast Starlight long distance Amtrak train the very next week! I became the NPS Trails and Rails Troubadour in 2017 and sang my special songs for the parks to folks on Amtrak and in the national parks. It has been an amazing journey and the songs, friendships, and my love for our national parks just keeps growing. National Parks Conservation Association has been especially supportive of me and they did a great story about my efforts to raise awareness of our beautiful parks through songs, just like troubadours in the days of Woody Guthrie and before. https://www.npca.org/articles/1631-for-love-and-trains
8
My husband and I both grew up in families that treasured national Parks and have great memories of visiting new ones most summers of our childhood (his camped and we stayed in the nicest cabin/lodge in the area, but whatever).
We’ve vowed to take our four year old twins to 10 parks by the time they are 10. We’ve hit 4 already with another planned in two weeks. We visited Yosemite just last month.
The first day it snowed three inches and my kids saw their first snow and we had a snowball fight. Definitely a moment I won’t forget. The next several days were sunny and warmer and we explored the waterfalls, streams and trails. The last day we saw aview of Half Dome, Bridal Falls and El Capitan. It was breathtaking and I was convicted that I needed to step back and just enjoy the beauty of creation more often. I hope my kids will realize this someday too and maybe exposing them to the natural beauty of this country will help them appreciate it more.
It was a great trip, but the best part was leaving. Our kids asked which park we could visit next and how soon!
5
The 418th NPS site is Round Lake near Bok Tower in Central Florida. More info 6 3 0 5 5 4 7 1 9 4 Ponce De Leon house is on the site and water from the lake has verified health benefits.
1
My family and I left Seattle and have been traveling the country in our Airstream travel trailer almost two years ago. In that time, we’ve covered over 36,000-miles, spent time in 39 states, and visited 97 National Park sites—our eight-year-old son has earned Junior Ranger badges at all of them! We expected the large parks like Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain to be awe inspiring—and they are—but we weren’t prepared to be so inspired and amazed by so many of the smaller, less-visited National Monuments, Historic Sites, Seashores, and Lakeshores. Every time we visit one of the NPS sites, whether it’s one of the big, famous parks or one of the small, little known sites that lay just off the beaten path, we walk away better people. We didn’t plan it this way, but the National Park sites have become one of the cornerstones of our journey. As a family, the sights we’ve seen, the things we’ve heard, and the lessons we’ve internalized at our Nation’s National Park sites have inspired us, expanded our apertures, and broadened our horizons. The NPS sites aren’t there just for our enjoyment, they make us all better people and better citizens. You can follow our journey at: www.bigbigtrip.com
8
We live in Hawaii and would like to point out that Honouliuli National Monument IS open to public tours in a very limited way (monthly tours run by the Japanase Cultural Center). My-inlaws are in the National Parks Travelers Club, have also visited all 417, and timed their last visit here to do that tour. They had already gotten the stamp (also at the Japanese Cultural Center) on a previous visit. Way to go, Fred and Debbie Koegler! We love following and learning from their visits and all the park brochures.
4
The big National Parks are amazing, but some of my favorite sites have been the smaller National Historic Sites, Historical Parks and National Monuments.
The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in SE Washington DC tells the inspiring story of a man who overcame enormous obstacles to become a great leader.
The Thomas Edison National Historical Park in New Jersey lets you walk through Edison's labs and machine shops where many inventions that still impact modern life were born- recorded music, light bulbs and other electric appliances and improved cement and rubber.
The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in central New Mexico is a series of missions and enormous cathedrals that were abandoned in the 17th century and rediscovered in the 19th century. It boggles the mind that these cathedrals were built in the far fringes of Spanish Mexico, before the United States was formed, and its even more surprising that they were almost forgotten.
6
The Trump administration's view of national parks as avenues for exploitation by the private sector is probably one of the most permanent of all the the changes Trump has done
Of course, destroying our planet's ecosystem is number 1, but creating barriers to keep Americans away from nature helps keep us silent.
We need more national parks, not fewer. Already it is difficult to see many parks without waiting in line, making camp ground reservations, etc.
10
My parents started me off by taking my photo in front of my first National Park sign when I was a kid; Decades later In the past five years, a friend of mine and I have visited every site west of the Mississippi- and a few to the east. I only have 8 NP sites left to visit in the lower 49 states and am plotting to visit two more this year. Why? Beauty and seeing the USA in person and the history of all our places and peoples. There’s no substitute for traveling thousands of miles on the ground and rivers to get to know our lands and peoples.
4
The most poorly maintained National Park is on D St SE in DC. Folger National Park is a disgrace and actually full of hazardous walkways. What shame that this small jewel is in such a disgraceful state.
1
Richard Perry's shot of the Grand Canyon...completing a solo rim-to-rim-to rim in a little over 15 hours, the last stretch from Indian Gardens to the South Rim in the dark, without a flashlight. Stranded three days with the Hermit's Rest caretaker couple after cutting across from Indian Gardens and hiking out in a snow storm, which became torrential rain below. The fear of flash floods. Remembering the Phantom Ranch campers washed into the Colorado in their sleeping bags.
Using my A&P summer job savings to buy a downriver kayak. Kayaking from North Truro across the bay to the tip of the Cape. Then trading the kayak for a Sunfish. Walking on the bay the winter it froze over, the ice crushing at least one of Provincetown's main peers. Watching the Seashore's lifeguards train off Race Point.
As quoted by the New York Times in a recent article, Hakan Sukar, the former Turkish World Cup soccer star, noted that "Life is not where you live. It's what you do where you live." Apart from spending virtually every weekend hiking in the Grand Canyon during the four years my father served in the Park Service there, my most cherished memory is of having been befriended by two high school classmates, one a Supai, the other a Hopi. And their families and relatives on their respective reservations.
3
Over the past five years my wife and I have made it almost half way through the National Parks. We have a way to go to catch up to some.
We are in awe of the natural beauty we have seen from Utah's many parks to the isolation of Dry Tortugas. But we recognize that the real beauty of the park system is the men and women that work to take care of these precious resources, introduce our children to the wonders of our land, and educate us all about the world around us and our history.
Thank you to all the National Park employees and volunteers. We'll see you around.
51
When I graduated from college 20+ years ago myself and two friends drove (almost) cross country. We started in CT and went as far as Jackson Hole, WY to drop off one of the three for a summer job. We made National Parks our focus and tent camped the entire way. We hit 12 National Parks, several National Historic Sites, several National Forests (several state parks as well) in 26 states. We took all local roads, and only highways when there was no other choice. Southern route out, Northern route back. It was a wonderful trip with highlights being the parks in Utah and of course Yellowstone. It was a wild and wonderful journey with just a bunch of maps, an old manual everything VW with no A/C and less that $800 each for 3.5 weeks. From losing the car keys (in a pile of leaves)in TN, being charged by buffalo in UT, an ER visit also UT, and softball sized hail during a tornado in MN we had adventure to last a lifetime. I'd do it again in a heartbeat ...but may be with A/C in the car this time.
23
My love of the national park system comes from working 13 years for the National Parks Conservation Association. I still can't believe I got paid to protect parks! When I retired three years ago, with a good start on 417, seeing them all sounded like a grand idea.
Since then I've enjoyed seeing America through the eyes of the national park system. Eye-popping scenery, little know pieces of American history, sober reminders of some of the country's more darker behavior, memorials to American heroes, struggles our country has had (and still have) to fulfill our ideals. You get the picture. All that is American is in the national park system.
So we take our time at each unit and fully embrace the story each park site has to tell. So it'll be a while til we get to 417. But at 235 we're well on our way. And I blog about some of the lesser known sites at strattoparks.blogspot.com
7
Four kids, the youngest 14 and the eldest 22. One car. Sixteen days. Last summer, I road tripped with my three younger siblings from Ohio out through Arches, Canyonlands, Rocky Mountain and back through Wind Cave and Badlands. We stopped at a few National Monuments and Forests along the way as well.The hikes were gorgeous and the campgrounds superb. A favorite hike was an exceptionally remote route to Klondike Bluffs in Arches. We are so grateful to the Parks for providing a plethora of memories as we start growing in our separate ways!
9
I have made it to 145 sites, each one a treasure, and all 50 states. From Cape Cod National Seashore - where I've been going since a baby - to Gates of the Arctic for a canoe trip and adventures with bears. I love the parks and the rangers are terrific. I've also been to every Canadian province and territory - except Saskatchewan.
Probably no more because of my age and health, but it has been a wonderful journey.
6
In the Ken Burns series about the parks, the point is made that the great parks are the real America.
The Country is not shopping malls, fast food restaurants and stadiums but rather these special places that have been set aside.
These places aren't locked up behind walls for only a select few to enjoy. Its the best example of what our democracy can mean. We need to protect them and financially support them.
Our strongest memories as a family - as a kid growing up and now with my wife and children - are based on the time we've spent together in the great western parks; Glacier, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands.
If you want to know your country - to know how great it can be - tour the crown jewels of the park service with your family.
45
Even though we live north of the border, my kids have visited to about ten national parks over the years. There is something spiritual, something greater than ourselves stepping into national parks. Every terrain, every oddly shaped rock formation, every stream of water traversing quietly through, every surprise wildlife sighting, shape for a moment, the why we live, what it means to love our earth, our lives - its preciousness.
We finally visited Yosemite last year. This park is actually rather subtle, obsequious to the high elevation in its singularness. So that even the weird pools and geysers did not really strike me, rather it was the subtle elements. The effortlessness of bison intersecting with the grassland. The river, pristine, untouched by man, singular, coursing before me, like it did 10,000 years ago.
Then we went to Bandelier National Monument in NM. Kids loved the caves, the petroglyphs. Our shared human history told through nature, the way we were shedding light to what we aim to be.
I am going to boldly say that NPS should mark off Western Montana around Missoula as a national park. The expanse of the Big Sky juxtaposed with boldly erected mountains, meandering rivers full of fish carve out an inexplicably balance that only the Maker could have personified. This is nature at its finest.
5
My husband proposed when we were rafting the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. Our six year old twins have visited Yosemite, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Channel Islands and Crater Lake. This summer, we will visit the Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah, Mammoth Cave and Acadia. Can't wait:)
5
We have had the pleasure of experiencing many National Parks since our kids were very young. Several were with RVs. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mamoth Springs, Olympic National Park, Zion, Bryce, are just a few. I feel blessed that so many sites are preserved as parks. However, I am very worried about the parks’ futures with what this present administration is doing. They seem to have almost no understanding of the value of these parks, to our planet, and for the people.
Let’s hope future administrations are able to rectify the losses this one is afflicting on our natural world.
12
We've hit only 228 of the 417, but can claim all but eight of the big National Parks. We can also say with truth we've spent good time in those Parks, not just in and out. The only one we can admit to having simply gone in the visitor center was Wrangell-St.Elias. We had big plans for it, but bad weather and roadwork prevented us from enjoying it. We've hiked many miles in the NPS sites, and have enjoyed every step. We've been surprised by black bears and brown bears, elk and moose. The only time we really felt threatened by wildlife was hiking in the open prairie of Theodore Roosevelt, when we saw a big bison eyeing us from a distance, with no rocks to hide behind or trees to climb or anything. But we stared him down. Eventually he turned and sauntered away. The animal life that has most bothered us were ticks on that same hike, chiggers at Buffalo River, and mosquitoes in many places. We've never seen a lion, but I'm quite sure we've been seen by one in Rocky Mountains and Big Bend. Best trail east of the river: White Oak Canyon in Shenandoah. Out west, gosh! Bottom of Bryce Canyon (and back), Top of Yosemite Falls, Lassen Peak, Emory Peak in Big Bend... We're 80 now and neither of us can manage it any more, but rich, rich are the memories.
9
"Been there, done that, got the ink." How banal, superficial, tacky--and American. Quality and the ability to enjoy the moment and place trump everything else.
4
I would love to see more parks, etc. but need a new travel partner. Would joining the National Park Travelers Club help? BTW, I am not a fanatic.
Our spring break and summer vacation time has become designated to visiting the national parks with our kids. Best family time we've ever had. And now I want to be part of this club and see all the landmarks and sites. Our country may be pretty messed up right now, but it still holds a lot of beauty.
6
I've been in about 85% of the National Parks, lacking some in Washington and northern California, and the smaller or
more outying islands (Samoa!).
The greatest moment was in 1959. I was in Yellowstone, with
my old Argus C4 camera. My priceless possession was,
until it hopelessly faded, an Ektachrome slide of a full scale geyser eruption of the Rainbow Pool. The sun was shining. It was raining. I was being hit by falling boiling water from the
eruption. And, oh yes, the "big deal" cause of the eruption: a 5.5 or so Richter scale earthquake, aftershock of the "big one". My family were the only witnesses.
I've hiked or backpacked most of the ones I visited. I've also been to many, many parks in other countries and non-countries (Antarctica). There are many other great places (Patagonia, the Venezuelan tepuis, the Milford Track, lots of great montains.)
But the most uniquely beautiful and inspiring places are the
great mountain parks of California. The great trees win, by a bit, over the great tepuis in Venezuela. Emphasis here is on "unique".
3
My husband and I just returned from Utah. Hiked Zion, Canyonlands, Arches and Bryce. The beauty of our national parks is simply amazing. Next up Yellowstone and Glacier. The side trips to state parks were pretty awesome too especially Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in southern Utah. So much to see in this beautiful country.
1
The Junior Ranger Badge for those 12 and under is not to be missed. It's a bit like a treasure hunt and a great way to ensure you see highlights of the park. Allows you to engage the park in ways you never thought you would. 50 on vacations and weekends. Some families RV the country in pursuit of them.
4
You know, it's not all about the numbers, bucket lists or quantities in life. It's about quality.
People running about the planet to bag peaks, running marathons on 7 continents, ticking attractions or just to get the selfie for their instagram account are entirely missing out.
Like buying a t-shirt at an airport stopover and saying you've visited that country. Who cares?
18
my favorite national park is one almost no one goes to. i'm not going to mention the name.
21
How infuriating! My favorite is in the top 4, and the other three in that list are close.
But its true that Lake Clark and Gates of the Arctic are nice and well worth a visit .... but only if, like mine did,
it includes a long backpack or river raft trip. But favorite,
no, that's just silly.
1
Haha. The curse of the NPS: Wilderness with access. I usually burn one day doing touristy stuff either at the beginning or the end of a trip. I expect a touristy experience. After that, I look for places where people don't go. I once went from an overcrowded parking lot filled with tourist buses to complete privacy and silence in under one mile. I had a better view as well. I won't tell you where I was either though. That's my secret.
Generally speaking though, if you're willing to walk, every park is the one where no one goes.
7
I love it! Wish everybody would get out to see our national treasures.
We have been to several National Parks in the past 7 years, having hiked some 700 miles in Joshua Tree NP, Death Valley, and Big Bend NP.
Our time in our national areas, though, is mostly spent camping and hiking in BLM and National Forest lands, where we can find places to camp far away from the crowds of National Parks….in fact far away from anyone else.
Do people who don’t live in the west and the desert southwest realize how much country they own? And how beautiful it is? And how people like Zinke want to make it easier for just a few people or businesses to exploit? You should.
When you are driving in many parts of the desert southwest look to your left and right and ask: I wonder who owns that? The answer? YOU and your children and grandchildren.
In the past 7 years we have traveled 55,000 miles in our country, camped in some 300 places, and hiked about 3200 miles. This is our winter activity.
We write a blog about these lands, although we also include what we do during the summers when we are home. We want people to know what we all, collectively, own, and this is the only way we can think to do that.
http://dan-lifeonwhidbeyisland.blogspot.com/2018/02/road-trips-map.html
Go see your country. The National Parks are great, but probably account for less than 1% of the land YOU own!
24
My favorite NP experience was in Glacier NP in 2011...my son and I were hiking to Grinnell Glacier when we saw a wolverine running across a snowfield about 75 yards above us. The experience only lasted a few seconds but became more meaningful to us when later that day we learned from a ranger that there were an estimated 49 wolverines in GNP, the highest concentration in the lower 48, and that she'd been a GNP ranger for three years and had never seen one. An extra bonus....I have a picture of the sighting!
6
I have loved the numerous national parks that I have seen, but would remind readers that there are many beautiful places in this great country, some a short drive or walk from your home. Enjoy them. One place , not a park, that I recommend is Monument Valley on the Navajo Reservation.
Enjoy nature, there are birds and flowers right out your window.
18
One of my favorite parks I saw on a whim. I was working in Dickinson ND and had some time to kill. I decided to take a drive through Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was incredibly beautiful and rugged - bison, big-horn sheep, wild horses, lots of prairie dogs popping up along the highway, It's part of the Badlands, so you get to see the Painted Canyon where the vistas are amazing. It's out of the way, but worth the trip.
5
As with the subjects in the story, I’m also in the National Park Travelers Club and completed visits to the 417 last December. During the park service’s centennial in 2016, I created an exhibit made of all the park lapel pins created for the centennial and a Find Your Park promotions, 483 pins in all representing 248 park locations across 46 states and territories. As part of that project, I traveled to 387 NPS units and all 50 states in 360 days, logging 144,000 miles to see parks that year. My family and friends, folllowing the adventure on social media, asked me to share the story in writing. I’m working on the finishing touches of a book that will be titled, The Centennial: My Journey Through America’s National Park System.
5
I don't think I could give you a number. The number is big though.
I think the first National Park trip I planned intentionally was Shenandoah. We left a few days later to head to another park. About half way through the drive we decided we liked Shenandoah so much we turned around and drove straight back. We ended up spending the rest of our vacation there.
Another fun trip: One year we spent Christmas in Death Valley. We even got solar powered Christmas lights to decorate the tent. Afterwards, we double backed to Zion for New Years. Remarkably, Zion was warmer than Death Valley. We must have caught good weather though. Angel's Landing was ice free even at dawn going across the chains.
Then of course there's the greater Canyonlands area. I can't really describe the first time I went to Arches. We did a "dawn patrol" and hiked out to Delicate Arch in the dark. This is not a good idea for the feint of heart. If you're lucky enough to catch a few minutes alone at dawn though, well, again, I can't really describe it.
I like the pleasant incongruity of Island in the Sky. There's the unreality of Needles and Devil's Garden. Yellowstone has an old-timey feel. Grand Canyon is too big to wrap your head around. Great Basin is wonderfully underappreciated. Tetons, Glacier, Bryce, the list goes on.
The point is: Every park has its own distinct flavor. If you like it, hike it. Otherwise, just head somewhere else. As always, blissful solitude is easy when you leave the car behind.
4
I visited the summit of Mt. Whitney for sunrise, along with a group of about 10 other people. It was cold! For some unknown reason the others were in the hut and refused to come out for the actual sunrise! I never understood this.
The sunrise on the valley was wonderful.
3
The challenge for me is to walk all trails in a national park. I'm on my fifth park, some have a lot of trails! The memory of those parks is so clear. They have become part of who I am.
11
This ain't nothing. My friend's great travel quest in life is to set foot in all the countries of the world that end in "stan", regardless of what's there to see or not. Reasons to travel are as capricious as the people that feel compelled to have to do it. It's the process looking for an application, just like all the junk on my iPad.
1
It's not a competition. Both your friend and these travelers are fulfilling their travel goals. Let's be happy for all of them.
4
Shortly after we were married, my wife and I went camping in Yellowstone. On the last day I decided to get one last picture of the resident bison who just kind of roamed through the campground. As I was waiting to take a picture from a safe distance a man and a woman came out of an RV and walked near the bison as he was eating. The man kept imploring the woman to get closer so he could get a better picture. She got too close for the bison’s taste. He turned and was on her faster than you could believe an animal that big could move. He gored her as he flipped her up in the air. She landed on her back and he went back to eating. After I ran down to the rangers’ station and an ambulance came I approached one of the rangers that was overseeing the operation and told him what I had seen and that the animal was just protecting his space. He asked if I would fill out a statement to that effect. I did and 6 months later I received a letter from the assistant district attorney asking if I would be willing to testify in the trial wherein this man and woman were suing the park service. I was flown up to Cheyenne, Wyoming and testified. One of the results is that now in the campgrounds in Yellowstone there are big signs stating “Do Not Approach Bison” as if anyone should have to be told that. But as one of the rangers told me at the trial some people think that Yellowstone is a big petting zoo.
44
The fact that this went to trial, and the government had to fly you to Cheyenne to defend the suit is a travesty.
National Parks should be there for people to experience nature as it exists. If people do stupid things and animals do what animals do, then so be it.
12
They sued the park. The park was just defending itself from a lawsuit. I see nothing wrong there. In Arizona there’s a law. If you drive into a flooded area you’ve been warned not to and have to be rescued, you have to pay the cost of that rescue. People have to own up to their own responsibility.
3
Ditto with the recent spate of 'bear selfies'.
What are they thinking? Not much apparently.
Culling of the herd of humans.
1
My friends and I, all from the east coast, have for years done an almost-annual backcountry camping and fishing trip to Yellowstone. I am aware how lucky we are to be there, each and every time. The scale of the place is tremendous - it's hard to remember that the little green dot 'just across the valley' is an evergreen that would dwarf us all, and would take a few hours to walk to it.
I'd recommend visit national parks to everyone, and stress that people please read the rules and regulations about the park, BEFORE you arrive. These are likely available online. The parks are for everyone and many of them are wild places. Remember the family that 'rescued' the buffalo calf a few years ago for example - in that situation, that place, interfering with wildlife is prohibited. In Yellowstone you aren't supposed to remove long-dead antlers, either.
10
My husband and I have toured many National Parks in many parts of the country. We are always asked the same question, what was your favorite? We always say each park has its own unique qualities and personality. It is impossible to pick a favorite. The parks are a metaphor for our unique American experience, each one giving you something that another one can not just as each person you meet in life offers you something different. Visiting the parks is a freeing and wonderful opportunity to connect with nature and people. I recommend the experience to everyone.
34
I have traveled to and hiked numerous national parks across the country. While the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is almost in my backyard, may not be as majestic as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and many others, it offers a free, scenic, generally uncrowded respite. It is well worth visiting.
5
To my immigrant family, the National Parks are one of the greatest public treasures of the United States. How generous, enlightened, and wondrous that Americans before us thought to save these places for all of us to enjoy! I spent many a summer in the back seat, bickering with my sister through various National Parks - Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Mesa Verde, etc. Now I take my children to enjoy these places - we love the great educational programs they have and we have quite a collection of Jr Ranger badges. When I see all the people from other countries that come to enjoy these natural wonders, I feel so proud of the beauty this country has to offer.
26
One of my favorite things to do is visit our National Parks. As a nature photographer, it's my mission to get into as many as I can, seeing at least one new one each year. This year I decided to do the Grand Canyon...in February. Winter is always my preference for visiting parks, mainly because there are fewer people, and, in places like the GC, the potential for significant snowfall makes for fantastic and unique photographs. It's a bit of a rush, though. I want to see the parks before global warming takes full effect, limiting snowfall, and grossly changing the ecosystems of the parks, i.e. the reason they were preserved in the first place. In the see-it-before-it's-gone category, this summer my family and I will travel to see Glacier Bay National Park so that one day my kids will be able to tell theirs: "I saw an actual glacier."
http://www.studio534photo.com/GCandSedona/index.html#
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I went to the Grand Canyon in late April one year and it also snowed. A beautiful sight indeed.
The National Parks along with the National Forest are a great asset for the American people.
As for myself, when visiting a Park I usually try to traverse the entire park on foot before marking it as visited.
But, I personally like a lot of the National Forests. They are far less busy and there are almost no restrictions for the avid backpacker.
You can camp wherever and whenever you want. And there are lots of little "things" to discover that are not featured in a guidebook.
5
We purchased a National Parks passport for my son, when he visited his first park (Jamestown, VA) when he was about 10. He's 15 now, and we make visiting a park part of every vacation, and sometimes the sole point of the vacation, as we did when we visited the Grand Canyon last year. It's been a wonderful experience for our family and I wish him a lifetime of adventures as he strives to fill up that book! Who knew there are TEN national parks in New York City alone! and we live here!
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Please include Mikah Meyer! He is on track to visit all 417 sites in three years and is opening conversations about LGBT experiences in national parks. He embarked on this road trip to honor his father and the road trips they took together before he died. https://www.mikahmeyer.com/about
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Last summer wife and I and our two kids made a trip we had dreamed about since getting married. We packed up our an for two weeks of National Park exploration. From Glacier to to Yellowstone to The Grand Tetons.
A little scared of grizzly bears in Glacier at first we were hesitant to take our kids hiking. But we new if we wanted to see the more sublime sites and glimpse the melting glaciers such as Grinnell we would have to do it. After two boat rides from the Many Glacier Hotel we began rising elevation. We overlooked Grinnell Lake, were surrounded by Indian Fire Weed and Bear Grass. Our kids bounded with excitement and the joy of exploration. On finally reaching the Grinnell Glacier I was overcome with a feeling of insignificance. We had made it.
We now had to get back to the boat so we could drive two hours west across the park and rest for the night. We missed the first boat back and were happy we did. Not one, not two, but three moose descended on the lake in slow succession as we waited to be picked up. Did we have to go? I know my kids will remember these experiences and the junior ranger badges the received on this trip more than any throw away device I buy them or dumb app I download.
We will do it again this fall through Utah's canyon lands and we can't wait!
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It's good to have a story emphasizing the vast diversity of the National Park system. Possibly not quite so good to have it be about just one system, albeit one with so many of the country's crown jewels.
When setting up a visit to some (not all) NPS sites, it's worth checking for other conservation lands or historic sites nearby. Redwood National Park would be a prime example. Same with Everglades National Park, the center of a network of public lands and water.
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Pretty impressive feat, which makes two of my accomplishments pretty puny. I have visited and taken pictures of all fifty State Capitols/State Houses, and have visited 49 states at least twice, and one state, Alaska, once.
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Visited the Grand Tetons last summer and it was the experience of a lifetime. Simply amazing hiking through the foothills of this magnificent area. I look forward to returning time and time again.
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Last year I was fortunate to meet a very inspiring young man who is in the midst of a journey to walk to every national park. His name is Blake Robinson, and he is walking 20,000 miles to all the National Parks - he explains his journey as having “two feet, and one dream.” This really isn’t my story to be told, but after reading this article I thought I might share it with the Times because his story is one that others might enjoy hearing. His website for his journey is walktheparks.com - check it out!
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I've been to two of the National Parks, Grand Canyons and Yosemite. What I remember about Yosemite is at night the bears are definitely out and about and easy to spot, but in the morning when the buses are getting ready to depart, the baby bears gather around the buses, as if the mother bear instructed them "now you all go gather around the tourists so they can get picture of you and maybe give you a treat to eat". What's interesting is some friends of ours were also there about a year or two before our trip and they have pictures of the babies doing the same thing, so maybe mama bear does whisper something their ears.
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The National Park Service did an underwhelming job over the decades in providing information and encouraging people to visit the Parks. Who knew there were 417 of them?
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It was our oldest daughter at age 10 who decided that National Park sites should be the focus of our vacations and trips. And so we set off, often picking by color (of the passport stamp). As in 'we have no greens!'. Over the past 20 years, we have visited close to 150 sites.
Our first, that got her hooked, was the Women's Rights National Historic Site in Seneca Falls, NY. I recall her crestfallen 10 year old self when her simple home-assembled period costume of a bonnet and long skirt didn't attract any attention and there were no living history actors on site. But the visits improved dramatically from there, as we discovered Junior Ranger programs, sites where we were the only visitors, and the varied beauty and interest at each site.
Some of the highlights I recall are from:
- Volcanoes in Hawaii, where the rangers sent us to an adjacent site to see lava flowing into the sea as night fell,
- camping at Crane Flats in Yosemite surrounded by towering trees
- the thoughtfulness of Appomattox and Pearl Harbor which are free of triumphalism and capture the complex issues involved in wars, and
- taking my mother to the FDR Memorial and Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, evoking memories of her childhood growing up during World War 2.
Less than 300 to go.
9
I hope people don't forget the many National Forests (under the preserve of the USDA), with San Juan NF (Colorado) and Tonto NF (Arizona) being two spectacular examples. Both drive-throughs and hikes gain you spectacular vistas and wonderful experiences and they tend to be underused.
5
Bryce Canyon is incredibly special; less heavily visited than others and a hike through the canyon with its hoodoos and the changing colors throughout the day are spectacular. My next year adventure is Denali and Katmai
3
Well, I do not use Instagram and do not feel that photos always enhance the memories. In my now longish life I have visited some of the more remote parks- Dry Tortugas and Denali, Key Largo National Marine Park, and some of the more accessible ones- Yosemite, Glacier, The Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, The Everglades. As a Texan I am ashamed not to have gone to Big Bend ( yet !)
My heart soars when I see wildlife going about their daily rounds. I saw a pack of wolves in Denali-their feet are huge-so different from dogs. We also saw there about 50 grizzlies-some with cubs. They were often digging for marmots which process was fascinating. They would leap in the air and pounce on the ground with their entire weight, then dig like mad, then leap and pounce again. Animals work very hard for their dinner.
At Key Largo-way out in the water-a very large nurse shark of about 14 feet seemed to amuse herself by swimming up to the surface and shouldering her way among a huge pod of swimming tourists including a lot of children. A few people were terrified but most of us were delighted. Snorkeling at Dry Tortugas I saw huge barracudas and a pair of amber colored cuttlefish just feet away. The barracudas surprised me as a blundered under a dock. They were resting not hunting. The Everglades ! Birds, alligators, blue skies-simply sublime. And the Grand Canyon made me cry. It was so much more vast and deep than I could have imagined. I was just stunned . Visit the parks. Support the funding.
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Pinnacles National Monument, shown in a photo by Larry Berman, became Pinnacles National Park in 2013, signed into law by Barack Obama. It's a great national park, like all the others. I have never been disappointed. Often, the first comment made by people is that the parks are too crowded. My experience has been that as soon as you go around a mile or more on a hiking trail, the crowds disappear.
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Among the many NPs that we have visited, my wife and I have always enjoyed Acadia and the Bar Harbor area in general.
We had a wonderful July 4th one year, with the typical small town America parade and fireworks over the harbor that evening.
One wedding anniversary, we were at the top of Cadillac Mountain (along with hundreds of other visitors) to see the sunrise.
Hiking around Long's Pond has always been a fun hike.
But you know what they say: "Nobody Goes There Anymore, It’s Too Crowded" -- Yogi Berra
Roosevelt Campobello International Park is an affiliated area of Parks Canada and of the U.S. National Park Service. It is actually in Canada. It was most interestng to visit, but bring your US passport to get back to the US. Does that count as one of the 417? (We are not anywhere close to visiting the full list.)
3
I've been to many national parks and my favorite is Big Bend in TX. I'm really looking forward to visiting Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time this summer.
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We visited and stayed in the cabins. No TV, no radio. At night the bats come out. During the day javelina visit with their babies. The stars sparkle the sky. Saw the largest tarantula walking on the roadway. We kept our distance. German tourists camped below the mountain. Had our meals in the main building. Wonderful experience.
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Folks, I'd go see them now why you have the chance. President Trump is bound to "Monetize" them, maybe put in golf courses. Certainly the fees will increase and maybe we will have active mining, you know to help "run the parks like a business." Look why they are still there and reasonably pristine.
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The late Yale historian Robin Winks probably was the greatest national park traveler of them all. At the time of his death, he had not only been in every national park unit then in existence, but had visited every park visitor center and read every interpretive panel in them.
Also, a correction: neither Bears Ears nor Grand Staircase-Escalante are part of the National Park System. They are run by other federal agencies, not the National Park Service.
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